In today’s hyper-connected world, teens are growing up with more wellness content at their fingertips than ever before. They're learning to choose “clean,” avoid parabens, double-cleanse, jade-roll, dry brush — all by the age of fifteen.
And yet, we have to ask:
Are we teaching them to truly care for themselves — or just to perfect themselves?
At ilā, we celebrate this rising generation’s passion for purity, ritual, and responsibility. But we also believe there’s a missing piece in today’s approach to teen skincare: intention. Because even the cleanest product can do more harm than good when it’s used from a place of self-judgment, anxiety, or comparison.
When “Clean Beauty” Isn’t the Whole Story
We’ve seen the shift — teens choosing plant-based over synthetic, asking better questions, wanting to align their beauty with their values. But there’s a quiet pressure creeping in too:
- To have “glass skin”
- To glow 24/7
- To perform a 10-step skincare routine like a ritual of worthiness
And so, a sacred act of self-care becomes another tool of control. Another mask of perfection. True wellness — especially in the formative teen years — is not about perfect skin. It’s about helping young people feel safe in their skin.
A New Kind of Ritual for Teens
Whether a teen is navigating acne, stress, social anxiety, or identity shifts, skincare can become more than a routine. It can be a grounding practice — a moment to return to themselves.
Encourage them to:
- Slow down when applying a cream — and set an intention
- Use scent as an anchor — to regulate emotions or energise the day
- Treat their skin not as something to fix, but something to listen to
- In a world shouting about what to change, we teach them to tune into what’s already sacred.
This Is What We Want for Our Daughters, Sons, and the Generation to Come
Not just clear skin:
- Self-trust
- Embodiment
- A relationship to nature and to self that runs deeper than trends.
- Let’s guide teens not toward more products, but toward more presence.
- Not toward performance, but toward peace.
- Clean beauty is just the beginning.
- Let’s go deeper — with love, intention, and energy that truly heals.
