Teenagers and Makeup: 10 Skincare Tips

During adolescence, teenagers experience many changes. Wearing makeup is one of them. However, there are many skincare tips to protect their skin from possible reactions.
Teenagers and Makeup: 10 Skincare Tips
Maria del Carmen Hernandez

Reviewed and approved by the dermatologist Maria del Carmen Hernandez.

Last update: 22 December, 2021

Adolescence is a time of changes in many aspects. One of these changes occurs in the skin, where hormonal alterations stimulate the sebaceous glands. As a result, teenagers start wearing makeup. In this article, we’ll give you 10 skincare tips that’ll help teenagers take proper care of their skin.

Teenagers and makeup: 10 skincare tips

Even if they wear makeup every day, when teenagers take good care of their skin, they keep it shiny and healthy. Remember that during adolescence, androgen levels are quite high.

As a consequence, the skin suffers from changes that can affect it in a negative way. Next, we’ll tell you what teenagers should do in order to take care of their skin.

Teenagers and Makeup: 10 Skincare Tips

1. Choose hypoallergenic products

When it’s time to choose makeup, you should prioritize hypoallergenic products. These products may prevent your skin from having an allergic reaction.

Since teenagers tend to have oily skin, they shouldn’t use products made with oil or comedogenic ingredients. Because, oily products can cause irritation and acne.

2. Remove makeup at night

At the end of the day, there’s nothing more pleasant for the skin than removing makeup, together with dead skin cells and the accumulated dirt. In  addition, this practice contributes to the prevention of early skin aging.

3. Teenagers and makeup: use micellar water

Micellar water is one of the best allies when it comes to cleaning your skin and removing makeup, at any time of the day. According to the journal JAAD, micellar water is very efficient for hydrating the skin surface, while reducing inflammation and irritation.

4. Apply sunscreen

To take good care of your skin, you should wear sunscreen with a sun protection factor higher than 50. It doesn’t matter whether it’s day or night. It should also protect you against UVA and UVB rays.

Remember that you should apply sunscreen during the morning, before putting makeup on, and after moisturizing. Furthermore, it’s essential that you continue applying it every two hours. 

5. Follow the notion “less is more”

There are many ways to take care of your skin and many products you can use. However, the best thing to do is avoid overloading your skin with long and tedious care routines. Remember that “less is more.”

The simpler the skincare routine is, the easier it’ll be for you to perform it. Therefore, we recommend following three simple steps:

  • Clean.
  • Moisturize.
  • Protect.

Teenagers and makeup: 10 skincare tips

6. Wash your face every morning

It’s important to wash your skin every morning, because this way you get rid of all the dead skin cells from the night. You can also finish removing the makeup you wore the night before.

This stage doesn’t require a lot of products. You just need micellar water or cleansing gel, and your skin will be ready for the following steps.

7. Visit the dermatologist

If teenagers start wearing makeup, and become concerned about the aspect of their skin, they should visit a skin specialist.

They should visit the dermatologist once a year, to examine sunspots and moles. This way, they could try to prevent future complications. Moreover, doctors can recommend proper and hypoallergenic skincare products.

8. Moisturize your skin

Moisturizing your skin is very important for a correct skincare routine. Even makeup and cleansers tend to leave the skin dehydrated, and without its lipid barrier. According to studies published by the magazine Cosmetic Dermatology, when the skin is hydrated, it’s functional and healthy.

9. Exfoliate once a week

During adolescence, teenagers have already been exposed to external factors that can damage their skin. Additionally, makeup is left for too long covering skin pores.

Exfoliating every week is a good idea to clean your skin in depth. Plus, there are different methods you can use, such as diamond-tip microdermabrasion, scrub creams with microgranules and acids with regular concentrations.

Teenagers and Makeup: 10 Skincare Tips

10. Apply lip balm, the last of our skincare tips

People usually forget that skincare includes the lips. In fact, they’re very sensitive, because they don’t count on lipid barrier. Therefore, they’re more vulnerable to external agents.

Lipsticks tend to dry and dehydrate the lips. This is why we recommend lip balms with shea butter, hyaluronic acid or cocoa butter. There are even lip balms with sunscreen protection.

Now that we’ve given y0u 10 skincare tips for makeup use, what are you waiting for to follow our advice? You’ll notice changes soon.


All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


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  • Verdier-Sévrain S, Bonté F. Skin hydration: a review on its molecular mechanisms. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2007 Jun;6(2):75-82. doi: 10.1111/j.1473-2165.2007.00300.x. PMID: 17524122.
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This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.