My First Facial

You Never Forget Your First

The most adorable young lady came into my business. Lovely skin, kind smile, a good handshake, she was here for her second facial gifted from her aunt. She had asked for a facial for her Christmas present and her aunt obliged. As her aunt waited for her, she said lovingly, "She is 12  and she loves skin care."

I could relate because when I was twelve my mother took me for my first facial. This was in 1977, well before the invention of social media, well before 12 year old girls were getting beauty treatments. My mother was way ahead of the pack. Back then, my generation was influenced by Teen and Seventeen magazine’s directive on what to do to have great skin. Cuticura soap, Noxema, Stridex pads, Seabreeze were our limited choices until Bonne Belle and Clinique hit the scene. 

My mother took me to a local salon where they were doing facials in their small back room. The esthetician cleaned, steamed, massaged and masked my young skin and took my very thick eyebrows and made them as shaped as possible. I thought I was so grown up. Though I didn't realize it at the time, that experience shaped the way I would come to love the world of beauty for the rest of my life, to this day. 

In retrospect, my generation was the first group of girls to be raised this way. Clinique counters were our place of refuge for any little pimple. The cool mothers would bring us to the beauty advisors in their white lab coats to get us on the routine that their parents couldn’t afford or didn’t even think about. 

We were the first. And now fifty years later, this twelve year old girl graced my doorway with the same eager and excited look I recognized in myself all those years ago. 

The positive side of social media influence has created an awareness for our teens to pay attention to their skin. The negative side has far outweighed it, though. Teens don’t need retinol, or eye creams, they don’t need to have “glass” skin, or plastic surgery. They just need to be teens.

An occasional breakout is normal. It is their body’s messaging system shouting, “Your body is hormonal and everything is working according to plan!” 
An occasional breakout is a good teaching tool for our kids— that life is not perfect, is it not supposed to be, there are bumps in the road and if this is the only problem that comes your way, consider yourself lucky. 

Severe acne is different but most teens don’t struggle with this. A breakout is not acne. A breakout does not require a visit to the dermatologist for prescription Accutane. 

 I was reminded of my childhood when this lovely girl walked into my place and felt filled with gratitude that my mother introduced me to the world of skin care at such a young age. I am sure it is why I got into this business and still love it all these years later. 

If you have a young teen who is interested in skin care, consider making an appointment for our teen facial. We not only introduce them to a facial, we introduce them to how to care for their skin the right way. 

Here is a reminder of our skin tips for your teen (and you, too).