I was 17 when I started. Cleansing my face that is, c’mon guys!
I found some not so harsh cleanser, not so oily moisturizer and began a night time beauty ritual that has lasted till today. And I’m 40. So you can imagine, that was a long time ago. And there was little in the way of choice that a) I could afford and b) handled young skin and c) was natural-ish.
Not so any more. Now there is Willa, skin care for tweens and teens that is not babyish and doesn’t smell like bubble-gum. It is natural and age appropriate. Don’t worry, as a mom you won’t be turning your tween into Britney or creating a make-up monster.
Just the opposite, in fact! We’re talking moisturizer, lip gloss, non-harsh acne treatment, gentle cleansers…all things helpful for a healthy glow. Maybe, and I’m only saying this because I hope this to be true, helping my daughters embrace their inner beauty will help them see that there is no need to “hide” behind a mask of grown-up make-up no matter their age.
Your lovely not-so-baby-faced child can have her own products that will help her take good care of her skin. Sunscreen she might actually put on herself. That alone opens my wallet.
Listen, I just have to say, it weirds me out to talk about beauty and young, young girls in any way other than natural, inner shining bright beauty that they were born with. I’m no fan of – not in the slightest way – letting girls wear make-up.
Hell, I don’t even want my girls to wear black till they are like 30 because I think their little-girlness is something worth protecting. They will have their whole lives to be a grown up, wearing black and make-up and worrying about their looks.
I began taking care of my skin because my grandmother, who was 80-something at the time (!), had the most gorgeous skin I’d seen and that was her ritual. So it became mine. Simple, really. I wanted then, and still do now, to have skin like hers when I grow up.
Little did I know then that my skin may in fact age just like hers and not because I am faithful to her beauty ritual but because I have her genes. But every little thing helps, right?
Plus, imagine how much more protected my skin would have been had I started 3, 5, 10 years earlier. Maybe the sunspots I’m learning to accept wouldn’t be here. Who knows.
What do you think about a skin care line for the young set? Marketing opportunity to fleece you of your hard earned $$ or good idea to help create a lifetime beauty regimen?
photo credit: Travel kit by Willa
