Skin Care Tips for Tweens - How to Wash Your Face

Face Washing Tips for Tweens

Tween washing face
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Tweens are kids between the ages of 8 and 12. Though they are still not teenagers, tweens are already different than kids. Tweens are starting to assert their independence from their parents, and what other kids think about them is very important. Since tweens take their looks seriously, this is a great time to start talking to them about skin care. If they start properly taking care of their skin now they can be sure that their skin will look better during their teenage years as well.

Question: How should my tween wash her face?

My daughter is 10 years old. I'm finding the early signs of acne on her face, and I'm so concerned that her acne is starting early and only going to get worse. She only uses water to wash her face, and to be honest, I'm not sure how well she washes it. I don't want to get her skin care products that will be too harsh for her age, but I also want to get her on a good skin care routine even now. What do you recommend?

Answer:

The thing to remember about this age, is that they are responsible for bathing themselves, so you don't really know what your tween is actually doing for their skin when they are bathing or showering. But we still have some great tips and product recommendations that will make it easy on you and your tween to keep their skin clean and healthy. It's important to begin this process with a talk with your tween about how exactly they are washing their face at the moment and explain the right way to wash their face.

Ask your tween about their skin care habits. Are they only using water to wash their face? Or perhaps are they using a bar soap? Are they possibly using your facial cleanser? The last two options can cause havoc with sensitive skin by drying it out. Now once you know what they are doing, you can give advice on what the better option for their skin would be. Be sure to let them know that rinsing their face just with water does not actually clean their skin.

First, your tween doesn't need an acne line since their skin is simply too sensitive for those harsher skin care ingredients at the moment.  Your tween can wash their face with a gentle cleanser as long they do not have any signs of acne. If their skin is started to have small breakouts or blackheads then they can use an anti-acne cleanser once a day or a few times a week to treat their skin and exfoliate their skin.

Your tween should realistically need to only wash once a day in the evening, unless they have been active in after-school sports or other activities where they have become sweaty or visibly dirty. Then they definitely need to wash their face twice a day. If they have very oily skin than they can wash their face in the morning too.

Make sure your tween doesn't use their body lotion or body soap on their face. These often contain ingredients which can cause their gentle face to become red and irritated. And rarely do tweens need to worry about facial moisturizer at all. If you find their skin is extra dry, again, Cetaphil Fragrance Free Daily Facial Moisturizer is very gentle. 

Product Recommendations

Bottom Line

Skin care at this age is really about learning to keep their skin clean. There is no need to go further with extra steps at least for a few more years or if acne is a major concern even at this age. By teaching your tween some basic skin care steps and giving them the responsibility of taking proper care of their skin you start them on the path good skin care habits early which means they will have healthy skin even as teenagers. And maybe one day they'll even thank you for that!

Updated by Hanah Tetro