Sunscreen, Sass, and Sentimentality: The Teenage Woes of Living With a Facial Specialist

Sunscreen, Sass, and Sentimentality: The Teenage Woes of Living With a Facial Specialist

 "Did you put on your sunscreen?"

"Are you drinking enough water?"

 "Bring those products down to your chest. Your décolleté deserves love too!"

       If you're a teenage girl living with a facial specialist, these are the lullabies you hear daily. Forget sweet nothings—here we specialize in SPF warnings and barrier repair lectures.

       Welcome to Paige’s world. A world where hormonal breakouts are met with pro-grade serums, where skincare is self-care, and where prevention isn’t just a suggestion—it’s a household rule.

        Looking in the Mirror, Looking Back Sometimes when I catch myself strongly encouraging Paige to care for her skin, it stops me in my tracks. I see a flash of another woman in the mirror—my mother, long gone now, but never far from my heart.

            She was the first to remind me, “Wear your sunscreen,” long before I knew the science behind UV damage. She didn’t work in aesthetics, but she understood the kind of wisdom that doesn’t need certification to be true.

          I don’t talk about her often. It still hurts. That’s the thing about grief—time doesn’t heal all wounds, no matter what the greeting cards say. It just teaches you how to carry them without dropping everything else.

            Full-Circle Moments in a Treatment Room Now here I am, years later, standing over a teen who rolls her eyes at sunscreen the same way I did.

       The circle keeps turning. And in that swirl of generational sass and advice, I realize: maybe Paige isn’t just my daughter—maybe she’s a living tribute to all the women who came before her.

      Someday, I imagine her handing a moisturizer to her own child, saying, "Use this. It’s not just about beauty. It’s about honoring the skin you're in." And I’ll smile from wherever I am, knowing it mattered.

 Prevention: The Most Underrated Skincare Step

       In an industry full of miracle creams and trending treatments, here’s what I’ll always stand by: Prevention is the best skincare. No viral product can replace consistency. No filter can hide neglect. And no treatment, no matter how high-tech, can outdo simple habits done daily. So yes, I’ll keep repeating it. Drink water. Wear SPF. Treat your chest like your face. Not because I’m nagging—but because I love.

       For every teen with a skin-obsessed parent: you’ll thank us later. And for every parent doing the nagging: one day, they might be the one saying it too.