Iin many ways, my 12-year-old daughter’s recent sleepovers when my friend started her Easter vacation were similar to what I would have at her age. Save for one small difference: next to her favorite teddy bear, she packed her silk pillow (to reduce wrinkles on the face – of course) and various skin care products that included an under-eye cream (designed to “hydrate, de-puff, and brighten the delicate under-eye area” according to the label). Welcome to the world of skincare.
I was pleased to read this week that the Italian Competition Authority announced that they are investigating Sephora and Benefit Cosmetics for their blatant use of “marketing tricks” to sell beauty products to young girls. Experts believe that this stimulates the correction of unhealthy skin among children, known as “cosmeticorexia”. This is said to be driven by a “particularly insidious marketing strategy” that uses “very young influencers to encourage the purchase of cosmetics among young people, a particularly vulnerable group”.
In 2024 Artemis Patrick, CEO of Sephora North America, said that the company “doesn’t sell to this audience”, and after the recent announcement LVMH, the French luxury group that owns Sephora and Benefit, said it will “cooperate fully with the authorities”.
I know firsthand the power of TikTok peer pressure. Most middle-aged and teenage girls I know (my two daughters, 15 and 12, included) are encouraged to buy whatever they see in their food. Beautiful, hypnotic influences tell them about the best skin care products that include retinol and hyaluronic acid, which are often too harsh for their delicate skin. They are encouraged to try contouring, buy rose face rollers and single-use masks. They are told how to buy expensive makeup to keep their make-up (and more) in place. These kids ask for dressing tables with vanity mirrors filled with Hollywood lights for their birthdays, then groan at the weight of the products they ask their parents to buy but don’t need.
As any parent of a teenager will tell you, if all their friends are buying something – a phone, a clothing label, a certain pair of trainers – it’s hard to be the one parent who says no. Although I draw a line on certain products, either because of the cost or their ingredients.
I wrote earlier in this journal how my oldest daughter, who was 13 at the time and will be 16 this summer, spent more money on her skin care than I did. But as her younger sister and her peers point out, the trend is forever trickling down to the younger crowd.
A friend recently told me that her 15-year-old daughter gave her 8-year-old sister a Glow Recipe toner, which was a favorite among fifteen people worth £32. Now all his friends want one.
Last November US skincare brand Rini was criticized for marketing face masks to toddlers and young children with the comment that “Rini is not about beauty, it’s about self-care”. The founder of Rini, actor Shay Mitchell, defended the line by saying: “Rini is not about beauty, it’s about self-care, teaching our children that self-care can be fun, easy and safe”, and said it was created in response to children’s interest in adult skin care practices.
Meanwhile, in the UK, children’s sports store The Entertainer was recently challenged on social media for selling skincare by Sol Beauty aimed at its younger customers. The store that my children have been in since they were about eight years old, now sells serums and oils, found sitting among arts and crafts and Lego puts under the promising sign, “4 steps to natural glow”. A spokesperson for The Entertainer said: “Following feedback from some customers, we are carrying out further audits with all our skincare product suppliers.”
Whose fault is all this? Big brands and stores that focus their products on young children? Influencers who should know better or tech giants who fail to manage them? Or parents like me who give in to the power of negativity and allow their children to get their hands on junk? Maybe all of us.
Either way, this Easter break, I hope my daughter spends less time on social media and more time riding her bike, playing soccer and not worrying about her skincare routine.
#Cosmeticorexia #exists #8yearolds #wear #beauty #products