This guide to teenage skin problems helps you to understand what causes acne, spots and blemishes and how to get teenage skin under control.
As experts in organic skin care for teenagers, we understand how important it is to rebalance the skin and reduce inflammation with gentle ingredients. We take a look at what causes acne, how to manage teenage spots and how natural ingredients can help to clear your skin.
Simply need skin care for spot-prone teen skin? Check out our Organic Young products now.
Dealing with teenage skin problems can be tricky but the good news is, you don’t need a cupboard full of harsh products that strip your skin’s natural oils to manage spots and blemishes. Read on to discover the gentle way to achieving clearer skin.
Caring for teenage skin with the right ingredients
With up to 60% of what you put on your skin absorbed into your bloodstream, it's never too early to start an organic skin care regime that avoids harsh, artificial chemicals.
Organic Young (Oy) is our range of organic skin care for teenagers which is filled with natural active ingredients selected to support a clearer-looking complexion.
"Black Willow Bark, Green Tea and Prebiotics are kind to your skin and effective against spots"
We believe in using skin care ingredients for teens with acne like Black Willow Bark, Green Tea and Prebiotics which are both kind to your skin and extremely effective in combating acne and spots.
We also use Rosehip Oil, which supports skin balance and calms inflammation. It is great for healing scars, especially post-acne scars.
Our hero skin care kit for teenage spot-prone skin, Oy Clear Skin Goals, is a great place to start. It contains a simple 3-step routine to help keep skin fresh, clean and clear.
Oy Clear Skin Goals Gift Set
Best-selling natural skin care gift set for teenagers and tweens
601 kr
How does Oy natural skin care work?
Here’s a little information on some of the ingredients we use in our organic skin care for targeting spots and acne-prone skin.
- Prebiotics – These encourage and support the skin’s colony of good bacteria, helping them to fight against the bad bacteria which cause teenage spots.
- Tea Tree Extract – This contains compounds that calm skin and have powerful antibacterial properties to control the bacteria that leads to acne. Unlike many synthetic antibacterial ingredients, Tea Tree Extract doesn’t irritate the skin and actually helps to calm the redness, swelling and tenderness around blemishes. This makes spots look less angry and can also speed up healing.
- Green Tea – Green Tea is an anti-inflammatory so helps to calm red, sore spots and blemishes. It also helps to prevent skin damage from free radicals.
- Black Willow Bark – Black Willow Bark is a wonder ingredient! Like Green Tea, it helps to calm inflammation, but it also helps to fight acne bacteria and exfoliates the skin too! It helps to regulate sebum production to balance the skin and reduce oiliness.
- Rosehip Oil – Rosehip Oil is special because it helps the skin to regenerate so that it can recover from blemishes. It also moisturises, soothes and softens so your skin looks and feels healthier.
What causes teenage spots and acne?
Spots and acne generally affect people in their teens and early 20s, but people of any age can have a breakout. It isn’t always teenage skin problems.
However, you’re more likely to experience acne during your teenage years because of the changes going on in your body. The level of sebum being produced increases, and the pores on your skin get blocked by a combination of this and dead skin cells. This imbalance of sebum and dead skin cells is what causes acne to be one of the more common teenage skin problems.
It’s hard to pin down any one reason why someone develops acne or spots. Things like diet, hormones, genetics, poor digestion, heavy make-up, unwashed make-up brushes and harsh, pore-clogging skin care products can all contribute.
When sebum - a natural moisturiser made by your skin - is over-produced, not only will your skin be visibly oily, but your pores are also likely to become blocked too. This leads to breakouts and blackheads, and can leave you wondering how to manage teenage spots.
Clogged pores can also interrupt the skin’s natural process of shedding dead cells, leaving some trapped in pores and follicles. You are likely to see spots crop up when such blockages occur.
Lastly, the bacteria Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) are found all over even the cleanest skin, but during an acne outbreak their population vastly increases. P. acnes feed on sebum, and when sebum builds up in a pore this creates the perfect conditions for them to thrive.
After they feed, they produce fatty acids, which irritate pores and cause them to become red and inflamed. The redness, soreness and swelling is mainly from P. acnes gorging themselves.
Despite the fact that these three things are responsible for acne, it is also true that sebum, skin cell renewal and even P. acnes are all part of healthy skin. It’s all about balance.
Acne myths
Many people don’t know what causes acne and can jump to the wrong conclusions. There’s also a lot of misinformation about there that gets shared as if it’s true. Here are our reactions to some of the commonly held beliefs about acne:
- You can catch it by contact. Wrong! Everyone has acne bacteria on their skin but if the conditions aren’t right, they aren’t a problem.
- Acne is caused by poor hygiene. Wrong! Dirt is not the cause of acne and washing more won’t make it go away – in fact washing too much can cause your skin to produce even more oil!
- There is nothing you can do about it. Wrong!
- The right diet and the right skin care regime can help you to get your acne under control, although it may not disappear altogether.
Blemish-fighting tips for teenage skin
Most teens will have oily skin at some time or other as your hormones can cause your sebaceous glands to over-produce sebum.
You might find that experiencing teen breakouts and oily skin before your period is common for you, or that it happens during your period. It can be a combination of factors too, such as hormones and using the products that aren’t right for your skin.
Although there isn’t much you can do about your hormones, there is plenty you can do to reduce that shine and take control of your teenage skin with a good skin care regime.
- Wash your face twice a day using a gentle cleanser with ingredients such as Green Tea, an anti-inflammatory to calm spots, and Willow Bark Extract, which targets acne bacteria. Try Oy Foaming Clear Skin Face Wash and read our teenage face wash routine
- Use a moisturiser as your skin still needs nourishment and balance. Try Oy Clear Skin Cleansing Moisturiser
- Use a deep-cleansing mask twice a week
- Avoid petroleum and mineral oil-based ingredients, as these may block your pores more
- Use warm water when you are going through your skin care routine rather than hot
- Don’t go to bed with your make-up on. Always cleanse before bedtime, as well as in the morning
- Try not to touch your face too much. This transfers bacteria to your skin, making spots more likely
- Drink filtered water – and plenty of it. Water is great for your skin and filtering it will take out all the impurities
- Eat plenty of leafy greens, fresh fruit and foods rich in Omega-3. Vitamin B2 deficiency has been linked with oily skin too so you might like to try eating more whole wheat, beans and nuts, which are rich in it
- Avoid junk food, highly-seasoned and fried food, soft drinks and sugar. When you get tempted, just think how much good you are doing your skin!
Natural products for teenage skin
“I bought this for my daughter her skin is quite greasy & she’s starting to get a few small spots. Oy has really improved her skin & is clearing her spots up.” Rachel, reviewing Oy Foaming Face Wash
Browse our full range of skin care for spot-prone teenage skin.
Need some advice? Get help on the right organic skin care and routine for teenage spots and acne by chatting to us on social @GreenPeopleUK.
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