What your teenager tells you:
“Yes, I have been washing my face.”
“Yes, I am trying not to pick.”
“No, I don’t want to go to the school dance. Dances are lame.”
What your teenager doesn’t tell you:
“I’ve been washing my face more aggressively than ever but I don’t know why I’m still breaking out.”
“I can’t help but pick my whiteheads! They’re so ugly!”
“Asking someone out, going out together, taking pictures! Sounds like a nightmare. Count me out.”
Parents, when your child was born, or maybe even before that, you heard to watch out for those “teen years.” For everyone, it seems, the years of teenagedom are the hardest. Particularly for parents, or so they tell you.
The truth is, kids are going through a lot at that age; trying to find their independence without being old to enough to actually exercise much, dealing with schoolwork and classmates, family and friends, and namely, navigating raging hormones that just don’t seem to quit. And if you haven’t heard a teenager tell you, “You just don’t understand me!” then be forewarned, when you hear it, it may make you want to laugh out loud. Because you have been there. You have “done that,” so to speak.
For teens, it seems there are few things that are actually in their control. They must go to school, they must attend granny’s 66th birthday party, they must get good grades and do chores. The list seems never ending. But then there’s one other thing on top of that keeps popping up in their young lives. Yet another thing outside of their control.
Acne.
The curse of acne begins rather young for most people unfortunate enough to have it. The average acne sufferer is 12 years old when they start getting pimples. Coincidentally, 12 years old is the typical age where kids hit puberty. You see, for most people, these two events are inextricably linked. That sharp rise in hormones equals not only a cranky teen, but also a teen with acne. Sadly, it’s lose-lose.
The way that hormones, genetics, and acne are connected, when a youngster experiences a sudden increase in hormone production during puberty, this causes the skin to produce too much oil and dead skin cells begin to build up in the pores. This excess of oil and dead skin cells is a recipe for, you guessed it, breakouts.
As a parent, you may notice when your teen has started breaking out and you wonder how to be sensitive to their feelings. You notice they no longer want to participate in events they used to love. You notice they’re more withdrawn and seem less happy. You may also notice that they’re wearing more makeup, trying to cover up the blemishes. These are all signs that a good conversation is in order.
You will want to take this opportunity to connect with your teen and help them find a solution to the problem plaguing their lives right now. You don’t want them to have a harder time than necessary. Helping them deal with their acne is one step to helping them feel better and more confident. You will want to take this conversation slowly and really hear them out so you can work on a solution together.
When your teen is ready, you may suggest that in order to find something that works, you’ll need to work together to find some much needed professional guidance. Perhaps neither of you have ever had to deal with acne before. Or maybe you have had acne when you were a kid and didn’t get as much help dealing with is as you may have liked. Whatever the situation may be, you and your teenager will want to work with someone who deals with acne regularly.
To get the most out of this conversation and provide the best possible solution, this is a perfect time to mention Skintherapy. We deal with teen acne nearly every day. We know the best treatment paths to overcome it. We know how frustrating acne is and we deliver astounding results. You can tell them that in a mere 3-6 months, their skin will look and feel clearer after working with us. No reason not to give it a shot, right?
We are confident that we can help your teen feel more confident in their skin. That is our goal for anyone struggling with acne. All it takes is one appointment to begin the journey from struggling with acne to overcoming acne.
Marketing geniuses would love to have you believe that their most famous acne clearing products are safe and do exactly what they advertise--clear your skin. But sadly, this is simply not the case for the products we are about to review in this article.
Many doctors and dermatologists are prescribing products for your acne that either aren’t going to work as well as they should, or aren’t going to work at all.
Today we’ll get into the reasons why these products don’t work and what you can use for your acne that actually works.
The first one we’ll start with is Cetaphil. According to Cetaphil’s website, it is a “Gentle Skin Care Product” that is “clinically tested and proven to cleanse, hydrate, and protect acne-prone skin.”
That’s all fine and dandy until you look at the list of ingredients in their product.
According to the experts, here is a list of ingredients that will clog your pores.You’ll notice that the ingredient sodium laureth sulfate is on there. Guess what Cetaphil has in it? Sodium laureth sulfate.
Although sodium laureth sulfate only scores a 3 out of 5 on the pore clogging scale (0 being non clogging and 5 being extremely clogging), it still makes you wonder, how have they gotten away with marketing this product to be good for acne for so long when it clearly isn’t?
It’s unfortunate that such products are being branded to help acne, when in fact, it will just make it worse.
The next surprisingly pore clogging product is Clearasil. Yes, you read that right. Clearasil has been branded the expert and leading acne control product for teenagers. But what's really going on in their formula?
They do have some good stuff going on, although it's in such low doses, it's hard to say if it will actually help clear your skin.
For example, salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide do help in treating acne. But Clearasil also contains myristic acid and lauric acid, which scored 3 and 4 respectively on the pore clogging scale.
Clearasil is the first product that many people turn to when they first get acne and for some, it might actually help. But for many, it only exacerbates the problem and makes a bad situation worse.
Next off, we have Retinol A. Although this product is available under many different names, including Retin-A and Tretinoin, don't let them fool you. It is branded as a medication used to treat acne and usually has to be prescribed by a doctor in order to obtain it, although it can also be purchased online.
On Web MD, Retinol A is said to work by affecting the growth of growth of skin cells and admits that it may make your acne worse at first but will get better after 8-12 weeks.
The reality is that it makes your acne worse because it contains isopropyl myristate (which scores a staggering 5 on the pore clogging scale) and stearic acid (which scores a 3 on the pore clogging scale.)
Last on our list is Coconut Oil and its derivatives. Acne is caused by a buildup of oil in the skin. Therefore, it seems strange to claim that coconut oil does something to help with acne.
The popular website, Healthline.com, claims "Coconut oil is high in lauric acid, which helps kill the bacteria that cause acne."
Lauric acid rates at a 4 on the pore clogging scale. Whether or not it possesses the qualities to kill bacteria on your skin (which is not what causes acne in the first place anyway) the mere fact that it contains such a pore clogging ingredient makes it less than convincing when it comes to clearing up your acne.
The upside about coconut oil about it is that it smells really good! But it's just not so great for your skin, unfortunately.
These are just a few of the expertly branded products that claim to help acne but really don't. We suggest you do your own research and don't fall for the hype when it comes to selecting products to help with your acne.
Now if you really want to get your skin clear, schedule an appointment with us. We have individualized products and treatment plans that you can't get anywhere else and have been tried and proven to help get skin clear and maintain clear skin for life.
What are you waiting for? The next step is finding out what will work to get your skin where you want it to be.
Click here to set up your appointment today.
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