Prereq Care | Trusted Skincare and Personal Care Guidance for Kids and Teens

Dry skin gets worse during the school day because several small irritants hit the same skin in one afternoon. Heated classrooms, repeated handwashing, sweaty gym class and pool lessons each take a little moisture, and a skipped moisturizer means nothing puts it back. Picture a fourth grader on a cold October morning. She walks to school in chilly air, sits near a heating vent, sanitizes her hands before lunch and skips her lotion because she was running late. None of that is a big deal on its own, but by Friday it adds up. That said, school isn't the only culprit. Long, hot baths and hard scrubbing at home can dry skin out too, and some kids are simply more prone to dryness than others. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) names dry indoor air, heat and sweat, pool water and stress among the common triggers of childhood eczema flares, which makes a handy checklist for ordinary dryness too. Stress tends to matter more in the tween and teen years. How should you handle...

Can't shower? Cool down, wipe, dry, change clothes, then mist. See how kids and teens can freshen up without a shower, and how long they can skip one. Picture this. Your 12-year-old climbs into the back seat after practice, shirts stuck to their back, and you've got a 40 minute drive ahead of you. Nobody wants to ride in that. The good news is that you can freshen up without a shower in about five minutes, and the same routine works at camp, on sleepovers, and on school trips. To freshen up without a shower, have your child cool down, wipe the sweaty spots with a damp cloth or unscented body wipe, dry off completely, and change into clean clothes. A deodorant mist comes last, not first. This routine is a short-term backup, and once puberty starts it's a bridge to a real shower, not a replacement for one. Key Takeaways Sweat usually has little odor on its own. Skin bacteria breaking down sweat and oil create it. Change out of damp clothes first, because ...