The transition to adolescence brings many hormonal changes, and the skin reflects this transition from child to adult. The appearance of small pimples, acne, oily skin, blackheads, micro cysts… Skin reactions are diverse, and they can have a strong influence on your mood. It’s time to learn the right beauty reflexes to take care of your skin and eliminate those little imperfections that make life difficult for you, especially at this age. Follow the guide to a natural skincare routine for young skin!
What are the skin changes during teenage years?
During the different periods of our lives, the skin expresses itself and changes. During puberty, hormones are in full swing and upset our skin balance. The sebaceous glands, which generally prevent the skin from drying out, begin to produce sebum in large quantities, leading to the formation of pimples, blemishes, acne, and lesions of varying degrees of inflammation. The sebum present on the surface of the epidermis leaves the skin with an oily appearance, particularly in the T-zone (nose, forehead, and chin). There are many sebaceous glands on the face, back, shoulders, clevage, and arms, and blemishes tend to appear in these areas. Acne affects 80% of young people, and 20% report a moderate to the severe form. This chronic inflammatory disease lasts an average of 3-4 years. It often disappears in adulthood (around 20) but can sometimes leave some acne marks and scars, especially if the proper steps are not taken.
Depending on the severity, your doctor may advise you to undergo appropriate medical treatment. However, treating your skin appropriately and finding the proper beauty routine is essential to minimize acne’s effects.
Things to avoid for teenage skin
Using unsuitable skin care products
When the first pimples appear, we quickly turn to drugstore products or big-box skin care products to eliminate these imperfections. However, beware: many cleansers or micellar waters are too aggressive for the skin and tend to strip it completely. The skin then feels attacked and produces even more sebum to protect itself, beginning a vicious circle. One of the bad habits is also that of overloading the skin with care products. The active ingredients in products can be less effective if mixed with other substances. Finally, changing skin care products too frequently does not give the skin time to acclimatize to the new product, and the skin may not appreciate it. We should treat young skin with patience, gentleness, and care.
Triturate imperfections
Hands up! Although it’s very tempting, we don’t touch our pimples, we let the skin care products take care of them, and our skin will finish the job. Trying to pop our pimples increase infection risk, especially if our hands are not clean. We damage the surface of the face and can even leave scars. The only thing allowed is to eliminate your blackheads correctly: by first steam bathing your face to open the pores, with clean hands, a tissue, and by pressing gently on the area.
Do not protect yourself from the sun
Always protect your skin from the sun, especially if you have young skin with imperfections. The sun dries out the epidermis, even if the skin is oily. The sebaceous glands will produce more sebum to rehydrate the skin. Sun exposure thickens the skin and gives the impression that the pimples have disappeared when they are still under the skin. Once the summer is over, an inevitable rebound of imperfections occurs. So beware of the sun, protect yourself with sunscreen and a hat and avoid the times when UV rays are most aggressive.