Does puberty make skin oily? What skin care should a tween use? How do I know what my teen’s skin type is?
Get the answers to your teen’s puberty skin care problems as we reveal how to help your teen prepare for puberty skin changes and support them with a natural approach to teenage skin care.
Puberty skin changes
Has your tween started asking about skin care or are they getting their first spots on their face as they approach puberty?
In the UK, teens and pre-teens can start puberty at any time from the age of 8. Changes in their skin soon follow. Caused by hormone changes, these puberty skin changes are all a sign that your tween is growing up, and it's entirely normal for pubescent teens and tweens to experience:
- Body odour
- Oily skin
- Greasy hair
- Acne and spots
These pubescent teen skin changes are also a sign that now is the time to help your teen build a gentle but effective puberty skin care routine.
What skin type does your teen have?
Are you looking for puberty skin care but not sure where to start? The best place to begin is by knowing your teen’s skin type.
It's easy to think that all teens have oily and spot-prone skin during puberty, but this shouldn’t be assumed. Teens can also be prone to eczema and may have dry, sensitive or combination skin.
If your teen’s skin is spot-prone or easily irritated, a gentle, skin-friendly skin care routine that has been developed especially for teen skin, such as our dermatologically tested Organic Young range, is the way to go.
Here’s an easy way to tell what your teen’s skin type is
STEP 1: Cleanse
Give your teen a mild cleanser and ask them to wash their face.
STEP 2: Assess
Ask your teen to describe how their skin feels after cleansing.
- If their teen skin feels tight after cleansing, then their skin type is dry
- If their teen skin looks shiny after cleansing, then their skin type is oily
- If their teen skin looks flushed or irritated after gentle skin cleansing, your teen’s skin is sensitive and may not tolerate some skin care ingredients such as drying alcohol or harsh foaming agents.
Already know your teen's skin type? Take our teen skin care quiz together and find their perfect routine.
Puberty skin care essentials
Now that you know your teen’s skin type and care needs, build a puberty skin care routine with us.
Our natural and organic teenage skin care range, Organic Young, helps to support teen confidence with products that are suitable for their skin.
Our products are certified organic, natural, vegan, cruelty-free and kind to sensitive skin – so you can shop with confidence knowing that it will tick all their boxes.
Best face wash for puberty
A facial wash or cleanser is something that every pubescent teen should own, and we’re happy to introduce you to Oy Clear Skin Foaming Face Wash – a super gentle face wash for puberty.
Unlike plastic face wipes (often made using skin-drying alcohol), our foaming face wash won’t smear oil and bacteria around the skin. Instead, the gentle foam draws dirt out of pores, leaving teen skin deeply cleansed so that it is less appealing to acne bacteria.
Some face washes for puberty use the foaming agent sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), which can dry and irritate sensitive teen skin, but you don’t need to worry about that!
As experts in sensitive skin, we don’t use harsh foaming agents to make our teen face wash foam.
In fact, we don’t use any foaming agents at all! Instead, a specially designed pump whips the spot-fighting ingredients into a non-irritating face wash perfect for young people going through puberty. It’s even been dermatologically tested and clinically proven to be kind to sensitive skin.
Oy Clear Skin Foaming Face Wash 100ml
Deep cleanse pores with this certified organic face wash for teens
£16.00
Here’re some of the spot-zapping ingredients that help to make Organic Young Clear Skin Foaming Face Wash a great choice as a first face wash for puberty.
- Black Willow Bark is a natural alternative to salicylic acid. Suitable for teens, it soothes inflammation and helps to control sebum (oil) levels.
- Tea Tree Extract is antibacterial and a great natural way to control teen acne bacteria.
- Witch Hazel combats oiliness and helps to prevent teenage blemishes.
- Green Tea is rich in antioxidants and help to prevent blackheads.
“Really gentle perfect for my pre-teen just what I was looking for.” Lauren
Best moisturiser for puberty
Another puberty skin care essential is a non-pore clogging moisturiser. When choosing a moisturiser for teens, avoid alcohol, as it can dehydrate the skin, triggering it to produce more acne-attracting oil. That’s one reason why we make our Organic Young Clear Skin Moisturiser without skin-drying alcohol.
