Teenage girls are busier than ever, whether it’s in school, playing sports or other activities, or just hanging with friends. So when there’s so much demanding their attention, the last thing teenage girls should have to worry about is a complicated skin care routine. With so many different products to choose from, and so much information out there as to which face cleanser ingredient is trending at the moment, skin care for teenagers can be a bit overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. By keeping just a few simple steps in mind, you can streamline your face care routine while still taking great care of your skin.
1. Set Up a Routine
This might sound like a no-brainer, but having (and following) a set face care routine can really help to cut out unnecessary steps and make sure that your skin stays as healthy as can be. Depending on your skin type, which we’ll talk more about below, most teens really only need to wash their face once or twice a day. It’s most important to wash your face every night before bed. That’s when dirt, oil, and makeup have had a chance to build up in your pores, and you don’t want to leave that buildup there all night. But a great face care routine for teenage girls can be as simple as adding a gentle, natural face cleanser to their nightly bedtime routine.
2. Know Your Skin Type
Because a lot of products are targeted toward different skin types, it can be really helpful to know whether your skin tends to be dry, oily, or somewhere in between. If you’re not sure what your skin type is, you can check out our PREP skin care 101 guide, which includes informational graphics to help you determine your skin type. For dry skin types, it’s especially important that your face care products are gentle and don’t contain irritants that could dry out your skin even more. Ingredients to watch out for are alcohol, menthol, or any rough exfoliant. You might also want to wash your face only at night, because you don’t want to wash off your skin’s natural oils before you start your day in the morning. If you have oily skin, establishing a morning and nightly face cleansing routine can help to control your skin’s natural oil production. Choose a face wash specifically designed for oily skin, but you still want to pay attention to ingredients that could cause irritation. Many teenage girls find that their skin often fluctuates between dry and oily, or is a combination of both. If this is the case for you, just make sure you don’t over-cleanse or use harsh products. (Women’s Health Magazine)
3. Choose a Gentle Face Cleanser
No matter your skin type, your face care routine should include a great gentle cleanser. When shopping for a product, take a little extra time to read the label and watch out for those harsh ingredients mentioned earlier. The more basic the list of ingredients, the better. You should also steer clear of any product that contains those typically fun-colored microbeads. While they may look fun, that’s where the benefits of those harmful little plastic balls stop. President Obama actually banned the beads in 2015 because they’ve been proven to be so harmful for the environment. And if they’re not safe for the environment, you don’t want to be putting them on your skin, either. (Forbes Magazine)
4. Pay Attention to Sun Protection
It’s so important for teenage girls to keep sun protection in mind when planning a daily skin care routine, and that can be as simple as choosing products that contain UV blockers. Even on a cloudy or rainy day, your skin can be exposed to UV rays, so applying an SPF moisturizer can be a great way to make sure your skin is protected every day. And according to the American Skin Association, there’s no such thing as a “healthy” tan, even once in a while. That’s why forming good sun protection habits on a daily basis is so important for all teens. (American Skin Association)
5. Moisturize
Not only can moisturizers be a great way of protecting your skin from the sun, but they can also be so helpful in keeping your skin healthy and clean. Choose a moisturizer that lightweight and gentle with natural ingredients that won’t clog your pores or cause breakouts. PREP’s SPF 30 face+body lotion, for instance, uses zinc oxide to provide broad spectrum sun protection while acting as a moisturizer. Zinc oxide is a great natural ingredient that’s safe and gentle, yet very effective at protecting your skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays.
The Bottom Line
Even with so much conflicting information and trendy new products constantly popping up, face care for teenage girls really doesn’t have to be so complicated. Most importantly, if teens can establish a healthy skin care routine now, it will be that much easier to maintain those healthy habits into adulthood and throughout the rest of their lives. By just following these 5 simple steps, any teenage girl can properly prep her skin in just a few minutes, leaving more time for doing all the things she loves. Stay healthy,
