Sarah's Health Notes: Essential info for tween/teen skin
Every morning I see the mini-crater above my upper lip where my mother took a needle to dig out a blackhead. And I remember my younger brother (who was pre the zit stage at that point) affectionately calling me ‘Spotty Muldoon’. It wasn't just my face that was beset by pustules and blackheads but also my chest and back – and it went on for years.
Now, I long to rewind time so we could have had the benefit of advice and information from skin expert Charlotte-Anne Fidler, founder of Spots & Stripes. Obviously I can’t do that so I'm passing on the info to all of you with young people around – whether you’re a parent, grandparent or auntie, or have a friend with a teen who’s refusing to go out ‘because it’s all too awful’ (I’m about to send this on to them).
Charlotte-Anne, a beauty editor colleague for many years, started Spots & Stripes when her two daughters, Anouk and Bo, began to experience all the ‘rubbish’, as she puts it. There are excellent, good value, earth-friendly products especially formulated for the particular needs of teen/tween skin – which really is a category on its own - plus lots of helpful information about the concerns that age group experiences.
The latest addition is a Letter to Teen/Tween, written by Charlotte-Anne as an in-depth but easy-read guide to answer the many questions Spots & Stripes gets asked about breakouts, blackheads and congestion and what to do about them. Click here to sign up and download.
Charlotte-Anne gives clear explanations about how skin is affected by hormones, skin oil and bacteria with food and stress as major exacerbators. And explains why skincare full of synthetic chemicals can act to disrupt hormones even more than they’re disrupted already - real double trouble. After the Why’s come the What to do’s, including exercise, sleep, food, as well as breathing deeply, meditating and spending time with people who make you happy. Plus there’s a simple spot-reducing skincare routine.
Much too late for me, but hopefully the Spotty Muldoons of today won’t have to suffer in the same way as my friends and I did. (And my brother did get covered with zits later on. Hah!)
And don’t miss the prize draw with Spots & Stripes, still open if you click here!
