Online makeup gurus have the power to influence online users and sell out even the most expensive of products.
However, an unexpected group is being influenced more so than others by the makeup and skincare trends we see online: Gen Alpha.
In Dec. 2023, users online began to notice a trend of “12-year-olds in Sephora” after user Chloe Grace Berkel posted a TikTok regarding her realization.
“I don’t know if this is, like, everywhere lately, but I swear everytime I go into these expensive, expensive makeup stores it’s just all really young little girls, which is really upsetting to say,” Berkel said about recent visits to makeup stores.
No one is saying that it is unusual for girls to start experimenting with makeup and skincare at 12. But when I was 12, my makeup routine consisted of mascara and maybe some blush that my mom applied for me.
In fact, I don’t even think I knew what Sephora was until I was in high school.
My makeup and skin care regimen came from the local drugstore or whatever I managed to steal out of my sister’s collection.
My point is, I would have never dreamed of using the products kids seem to now be experts in.
The Cut asked Jania Albright, a Sephora employee, what it is like from her perspective. “Young people come in and just buy unnecessary skin care that they don’t even know anything about,” Albright said.
While TikTok trends may make young girls think they are experts in the area of skin care and makeup, it is rare that children are doing the necessary research into what they are putting on their face.
Influencers are trying to sell a product, so they don’t worry about spreading awareness of the danger of these items.
A lot of the products that are flying off the shelves and onto the bathroom counters of young girls everywhere are made with chemicals that address skincare issues that most preteens are not experiencing yet.
Retinoids are becoming an increasingly trending skincare item for Gen Alpha.
“In my practice, most of our teen acne patients are using a topical retinoid such as Adapalene or Tretinoin. When they add other actives such vitamin C serums, glycolic acid or salicylic acid without guidance from a dermatology provider, they can get tremendous irritation of their skin,” dermatologist Dr. Angela Casey commented in an interview with HuffPost.
When young girls are on TikTok and see influencers twice their age promoting these skincare items, they are not given the needed explanation of how their skin differs.
It is important that children within this age group receive a well rounded understanding of skin care, makeup and overall hygiene. This responsibility should fall into the hands of parents and primary care doctors.
Buzzfeed collected the comments of Gen Alpha parents and children regarding the skincare craze among children.
One user, Tiffany C., detailed how she approaches the subject with her own child, “My daughter has gone to Sephora with me, and she has her own skincare routine, BUT we have had in-depth conversations about what she does and doesn’t need.”
It isn’t that kids should be completely cut off from skin care and makeup, but guardians must have an open conversation on the subject.
Sephora and anti-aging creams are not where children should be starting in their skincare journey, and they need to understand why.
