I have noticed that the majority of teens are self-conscious of their skin and are uncomfortable talking about it, which is why this column’s main purpose is to raise awareness and to offer some advice for major skin conditions that students deal with. Many of my recommendations draw from my own personal journey with my skin.
The first issue that I want to bring up is acne. At Lexington High School, there are a lot of students dealing with acne; as teens start developing different hormones, breakouts can occur that range in severity. There are many factors that may cause acne, but choosing the right skincare routine can make a big difference. Rather than going to the store and picking random products, try finding your skin type and area of concern first.
When I was first dealing with acne, I just went with my mom to the store and picked out arbitrary products, hoping they would make my skin better. I didn’t even know if I had oily, dry, or combination skin.
Knowing your skin type matters because some ingredients in products can clog pores and worsen acne. When you know your skin type, it will be easier to find more effective products for your skin. For example, picking out a random cleanser and moisturizer actually irritated my skin instead of improving it. Because it wasn’t meant for my skin type, the products would just cause me more breakouts.
The more acne that came led me to start picking at my skin—a very bad habit! I learned that I need to understand my skin type before buying all these products and to be patient with my skin instead of just picking at each and every blemish.
To find out what skin type you have, I would recommend that you wash your face with a very gentle facewash, wait a bit and dab an oil-sheet paper to see how much oil you have collected. If you don’t have much, you probably have dry skin; if you have a lot of oil on the paper, then you have oily skin; and if you don’t have too much oil but not a small amount either, you might have combination skin. Also, before trying to find the right cleanser for you, you need to do research on the product you want to buy! Use Google or TikTok, but make sure to take advice on social media with caution!
The most important thing: there will be lots of trial and error because acne just doesn’t disappear overnight, even when you start using the right cleanser. There might be other factors that influence your skin, like your diet, sleep schedule, or how much exercise you get. Be patient with your skin and kind to yourself when you are trying to help reduce your acne.
Another issue that students face is being exposed to sunlight for several hours. At LHS, there are a lot of student athletes in particular who deal with this. When doing outdoor activities for prolonged periods of time without wearing sunscreen, you can negatively affect your skin by possibly burning it or causing wrinkles in the future.
When I was in sixth grade, playing field hockey at summer camp, I made the mistake of not wearing sunscreen. After practice was over, I was badly burnt from all that time in the sun, and learned how important sunscreen really is at helping to prevent any sort of skin cancer that high school students may not be susceptible to now, but prone to in the future.
I recommend that before walking outside, you put on a layer of sunscreen to ensure complete protection from the sun. We often don’t realize that we need sunscreen when we are walking to class, hanging out in the Quad during lunch, or waiting for the bus.
Your skin journey is unique and different from everyone else’s, so have patience with your skin and be brave to understand what you are going through.
