Skincare routines and products have recently taken social media by storm, and there’s no sign of it slowing down anytime soon.
Even if the products aren’t explicitly targeted at kids and teenagers, many of them are often consuming content that promotes certain skincare routines or products, or just perfect skin in general. But are these products and routines necessary for growing kids and teenagers?
Our Dr. Frank McGeorge sat down with Dr. Allison Zarbo, pediatric dermatologist with Henry Ford Health, to ask her professional opinion. Dr. Zarbo treats children of all ages, from newborns to teenagers. Here’s what we learned.
---> Karen Drew asks: Has the teen skin care craze gone too far?
Q: What are your thoughts on children using advanced skincare regimens? Understanding, of course, that you probably deal with more kids who have pathologic skin conditions.
Dr. Zarbo: If you do not have a medical condition, you do not need a complex skincare routine. I see kids who bring in like five-, 10-step routines [for] the morning and nighttime, and it’s a bit of a waste of money. It’s really not necessary.
Most children, as long as they don’t have a medical condition, need a gentle face wash in the morning and in the evening; they need a moisturizer with sunscreen -- it should be broad spectrum SPF 30 or higher -- in the morning; and in the evening, a moisturizer without a sunscreen is fine.
Skincare products should say “oil free,” or “non comedogenic.” That just means it won’t clog their pause or cause acne so that they don’t need to come see me in the office.
Q: Say I’m a teenager. What should I know?
Dr. Zarbo: Keeping it simple is key. You just need a gentle face wash in the morning and nighttime. You do not need any special serums or any special face masks. Any time we do that, we increase the risk of getting irritation, and it can even cause breakouts.
Moisturizer. Sunscreen. Gentle face wash.
Q: What are the downsides of these advanced skincare regimens and products for kids? Is there potential harm?
Dr. Zarbo: A lot of these products are not necessary, especially for teenagers who, at baseline, have wonderful skin and don’t need any treatment for things like wrinkles, and they don’t need any help exfoliating -- your skin naturally does that on its own.
I have kids who come in and they have multiple products, and then they have a lot of irritation on their skin -- and it’s because they don’t need any of those products in the first place. When you start combining lots of different medications on your face, in the morning and at nighttime, you’re at risk of developing an irritant contact dermatitis, or an allergic contact dermatitis. That will look like a rash. It can be red, it can be irritated. Your skin can be dry and peely. And a lot of it’s just due to excessive use of products that aren’t necessary in the first place.
Q: Some of these skincare products are really expensive, especially for young kids who aren’t paying for the products themselves. Are these costs normal?
Dr. Zarbo: You actually do not need to spend a lot of money on skincare. It’s not necessary. I do not spend a lot of money on my skincare routine.
There are lots of excellent brands that you can buy at your local pharmacy at less than $10 for moisturizer, or for cream with a good sunscreen in it. Unfortunately, we live in a day and age where a lot of stuff is on social media, and a lot of influencers get paid to recommend certain products.
Your local, board-certified dermatologist is not getting paid, is not getting any kickback to recommend any products for you. We genuinely care about your skin and having you on a good routine that’s not going to break the bank.
Q: What are some legitimate reasons why teenagers might consider a more advanced skincare regimen? Who should they talk to about that?
Dr. Zarbo: If you have a certain concern about your skin, such as if you have acne that you can’t control with over-the-counter products, or you’re getting rashes on your face -- especially around your mouth, around your nose, around your eyes -- it’s irritated, and you just can’t control it with products you can get at your local pharmacy, then it’s time to tell your parents that it’s time to see your pediatrician, your family medicine doctor, or your local pediatric dermatologist.
Q: Do you see any downside psychologically to the pressure of having perfect skin?
Dr. Zarbo: I tell my teens this all the time: They’re living in a very, very tough day and age when everything on social media is fake. Everyone has airbrushed skin. Everyone is smoothing out those blemishes. No one is posting a picture with all of their flaws. So, what you think is normal is not normal.
I see a lot of kids come in and talk about the blackheads on their nose. They’re not blackheads on the nose, for most of the kids that I’m seeing -- it’s actually just their pores. And everyone has pores.
So, this is a tough time to grow up in. I think it’s really important to live in this world, try to stay off your phones as much as possible, and just realize that everyone has imperfections, and that’s what makes us who we are.
Dr. McGeorge: And they should set realistic expectations, maybe?
Dr. Zarbo: Yes, realistic expectations are important. No one will ever be able to get rid of your pores, no matter how many serums you buy.
Q: If children are asking for these types of products for Christmas, for example, is there a way to meet that desire without doing harm?
A: Here’s what I tell my patients: If you really are fixated on a certain brand, that’s OK, I would just stick with the most simple products they have.
You should stick with the gentle face wash they make, you should use their gentle moisturizer with the sunscreen in it. But I would avoid all the extra serums, and exfoliating masks, which really cause more harm than good. Especially when you mix them all together.
Q: What are red flags related to skincare that parents or kids should look for?
A: There aren’t any specific red flag items. I think the concern is that a lot of teenagers, because of their focus on having perfect skin, will find a million and five things wrong with their skin, which is otherwise completely normal. Then they’ll start looking at these brands, which make a product for almost anything, and then once you start laying on a bunch of different chemicals, then you run the risk of getting irritation to your skin, and getting rashes that are difficult to treat.
Even Dr. Zarbo says she had horrible acne as a kid, and was not good about using her medications correctly to treat it. That’s why she says she’s passionate about treating children and helping them find a routine that suits their needs.
“It’s life-changing when kids have a skin disease that’s very visible and affecting their self confidence at such a young age -- like teenagers, who are still forming their sense of identity,” Dr. Zarbo said. “It’s life-changing to be able to clear their skin and have them walk confidently into high school.”
Dr. McGeorge: And to be fair, a lot of these products are not going to do that, right?
Dr. Zarbo: No. A lot of these products are not going to do that.
Skincare brands Dr. Zarbo recommends
Zarbo said she recommends the following brands to her patients, which can all be found at local drug stores:
- CeraVe
- Cetaphil
- Neutrogena
- Eucerin
- La Roche-Posay
- Avene
- Aveeno
- Vanicream