Teenage skin

[wishiwasacollie]

DD13 has oily and dry skin. Spots around hairline and chin and side of nose. She washes with scene gel and uses Efficlar but can't shift the spots. Any recommendations. We tried Liz Earle more spots and elemis wash ditto

Nothing that foams. Seriously. Foams are surfactants. Surfactants turn your skin alkali. Alkali is the breeding ground for spots... bizarrely, an oil based cleaners should be ok. The Body Shop Camomile cleansing range has one. Then a good toner - the clearasil ultra rapid action pads are great for that - not as a cleanser though!! Then a decent moisturiser. Try Superdrug's Naturally Radiant serum/moisturiser 2in1. I hope that works for her. It's rotten at that age when you're not happy with your skin.

Interesting, I didn't know that about foam washes Orange. Dd uses a foam one because it's the only one she likes. I've tried a couple of clearasil products but she wasn't keen. I don't want to keep wasting money on things that are just sitting in the bathroom cupboard.

It's ironic about the foam thing as many of the products targetted at problem skin are foaming. The cynic in me thinks it's just to keep the consumer in need... 🤔...

If she won't try the pads (do try them though, they really are good with the right acids in them), depending on budget, there are a couple of other options. Nip & Fab Extreme night pads (ignore the wording, her face won't fall off!). Or Pixi Glow tonic - it's not cheap cheap but it's a big bottle and will last a while. The toner is key here though. The serum is always on BOGOF or half price in superdrug.

As pp said, foams are the devil's spawn in (in my experience at least). I have had similar skin issues & what worked for me was skin care zoning. It's essentially just using different products to treat different issues on the face rather than going full face with every product. I use tea tree oil to dry out zits, and sorbeline/sudocrem/rosehip oil on rotation to hydrate dry patches. I've found my skin adapts to a moisturiser fast so I usually change every week or so. To cleanse I try to keep it as gentle as possible while my skins healing so it's cetaphil and oil based cream cleansers (no soaps!! might just be me but my skin hates them). What's worked best for me is trying to use products without heaps of ingredients. I've heard coconut oil works great on some people's dry patches but I've never been a big fan personally. Chin & nose are pretty standard areas to break out for teens but the hairline isn't as common - is it possible she's shampooing too often or not often enough? That can throw your scalp oil production out of whack pretty quick so it might be helpful to check if he hasn't already.