Teen Skincare Routine: Observation, Interview & Design Prototype

Introduction

My cousin has a regular habit of applying a multitude of facial products both in the morning when she wakes up and at night before she goes to bed. She is sixteen and a high school student at a local public school.

Her routine includes the following: masks, tonics, makeup remover, eye cream, facial creams, and cleansers. She is messy with her products, spreads them all over, and often spends considerable time searching for one item or another. When she is tired, she sometimes skips certain steps or forgets the whole process altogether. I therefore offered to create a prototype that could help her remember her routine and keep her products organized.

My first step was to observe her in action and to interview her. I wanted to assess both why she applies the products — and why so many — and how she might become better organized. Human-centered design principles guided this approach, beginning with direct observation of the user in her natural environment before proposing any solution.

Observation

The observation took place on a Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. My cousin moved back and forth between her bathroom and her bedroom. Her products were distributed across several locations: in the bathroom cabinet, on the sink, on a shelf near the bath, and in a cubby hanging above the bath.

She first applied a cleanser to her face, then vigorously rinsed it off before applying toner, scrub, and moisturizer. She then returned to her bedroom for her eye-cream, which was supposed to be in her cosmetic bag. When she searched for it, however, she found the bag with products spilled out and told me it was too bulky to close. She eventually found the eye-cream not in the bag but under her bed, explaining that she had probably been too busy watching TV the night before to put it away.

After leaving the room, she suddenly muttered to herself and turned back. She had forgotten to apply her sunscreen — despite the cold weather outside — and could not remember where she had left it. After searching every conceivable location, including a dresser drawer and a heap of sweaters, she finally found it in her purse.

I asked her, as she applied each product, to explain why she used it.

Cleanser: She told me she really only needed to use it at night to remove makeup and the day's grime, but she wanted to use it all the time to look her best. When she has dry skin, she sometimes uses Pond's, which she noted is popular in France. She mentioned wishing she owned the Clarisonic Skincare Brush, saying everyone uses it and that all the beauty stores carry it. The average price? Around $200.

Interview

Scrub: She used Lancôme. It was, she said, the current trend — everyone was using it. One of the most popular girls at school had picked it up cheaply on a trip to Mexico and given each of her friends a sample.

Toner: It removes whatever oil, makeup, and dirt remain after cleansing. Some of her peers used it, though not everyone. She wanted to use it too.

Moisturizer (RévaleSkin Coffeeberry Day Cream): "I hide it when I have guests. It's a secret — I don't tell the other girls. It costs a lot, $44. I actually got it cheap."

Eye cream: When asked why she applied both regular lotion and eye cream around her eyes, she replied: "Because I don't want to get wrinkles." When I pointed out that she was young, she said: "We can get wrinkles at any age. Besides, it's cool to wear it."

Sunscreen (La Roche-Posay): "Everyone says to use sunscreen. You know it's important because of what the sun does — and we don't want wrinkles." When asked how she chose which sunscreen to use, she said she looked for one with UV protection containing mexoryl. What is mexoryl? "I don't know, but it doesn't matter — everyone uses it."

When asked who "everyone" was and where she got her ideas, she said she gathered them from TV, fashion magazines, and conversations with friends. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, teen skincare decisions are frequently shaped by social influence rather than medical guidance — a pattern clearly visible in her responses.