Recently in the media young girls have been influenced by getting “ready with me” content on their feed, typically on the app TikTok. A “Get ready with me” video is just what it sounds like: somebody recording themselves getting ready for the day, usually including their skincare routine in the process. The target audience of these videos has reached extremely young children, even as young as 6 years old.
Products that are typically used for these skincare routines are Drunk Elephant, Glow Recipe, Ordinary, Soul de janeiro, Tower 28, and Summer Friday. The brand that is the most popular amongst all of these is Drunk Elephant, a brand that’s skincare contains retinol in most of the products. Vogue stated in an article “9 Essential Things to Know Before Using Retinol and Retinoids” that retinol shouldn’t be used on skin until your mid 20s to 30s. Due to internet exposure children are now putting these harsh products on their face that are not meant for them. The purpose of retinol is to reduce wrinkles, acne, clear pores, get rid of dark spots, and prevent aging. A young child should not be concerned with any of the things listed above, and nearly every single one of those brands mentioned in the beginning are meant for mature skin containing retinol.
If anyone of the age 12 and under wants to wear something to protect their skin they should be looking at things like cleanser, moisturizers, and SPF based products. An anti-aging product is only going to cause trauma to the delicate skin. A dermatologist on TikTok, Dr. Brooke Jeffy, has been vocal on her stance with unhealthy skin care methods. She reacted to one trend called a “skincare smoothie,” where you mix multiple products together to make one mixture of products. She stresses that, “These are way too many actives for young skin, kids please don’t use retinol and these acids together, you are going to tear up your skin barrier.”
Children damaging their skin isn’t where the story ends. Workers and shoppers at the makeup chain Sephora have been coming forward with their experiences with kids in the stores. They have been damaging tester products, been rude to workers, and created an obnoxious environment in the store. There are many videos circulating on the internet of Sephora products damaged from little children running around and trying things like it’s a playground. Some people have even joked that these are the first generation of “iPad kids” that we’ve seen in public. There’s also a huge blame being put on millennial parents and their parenting skills. Things like gentle parenting, struggling to tell their kids no, and now there are countless brats growing up too fast with an entitled attitude.
Makeup is something that kids should not be subjected to before the age of 12. Internet consumption has probably been a huge part of children growing up too fast. If your child wants to try makeup and they are still young, try gentle products like tinted moisturizer, highlighter, and lip gloss. Don’t blow your bank account for products that are going to damage young skin just because it’s what’s trending.
