The Parent's Guide to Skin Care: What Teens Really Need

Parents can be supportive while helping their teens keep their skincare routines simple and age appropriate.

Walk down the skincare aisle or scroll through TikTok, and it can seem like teenagers need an entire bathroom cabinet just to have healthy skin. Cleansers, toners, serums, exfoliants, masks, moisturizers, acne treatments—the sheer number of options can feel endless.

And for teens, skin care can be about so much more than treating a breakout. It can be about confidence, self-expression, and figuring out what makes them feel comfortable in their own skin. For parents, though, these products can bring up a different set of concerns: What skincare products does my teen need? Are the ingredients appropriate? Can using too many products irritate their skin?

There isn't one perfect skincare routine for every teenager. But there are some simple principles that can help teens build healthy habits without getting caught up in every new skincare trend the internet comes up with.

In this article, we’ll look at what teen skin actually needs, how puberty can affect the skin, and how parents can be supportive while helping their teens keep their skincare routines simple and age appropriate.

What Parents Can Do to Help

For many teens, skin care is about much more than preventing breakouts. It can be closely tied to confidence and self-image, especially when teenagers are constantly exposed to carefully curated—and sometimes filtered—images online. Acne is extremely common during adolescence, and research has found that it can have meaningful effects on quality of life and self-esteem (1).

That makes the way parents talk about skin care so important.

Instead of making acne or other skin concerns feel like something your teen should be embarrassed about, try approaching skin care as a form of self-care. A teenager can care about their appearance without being made to feel that their natural skin is something that they should be ashamed of.

It's also worth remembering that teen acne isn't necessarily a sign that your teen is doing something wrong. Puberty brings significant hormonal changes, including increased androgen activity that stimulates the skin's oil-producing glands. Increased oil production, clogged pores, inflammation, and changes within the skin all contribute to acne development (1).

In other words, sometimes a teenager can do everything “right” and still get acne.

For more information on managing teen acne: Managing Teen Acne: A Holistic Approach

Help Your Teen Eat a Balanced Diet

Parents and teens may also wonder whether food is contributing to breakouts. The answer is more complicated than “chocolate causes acne” or “eat clean and your skin will clear up.”

Research suggests that diet may influence acne in some people. Higher-glycemic diets have been associated with acne, and some research has found an association between dairy intake and acne. However, the evidence is not strong enough to suggest that every teenager with acne needs to eliminate particular foods (2).

For that reason, it's better to focus on overall nutrition instead of restrictive acne diets. A balanced diet that includes a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, protein sources, and healthy fats supports overall health, including healthy skin.

And perhaps most importantly, teenagers shouldn’t feel guilty about what they eat because of a breakout. A slice of pizza isn't going to cause acne overnight, and eliminating an entire food group isn’t going to be a guaranteed solution. If a teen notices that a particular food consistently seems to worsen their skin, that's something they can discuss with a healthcare professional rather than making a major dietary change on their own.

You might also be interested in these articles:

Help Your Teen Become an Informed Skincare Consumer

Social media has made skincare information incredibly accessible. That's not necessarily a bad thing—teens can learn about sun protection, ingredients, and healthy skincare habits online. But it can also make it difficult to distinguish between evidence-based information and a product that is simply viral at the moment.

Rather than automatically saying no to every product your teen sees online, make skin care something you can explore together.

A few simple habits can help:

Keep expectations realistic. Healthy skin doesn't mean completely poreless or blemish-free skin.
Read the label together. Encourage your teen to understand what they're actually putting on their skin.
Introduce products thoughtfully. Adding several new products at once makes it difficult to know what is helping—or what may be causing irritation.
Encourage consistency over complexity. A simple routine that gets used regularly is more useful than a complicated routine that becomes overwhelming.
Don't chase every trend. A product that works for an influencer, adult, or friend may not be appropriate for your teen.
Know when to ask for help. Persistent, painful, severe, or scarring acne may need treatment beyond a basic skincare routine.

Be Supportive of Your Teen

What a teenager needs most isn't another trendy product—they need a parent who takes their concern seriously without making them feel ashamed of it.

Ultimately, the goal isn't to take away something your teen enjoys. It's to help them develop a healthy relationship with skin care—one that emphasizes caring for their skin rather than constantly trying to change it. And while hormones are a major factor in adolescent acne, skin is also influenced by genetics, environment, lifestyle, and the products being used on it. A thoughtful routine can support healthy skin even when it can't completely prevent hormonal breakouts.

Dr. Ashley’s Take:

I remember being in seventh grade and having what felt like a whole forest of acne across my forehead. I was convinced everyone was looking at it. Eventually, I went to my dad and asked if there was anything I could do. He didn't make me feel embarrassed or tell me it was something I just had to live with—he listened and helped me figure out what might work for me.

He bought me a three-step routine from an infomercial, which I knew he really couldn't afford at the time. It wasn't really about having the perfect skincare routine. It was about my dad taking something that was bothering me seriously and helping me feel like I had some control over it.