Powered by Prebiotics, this must-have teenage moisturiser knows just what to do to keep young microbiomes in balance.
There's no skin-drying alcohol here. No harsh retinols either. Instead, Aloe Vera and Shea Butter leave skin soft and hydrated, while Black Willow Bark Extract provides all the spot-fighting benefits of salicylic acid whilst being oh-so gentle on sensitive skin.
Did we mention that its rich in rejuvenating Rosehip too? Perfect to help reduce the chances of spots scarring.
Soothe, clear and balance with this natural teenage moisturiser
£14.00
Oy Clear Skin Cleansing Moisturiser 50ml
“My 13 year old daughter loves this product, so moisturising and perfect for her sensitive, teenager skin!” Rachel T
Best deodorant for puberty
If your tween or tween is starting to develop body odour, you’ll want a deodorant for puberty that neutralises BO while also being kind to their young skin. Here’s where we come in.
Our Organic Young deodorant for teens won’t block their pores like antiperspirants but it will stop pongy body odours from becoming airborne. How? Well, it’s all down to 3 hero ingredients:
Prebiotics promote the growth of beneficial, protective bacteria and restrict BO bacteriaZinc Ricinoleate absorbs BO molecules like a sponge and ‘locks’ them in, so they can’t be smelled.
Potassium Alum prevents bacteria that cause BO from multiplying without blocking pores
Here are a few more reasons why we think Organic Young Deodorant is the best first deodorant for puberty:
- Natural and organic
- Unisex citrus aroma
- Gentle on sensitive skin
- No alcohol or artificial perfume
- No pore-clogging aluminium
Oy Deodorant 75ml
Stay fresh with this certified organic roll-on deodorant for teens
£13.00
“Lovely smelling and organic, chemical-free deodorant for young folk. My son is 9, and he began to need a product for his underarms. He loves this, his first ever deodorant. Smells of oranges and has a nice creamy soft texture that is comfortable to wear. No sticky residues. Perfect, will buy again.” Katherine
Discover a ready-made natural puberty skin care routine
We have created a special set that is tailormade for teenagers and tweens who need a spot of help with establishing a puberty skin care routine.
Organic Young Clear Skin Goals Gift Set contains a simple 3-step routine of certified organic face wash, spot serum and moisturiser to help them keep their skin clean, fresh and balanced.
Oy Clear Skin Goals Gift Set
Best-selling natural skin care gift set for teenagers and tweens
Regular price
£44.00
£42.00
See the full Organic Young range now.
Beauty ingredients that are not for teens
Is your teen pestering you for a Hyaluronic Acid serum or reaching for your Retinol? TikTok tempts teens with all kinds of skin care treats, but that doesn’t mean that they are age-appropriate
Before exploring the products and ingredients teens need in their routine, let’s quickly review the beauty ingredients that can wait until they are older.
Hyaluronic Acid for teens: Teens do not need Hyaluronic Acid. Their young skin naturally produces plenty of this. You only need more of it from your twenties onward as your natural supplies decline with age.
Retinols: Great for boosting collagen, retinols are far too potent for teens and can also be left for later.
And you can forget about anti-ageing activities for teens. No teen should be worrying about wrinkles. At this age, all they need to protect their skin against ageing in later life is to apply a good SPF as the final step of their skin care routine. Discover our favourite sunscreens for teen skin.
Is your preteen lucky enough to be blemish-free? Keep their skin care simple, sticking to water and SPF until they are slightly older.
Our UK customer care team is available to help with any questions you may have about the best puberty skin care products for your teen, and can be contacted on 01403 740350.
This blog post has been reviewed by Charlotte Vøhtz, founder of Green People, who has 25+ years of experience in the natural and organic beauty industry. A recognised leader in the field of organic beauty, Charlotte helped inform the UK's first organic beauty standards and was voted the People’s Choice in the 2023 list of Who’s Who in Natural Beauty. A published author, she wrote the organic beauty bible ‘Naturally Gorgeous’. Previously, she qualified as a nurse and spent over 10 years working in pharmaceuticals
If you wish to republish this content, please credit Green People as the original creator with a link to "The parents’ guide to puberty skin care". Please do not use an affiliate link.
