If you are a parent of a tween, more than likely you have been asked the “mom can I wear makeup?” question. You probably also noticed some of your makeup has gone missing or there are little finger prints in your palettes that you know aren’t from you. It becomes a coming of age battle between you and your child. You have lived it at her age when you yourself wanted to express yourself and wear shimmery white eyeshadow, because it was soooo cool. I recently was there with my daughter and eventually I decided it was a battle not worth having. Instead I created boundaries of what she was allowed to wear to school and stressed the importance of less is more. We allowed her to buy her choice of palettes with her allowance and she sat at her vanity trying out all these new looks. To be honest, these kids know more about makeup than any of us did at that age. Thanks to MUAs on YouTube my tween knows how to properly contour, the importance of blending out everything and is absolutely fearless when it comes to creating new looks.
With this age also comes breakouts, which she found out this week as her cheek erupted and was obviously irritated. I realized that while I let her start using makeup, I failed at helping her develop a skincare routine to keep those breakouts at bay. “Did you wash your brushes? What about your makeup remover towel?”, I asked her, and her answer was the obvious “I don’t know”. The argument over bringing down all the dirty clothes happens on a weekly basis so I cannot expect her to be cleaning her brushes too. She also knows that last time she cleaned them was probably months ago, but mom isn’t allowed to be right much less more knowledgeable than her favorite YouTube stars. But perhaps if mom acts as a ghostwriter and offers up this knowledge it will be received differently, and hopefully it will help any of your tweens as well.
Remove Makeup
I have always stressed the importance of removing makeup, but there are times I know she has gone to bed with it still on, despite showering. Cleansers usually aren’t enough to move some of the water resistant makeup products on the market. For those hard to remove makeup like mascara and lipstick we opt for a micellar water. It gently lifts makeup off while cleansing and calms irritated skin, without pulling or rubbing to remove it. It’s also great for some of those really adventurous makeup applications including halloween makeup. She also uses the Face Off Junior Cleansing Cloth which does a great job of removing makeup just by using water.
Cleanse
Remind them to wash their face morning and night with a gentle cleanser. Their young skin is highly sensitive and prone to breakouts so opt for a gentle cleanser. Topix Non-Drying Gentle Cleansing Lotion, it is non-comedogenic and formulated for sensitive skin and will help keep breakouts away.
Treat
When they come to you with their breakout trauma, yes it is traumatic at that age, remind them it will eventually go away with time and proper hygiene. Touching it adds more bacteria and can irritate it even further. And definitely do not pick! Acne scars aren’t fun to have to cover with makeup and can last years, if not a lifetime. Choose one of the many spot treatments to help speed up the process or have a breakout and make it cool with The Creme Shop Cotton Candy Skin Hydrocolloid Acne Patches. These adorable patches go over the blemish and suck out all the bad stuff helping it clear and heal faster. They come in a variety of cute shapes that conceal your blemish and look cute.
Beauty Tool Hygiene
This is a reminder you will have to give as often as you do dirty laundry and brushing their teeth. Cleaning their makeup brushes and reusable cleansing cloths needs to happen often, especially given how often to play with different looks. Throw the cleansing cloths in the laundry every week and aim for cleaning brushes at least once a month. One a week is optimal but I feel unrealistic at that age. To clean brushes use a jar or glass will a few drops of your cleanser and warm water. Let them soak for 10 minutes and you’ll come back to a glass full of gunk, the same gunk they have been putting right back on their face. Remove them and run them under lukewarm water until all the makeup is removes and gently fluff the bristles and shape them to their original state. I lay them on a paper towel to air dry and fluff again after they have dried. Also stress that they shouldn’t share their brushes with friends when they are hanging out doing different looks. I know it’s really fun to play MUA but spreading bacteria from one person to the next will only result in irritated skin.
I hope this helps your tween and mine develop a healthy skincare routine and we hear less world-ending stories about the pimple so big they think it qualifies for a sick day from school. “OMG! How can I be seen in public?!”. It’s never too early to start taking care of your skin. For more skincare advice, tips and product reviews follow us on Instagram.