My Teen Skincare Life by Thelma Mensah

Thelma Mensah is a personal trainer and the founder of the popular fashion fitness blog kicksandkit. You might recognise her as one of the new faces from the Boots No.7 Serum advert. She took time out to share her skincare journey with us. I can’t quite remember the exact point when I came across skincare. My earliest recollection with skincare, and looking after it, came when I was really young - probably age seven and that was because I suffered from eczema which I had on my body. Not so much my face, but I do remember having to wash with a special medicated soap from Ghana which helped stop the itching and my parents believed would stop spreading to my face.

When the asthma cleared up in my teens I mainly used soap and water my mother was more concerned with my face being clean and moisturised with cocoa butter than starting a specific skincare regime. It wasn’t until I stared to work in PR that I really started to be concerned and pay attention to what I put on my face. This is because the company I worked for looked after Nivea and Biore so I used their facial wash, moisturiser and the Biore nose strips.

At times when I was bit flush (pay day) I’d upgrade from my Nivea and buy Clinique products mainly because there was so much hype at the time about their three-step-program and you’d always get loads of fab extras if it was bonus time. I loved the Dramatically Different Moisturiser but found the wash and toner way too harsh for my skin. In my mid to late twenties I developed a bit of acne around my jawline and a friend recommended Dermalogica products which, though expensive, I found really worked for my skin and prevented the spots. I used their range alongside Dermalogica facials which I used to have every month; those were the good old days. I stopped when I was made redundant and went back to my cheaper high street brands.

I got a new beauty PR job where our clients were Aveda, L’Occitane and Fresh which are all niche, natural, plant based beauty products and this is where everything changed. For the first time I really started to think about the importance of what I actually put on my skin and the fact that it’s important to look after your skin no matter your age. This all comes at a price though, and I’ve realised that your skincare regime needn’t cost the earth and as I’ve gone into my forties I mix up my products with cheaper and more expensive ones that do what they say on the tin.

Since I was approached to appear in the new Boots No7 advert to test out their new serum I realise that I am at a stage in my life where I really need to pay attention to my skin. I cleanse, moisturise and use my serum (which really does work ladies) religiously and have noticed that it has made a big difference to my complexion, and with preventing the early signs of ageing that are inevitable at my age.

You can follow Thelma on Twitter.