We all remember being a teenager - minor inconveniences seem like the end of the world (which revolves around me, obvs), and appearance is everything. Add the coronavirus pandemic into the mix, and it’s safe to say we’re playing a whole new ball game. 

Take some of the stress out of school life for your teenager - and help them to feel confident, whilst remaining Covid-safe - by kitting them out with our 6 everyday school essentials for healthy hair and skin.

1. SILK FACE MASK

With face coverings now mandatory in corridors and on buses, and advised in classrooms, our young people are suffering with maskne like never before. The build up of humidity and bacteria under those cotton or paper masks can lead to clogged pores and blemishes - not what they need right now. 

But don’t worry, there is an answer! Our 100% mulberry silk masks are gentle on skin, naturally hypoallergenic, and antibacterial - this makes them the ultimate defense against mask-induced acne. What’s more, unlike paper or cotton, our silk masks won’t draw out moisture from the skin, making them perfect for all skin types - including sensitive and dry skin. 

We created our small silk face mask with children, and young/petite people in mind, in both uniform-friendly and fun colours. Shop now to get 4 for the price of 3 - perfect for stocking up their school mask collection.

2. MICELLAR WATER

One of the best ways to prevent maskne is to regularly clean your face - this prevents a build up of bacteria, dirt and moisture. Giving your teen a small bottle of cleanser and a few cotton pads to keep in their school bag will allow them to refresh their face at break and lunch - this is such a simple and affordable step, but it really does make a difference. Just make sure you put the cotton rounds in a bag or pouch, so they don’t get dirty floating around in their rucksack.

We love the Garnier micellar water cleanser for this - it’s cheap, doesn’t need to be rinsed off, and it does the job. It’s also available in a compact 125ml bottle - the perfect size to carry around with ease.

3. BLEMISH PATCHES

Try as we may to keep the blemishes at bay, sometimes our skin just has other ideas - and teenagers know this all too well *remembers own teen breakouts and winces*. Keeping the skin clean and wearing a silk face mask will definitely help with maskne, but for the spots that do slip through, we’d recommend investing in some blemish patches. 

These pimple patches have tiny microdarts that dissolve and target active ingredients right into the source of the problem area, making sure the zituation is resolved for good. Having a patch covering the spot will also stop them from picking/squeezing it, which we all know is super satisfying, but is also painful and can lead to scarring. 

Worried someone might notice the patches? They’re super discreet and almost invisible, so no one will even know they’re wearing them (especially if they’re hidden under a mask!). 

4. SANITISER

Although we can’t see it, we carry around 1,500 bacteria on each square centimeter of our hands, and spread this onto every surface we touch - including our faces. On top of this, the amount of bacteria on the skin naturally increases during puberty, and this is known to contribute to - and aggravate - problematic skin. 

Teaching our teens to sanitise their hands before and after touching their face, putting on their mask, and changing blemish patches, will prevent the spread of bacteria both to their face and to other children - helping to keep their skin and themselves healthy.

This can be done with good old fashioned soap and water, but we recommend getting a small bottle of hand sanitiser for them to carry in their bag, in case they need to speed up the process between classes.

5. A HAIRBRUSH

We’ve all been there - stuck without a hairbrush, and looking like we’ve been dragged through a hedge. This is the reality for teens everyday - whether it was windy on the tennis courts, or they have a science experiment and need to tie their hair back for it, they’ll always need to be able to restyle their hair at school (especially considering they haven't even been able to get a haircut this year).

A compact and gentle-on-hair brush like the tangle teezer is the perfect addition to any school-essentials kit - a definite everyday necessity.

6. SILK SCRUNCHIES

Food tech today? Hair out of the way. Our mulberry silk skinny scrunchies have the perfect hold, so they won’t be distracted by having to position and reposition their hair in lessons, but they also won’t be left with those telltale ‘I’ve-just-had-P.E’ kinks - remember how desperately we all tried to avoid those? What’s more, silk glides through the hair, so you can finally say goodbye to tangled up bobbles, breakages and tears at the end of the school day. 

Why not match a large scrunchie with their mask for the ultimate uniform glow-up?

We hope our school essentials will help your teenager to feel confident whilst learning - we all know how hard school was without a global pandemic to worry about, so let’s do everything we can to help our young people out. These are trying times for all of us, but by understanding each other’s needs and realising how Covid-19 may have altered those, we can start working towards a new normal together.