Skincare for Tween/Young Teen

[Moonhawk]

DD12 is starting to get first hints of acne. It's mostly where here glasses touch her cheeks. I want to start her on a skincare routine. Preferably easy, preferably not too expensive, or at least perhaps from a place that will have a Black Friday/holiday sales. What have you found that works? 

[Spryte]

As a tween, my water-averse DS used Stridex pads daily, and Neutrogena On the Spot before bed on any noticeable spots. A gentle facial cleanser in the shower.

Your DD may be more compliant with regimens, but for the resistant typical boy — this worked well. Amazon subscribe and save had both, at the time. Easy peasy.

 

[MooCow]

32 minutes ago, Spryte said:

As a tween, my water-averse DS used Stridex pads daily, and Neutrogena On the Spot before bed on any noticeable spots. A gentle facial cleanser in the shower.

Your DD may be more compliant with regimens, but for the resistant typical boy — this worked well. Amazon subscribe and save had both, at the time. Easy peasy.

 

This!  I personally did proactive for years until they changed the formula. 

[Spryte]

Once DS needed more help, the dermatologist suggested a regimen that started with benzoyl peroxide wash, and included Rx items. But DS opted to try one item at a time, and just the OTC wash did the trick for a while. We later added Rx options, as needed.

[kbutton]

My 13 y.o. DS uses Acne Free wash. They had free samples at the pediatrician, and it's effective. It's inexpensive and available on Amazon. It looks like a lot of stores carry it. 

[prairiewindmomma]

My teens wash with Cetaphil and apply a daily sunscreen as their routine. If they have acne breakouts, they use a touch of adapalene creme (which is retinol based). My kids find the skincare wipes too fragrant and irritating. Benzyl products are too drying for their dry areas. They are the usual t-zone teen acne pattern.

[mmasc]

So far, just washing with this salicylic acid wash has worked fine for my dc. For them, it has been gentle enough that they don’t need moisturizer, and strong enough to be effective. 

[gardenmom5]

one addition which is *wonderful* would be 3M Nexcare spots. They're translucent - but they suck out the oil.

I'll still occasionally get ones that really hurt - and these work fast.  Where the oil is does change from translucent to white.

[alisoncooks]

1 hour ago, mmasc said:

So far, just washing with this salicylic acid wash has worked fine for my dc. For them, it has been gentle enough that they don’t need moisturizer, and strong enough to be effective. 

This is what we use here, too. CeraVe has expanded their acne line quite a bit. I didn’t care for their “acne foaming cream cleanser,” but the last time I was in Walmart, I saw they have a salicylic acid spot treatment. I’ll probably give it a try. 

[madteaparty]

DS is older but he cuts into my retinol stash with some regularity 🤣

[MercyA]

We like acne.org's cleanser. Super gentle and non-irritating. It's available both on the acne.org website and on Amazon. DD washes with it morning and evening and so do I! One bottle lasts a long time.

She applies Dr. Song's 2.5% benzoyl peroxide gel morning and evening, too. I use it evenings only on the acne prone portions of my face. It's very inexpensive per ounce compared to other treatments and does not over-dry or irritate our skin. 

ETA: Both products are cruelty-free.

Edited November 12, 2021 by MercyA

[Rosie_0801]

Mine used raw honey for a while.

[popmom]

What type skin? My 15 year old is struggling some with acne, but she has dry skin. So it makes a huge difference in how you treat the acne. We have seen improvements using products from The Ordinary. Their Granactive Retinoid products and Niacinamide serum in particular.

Bonus is The Ordinary is VERY reasonably priced.

Edited November 12, 2021 by popmom

[crazyforlatin]

22 hours ago, madteaparty said:

DS is older but he cuts into my retinol stash with some regularity 🤣

He’s going to have beautiful skin when he’s an adult.

[madteaparty]

1 hour ago, crazyforlatin said:

He’s going to have beautiful skin when he’s an adult.

He already does lol. 🤣 it’s killing my stash though.