The teenage years are marked with fun and frolic. Teenagers have an immensely active lifestyle juggling between school, socializing with friends, sports and so on. However, this is time when the hormones are highly active as well and any undue fluctuations in the regular hormonal levels may result in acne, breakouts and other skin problems. Fortunately, all you need to do is follow an effective skin care routine and you can enjoy your teenage years without any worry.

Just a simple skin care routine and good skin care habits can make a world of difference to your teenage skin. Here are the steps you need to follow:

Cleansing

This is the most important step of any skin care regimen. Use a gentle foamy gel cleanser to clean your face. Try getting one with salicylic acid if you are prone to acne and breakouts. Slather the cleanser on and wash your face and neck for about a minute. Even though it is a simple step, it can be ineffective if you don’t do it properly. Cleansing your skin ensures that all your skin pores are clean and free of all toxins. Also, make sure you wash off any make-up that you wear at night otherwise it would clog the skin pores and lead to acne and breakouts.

Exfoliation

Exfoliating is very important for teenage skin. It helps to clear out the follicles thus preventing them from getting clogged. In fact, it also helps to improve the overall skin tone. Teenage skin is comparatively sensitive, so make sure you don’t scrub too hard, especially if you are prone to breakouts. This is because the exfoliating beads can spread the bacteria over the skin and aggravate the problems. You can use a mild exfoliating lotion like Obagi Nu Derm Exfoderm Forte that contains alpha hydroxy acids or Obagi Nu Derm Exfoderm with phytic acid for less oily skin.

Moisturizing

Teenagers often tend to overlook moisturizing without realizing how important it is for your skin. A major concern is moisturizers make the skin appear more oily and promote acne. However, you only need to find the perfect moisturizer and you can be free of all worries. Try using water based moisturizers that are free of SD alcohol. This would hydrate your skin subtly without making it too oily.

It is very important to keep your skin healthy and glowing. So in order to keep your skin supple, especially during those hot sunny days; you need to stay away from the sunlight, as sun’s radiations brings in two kinds of radiations; the ultra violet(UV) and the infra red(IR) radiations, too much of exposure to these rays can cause your skin to tan or burn. Basically the UV radiations are the one which causes wrinkle to your skin and it is also believed that they can cause skin cancer. How to protect your skin from these harmful radiations of the sun?

You can use sunscreen creams or lotions that carry the ‘Sun Protecting Factor Rating System” also called as SPF. This protecting agent was introduced into sunscreens lotions or creams in 1978 to prevent sun burns. If you expose your skin to the sun for 10 minutes without the sunscreen protection, you’re skin will turn pink, but if you are using a sun screen protection, it will take 20 minutes. This also depends upon the type of skin being exposed. If your skin is fairer, then your skin will be affected sooner and darker the skin, the melanin pigment acts as a natural blocker, and provides you a better protection from the sun.

The SPF numbers actually indicates the percentage of UV rays the cream or lotion blocks. For instance, a product with SPF 2, block about fifty percent of the sun’s rays. Products with SPF 15 can block about ninety three percent of the radiations. Products with SPF 30 can block nearly ninety seven percent of the radiations. Hence the more SPFs, the more protection you get. But you need to keep in mind that, no sunscreen creams or lotions can give you hundred percent protection from the harmful UV radiations, so always be under a shade and also wear a cap and shades.