Cosmetics, skin care, and appearance in teenagers

Adolescence is a period of tremendous transformation in the appearance of t he body and the evolution of the mind that will eventually lead to adulthoo d. "Yesterday's child" will need to assume and exert control over these cha nges. Therefore his/her appearance becomes a means of communication, a lang uage to express his/her pursuit of self-identity. The cosmetic industry has identified teenagers as "powerful" consumers, and offers them various toil etry and skin care products that should fulfill their needs, such as cleans ing. hydrating, and photoprotective agents. Certain decorative cosmetics, e specially for hair and nails, are attractive to them also. For some teenage rs, the expression of individualism is through body art such as tattooing a nd body piercing. Areas of concern are the lack of motivation for sun prote ction and the risky behavior associated with body piercing and tattooing, C opyrights (C) 1999 by W.B. Saunders Company.