Acne solutions for tweens & teens

Dermatologist Karyn Grossman, MD, shares advice for parents on the best ways to treat your teenager's acne, including the most effective treatment products, and what other products that can help prevent acne
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Acne solutions for tweens & teens

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Acne is a very common problem for both tweens and teens, but there are a lot of things you can do at home to really help your child. First and most important, please encourage your child not to pick. Picking causes scars. And you don't want your child to have permanent scars. So remove all magnifying mirrors from within their reach, because this is something that when kids get their hands on causes them to pick more. There are a lot of great products available over the counter in the drugstore. You want to look for products that contain either benzoil peroxide or salicylic acid because both of those are effective in fighting acne. However, you need to involve your teenager in the choice of these products, because they all have different textures and different smells and different fragrances. And if they don't like it, they're not going to use it. I typically recommend that you start with a cleanser and a lotion. Either one contains salicylic acid and the other contains benzoil peroxide, because if you use both you'll get better results. Please also make sure that your teen is using a sunscreen when you're doing this because either one of these products makes them more sensitive to the sun. But if your child is getting scars, deep cysts, or has a lot of red inflammatory lesions, they really need to see a dermatologist to change the function of their skin. The other little piece of advice that I have to offer is don't give your children drying lotions. That forms a little scab on the top of the skin that encourages them to pick it off. Instead, give them a tube of 1% hydrocortisone. The 1% hydrocortisone attacks the inflammation that's in the acne, and that's the root of the problem.

Dermatologist Karyn Grossman, MD, shares advice for parents on the best ways to treat your teenager's acne, including the most effective treatment products, and what other products that can help prevent acne

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Karyn Grossman, MD

Dermatologist

Karyn Grossman, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist specializing in cosmetic dermatology in Santa Monica, CA and New York City. Her offices are "home" to thousands of elite patients with the highest of standards. Dr. Grossman attended a highly competitive, accelerated six-year premedical and medical program at Boston University and completed her residency and fellowship at Harvard University. Dr. Grossman has been featured in many broadcast and print media outlets to provide consumers expert information on cosmetic procedures, skin care and sun protection. Some television appearances include The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The View, MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News, the Martha Stewart Show, and The Doctors. She has been listed as one of the top cosmetic surgeons by Town & Country, Vogue, C Magazine, More Magazine, The New York Times, and L.A. Confidential. 

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