This week Bella Santé features a guest teen blogger who writes about her experience caring for teen skin.

By Alexa Amorosino

Being a teenager is tough enough without suffering from blotchy breakout ridden skin. My skin and the way it looks is important to me. I want my skin to be healthy, hydrated and clean as often as possible. Healthy skin makes me feel confident and pretty. Which is clearly a prerequisite for Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media apps.

The biggest problem I face with my skin is breakouts. Most of my teen friends also face this common issue. There are many ways to prevent them. I am going to show you how.

TEEN TIP 1: CLEAN YOUR FACE AFTER PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

I honesty cannot even emphasis this enough. When you play sports, your face gets dirty and sweaty. Leaving this debris on your face will clog your pores and cause breakouts. Personally, I don’t really have time to wash my face after basketball practice because of my homework. I like to use Phytomer’s Rose Toner. You can use any toner that balances your PH. I keep it in a spray bottle in my sports bag. Right when I get out of practice, I spray my face. This will keep your skin clean and even out your skin tone. I highly recommend this product for athletes.

TEEN TIP 2: TAKE YOUR MAKEUP OFF

Makeup works the same way as sweat, it clogs your pores. If you have sensitive skin, it may make you breakout in a rash. My most important tip is to make sure you take off ALL of your eye makeup. Leaving mascara or eyeliner on over night can damage your lashes and irritate your eyes. Also, if you use concealer to cover up pimples take it off ASAP. Although concealer covers up breakouts, it can make them a lot worse! So as soon as you get home, wash your face and use a gentle cleanser. I recommend CosMedix Benefit Clean. It takes off your makeup while also being delicate with your skin and preventing breakouts.

TEEN TIP 3: WASH YOUR FACE TWICE A DAY

I know that washing your face is kind of annoying, if you are lazy like me, but it is REALLY important. I use a Clarisonic Smart Profile on my face, but any face brush works. It is an electric brush that scrubs your face and preforms much better than using your hands or a cloth. The bristles clean deep into your pores and prevent pimples. Because adolescent skin regenerates so quickly, you only need to use the Clarisonic three times per week max. Although this item is a little pricey, it is TOTALLY worth it. I could not live without my Clarisonic. I pair it with Phytomer’s Accept as a cleanser. This is gentle and helps give my skin a healthy glow.

TEEN TIP 4: HYDRATE & EAT WELL

You will not believe how much of an effect your diet has on your skin. Drinking more water can really make a difference. Recently, I did an experiment where I drank almost a gallon of water each day. The results were remarkable. My skin looked healthier than ever and felt SO soft! Also, maintaining a healthy diet is crucial. Make sure to include lots of fruits and veggies into your everyday meals and keep a balanced diet. The best eating habit advice I can give to teens is to cut down on sugar. I know it can be hard but it isn’t good for you and affects your skin in many negative ways.

My most essential piece of advice for skin is to be beautiful on the inside and it will show through to the outside!

All of these tips are critical when trying to prevent breakouts and benefit from healthy bright skin. These tips work great for me and will hopefully work well for you, too.