Age Before Beauty: The Rise and Dangers of Skincare Product Use in Young People

The rise of skincare-focused influencers on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube has led many children as young as 8 years old to adopt complex skincare routines. While seemingly harmless, experts are concerned about the risks of young people using skincare products without proper guidance and the absence of regulations to ensure safety.

What We Know:

• Consumers under age 14 drive a large portion of skincare product sales, accounting for 49% of drugstore skincare product sales in 2023 and a third of "prestige" beauty sales. Despite acknowledging that some products are unsuitable for young people, few restrictions exist to prevent their purchase (Gecker, 2024).

• Dermatologists recommend that children's skincare be limited to gentle cleansers, moisturisers and sunscreen. However, many popular skincare brands promote active ingredient-containing products like retinol and hydroxy acids to their younger target markets, with colourful packaging and names like “baby facial.” While these ingredients are effective for ageing skin, they can significantly damage young skin, causing redness, peeling, burning and potentially leading to infections, acne, eczema and increased sensitivity (Rackham, 2024).

• In the US, a bill to ban the sale of anti-ageing skincare products to consumers under 13 failed last year, but advocates continue to push for similar restrictions. Meanwhile, in the EU, legislation passed in 2023 limits the concentration of retinol in over-the-counter products, and Sweden’s leading pharmacy, Apotek Hjartat, now requires parental consent for customers under 15 to purchase anti-aging skincare products (Gecker, 2024).

Industry Impact and Potential:

• In recent years, social media has become a major platform for educational skin health content, with dermatologists and medical aestheticians sharing their expertise. However, the increasing dependency on social media for skincare advice is concerning, as it also hosts a significant amount of false information from unverified users and generalised advice often fails to address the unique needs of individual skin types (Joshi et al., 2022).

• While interest in skincare, makeup and cosmetics among young people isn't new, targeted marketing and social media exposure are at unprecedented levels. This heightened focus on appearance raises concerns about potential downstream mental health effects. Ultimately, more rigorous control measures around brand marketing and product availability and suitability are necessary (Gecker, 2024).

Our Solution:

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References:

Gecker, J. (2024) Young girls are using anti-aging products they see on social media. The - harm is more than skin deep. AP News. 31 August. https://apnews.com/article/influenced-skincare-routine-mental-health-f59bb09114ab93323e3a47197a1ad914.

Joshi, M., Korrapati, N.H., Reji, F., Hasan, A. & Kurudamannil, R.A. (2022) The Impact of Social Media on Skin Care: A Narrative Review. Lviv clinical bulletin. 18 June. https://lkv.biz/en/the-impact-of-social-media-on-skin-care-a-narrative-review/. 

Rackham, A. (2024) Growing skincare use by children is dangerous, say dermatologists. BBC News. 27 January. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-67993618.