The Skin-Care Routine You Should Actually Start Now for Back-to-School Season
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A quick scroll on social media may lead you to "back-to-school glow-up" posts involving intricate, multistep beauty routines. While there's nothing wrong with wanting to show up as your best self on the first day of a new school year , you should—as always—try to manage your expectations as they relate to social media.
To hook you in, some posts may promise that you'll "look unrecognizable," and then offer a number of steps and products to get you there. But there's no one-size-fits-all solution to beauty, especially when it comes to skin care.
To help you weed through all the online posts, Teen Vogue sat down with Sejal Shah, MD , a board-certified dermatologist and founder of SmarterSkin Dermatology, to chat regarding all the things you need to know about skin care before going back to school.
"I think that the messaging of those [posts] is not great," Dr. Shah tells Teen Vogue . "It's sort of like, 'Here's a multistep routine. Here are lots of products for you to use so that you're unrecognizable when you go to school.' There's a lot of emphasis on changing appearance…. The other concerning thing," she adds, "is just that psychological impact; that sort of preoccupation with maybe what's an unrealistic beauty standard."
And those long lists of products can be a bit counterintuitive. Trying too many products at once, especially those created for more mature skin, can do the opposite of a glow-up and actually cause skin problems. "There's a lot of active ingredients in a lot of those products that are being recommended, and often young skin just doesn't need those ingredients or those actives," Dr. Shah explains. "And the flip side is that they can have a lot of adverse reactions to these harsher or more intense ingredients. They can get allergic reactions, irritant reactions, so they may end up with rashes and such."
So, to put your best foot forward this back-to-school season , focus instead on building healthy habits that are practical for you. What practices will your busy schedule allow you to maintain all year long? This will probably feel more rewarding than trying a bunch of different things at once and not seeing the same results that get overhyped online. And the best part is, you probably need only three steps and products to create a routine: cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen.
Dr. Shah recommends cleansing twice daily. With teen skin , she points out, "they are going to start having a little more oil production." During a long, busy school day, buildup—like sweat, dirt, and the works—may accumulate on the skin.
After you're done washing up, dry off with a clean towel, and then moisturize . Doing so at night is imperative because, Dr. Shah explains, during sleep, there may be "some moisture loss through the skin." Be sure to use clean pillow cases and bed sheets too. (Looking at you, college freshmen doing their own laundry for the first time!)
Dr. Shah says you should be doing these steps twice a day, so repeat the same cleansing and moisturizing process in the morning—but before you head out for the day, make sure to add sunscreen to top it off. "That's probably the best habit a young person can get into," she notes, "just using sunscreen every day, because we know that sun damage alone can cause so many skin issues down the line, not just skin cancer but also premature aging."
If you want to follow up with makeup, too, you totally can. Just be sure to use clean makeup brushes. And while you're at it, go ahead and wipe down your phone or anything else that touches your face.
In addition to a standard skin-care routine, you may have more specific concerns, such as acne or oily skin. If so, Dr. Shah recommends seeing a dermatologist for personalized treatment options and management plans.
If you're using your last days of summer to get ready and really want to set yourself up for success, begin by consulting your doctor, maintaining your daily routines, and getting into the habit of cleaning your bedding, brushes, and phone regularly. This could also be a good time to stock up on products that are best suited to your skin.
Dr. Shah says a simple skin-care line like CeraVe or La Roche-Posay (which are also TikTok viral , so still fun!) is great for teens and is available at most drugstores. For more sensitive skin, she recommends Vanicream. When gauging whether something is right for you, Dr. Shah says not to worry about producing collagen, cell turnover, or repair because young skin is already doing that on its own; instead, she suggests products containing common ingredients that are going to "support the skin barrier," like ceramides and hyaluronic acid.
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
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