Dr. Tina Alster: Hi, I am Dr. Tina Alster with the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery. Today we are going to talk about why it is important for teenagers to develop good healthy skin care habits. Since most children don't practice good skin care, most teenagers also don't practice good skin care until they have a problem such as acne. Because teenage skin is oily, meaning that the oily glands produce too much sebum or oil. It is important to remove the oil from teenage skin. However, it is better to do it more gently and not over dry the skin. Many of the teenage acne products on the market contain too many harsh chemicals like salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide which can lead to further problems. I advice my teenage patients instead to clean their skin with a sonicare brush, a good gel cleanser but not scrub the skin or apply excessive harsh chemicals, instead it is better to apply sunscreen daily so that the skin stays healthy and protective from the sun. Since 80% of a persons life time sun exposure is obtained by the age of 18. It is very important to start protecting the skin early on and the teenage years are a perfect way to get started with this. In addition to wearing daily sunscreen, it is important to tell teens how dangerous indoor tanning is, as indoor tanning is not save tanning, but it adds to the overall risk of skin cancer by the time the teen turns into an adult. It is important that we teach teen to develop a good skin care regimen early including the regular use of sunscreen, so that they will have good skincare habits throughout their life and prevent them from developing skin cancer.

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