How often should teenagers wash their face?

Beneath the surface · Part five

Teenage skin gets oily.

The obvious reaction? Wash it more.

But more washing does not automatically mean clearer skin. So, how often should teenagers wash their face?

For oily or blemish-prone teenage skin, twice a day is a sensible place to start.

Why twice a day?

Cleansing removes sweat, excess surface oil, dirt and skincare residue. What it cannot do is switch off the oil glands underneath the skin.

During puberty, hormones stimulate those glands to produce more sebum. Washing away the oil you can see does not stop the skin from making more of it.

Interestingly, research into the perfect cleansing frequency is surprisingly limited. A systematic review found that the clinical evidence around washing frequency and cleansers in acne is limited (Stringer et al., 2018).

NICE keeps the advice practical, recommending that acne-prone skin is cleansed twice daily with a non-alkaline cleanser (NICE, 2026).

Can you wash teenage skin too much?

Yes, especially if cleansing means harsh soap, hot water and serious scrubbing.

Traditional alkaline soaps and harsher surfactants can remove some of the lipids and proteins that help protect the outer layer of the skin. This can leave skin feeling dry, tight or irritated (Mijaljica, Spada and Harrison, 2022).

And let's be clear: scrubbing harder does not scrub blemishes away.

If your teenager’s face regularly feels tight, stingy or uncomfortable after washing, that “squeaky-clean” feeling is not the goal.

Clean skin? Yes.

Skin that feels like it has been polished with sandpaper? No.

Choosing the best face wash for teenagers

A good teenage face cleanser should clean the skin without turning the bathroom routine into a battlefield.

Look for something gentle enough for regular use and suitable for oily or blemish-prone skin.

At Upenya, our Exfoliating Cleanser is Step 1 of our morning and evening routine. It combines fruit acids with gentle plant-based cleansing ingredients and is designed for young, blemish-prone skin. There is no need to add a rough facial scrub to the routine.

Wash. Rinse. Done.

Teenage skincare does not need to become a ten-step project.

What about sweaty sport days?

If your teenager has just finished hockey, rugby, dance or a gym session and their face is covered in sweat, sunscreen and dust, rinsing or cleansing makes sense.

Just keep it gentle.

An extra wash after heavy sweating is very different from scrubbing the face every few hours because it looks a bit shiny.

The goal is comfortable, clean skin, not the cleanest skin in Johannesburg.

The bottom line

How often should teenagers wash their face?

Twice a day is a sensible baseline for oily and blemish-prone teenage skin.

More is not automatically better. Harder is definitely not better.

Keep cleansing gentle, keep the routine simple, and give the skin time.

Frequently asked questions

Should teenagers with very oily skin wash more than twice a day?

Not automatically. Puberty drives much of the increase in oil production. Washing removes surface oil, but it does not stop the sebaceous glands underneath the skin from producing more.

Is soap good for teenage skin?

Traditional alkaline soap can be more irritating and can change the skin’s pH. NICE recommends a non-alkaline, skin-pH-neutral or slightly acidic cleanser for acne-prone skin (NICE, 2026).

Should my teenager use a facial scrub?

Aggressive scrubbing is not recommended and can irritate already inflamed skin. A gentle, consistent routine is a better starting point.

Why does my teenager’s skin feel tight after washing?

If skin regularly feels tight or uncomfortable after washing, the cleanser or cleansing routine may be too harsh. Some surfactants and alkaline soaps can disturb the skin barrier and remove protective surface lipids (Mijaljica, Spada and Harrison, 2022).

Should teenagers wash their face after sport?

If the skin is sweaty or covered in sunscreen, makeup or dirt, rinsing or cleansing after sport makes sense. Keep it gentle rather than turning it into another aggressive scrubbing session.

References

Mijaljica, D., Spada, F. and Harrison, I.P. (2022) ‘Skin cleansing without or with compromise: soaps and syndets’, Molecules, 27(6), 2010. doi: 10.3390/molecules27062010.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2026) Acne vulgaris: management. NICE guideline NG198. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng198 (Accessed: 8 September 2026).

Stringer, T., Nagler, A., Orlow, S.J. and Oza, V.S. (2018) ‘Clinical evidence for washing and cleansers in acne vulgaris: a systematic review’, Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 29(7), pp. 688–693. doi: 10.1080/09546634.2018.1442552.