Has your teenager stopped taking care of themselves?
The hygiene industry loves teenagers, as too the cosmetics industry; they are amongst the best consumers of health and beauty products and will always try something new. This is no longer the province of girls, either; boys will spend as long in the bathroom as their sisters and hair products are a big favorite with both genders. It probably exasperates parents sharing a bathroom with teenagers, and a second bathroom is top of the list of home improvement when it comes to households containing adolescents. So, it should be a serious warning sign that something is wrong, when your teenager seems increasingly uninterested in maintaining any kind of hygiene routine.
If your teenager has always been a scruffy child and never taken care of their looks, then you may need to have a conversation with them about this. The worry is when a previously hygiene conscious teenager no longer seems to care about their appearance. The early signs are makeup that has not been removed, or is obviously reapplied over old makeup; this is a very unlikely scenario in a girl who is ok with herself, a girls' choice of makeup is a topic of regular heated discussion at high school and a badge of adulthood. Uncombed and unbrushed hair is another early sign, though be careful here, the "just go out of bed look" is very popular, but usually takes hours to achieve and requires a lot of hair product.
A morning routine that is half the time usually taken, straight out of bed at the last minute and downstairs for breakfast and out the door, is a throwback to when your child was much younger and wanted extra time asleep. Teenagers would rather be late for school than go out of the door un-groomed. A clear indicator with boys is smell, they tend to perspire more than girls, and so if they are not bathing or showering it will be noticeable much more quickly. Girls may have stopped washing, but continue to use body-sprays which will mask the smell for a while.
A change in clothing to all black can be a clear indicator that your child is feeling down or depressed; it is rare that a miserable teen wears bright colors. All black clothing and heavy metal tee shirts may be a bit of a clich� but they often signify hanging around with the kind of crowd into drugs. Your teenager's lack of hygiene can signify a serious loss of self-esteem, depression, or the involvement in drug taking. It may be that they are trying to deliberately reduce their attractiveness, in girls this is sometimes a reaction to sexual abuse, and increasingly so in boys. Do not ignore these signs, they are a distress call, your teenager needs your help.