While Sephora tweens — the majority of them young girls — have been a hot topic of discussion this year, teen boys, similarly increasingly influenced by TikTok and their friends, are also building beauty and personal care regimens earlier than generations before them.
But rather than turning to specialty beauty retailers like Sephora and Ulta Beauty as often as their female counterparts, they’re commonly looking to CVS Pharmacy, Target, T.J. Maxx — and other mass retailers as they step more independently into the realm of personal upkeep.
Here, Beauty Inc spoke with five members of SheKnows’ Teen Council for its “Be a Man” series about their myriad beauty routines and preferences.
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Theo, 14
On his routine: “I use CeraVe for my face wash and my moisturizer, and I also love this brand called Teen Skin — they have really good face wash — and then for deodorant, I just use Old Spice.”
On when he got into skin care: “Probably when I was 13, after my friend started using it in middle school. I didn’t have the best skin and he had perfect skin so I asked him how he got it and he introduced me to a lot of the brands he used.”
One skin care trend he wants to try: “I’ve seen these black masks for removing blackheads on TikTok and I want to try that, because I have a few blackheads on my nose.”
Zach, 20
On his routine: “I use two products — in the morning and night I wash my face with Dove soap, and then I always use cocoa butter to lotion my face — that’s my favorite.”
On how he got into skin care: “It’s kind of funny because my brother, he’s 12, is really deep into skin care because of TikTok and I’m not, but I just started going into his room and asking him questions and things like that.
On TikTok beauty learnings: “I watch a lot of hairstyling videos on TikTok because I do my own dreads — I just learned how to do a four-strand twist.”
Finn, 19
On his routine: “It’s pretty simple; in the morning, I use a face wash from Murad and a moisturizer and a sunscreen from La-Roche Posay. And then at night, I use the same face wash, add a toner from Paula’s Choice, and the same moisturizer.”
On where he shops: “Most of the products I buy come from CVS, but, underratedly, T.J. Maxx has the best skin care section. I go there for random stuff, not my go-to stuff; maybe a sunscreen, a face mask — something different. They have good brands like Laneige and this one called CosRx that are fun to try out.”
On where he gets “skinspiration”: “I honestly think it’s hard to take notes from influencers when it comes to skin care because everyone’s skin is so different and even when something’s worked well for someone it just doesn’t always work well with your skin. The best way to find new things is to just try them out and see what works yourself — that’s what’s worked for me.”
One skin care practice he wants to try: “African black soap — I’ve heard a lot about it and that it works well for some people [for acne], but I haven’t gotten around to trying it yet.”
Justin, 14
On his routine: “I just wash my face, and then I put lotion on it when it’s dry — I use Up & Up lotion.”
On when he got into skin care: “I started in middle school because all the other kids around me started getting acne so I started washing my face. There’s this [Clean & Clear] face wash that has these bursting beads that wake you up, and then there’s the nighttime version that helps you sleep — those are the first ones I’ve used.”
Clive, 15
On his skin and hair care routines: “I just use a face wash in the morning and that’s it. I wash my hair once a week or so — coming to this interview I conditioned my hair for the first time in about two months, I used this L’Oréal conditioner that my mom uses. It feels floppy.”
On when he started getting into beauty: “When I was around 12 my face started getting oily so I [started washing it], and I was probably around 7 when I started using deodorant because my mom was not going to let me smell bad.”
On his favorite products: “Native deodorant. I also shave every three days and use a Harry’s razor and Gillette. I have the foam — it’s fun.”
