Skincare and other body care (like shaving!) for pre-teen girl

[wendibird22]

DD1 is about to turn 12. She hasn't gotten AF yet, but it's on the horizon. I'm wanting to get her started on a good skincare regime for her face (she get an occasional pimple but no major breakouts...yet) and she's asking about when she should start shaving her legs.

1. What face care products do you recommend for an athletic kid who gets sweaty? We've used cerave and cetaphil face wash in the past. I think it would also be good for her to use a light moisturizer with sunscreen in it. I don't think she need an "oily skin" product.

2. When did your DD start shaving? I don't remember how old I was. DD has light brown hair and the hair on her legs, arms, etc is blonde. I don't think she has arm pit hair...at least she hasn't mentioned it to me yet. She said many of her friends have started shaving their legs. I know it's one of those things that once you start you really have to continue with so I don't want to rush it for her until she really needs to. But I don't want her friends to make fun of her if they notice she has leg hair...even as pale as it is.

[georgiegirl]

DD (13) uses my skincare products: philosophy’s purity facial wash and Paula’s Choice BHA liquid before bed. So far her face looks great.

She started shaving her pits around 11.5 or so and her legs right around 12. She’s on swim team so the legs cane early.

She got her period at 12.75. She already has boobs and pubic hair at that point.

[mom2binsd]

My DD was shaving at 10, but she was very very hairy and on swim team. Her arm hair was so thick putting on sunscreen was a goopy mess. She just used razors from the start.

I think Cetaphil or any other facial wash is fine for your DD if it's working. I don't think any type of fancy/expensive skincare is necessary, just teach her to wash and rinse carefully. DD's dermatologist recommends any type of benzoyl peroxide wash if pimples become a thing. There is a lot of money in skincare but many of the drugstore stuff has the same ingredients as the higher priced stuff.

As a teen to really my 40's I washed my face with water, often slept in makeup and rarely had a pimple. I was lucky as I have good skin. My DD developed very early, and had a lot of pimples at age 11 that literally appeared overnight when she got her period at 11. She had to see a derm to get things under control but even the derm had us using a facial wash and then some prescription cream for the pimples. DD had to learn how to properly wash her face which is key.

I work in long term care and I always ask the ladies who have very few wrinkles and great skin what their secret is, they ALL only use something like Dove soap/Ponds cold cream/Noxema, and they stayed out of the sun and wore hats/didn't ever smoke.

[Kindra178]

Our derm recommends Cerave foaming face wash for the pre-teen / teen set. It's not drying at all.

[jacksmomtobe]

DD is almost 13. She uses some neutrogena products when she gets a pimple. The face wash with grapefruit seems to work well. She also likes to do lots of face masks. She got her AF at 12 1/2. I let her use a battery operated razor around 12 and just recently let her use a real razor for her legs. She was begging to use the real razor sooner but I was a bit scared to let he. One of her friends started at 12 and cut herself a bit the first time.

[gymnbomb]

I think the right age to start shaving is when she wants to, and I think that probably varies from 9ish to 13ish depending on the kid (including both physical and social/emotional factors). As someone with thick, dark hair, it was on the earlier side for me, at around 10. I used a regular razor from the beginning, but an electric razor could be a reasonable first step too.

[ray7694]

The Billie razor is popular here. Helped in the beginning until she could do herself. She started at 11.5

[baymom]

DD started shaving at 12. Initially, she used a regular razor, but within a couple months, decided she wanted to be waxed, instead. I’ve been doing at home wax on her when she asks, but I’m not very good at it. Luckily, she’s not that particular or self conscious about it. She is a soccer player, though, so wears long socks. In any case, her hair is super fine and pale brown and not very noticeable. She washes her hair every single night, which makes me a bit crazy as it’s super thick and takes forever to wash and dry. She uses neutrogena face wash and occasionally the acne product, if she needs it. She has Toms deodorant but rarely uses it and doesn’t really smell after soccer practice, yet.

[div_0305]

The Billie razor is popular here. Helped in the beginning until she could do herself. She started at 11.5

Golden!:signthankspin: I must live under a rock. I just googled to find out what the Billie razor was. I've never found a razor that hasn't caused some level of irritation. I'm going to subscribe and will get for my daughter, too. She's 9, but hairy like I was at that age, and every so often asks if she "should" shave (I say when she wants to, not when she "should"). I started shaving in 3rd grade after being bullied and cut myself something awful--my mom only knew to give me the disposable men's blades to use. I'd prefer to wax or laser for my daughter, but I think she's too young for laser, and cannot handle the pain of wax. Laser would be a lot less painful than wax, though. But back to the topic, ray7694, thanks for the info on Billie!

[ang79]

The Billie razor is popular here. Helped in the beginning until she could do herself. She started at 11.5

I have never heard of this either! DD1 (almost 13) has not yet asked to start shaving, but I may order a Billie to try out for myself! I normally like the Venus razors, but they get pretty pricey, especially the ones with more blades, etc. for a smoother shave. I love the shave I get from the ones that have the lotion bar attached, but find that the lotion bar disintegrates in my shower after just a few uses. Is the moisture bar on the Billie the same?

Back to the OP's question, my DD1 uses the Target Brand of Cetaphil face wash and lotion and does OK with those (and she has sensitive skin). She washes her face morning and night and showers daily with Aveeno shower gel, followed by Aveeno body lotion. She uses Burt's Bees acne gel when needed, and Tom's deodorant (has to use unscented because when we tried the lavender scent she said it made her pits itchy). The trouble she is having most is with dandruff. We have tried several different kinds of dandruff shampoo (regular Head and Shoulders, the blue bottle of Head and Shoulders, and Dove for dandruff, Neutragena, as well as the Say Yes tea tree oil line), but nothing has completely solved the dandruff problem and since her hair is thin she is very self conscious about it. Would love some other recs to try!

[sariana]

DD started shaving her legs this past winter, right before she turned 11. She has relatively light hair but a lot of it. She shaves intermittently, and it hasn't been an issue. So it's not necessarily true that "once you start, you have to keep it up." I think that just depends on the hair type, skin tone, etc.

Some girls never start shaving--they just have fine hair that doesn't really show.