I discussed in a previous post how adult acne and teenage acne are not two different things but there is one big difference between struggling with acne as an adult vs as a teenager: parents are largely still involved in how a teen processes and copes with their acne struggle.  Living with acne is hard no matter what but as the primary manager of a teen’s life, you have the power to mitigate or worsen their experience. Here are some tips to help you support your teen improve their condition inside and out.

Wash their clothes, sheets, pillowcases, and towels with acne-friendly detergent
Using detergent containing pore-clogging ingredients, fabric softener or dryer sheets can trigger breakouts.  When your teen puts their shirt over their face or sleeps on their pillowcase for 8 hours a night or uses a towel to wipe their face after the shower, you want to make sure that none of those things have pore-clogging residue on them when they make contact with their skin.  You can find some acne-friendly laundry recommendations on this Pinterest board.

Help them stick to an acne-friendly diet
Sticking to an acne-friendly diet is hard for adults but even harder for teens.  School, extracurricular activities, camp, travel, and friends’ houses are all places where their only food option might contain dairy, soy, and foods high in iodine and androgen. Try to make it easier for them by sending them with acne-friendly options or requesting an acne-friendly option (usually closest to vegan options) from their school or airline ahead of time.

Help them avoid acne triggers when they travel
When your teen goes off to summer camp or to their friends house for a sleepover, make sure they pack their product kit containing their skincare products and their toiletries (hair products, toothpaste, lip balm, etc).  Just a few days without using the products that are helping keep the follicles clear can allow seeds to form that don’t show up as visible acne on the skin for months. And using a comedogenic toothpaste just one time for one second can plant seeds in the skin that contribute to a breakout.  Also, make sure they pack a pillowcase and towel that is acne-friendly.  

Do not tell them “it’s not that bad”
The intention behind telling someone that a condition they are struggling with is “not that bad” is good. The impact though is usually not so good.  Your teen does not need you to minimize their experience and even if their acne is mild, it probably still affects their self-esteem, social life, and dating life.  So even if their condition doesn’t seem that bad on the outside, try to empathize with their internal experience and provide emotional support by validating their experience instead.  Rather than saying, “It’s not that bad, you look great and nobody notices those tiny pimples,” you can say something like, “I am so sorry you are struggling right now. It breaks my heart to see you feel so much pain and we are going to get through this together”.

Get them professional help if possible
Struggling with acne on top of navigating the challenging experiences that come from just being a teen in today’s world is really really hard.  And sometimes we just don’t want to talk to our parents. So if it’s possible and resources allow, finding a therapist that your teen enjoys seeing can be helpful.  The key here is making sure that you take the time to find someone they like and WANT to see every week. If they dread going to their therapist, it doesn’t mean that therapy isn’t working- it means that you need to look for someone else. I have a post about how to find a good therapist and a list of some great local therapists that might be a good start.

Give them space and don’t push your hopes for their skin on them
I have had parents bring their teens into our clinic and it’s clear that the teen doesn’t have the motivation or the discipline needed to get clear.  Getting clear takes a lot of work and time and acne usually appears worse before it gets better so if a teen doesn’t truly want it or they do want it but they do not have the discipline required, you have to be okay with that.  If a teenager is not sticking to the program, don’t scold or shame them. You can offer gentle reminders of what they should be doing if it’s helpful but if it just annoys them then let it go. They are not ready right now and if it’s not important enough to them at that moment then it shouldn’t matter anyways.  If you find that you are having trouble letting things go and leaving them alone, reflect upon why you want them to get clear more than they do and try to align yourself more with what is important to them.

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