That's something I want parents to remember. Your teenager may know that acne is normal, but that doesn't mean it feels normal to them. If their skin is affecting their confidence, listen. Help them find a simple routine that makes sense for them and remind them that their skin doesn't determine their worth.

A teenage girl talks happily with her parents.

Building a Simple Skincare Routine for Your Teen

The good news? A teen skincare routine doesn't have to be complicated—or require a bathroom shelf full of products.

For most teens, the foundation can be built around gentle cleansing, moisturizing, and daily sun protection. These basics help support the skin barrier and keep everyday skincare manageable (1,4). This is also where choosing a thoughtfully formulated skincare line can make things easier for parents.

Our Literally The Cleanest™ skincare line was developed with whole-family use in mind, offering a botanical facial cleanser and face creams formulated for different skin types. Our skincare products are physician formulated and undergo third-party testing.

Morning

1. Cleanse

Start with a gentle cleanser to remove oil and buildup without aggressively scrubbing the skin.

Our Literally The Cleanest™ Botanical Facial Cleanser is formulated for all skin types and contains ingredients such as aloe vera, calendula, coconut oil, and Japanese honeysuckle. The goal isn't to make the skin feel “squeaky clean.” Over-cleansing or scrubbing can leave skin irritated and dry, which is exactly what teens trying to manage breakouts don't need.

Looking for more guidance on choosing cleaner skin care? See 5 Common Toxins in Skincare Products

2. Moisturize

Even oily or acne-prone skin can benefit from moisturizer. Keeping the skin hydrated can help support the skin barrier, particularly when a teen is also using an acne treatment that may cause dryness or irritation (4).

We offer three face creams, including formulas for all skin types, dry skin, and oily skin (5). Our oily skin formula includes ingredients such as aloe vera, calendula, jojoba seed oil, white willow bark, and zinc oxide. This formula supports a clearer-looking complexion.

For a teenager with oily skin, this face cream can provide a way to moisturize without automatically reaching for multiple “clarifying” products.

Don’t know where to start? Check out our guide to facial cream: How to Choose a Facial Cream

3. Protect

Finish the morning routine with a broad-spectrum sunscreen. Daily sun protection is an important habit to establish during the teen years, since cumulative UV exposure contributes to skin cancer risk later in life (4).

A broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher is a practical choice, along with other sun-protective habits such as seeking shade and wearing protective clothing.

Having trouble choosing the right sunscreen? Check out How to Choose a Safe Sunscreen for Your Baby or Child

Evening

1. Cleanse

At night, wash away the day's sunscreen, makeup, sweat, oil, and other buildup with the same gentle cleanser. There is usually no reason for a teenager to have several different cleansers for different parts of the day.

2. Moisturize

Follow cleansing with a moisturizer suited to your teen's skin type.

For dry or easily irritated skin, our Literally The Cleanest™ Hydrating Face Cream contains ingredients such as aloe vera, calendula, jojoba oil, mango seed butter, and vitamin E. For oily skin, our Balancing Face Cream offers a different formulation with ingredients including white willow bark and zinc oxide, while our Nourishing Face Cream contains nourishing ingredients like lavender oil and Japanese honeysuckle for all skin types.

This skin-type approach can help families keep the routine simple without assuming that every teenager's skin needs exactly the same product.

3. Add targeted treatments when needed

This is where it's important to resist the temptation to turn a basic routine into a 10-step regimen.

If a teen has acne or another specific skin concern, a targeted treatment may have a place. But they don't automatically need several exfoliating acids, retinoids, scrubs, masks, and serums simply because those products are trending online.

Parents who want to learn more about the ingredients in personal-care products can also use the EWG Skin Deep Database as one resource. EWG provides information about cosmetic ingredients and products and gives separate ratings for potential hazards and the availability of safety data (6). It can be a useful starting point for learning more about what's in a product, although it shouldn't replace individualized medical advice.

And remember, skincare products aren't expected to stop the hormonal changes that drive much of teen acne. Their role is to support the skin, maintain a healthy barrier, and address specific concerns when appropriate. For persistent, painful, severe, or scarring acne, a healthcare professional or dermatologist can help determine whether additional treatment is needed.

For more information on managing teen acne: Managing Teen Acne: A Holistic Approach

Summary

A good teen skincare routine doesn't need to fill an entire bathroom shelf: Cleanse. Moisturize. Protect. Pay attention to overall nutrition without falling into restrictive “acne diets.” And address specific skin concerns when they actually arise.

For parents looking for a straightforward everyday skincare option, Dr. Green Life's Literally The Cleanest™ skincare line can fit naturally into this approach, with simple cleansing and moisturizing products rather than requiring teens to build an elaborate routine.

Most importantly, don't let skin care become another source of pressure for your teenager. Their skin doesn't have to be perfect to be healthy, and a breakout doesn't mean they've failed at taking care of themselves. A simple, consistent routine—and a parent who listens—can go a long way.