Oh, the teenage years - a time of awkwardness, self—discovery, pimples and acne, and questionable skincare choices. Having survived those tumultuous years, now is the time to look back and reminisce at some of the skincare regrets from that time. (Homemade egg white face mask anyone? Ugh, why?!) So, let's dive into the cringe-worthy world of teenage skincare and have a laugh at what we did, or didn’t do to our teenage skin!
Overuse of Acne Products
Convinced that the only way to combat pesky pimples was to use every acne product under the sun. Thickly layered benzoyl peroxide creams, salicylic acid toners that smelt like pure alcohol, and sulphur treatments, thinking that more (and more) was better. Spoiler alert: it wasn't. Skin was left ridiculously squeaky clean, stripped of moisture, dry, flaky, and even more irritated than before!
Skipping Sunscreen
Ah, to be young and foolish, thinking we were all invincible to the sun's harmful rays. Fragile teen skin that spent hours outside without any sunscreen, resulting in a not-so-cute case of sunburn. It looked so fresh, smooth and glowy back then, right?
DIY Face Masks
Budget-friendly skincare meant homemade, certainly not snail secretion infused cotton sheet masks from Korea! Convinced we could make face masks that would give instant flawless results - glowing skin with one application. Let's just say that mixing honey, yogurt, and avocado may have made a tasty snack, but did very little for improving skin tone and texture.
Picking at Pimples
Oh, the satisfying feeling of popping a pimple. Many of us were guilty teens obsessed with picking at pimples as soon as they arose, resulting in scars and of course, even more breakouts.
Ignoring the Importance of Moisturiser
Once upon a time, moisturiser was only for people with dry skin, or something used by your Grandma (Note the Ponds Crème or Oil of Olay!). Little did we realise, our teen skin was overcompensating for the lack of moisture, resulting in even more oiliness and breakouts.
Overplucking Eyebrows
Who hasn’t overplucked their eyebrows during their teen years? Now we can all attest to the frustration that comes with sparse and patchy brows. There is no doubt, that could we go back in time, we would be telling our younger selves to put down the tweezers and embrace their natural shape. Thank goodness current trends for brows tend towards fuller styles and minimal tweezing!
So, there you have it - embarrassing skincare regrets from teenage years. But hey, at least we can look back and laugh now, and hopefully, others can learn from our beauty mistakes. Remember, taking care of your skin doesn't have to be complicated, and it's never too late to start a healthy skincare routine.