tween skin routine

[FabulousFreaks]

My 11 yr old dd is beginning to get some spots. What type of facecare routine should she use? I am clueless and not too great with my own face. Should she use soap or some special type of cleanser? Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Something as gentle as possible-a cream cleanser removed with a warm muslin cloth would be ideal. Absolutely no clearasil or clean and clear or anything else similar!

my ds uses a cleanser that contains salicylic acid (murad do one) and it's cleared his spots up really well

thank you, can u suggest some specific cleansers?

and where do I buy those muslin cloths

Check out Liz Earle

[[http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/320998073873?var=lv

thank you.What is good to use for just regular child skin

I think you need to be super gentle with something like simple cream cleanser or cetaphil cleanser and a wash cloth. Then treat individual spots with neutrogena spot treatment. I speak from experience myself and using harsh products can sometimes just cause more spots and irritation. Fragrance in products can also cause breakouts.

My 13 year old dd had fairly bad spots but since using clearasil they have really cleared up. It might be coincidence but when she ran out they came back so I do think it probably worked.

Maybe someone can give me a few ideas please

My dd (14) doesn't really have spots, but her skintone is really quite uneven.

She is mixed race, her skin quite yellow toned iyswim.

But she reckons in some lighting she looks actually green!

She has tinly lighter areas on parts of her face.

I don't think it's that bad...but she is really conscious.

I use aqueous cream as a cream cleanser because it sontains SLS (Sodium Laurel/Laureth Sulfate) which is used as a cleanser for people who can't use a shower often due to medical conditions.

Aqueous cream cleans the skin without totally stripping its natural oils away. Clearasil and the likes does exactly that and so more natural oils are produced to try keeping it moisturised. Because the aqueous cream doesn't strip the skin's natural oils away totally, it just means that the natural oil production is balanced.

The best thing to do is find out the cause of the spot, whether it's dirt or hormones.

My dd [13] uses Clinique liquid facial soap and the clarifying lotion plus the gel for individual spots.She quite often dabs at the spot with the clarifying lotiob to dry it up[clarifying lotion contains salicylic acid].She actually has pretty good skin with the ocasional breakout.
My mum was obsessive when i had spots and made me perpetually wash my face with medicated soap and use lots of clearasil.Consequently i had very damaged red hypersensitive skin.I still react to nearly everything [apart from Clinique].So i agree don't overtreat,use gentle treatments [but i think aqueous cream is too oily for teenagers] and be careful with the harsh spot treatments.

I used aqueous cream as a cleanser and moisturiser all through my thirties/early forties as my sister recommended it for my sensitive skin.
I've never suffered with spots just the sensitivity.
Couldn't use anything else without feeling tight/itchy/sore.
But I read (prob here) about a study which found AQ leaves detergent on your face, causing it to be sensitive to any other product.
I weaned myself off it and after two weeks could finally use 'proper' expensive moisturiser - which, approaching fifty, I felt was likely to be a better idea than a mixture of paraffin wax and detergent.
I still have to be careful, but at least I can wear make up again without worrying about itchy rashes.

Sorry for the essay - not answering your op, just wanted to give my experience of AQ.

My 15 yo DD uses Simple cleanser, as do I - neither of us suffers with spots, but I think Simple make good, reasonably priced, reliable products.

At the other end of the spectrum, a friend of mine is a Doctor Haushka beautician aesthetician, and she swears by their Intensive Treatment 01, a clear rinse you splash your face with twice a day for a few weeks, then leave off for a bit (friend has/had 4 teens and all used it).

My DS (17) uses it, haphazardly, but it has cleared his skin up quite a bit.

crazynanna It sounds like a pigmentation issue your DD has, which can't be treated with skin care. Has she been to a dermatologist?

The other thing I'd say is that lots of people with darker skin have more than one colour on their faces (actually so do white people but it usually shows up as redness)-it's really normal for instance to have darker patches around the mouth, or different shades between the outside of the face and the forehead/nose/chin. You can approach it two ways-either use a foundation to unify the face and make it all one colour, which in my opinion makes people look a bit odd as it doesn't look totally natural, or use a couple of different shades of foundation/concealer to shade and contour the face, making the difference less extreme but not totally covering it up. There are videos on YouTube of how to do make up on black skin and she might find it useful to watch these and see that a) different pigments in the face is totally normal and b) if she still feels self conscious she can learn how to address it with make up.

Hope that helps

Thankyou Antoinette

No she hasn't seen a dematologist. Do you think it may help?

She doesn't wear makeup, so I am not sure if the foundation idea will be taken seriously, but I am going to show her the videos you suggest.

I do wonder if it is hormonal? We have only noticed it in the last year or so, and although she is not in full blown puberty (no boobs or periods), she has been slamming doors for a few years now, so am sure the hormones are present!

It might be worth taking her to the GP and asking for a referral if she's feeling self conscious-couldn't do any harm :)

I will...thank you for your advice