Hi everyone,
I’m 18 (F, 5’2) and I grew up without a mother figure in my life. Because of that, I’ve struggled to learn about “womanhood” and how to care for my skin and body properly. I feel a bit embarrassed asking, but I really want to improve and take better care of myself.
Here are my main concerns:
Rough skin – My skin just isn’t smooth (both face and body), and it makes me very insecure.
Dark areas – I have dark under-eyes, armpits, and inner thighs, and I’m not sure what’s causing it or how to fix it.
Pimples on inner thighs – They’re painful and keep coming back.
Smell / freshness – I’m not always confident about how I smell, especially after sweating, and I’m unsure how to stay fresh throughout the day.
General body care – I honestly don’t know where to start with a skincare, hygiene, or body care routine.
If anyone has tips, routines, or personal experiences that helped them with any of these issues, I’d love to hear them. I’m open to any advice — whether it’s product recommendations, lifestyle changes, or just small habits that made a difference for you.
Thank you so much in advance! 💕
Comments
You’re not behind, just start now and stay consistent because smooth skin and confidence are built not gifted.
Hydration from the inside and outside. Drink tons of water to purify body, goid body lotion not just fragranced kind from a boutique. Deodorant must also be an ANTI PERSPIRANT. A lot of buyers miss this detail.
It is all about a routine. Specifics are difficult without knowing more about why. But clean, moisturize, and reduce damp/ sweat are important.
I think the most important lesson is that the most important things to try and fix are things that bother you, like pimples between the thighs that hurt.
Rough skin or anything aesthetic don’t always need fixing if you can learn to be fine with it. Subreddits like r/skincare have a lot of great advice, but can also encourage unhealthy perfectionism. Everyone’s body is going to look weird or be gross sometime.
You could look into a KP body/face wash with salicylic acid, like Cerave, this might also help the pimples. Good exfoliation and/or soaking in warm water beforehand helps limit discomfort for places where you shave. Some cream deodorants are helpful against chafing and sweaty areas, not just the underarms. If you shower at night, you can put on deodorant before going to sleep, which helps limit odours also throughout the day. Niacinamide/vitamin C are ingredients that can help with skin brightening, but darker skin is kind of a natural thing that happens to areas where friction occurs.
I personally use a micellar water to remove my mascara/eyeliner (the only makeup I use) and then a simple face wash (like cetaphil or cerave) -I only wash my face with water in the morning though- followed by vitamin C in the morning or a gentle retinol with niacinamide in the evening, and then either sunscreen by day and a moisturizer at night.
Have fun experimenting and treat it like self care, but please also remember that you’re the only one who sees these details. They are not flaws to other people, and the best thing you can do for yourself is to stop caring too much about aesthetic perfection. Live! Sometimes you’ll be stinky! Sometimes your skin will look weird. Don’t let it stop you. Take care 🙂
I am a guy and I learned lots about skincare thru YT videos. One good channel is “Dr. Dray”
Don’t go overboard with products though. The main thing is cleaning, moisturizing and sunscreen. There are rotating exfoliating brushes which work great too.
Also the dark spots could be an issue with higher blood sugar. Not an expert but have a doctor check it out.
First of all, it starts from the inside, eating single ingredient non processed foods is better for you and that will influence a lot of things,
Hydration will help with dark under eyes, and make sure you get enough protein every day
Some body odor is normal, just make sure you shower daily, and/or after certain activities that make you sweat, my important rule about showering is always go to bed clean and with fresh underwear, and that applies to leaving the house ,
Rough skin is something I struggled with for a while until I discovered sauna, I have a small cheap one that you sit in and your head is outside, you sit in it for certain time 30-60 minutes, and the Hilo’s heat will unclog your pores, then you scrub with a loofah, and all the dead skin goes away,
Stay clean, use lotion, use a moisturizer on face, keep your hair washed regularly, work out, eat 90 percent healthy, sleep 8 hours.
If it makes you feel any better, some people who have moms weren’t taught how to do stuff like taking care of your skin/hair/etc. either. I certainly wasn’t by my adoptive mom.
Drink lots of water to hydrate your skin, after your shower/bath use lotion on your face and body. If you are able to, buy body lotion and face cream but if that’s too expensive body lotion will do. Creams could possibly help with the areas, a body scrub or a really good cleaning would be a good start to see if there’s a buildup of skin cells or sweat buildup.
When you wash your genitals stay away from using soap. A facecloth and warm water is all you need. Soap can disrupt your pH level and cause infections or irritation.And always wash your butt crack, with a different facecloth than the one you use for your genitals. Make sure to pat everything dry after cleaning.
