Healthy Skin Habits for Tweens

Have a skincare-obsessed tween? There are more of them out there than you know! With an ever-growing market for tween skincare, the list of products and new brands that might seem age-appropriate can feel endless. But with all the fun can come more and more questions for concerned and thoughtful parents. At Epionce, we consider caring for your skin to be a good thing, no matter your age! But there are a few helpful tips that can steer your child in the right direction for products that are gentle, healthy, and will fill their desire to take care of their skin!

The Science of Tween Skin

“The skin barrier is the outermost layer of the skin that protects us from the environment and external insults,” explains Cara Pellegrino,  Epionce Pro and founder of Xamira Skin Aesthetics in California. “It’s actually your immune system’s first layer of defense. So, in tween skin, even though their skin may be starting to change a little, it’s still fresh and new.”

Because it’s still developing, tween skin is more easily damaged by environmental toxins and is more sensitive with a higher cell turnover rate than mature skin. “It’s important to maintain a healthy barrier so that skin conditions such as redness and dryness don’t flare up,” adds Stephanie Butler, Epionce Pro and Advanced Esthetician in Nevada.

Why is it important to remember that tween skin is different from adult skin? “Tween skin is different from adult skin in the way that the skin is regenerating itself at a quicker rate. It heals quicker than adult skin, and should be treated with more gentle ingredients. That’s why it’s important for tweens to learn healthy skincare habits early on so that their barrier stays intact,” notes Butler. “If too harsh of ingredients are used on tween skin, this can create a compromised barrier and lead to other problems down the road.”

Developing Healthy Skin Habits with Tweens

Pellegrino likens a foundational skincare routine to brushing your teeth. “Learning healthy skin habits at a young age is so important. We have to incorporate good skin habits in our morning and evening routines because it’s not just skincare, it’s self-care. Our skin serves us in so many ways and the health of our skin has a significant impact on our lives.”

Our biggest recommendation for helping your tween choose meaningful skincare products? Keep it manageable! At Epionce, we have a wide variety of tween-appropriate products but believe that sometimes the magic lies in simplicity. “The most important thing a tween can learn is to properly cleanse their skin with a gentle cleanser, hydrate with a light moisturizer, and use SPF.” notes Butler.

Gentle Yet Effective Cleansing

There’s no need for harsh exfoliation when the skin is still so young. We recommend introducing a gentle, yet effective cleanser to your tween’s skincare routine like our Milky Lotion Cleanser or Gentle Foaming Cleanser. These cleansers remove dirt, oil and other surface impurities including makeup without leaving the skin feeling tight, dry or stripped of its natural protective oils. If your tween is looking for a cleanser that lives up to an adult’s shelf of skincare products, our gentle cleansers fit the bill. They contain botanicals like date fruit extract, which contains phytosterols, ursolic acid, and antioxidants which are known to help improve the visible appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

If your tween has already started to produce excess oil, another option is our Lytic Gel Cleanser. An Epionce fan-favorite and multiple award winner–from both NewBeauty and SHAPE Magazine–Lytic Gel Cleanser is a must-have for oily and problem skin types. It effectively dissolves surface impurities and calms the visible appearance of irritated skin without over-drying. Best of all? Your tween will love the refreshing and tingling feeling from its ingredients, like willow bark extract, a botanical source of salicylic acid.

Keep Steps Simple and Routine

After cleansing and before applying SPF, your tween can have a little fun with the lotions, and creams they choose to incorporate into their everyday skincare routine. Named ‘Best Daytime Moisturizer’ in the 2023 InStyle Best Beauty Buys awards, our Renewal Facial Lotion is a light formula meant for normal to combination skin types. Expertly formulated to improve clarity and radiance, its botanical ingredients help naturally hydrate, reduce irritation, and help calm the visible appearance of redness. If your tween is more prone to dry and sensitive skin, we recommend our flagship product Renewal Facial Cream which has a richer consistency. And on the other end of the spectrum, if your tween has more combination or oily/problem skin, our New Beauty award winning lotion, known as Renewal Lite Facial Lotion, provides ultra-light hydration with all of the benefits of a Renewal product.

Is your tween interested in trying a product that helps calm dry, flaky, or uncomfortable-feeling skin? Our Renewal Calming Cream is a great gentle option for both the face and body. For your sensitive tween’s skin, you can be confident that you’re choosing gentle products that don’t include the sensitizers and preservatives found in standard moisturizers.

Protection Starts Early

As we all know, protecting our skin from the sun can never start too early! While tanning oil used to be all the craze, we’re fortunate to live in a time when tweens are more conscious and knowledgeable about sun exposure. Applying Daily Shield Tinted SPF 50 Sunscreen daily will help protect them from both UVA and UVB rays while imparting a natural-looking, healthy glow. Its one shade blends flawlessly, making it ideal for most skin types. Its light, quick-absorbing formula is not only easy to apply but also water-resistant for up to 80 minutes.

When helping your tween build their skincare routine, you’re probably curious about the most important ingredients to avoid as well. Because of a tween’s faster skin cell turnover rate and higher sensitivity, we recommend staying away from harsh actives like retinols, AHAs, benzoyl peroxide, and vitamin C.

You’ve Got This!

“I believe parents are the biggest catalyst,” says Butler. “Keep an eye on what your tween wants to purchase from the drugstore or a cosmetic store, and make sure they’re not buying it because someone on the internet recommended it. If your tween really wants to get into skincare, it is best to seek the advice of a skincare professional.”

Butler’s other major recommendation for helping your tween start a healthy skincare routine is to see an Epionce Pro. “Tweens should start visiting an Epionce Pro either when they start to develop skin conditions, or if they are tempted to want to have a skincare regimen based on what an influencer is recommending,” she says. “The frequency will depend on the skin condition, but usually every four weeks until the situation is under control and then they can move to maintenance.”

And don’t forget, your influence on healthy habits goes beyond skincare! “Other healthy habits include adequate water intake and eating foods that are high in omega 3s, such as nuts, fish, and avocado oil. Antioxidants are great for the skin as well, and [your tween] can get them from certain fruits and vegetables,” reminds Butler. Limit sun exposure, avoid environmental irritants and pollutants, learn to manage stress, and encourage rest.

“We want to applaud the fact that the younger generation wants to care for their skin,” says Pellegrino. “But like anything, we need to set parameters and moderation. It would be amazing if parents read the ingredient list on skincare products like they read food packaging. But decoding the ingredients is HARD! Finding an  [Epionce Pro] that you can trust with your skin will be a game changer.”