UNDERSTANDING TEEN ACNE, HOW TO TREAT & PREVENT THIS COMMON SKIN CONDITION

Acne, the medical condition that causes "pimples", is common and a normal part of growing up - especially in the teenage years. In fact, around 85% of people have acne when they're teens.

Acne can affect many places on the body, including the face, neck, shoulders, upper back and chest. For some teens, acne is not bothersome. Other teens want to clear up their acne. For some teens, treating acne boosts self-esteem and helps build life skills around self-care. A smaller number of teens have more severe acne that is important to treat to prevent permanent scars.

 

What causes acne in teens?

The hair follicles (pores) in the skin contain oil glands, called sebaceous glands. The oil they produce is called sebum, which helps to lubricate the hair and skin. But changes during puberty can lead to acne:

• More oil = clogged pores. Increased levels of hormones during the teen years lead to more sebum production. This can cause the pores to become clogged up.
  
  
• Then, bacteria get busy. Unfortunately, a normal, healthy bacteria on the skin named C. acnes loves all of the extra oil and gets to work multiplying, causing redness and irritation.

What are different types of acne bumps called?

There are four main types of acne bumps:

• Blackheads. The medical term for these is "open comedones," and they are pores that get clogged up with extra oil. These stay close to the skin's surface and have a top darker than the surrounding skin.

• Whiteheads. These are also called "closed comedones," and they are pores that get clogged up with the extra oil, close, and bulge out slightly from the skin's surface.

• Pimples. These are the red bumps that form when the extra oil and C. acnes bacteria combine to clog up a pore more deeply in the skin. Sometimes the bacteria create pus and the red bump becomes a pustule.

• Nodules and cysts. These are larger and often painful pimples that extend to the deeper layers of the skin. These are the ones that are most likely to lead to scarring.

What can make acne worse?

• Hormones. As mentioned above, teenage hormones lead to more oil production in the skin, which can lead to acne. Acne can also flare with the hormone increases that happen just before menstrual periods.

• Diet. The role of diet in acne is not clear. A healthy, well-balanced diet is likely to be better for the skin, just as it is for the health of the rest of the body. Diets high in sugars and simple carbohydrates might contribute more to acne.

• Skin care products and cosmetics. Some products, especially oil-based skin care products, can lead to acne if they clog up pores. Water-based or "non-comedogenic" products are less likely to cause acne. Anything that presses on the skin for a long time, including tight clothing or equipment like chinstraps on helmets, can cause worsening acne in that area.

• Stress. While stress doesn't "cause" acne, there is a link between worse acne and stress. Research studies have shown that teenagers tend to have worse acne when school is stressful. Regular exercise, healthy sleep, and supportive relationships all help lower stress.

Can you Prevent Acne?

There's no sure way to prevent acne. But these tips might help reduce the number and severity of breakouts:

• Cleansing the skin is the most important thing to do everyday! It helps remove excess surface oils and dead skin cells that can clog your pores. But washing too much can cause damage by making your skin too dry or irritating acne that’s already there.
• It is important to wash after exercising because sweat can clog pores and make acne worse. If you work around greasy food or oil, if you've been sweating from heat or from working hard, wash your face and other acne-prone areas as soon as possible.
• If you use skin products, such as lotions or makeup, look for ones that are non-comedogenic or non-acnegenic, which means that they don't clog pores.
• If you use hair spray or styling gel, try to keep them away from your face as much as possible. Many hair products contain oils that can make acne worse. Try to use water-based products.
• If you get acne on areas such as your chest or back, avoid wearing tight clothes, which can rub and cause irritation.

How is teenage acne  treated?

Teenage acne often resolves on its own once these hormonal changes have settled down, although this isn’t always the case for everyone. While teenage acne can be managed by using our natural products, more severe types of acne (such as nodules or cysts) need to be treated by a dermatologist. 

Building a Skincare Routine for Teens With Acne-Prone Skin

For teens dealing with acne, we recommend a simple skincare routine that focuses on the basics: a cleanser (such as our Tomato Herbal Soap Bar), facial oil (such as Squalane Oil), daily sunscreen and exfoliation (such as our Activated Charcoal Facial Scrub). 

 

DAILY ROUTINE (Morning & Night) FOR TEENAGE ACNE

Step 1: Cleanse with Tomato Soap

One of the biggest mistakes that teens are probably making in their daily skin care routine is the process of cleansing. If skin isn't clear of all the dust and grime that accumulates during the day, it is most like that problems such as visible pores, blackheads, pimples, dark spots and uneven complexion will occur. A further problem is also that in "normal" soaps/cleansers there are also harmful chemicals, SLS, Parabens etc. With increasing levels of pollution in today's world, it is really important that teens use cleansing soaps that are completely natural and organic.

The benefits that natural soaps or cleansers, made of ALL natural, chemical free and organic ingredients, offer over traditional chemical based products cannot be stressed enough in our opinion. The skin on your face is way more delicate than that of the rest of your body and harsh chemicals can dry out skin and make it textured.

A cleanser that we recommend to teens is our 100% natural Tomato Skin Brightening Soap Bar! This soap bar combines the best of nature's beauty secrets and gives you a flawless complexion!

Why use the JUSTBLiSS Skin Brightening Tomato Soap Bar

So how does this soap bar differ from the scores of products you can see on the market? The answer is Fresh Tomato!!!

