I have a skincare-obsessed 12-year-old niece. When I learnt just how much she loves skincare, I asked her which brands she likes, so I could go on a little research spree to figure out which of these brands are ok for her and which to (gently!) suggest she avoid.

I was shocked by the masterful marketing directed at teens, and learnt from my holistically-minded friends who have teens just how hard it is because, of course, they want to use what everyone else is using, the thing that’s “in”. They don’t want their herb crunching hippie mum telling them to use essential oils mixed in coconut oil so they end up smelling like rosemary and mugwort. And I get it. I want your teens to be able to have access to what their friends have, and not smell like mugwort.

Unfortunately, some of these “in” brands that are being marketed to teens are genuinely damaging their health, so let’s understand more about it here.

(And by the way, if you have a teen that’s happy to use essential oils mixed with coconut oil, I salute you!)

So, why are these products damaging ours / our kids’ health?

It’s because they contain ingredients that are endocrine disruptors (this will interfere with hormone balance), in some cases carcinogens (can cause cancer) and the toxins in them will add to toxic load. What that means is that when there is too much toxicity in the body from things like chemicals in skincare, food, etc., it starts adding up. At some point, the liver simply gets overworked and overstressed because it no longer has the capability to detoxify any more (when there are more toxins going in than the body is able to / was built to take). This is the point at which the body triggers onset of whichever illnesses / diseases you are genetically predisposed to.

This is how epigenetics works. It’s nothing to do with the genes themselves. It’s the effect of our environment on our genes. Genetics predispositions to certain cancers and autoimmune diseases can actually remain switched off and never get triggered our entire lives if we work at it! To understand this further, you can read more about epigenetics in more depth in this article I wrote for What Doctors Don’t Tell You.

And because the world, our food, our products etc. are getting more and more toxic, it’s up to us to reduce exposure to toxicity WHEREVER WE CAN, in order to mitigate the effects of the things we can’t control, like pollution, EMFs, the foods we can’t avoid.

There are plenty of skincare brands that ARE using beautiful ingredients, meaning we do have a choice in which ones we choose, and this is a way for us to take one more step towards taking responsibility for our own wellbeing and prevent future dis-ease.

Now, you may not believe that these products would possibly have ingredients in that could give your child cancer someday, but the way these chemicals affect us on a cellular level means that the build-up over time is what CAN add to other factors that can lead to cancer later on.

As I said, there is so much toxicity in the world today that we can’t avoid, we must make sure we take the steps to avoid what we are able to and take control of the things we DO have control over, like skincare, cosmetics, beauty, cleaning products, most food etc.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering how to decipher which brands to stay away from. Here are some of the ingredients you should be looking out for. If you see any of these, that product should be a no-no:

❌Carbon black – used in mascaras, eyeliners etc
❌Phenoxyethanol
❌Phthalates such as dibutyl phthalate
❌Polyethylene
❌Formaldehyde
❌Alcohols
❌Fragrance
❌Sulfates like sodium lauryl sulphate or sodium laureth sulphate
❌Triclosan
❌PEG Compounds

So, all this said, and based on the brands that are popular right now, which should you / your child choose?

Brands to avoid:
❗️Drunk elephant
❗️Bubble

Brands for teens I’d recommend:
🌸Indu
✨By Sarah London
🌿Byoma
🌻Sol de Janeiro – not in love with this brand personally but if they are going to use it, allow them to spray on clothes not skin

I also recommend downloading the Yuka app which scans products for toxicity so you know before you buy which to avoid.

I do hope this helps you and your kids make more informed decisions when it comes to skincare.

LV♾️