Acne. If you’ve ever had it
you know just how much it can make your life miserable and how it can come to
you at any stage in life. In fact,
adult acne is one of the fastest growing skin complaints, plus there’s Acne
Rosacea, a treat awaiting some women during the menopause as well and Bacne,
acne across the shoulders and back. Acne is a
combination of surface pores getting clogged and hormones. Every pore releases oil onto the
skin to keep it soft, but if it becomes clogged by dirt then bacteria builds up
into an outbreak.
Statistics say that 3 out of 4 teenagers have acne but even babies can
get it. Triggers include hormones,
certain drugs, pollution,
humidity, sweating, greasy personal care products and sugar, but
interestingly high fat diets are not necessarily the cause.
I went to meet Anna of Mobile Beauty Therapy by Anna to review her teenage facial.
Teenage skin is notoriously
tricky. It veers from unscathed to
full blown acne, a combination of hormones, lifestyle and environment. A famous actor – with perfect skin –
usually gives teenagers TV advice about skincare but actually, the best
guidance is probably from a beauty professional.
I love mobile therapists for
several reasons: they are really
good value for money, they’re pretty good or their business wouldn’t survive
and they come to you, which is brilliant.
Mobile Beauty By Anna has been established for 5 years and Anna has a
great client base covering Horsham and surrounding areas. Her passion is facials and so I asked
her to come and give my 16-year-old son both a facial and a lesson in skin
care, as he won’t listen to his mum!
Anna started by relaxing my son
who had no idea what to expect.
After giving his skin the once over, she gave her diagnosis of what he
was doing well while chatting about his skin concerns. Anna has a brilliant manner with
teenagers and lets them talk in their own time so that she can make a correct
assessment on how she can help.
As the cleansing, toning and
exfoliating got underway we discussed teenage skin in depth and it’s clear that
Anna knows what she’s talking about.
We chatted about how acne needs to be really carefully handled and how
she doesn’t give acne sufferers facial massages, as this would be too painful
for them. Likewise, she uses
gentle products that don’t strip the skin saying that this is the biggest
mistake teenagers make. Oily skin
problems need to be cleansed, but if you strip the oils out with harsh products
the skin goes into overdrive to produce more oil, compounding the problem.
Anna used a skin care tool to
extract a few blackheads and we discuss day-to-day challenges for
teenagers. For girls, Anna thinks
it’s taking make up off at night so that the skin is really clean. For boys, it’s keeping hair products
off the face (as these can cause spots) and washing their faces after
sport. Apparently, the sweat does
several bad things to skin including helping dirt physically stick to the face,
the salt in swear aggravates skin irritations and sweat blocks pores, none of
which helps keep skin clear.
She finishes with one of her
favourite products for teenage skin, Hit The Spot by Dermalogica, a sulphur
based cream that helps clear breakouts while reducing redness and
inflammation.
Once Anna’s left I ask my son
what he thought of the experience.
Clearly he won’t talk about it with his friends – not cool – but he does
volunteer, “Anna’s nice. That was
better than I thought”. In teenage
speak, that’s a result.
TOP TIPS FOR
ACNE SUFFERERS
Anna shared her top tips:
- · Teenagers – watch shirt collars on school uniforms as the rubbing around the neck can create acne
- · Antibiotics – consider seeing your doctor as antibiotics and creams help shift stubborn acne
- · Don’t put your fingers in pots of face cream at any age – you just transfer finger dirt into the cream to be rubbed into your face. Use a spatula
- · The menstrual cycle can create spots on the chin – try reflexology to help move this pressure.
- · If you have bad acne try a pressure point massage that doesn’t pull the skin but will help release blockages
- · Diet, water & cleanliness can help but true acne is a law until itself.
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