Ingredients to avoid in teen skincare products

For you, this is a very aggressive ingredient for teen skin and should very much be avoided at all costs.

Retinol works to sensitize the skin (even in adults) and one of the main functions is to help boost collagen and makes skin shedding faster. In more mature skin, this is helpful to reduce signs of ageing, which you of course don’t need yet.

We recommend waiting until your late 20s to use it.

Teens produce collagen naturally (yay) and have more sensitive, delicate skin. The teen skin cycle doesn’t need the extra help – it regenerates quickly.

You’re perfectly youthful already – retinol does more damage than good in teen years!

Top tip – also look out for and avoid products that contain: retinoids, retinal, retinoic acid, retinaldehyde.

Delicate teen skin doesn’t yet need hard-working acids (like glycolic acid) or physical exfoliants (in scrubs) that remove extra layers of dead skin.

You only need to focus on gentle acid exfoliants (like fruit extracts) that help to remove excess oil and impurities.

Before 15, you can use gentler scrubs or tonics – look for botanicals like fruit extracts.

Light chemical exfoliants should only be used from age 15, if your skin is oily and/or blemish prone.

In more mature skin, collagen provides strength to your skin, helps to improve elasticity and hydration for a visibly more youthful complexion – something you already have in abundance!

You don’t need to add more collagen, since you’re lucky enough that your skin already has this naturally.

As a teenager, you naturally produce collagen at maximum levels – so don’t waste your time topping this up!

Between hormones, stress and diet, there are plenty of things that make teen skin pretty reactive.

In more mature skin, Vitamin C can help to heal blemishes, reduce hyperpigmentation and improve overall brightness.

In teens, Vitamin C can easily irritate due to its acidic nature and potentially worsen acne or blemishes, instead of clearing it.