Caring for Your Child’s Skin
Dr. Holly Gunn’s advice on treating your tween and teenager’s skin.
> A teenage boy who hates to wash his face
Acne is not a dirty face disease, it is a hormonal disease. But you still need to wash your face at least once a day to make sure we are not making our acne worse. Any acne wash that has either benzoyl peroxide or Salicylic acid is a good one for acne. Our favorites are the AHA/BHA Gunn Dermatology Cleanser and Skinceuticals Simple Clean. Many times we combine these cleanser with prescriptions to make them work even better.
> Handling whiteheads on a tween
The two most important treatments would be a mild retinol and “not picking”. Yes, not picking is actually a treatment because picking makes acne last much longer. Our favorite retinol for teenagers is Differin, Gunn Dermatology Blemish and Age Tonic, or ISDIN Melatonik.
> How frequently to wash your face
Over-washing the face can make acne worse. We recommend washing the face once daily and using a gentle toner twice daily like ISDIN Micellar Water or Thayers Facial Toner with Witch Hazel.
> When to have a mole checked out
Any mole has the possibility of being cancerous even though most are not. Dr. Gunn uses the ugly duckling sign, and any rapid growth to find skin cancers early and save lives. Most melanomas look strange compared to other moles on the body. They grow quickly and you can see a difference in their size from one month to the next. Any odd moles deserve to be looked at by a board certified dermatologist. Most of the time we will use a photo to monitor them.
