5 Most Common Beauty Problems Teenagers Face and their Solutions: Teenage is an important phase of life which is full of storms and stress. It is in this period, an individual transforms from a child to adult. Such a transition usually referred to as puberty, involves a lot of physiological as well as psychological changes. Teenagers are constantly worried about their body image. Body image is the perception of self on how they look, feel and move, which is generally influenced more by external factors rather than self.

The body image concerns are usually amplified in the process of puberty. Not only does the process of puberty cause trouble to the teenagers, but also the timing of it. For boys, it is usually believed that puberty brings a positive change in terms of their height, weight, strength and voice change. But the onset of puberty is usually delayed for the boys, somewhere around 13 to 14 years. On the other hand, girls undergo puberty at an early age around 9 to 11 years involving changes that are less preferable, such as becoming rounder in shape and gaining additional body fat.

Different teenagers face different body image problems. Some may feel they are too skinny, some may feel they are too short or too tall. They start spending more time in thinking about how they wish they were not the way they are. As they develop more negative feelings about their body image, they end up having poor self-esteem.

The following are some of the come body image problems that teenagers face and how to overcome them:

1.) Height & Weight problems:

A very common fact is that everyone does not grow at the same rate. Each individual is unique in their own way and so is their physical body. One might grow at a pace of one inch a year and another may grow at a pace of two-inch a year. All these are impacted by the genes carried by their parents, which decide how tall one should be and how much they weigh. At the same time, there are also other external factors, which might impact the normal growth. The most important factors are the diet, sleep, and physical activity. In order to achieve a normal growth at the specific age, one must have a balanced diet, at least six to eight hours of sleep a day and more importantly, get involved in some physical activity like exercise.

2.) Skin Problems:

Acne is one of the major skin problems faced by the teenagers. Acne or pimples are generally caused by the over secretion of the sebum oil during puberty, thus causing redness and swelling of the skin. Though such skin problems usually subside at the end of puberty, certain lifestyle changes can help in overcoming them immediately.

Eating a balanced diet, drinking 8 glasses of water, getting enough (7 to 8 hours) sleep and engaging in a sufficient physical activity is the key to normalize the hormonal fluctuations causing pimples or acne. Apart from this, it is also necessary to wash your face frequently, minimize the use of chemical cosmetics and avoid poking the pimples with the nails or hands.

Applying regular ice packs in the affected area can reduce the inflammation in the skin. Turmeric has good antiseptic properties. Applying turmeric mixed with honey can help in killing the bacteria and healing the skin, while honey helps in hydrating it.

3.) Body Odor:

Sweating is a natural body process that helps in regulating the body temperature. When there is a hot temperature, the sweats can help the individual in cooling their body. Sometimes, it can also be noticed that certain emotional disturbances like fear can trigger sweat and it is absolutely normal.

During puberty, about 3 million sweat glands become very active, thus sweating more than normal. When they come in touch with the bacteria in the skin, they generate a bad smell in the body, especially near the armpit, groin, palms of the hand and bottom of the feet.

The body odor can be controlled by following certain hygiene tips: take a shower every day and dry the skin completely; wearing clean clothes, especially the inner wears and socks and applying deodorants or antiperspirants. The deodorants help in concealing the bad odor, while the antiperspirants help in controlling the amount of sweat. In spite of it, if one notices extreme sweating, it is better to consult with a dermatologist, who can prefer stronger antiperspirants or other alternative medications.

4.) Moustache & Beard:

Some boys experience slow growth in moustache and beard; such physiological aspects are highly impacted by the genetic and ethnic factors. There are also possibilities that it might even take early or late 20’s for your moustache and beard to grow completely, which is completely normal.

In spite of this, there could be disparities due to which the facial hairs are not growing; lack of sleep and exercise, imbalanced diet, smoking & drinking and unusual skin care. All these factors are completely within our control and if these are corrected, there are high possibilities that the facial hairs might start growing.

Also Read: Why do Girls have Facial Hairs like Moustache and beard?

5.) Small or Uneven breasts in girls:

It should be known that most of the physiological bodies are influenced by so many factors and so is the breast size. The size of the breast is usually influenced by genes, ethnicity, your hormonal levels, and your weight. Similarly, it is completely normal to have uneven breasts. In fact, no women in the world can claim to possess totally symmetrical breasts. There are also chances that one breast hangs lower than the other.

Both parents and adolescent girls should know that it takes complete five years for the breasts to grow completely or by the time the girl is about 18 years old. Before this, it is not necessary to conclude about the size and proceed for breast enlargement techniques.

Abnormalities:

It can be noticed that even girls have facial hair like a moustache and a beard and some boys develop breasts. These are considered as a major body image abnormalities. Before dwelling on the remedies for it, it is necessary to understand the root cause of it.

It is to be noted that both boys and girls possess both male hormones (androgens) and female hormones (estrogens), except the fact in boys, the androgens dominate and in girls, the estrogens dominate. Both these hormones start secreting in the body at the onset of puberty and the body takes some time to sort the levels of respective hormones.

In girls, it is possible that the level of androgen does not come down, due to which some of the male attributes like developing facial hair can occur. It can be an embarrassing one for girls, but the happy news is that it can be decreased through certain cosmetic treatments and medical treatments, which will reverse and reduce the hormone levels of androgen in the girls.

Meanwhile, in boys, they develop a very small tissue around their nipples, which looks like a breast. One can be very sure that they do not grow more than that, but the hanging tissue around the nipples may take some time to settle down. Mostly it will settle down around the age of 20 years when puberty gets over.