How to get your tween into a good skin care routine

Editor’s note: please welcome today’s guest blogger Kim Abbate from Life With Tweens. With a tween of her own, she contributes posts on age-appropriate styles and solutions to help those of us with kids in that awkward stage.

Skin care is something that needs to start early to ensure it becomes a lifelong habit rather than an after thought when it’s already too late. If you want  your children to kick things off with the right skin care regime, you need to get in early.

Did you wake up one morning and your little ‘baby’ is not so little any longer? Has your eight or nine year old suddenly developed spotty skin and they’re starting to go through the early stage of puberty? Now is the time to start!

A reader, Kathryn, sent through a question about the best way to start.

I hope you can help me with some advice! My granddaughter is 8 (going on 25) and changes are starting. After crying for half the night because she’s my baby and I hate the thought of her growing up and facing periods etc so soon I started to think about actually supporting her in this next journey. We have an amazing bond, and she loves to play with my skincare and makeup. Do you know of any skincare brands that would be okay for her to start with? Something that’s not too daunting, or old fashioned? I have noticed her skin has changed a touch, and I would like to start her on her way. Gah, this is so much worse than when my own daughter went through puberty! 

With a tween daughter of my own, and skin that still gives me grief at *cough* 39, I have discovered a few things that will help your granddaughter, Kathryn. Try these tips:

1. Make sure she takes care to keep her hair clean.  It sounds silly, but children tend to touch their hair a lot and oil from their hair will be transferred to their face and make their pores clogged.
2. Change pillow cases more often.  Our pillow cases are an invisible hive of oil and gunk, and changing pillow cases more often has made a huge difference to my tween’s skin.
3. Start a skin care regime with gentle products.  Don’t give sensitive tween skin the same products our weathered skin can handle; keep an eye out for a gentle face wash and moisturiser that is specifically designed for young skin.  I have my little Miss Tween in the same habit as me – and that is to clean her face in the shower and moisturise straight after she gets out. You may need to try a few different brands before you find one that suits their skin. Here are a few we’ve had success with:   1. Nutrogena $14 | 2.Burt’s Bees $20 | 3. Sukin $7 | 4. Simple $9
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4. Moisturiser is important. I am oh-so-grateful to my older sister for getting me onto the moisturiser bandwagon from an early age.  Of course I have laugh lines, but I think my skin thanks me for the constant hydration despite my early years worshiping at the alter of the sun. We all did it back then and I thank my lucky stars I escaped with nothing worse than some extra freckles! Try a gentle moisturiser to start, but the most important thing here is consistency. Every. Single. Day.
5. Use toner sparingly. For the really stubbornly spotty areas, try a toner but just on those spots. I think tweens need to be careful about drying out their gentle complexion, but sometimes those spots just won’t go away! Miss11 uses the Bodyshop Tea Tree toner and it seems to work for her skin.  Just be very careful your tween doesn’t go overboard as we all know some toners can be quite harsh.

1. Teach by example. Maybe this should be first, or maybe it’s the ultimate, final golden rule: spend the time to show them how to wash effectively, how much toner to use and the best way to apply moisturiser.  Show your tween, don’t expect them to instinctively know what they’re supposed to do with these new products.

Do you have any other products or tips that help your tween care for their skin?

Kim Abbate is a working single mum who blogs at  CreatingKim. Her blog focuses on topics that most busy mums can relate to around work, fun, family and health. She also blogs at Life With Tweens which focuses on everything related to that awkward stage between being a child and being a teen. She  has a passion for empowering women and drinking coffee. Or wine. Generally wine.