• One of the best known natural beauty secrets available to us and passed down over generations! Tomatoes are known for their multiple beauty benefits. Tomato juice is known to help shrink the pores on your face and acts as excellent astringent, fights acne, helps to reduce the appearance of blackheads and can help to reduce tanning on your skin and can help to brighten your complexion.
• Tomatoes are loaded with several skin friendly vitamins which help boosting our complexion. It contains vitamin A, B as well as C, and all these vitamins are known for skin lightening benefits. Vitamin A helps in in boosting skin cell regeneration, which in turn, lightens the appearance of blemishes and acne scars.
• Tomatoes are acidic in nature, which make it a great exfoliator for our skin. Citric acid in tomato helps in removing the dead skin cells and other impurities from the top skin layer that can otherwise cause skin darkening.
• Aging is a factor that can cause skin discoloration and Vitamin B helps reversing the damages caused by aging. It helps in smoothing wrinkles, fine lines and also boosts new cell production, to make the skin smooth and even toned.
• Vitamin C also boosts collagen production in the skin and helps to fade away marks and scars. Vitamin C further contributes to skin lightening by reducing the melanin production in our skin. It also boosts cell regeneration that further helps improving our complexion.
• Dry skin looks dark and dull.Tomatoes contain calcium and potassium and both these minerals help healing dry skin by providing moisturization and hydration. Magnesium present in tomatoes can give us naturally glowing skin.
• Sun damage also darkens our skin tone. Tomatoes contain lycopene, an antioxidant that provides protection against the UV rays, thus preventing skin darkening. Tomato juice has anti inflammatory benefits that help calming down irritated and sun damaged skin.
• Tomatoes can boost oxygen supply to the skin cells, which provide superior nourishment to the cells, rejuvenate them and brighten the skin tone. Also, it contains salicylic acid which helps with exfoliating to boost our complexion further.
• According to skin experts, the key to maintain healthy and glowing skin is to balance the pH level of the skin. Tomatoes help to maintain the pH balance of the skin and restore healthy, even toned skin.
• Excess oil build up on the skin makes our face look dark. Being astringent in nature, tomato juice helps absorbing the excess oil and freshens up the skin to make it look bright.

 

STEP 2: MOISTURISE AND HELP PROTECT

When you're a teen with oily or acne-prone skin, using a moisturiser/facial oil may seem counterintuitive. However, moisturisers are a core step in any skincare routine. Applying a moisturiser or facial oil after cleansing can help keep acne-prone skin properly hydrated, lock in moisture, and help maintain the skin’s protective barrier. Moisturisers can also help address dryness or flaking from topical acne treatments. This is important for teens with acne since dry, irritated skin can lead to increased oil production, which may trigger further acne breakouts. 

For day and night time, we recommend using a non-comedogenic facial oil such as 100% plant based Squalane. While many teens mistakenly think sun exposure is a good treatment for acne, it can actually cause sun damage and increase the risk for skin cancer later in life. In some cases, it may also lead to increased oil production and make acne worse. Therefore, it’s essential to apply a sunscreen (SPF30 or higher) as the last step in your morning routine (and reapply as needed throughout the day).

 

STEP 3: EXFOLIATION

The main function of your skin is to provide protection, so it is exposed to many environmental factors. That's why it is so important to regularly exfoliate and reveal new healthier skin. Exfoliating the face doesn't just rid the face of dead skin cells, it can also improve the effectiveness of a regular skincare routine in order to have a glowing skin faster. The top 4 benefits of regular exfoliating, include:

• Reduce the symptoms of acne and hormonal breakouts.
• Improvement of skin texture.
• Challenging the aging process.
• Improved moisture absorption. 

One great option for teens with acne-prone skin is our Activated Charcoal Facial Scrub. Activated charcoal deeply cleanse the skin, sloughs off dead skin cells, unplugs pores, gives a silky-smooth texture, evens out skin tone and provides a gentle exfoliation! It truly is skin smoothing at its finest!

Benefits of Activated Charcoal (AC)?

• Improving acne issues. It works like a magnet by absorbing toxins and bacteria. 
• Minimising the pores. AC will help to unclog the pores by leaving them free from any impurities.
• Gentle exfoliator. Sloughing off dead skin cells is the primary task that is performed by activated charcoal. 
• AC has both antifungal and antibacterial property that helps to repair the damaged skin. 
• Refined appearance. With all the charcoal benefits for skin, your skin will become more luscious and vibrant. In addition, AC will detoxify your skin by removing all the impurities and unwanted toxins. 

How many times a week should you embrace the charcoal scrub life? Only once to three times per week! If you are experiencing flakiness or dryness, it is most like a sign that you are going overboard with the scrub. Charcoal absorbs you skin's oils, so too much might leave your face feeling parched and not-so-happy. Begin with a once-a-week scrub and see how your skin reacts. Don't scrub too hard, just gently rub in upward motions. Balance is the key, so NOT more than 3 times per week. 

 

 Teen Skincare Tips for Acne

Managing teenage acne doesn’t need to feel overwhelming. With the right skincare routine, a few simple tips, and a bit of patience, it’s possible to achieve a clearer-looking complexion. Here are a few skincare tips to keep in mind:

• Don’t overuse acne treatments:  For teens with acne, it can be tempting to over-apply acne treatments. However, this can dry out the skin and potentially cause skin irritation or even more breakouts. 

• Avoid scratching, picking, or popping pimples:  This can spread pore-clogging oils and bacteria to your face (which can trigger more acne breakouts). Picking at acne blemishes can also cause skin injury, which may lead to swelling or possible scarring.

• Practice self-care and reduce stress: Studies show that feeling stressed out can worsen acne breakouts. Try practicing stress-reducing techniques and make time for self-care.

 

Note:  It’s best to seek the help of a dermatologist if your skin concerns are still not under control after several weeks of implementing a teenage acne routine or if you are experiencing additional symptoms.