The Ultimate Skincare Starter Routine for Teens and Tweens

The teenage years are a wild ride. You're making memories with your friends (hello, Tik Tok). You're learning how to drive. You've got stacks of homework to do. You may also be dealing with one not so fun part of being a teen: acne. You're not the only one, though. The majority of teenagers experience acne at some point. The key to preventing pimples is a good skincare routine.

Acne is caused by a mix of different things, including clogged pores and bacteria growth on the skin. That then causes inflammation of the skin and triggers breakouts. Hormones are another major acne cause of acne (hence why it's often referred to as hormonal acne or testosterone acne).

As your hormones increase during your teenage years, so does your skin's oil production, and that extra oiliness also leads to inflammation and breakouts. So, by giving your skin some love with a daily skincare sesh, you'll prevent clogged pores, bacteria growth, and inflammation, and keep your skin looking fresh.

Not sure how to step up your skincare game? We've got you. Here, we dive into the three key steps every teenage skincare routine needs, plus a couple of bonus teenage acne treatments.

The basic, non-basic teenage skincare routine

The cool thing about a skincare routine is that it doesn't have to be extra to be effective. Keeping things simple will get the job done. These three key steps will help keep your skin clean, clear, and looking #flawless.

1. Cleanser

Even if you didn't put makeup on and just hung out in your pajamas getting your virtual learning on all day, your skin still accumulates lots of gunk throughout the day, such as sweat, oil, bacteria, and dirt. That's why washing your face twice a day is essential. Dermatologists recommend using gentle cleansers that contain salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide, which are both acne-fighting ingredients.

2. Toner

Once your skin is fresh and clean, the next step is to apply some toner. Toner helps remove any excess grime from your skin, which keeps the pimples at bay and prepares the skin to absorb other skincare products better. Saturate a cotton pad with toner, and then gently sweep it over your skin.

3. Moisturizer

Moisturizing your skin is another essential step in any teenage skincare routine. Dry skin is more prone to getting irritated and can make acne worse. Some people's skin may even produce more oil if their skin is dry. Moisturizing your skin on the reg will keep it calm and happy. Always go for an oil-free, lightweight, non-comedogenic moisturizer, which is just a fancy way of saying that it doesn't contain any ingredients that will clog your pores and cause breakouts.

Bonus points if you use a moisturizer with SPF. Not only will it protect your skin
against skin cancer, it'll also help with hyperpigmentation (aka the dark spots
pimples leave behind).

Extra skincare for teenagers steps

Awesome! Now that you've got the basic teenage skincare routine down, let's chat about two additional teenage acne treatments that will help with your skin glow up.

Acne patches

Raise your hand if you've ever woken up with a massive zit on your face 🙋‍♀️. Yeah, us too. So what the heck do you do in those moments? That's where the OG Mighty Patch comes in. We don't mean to flex (okay, we do), but our Mighty Patches are fire. The acne patches suck out all the pus inside a pimple in a matter of hours, leaving your skin looking clearer and you feeling ready to slay the day. It's the easiest acne treatment for teens, ever. Periodt.

Retinoids

Retinoids are a more advanced skincare step but can be a good teenage acne treatment too. They help reduce clogged pores and calm down the inflammation of the skin. It's best to check with your dermatologist about retinoids to ensure it's a right course of action for your skin.