And never go to bed with your hair wet. Bacteria can build up on your scalp and cause issues. I have thick hair so if I go to bed with it even just a little wet my hair will look greasy/oily when I wake up.
A lactic acid mask once a week will help smooth your skin, use a thicker lotion at night while you sleep, eat healthy and drink water (it’s best thing you can do). Castor oil is great for the skin and as a weekly hair treatment.
To treat pimples on the body, I use an astringent on those areas a few days a week. You can buy one but I just mix one part apple cider vinegar to 2-3 parts water, depending on how bad it is. I keep the vulgar vinegar bottle in the bathroom and mix up just enough for a single use in the vinegar bottle cap. A healthy diet will also contribute to keeping those at bay by encouraging healthy hormone balance.
Well, back in my day, not too many really were into skin care. It shows on me today. I can tell you what NOT to do. Don’t go into the sun without appropriate sunscreen, do not assume that your body will moisturize itself. Never sleep with your make up on that was a big no-no for me, I wanted to wake up pretty. I should have taken a clue from my aunt back in the early 60s and 70s,she took her makeup off every night with ponds cold cream, her skin was beautiful for her age. You have one body, treated as if it were a temple because it is.
I feel you honey.
First of all, dark patches are normal, and they’re okay, but if you’re insecure about them, some skincare toners can do a good job at evening them out! I use a lactic acid toner (10%) on my armpits and my face, and it helps lift a little bit of that darkness and smooth it out.
Secondly, healthy skin starts with a healthy diet! Lots of fruit, veggies and meat, the more processed food and added sugar you eat, the worse your skin gets.
Unless you have problem skin (like acne that needs medication to fix) you’d do fine just using a soft cleanser morning and night. Most people say to moisturise right after, but if you have oily skin like mine, you may find sunscreen far more efficient!
For rough skin, maybe try changing your body wash? I use one formulated for sensitive skin, and I have a special exfoliation rag I use to wash with !
Moisturiser or sunscreen right after drying off can help keep you from drying out if that’s what is causing the roughness.
As for freshness, I’m someone with strong body odour who sweats a LOT !! What I found worked best for me, was wiping my armpits clean with wipes, and applying a deodorant called “No Pong”. It’s all natural, so it won’t worsen your dark patches, and it lasts really well! It’s also more of a putty than a spray, so you rub it into your skin.
For bacne and thigh acne, I used to use the same wash I use for my face, and moisturise after every shower. Making sure you change your pants every day even if they’ve stayed fairly clean keeps bacteria from getting trapped after you sweat !
A couple of general tips –
Condition your hair before shampooing (roots too) then shampoo, then condition just the ends. This helps with frizzy hair !
If you can’t brush your teeth twice a day, brush them at night instead of in the morning!
If you style your hair with heat, ALWAYS use heat protectant!
Always have your deodorant with you. Sometimes it wears off sooner than expected.
Buy body sprays instead of perfumes, they last longer !
Don’t use Q Tips to clean your ears !! There’s special drops you can get to melt the earwax and get it out, Q Tips just push it deeper and can damage your eardrum.
Don’t feel bad about natural skin textures such as the darker patches, Stretch marks or peach fuzz. It’s all natural, it’s all meant to be there. Just take care of yourself !
Always cut your nails (and toenails) in a straight line. If you’re trimming them and you round them, you raise the risk of ingrown nails!
Focus on eating controlled portions of “bad food” instead of not eating any! You can absolutely be healthy without cutting out all the fun stuff.
LOVE YOURSELF!! You are young, you are learning. Don’t be too hard on the only person who’ll always have your back <3
A little tip also, in a jar, put fresh oregano and fill it up with olive oil. Put it aside for seven weeks in your pantry, make sure you label it and shake it up daily. This is a natural remedy to get rid of any kind of skin blemishes, spider bite, pimples, tears on the skin, etc. put it on anytime in the day but, if you put it on at night, and you wake up in the morning, whatever was on your skin will be gone. I’ve been using this for years and it is wonderful.
A lot of skincare advice is contradictory and confusing and expensive! I keep my routine simple: I use Cerave Baby lotion (you can find it in the baby aisle at most drug stores) on my face and body every day after showering. That’s it!
Others have said to drink lots of water and eat a good diet. I will add that some food is good for your body and some is good for your soul, and you should give yourself permission to eat whatever you need/want in the moment.
Finally, please start calling yourself a woman and not a female. It’s technically more accurate (female is an adjective) and also free from any potential weird connotations from the incel world.