‘Sephora kids’ are using anti-aging creams. A new study says harms aren’t just skin deep

If you’ve recently witnessed a 10-year-old smear their face with an $80 anti-wrinkle cream — either in real life or in any number of “Get Ready With Me” TikTok videos — you’re probably already aware of the “Sephora kids” skin-care trend that has young people clamouring for anti-aging products thanks in part to what they see on social media.

Now, a new study published in Pediatrics this month, the first peer-reviewed paper of its kind, found that skin-care solutions promoted on TikTok not only offer little to no benefit for children and teens, but they can actually be harmful. And the risks go beyond skin damage (although, there is that, too), the authors note.

“It’s problematic to show girls devoting this much time and attention to their skin,” corresponding author Dr. Molly Hales, a postdoctoral research fellow and dermatologist in the department of dermatology at Chicago’s Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a news release.

“We’re setting a very high standard for these girls. The pursuit of health has become a kind of virtue in our society, but the ideal of ‘health’ is also very wrapped up in ideals of beauty, thinness and whiteness.”

The authors in the study analyzed 100 unique videos by content creators between the ages of seven and 18, with an average 1.1 million views each. On average, each regimen featured six products, totalling about $230 Cdn. On the higher end of the scale, some of the girls used more than a dozen products on their faces, the authors said.

They found that only a quarter of the skin-care routines included sunscreen use, the most popular videos contained an average of 11 irritating active ingredients for young skin (such as hydroxy acids) and the content creators often layered multiple active ingredients or the same one over and over in multiple products.

In one video, the authors say, one girl applied 10 different products on her face in 10 minutes.

The videos also sometimes had racially encoded language that emphasized “lighter brighter skin,” the authors noted.

The problem with ‘Sephora kids’

The “Sephora kids” trend, where children as young as eight or nine use anti-aging skin-care products purchased from beauty retailers such as Sephora, started rising in popularity last year — and so have attempts to stop it.

In California, for example, Alex Lee, a member of the State Assembly, has been pushing a bill that would ban the sale of anti-aging products that contain potent and harsh ingredients to kids under the age of 18. In May, CBS reported that the bill quietly died without a vote.

And last December, Quebec’s Order of Chemists published a warning that some skin-care products designed for adults and popularized on social media should be avoided by children because the active ingredients can be harmful to young skin.

The products often contain strong active ingredients that young skin isn’t properly equipped to handle, said Dr. Julia Carroll, a dermatologist and lecturer at the University of Toronto, who was not involved in the current study.

Younger skin is typically more sensitive, so ingredients like alpha-hydroxy acids and retinoids can cause irritation, drying, peeling and dermatitis, Carroll told CBC News.

“It can actually sensitize their skin and give them a lifelong allergy to an ingredient,” she said.

The trend also creates a dependency where kids think they need a 10-step routine, Carroll added, “when really they just need a gentle cleanser, a moisturizer and a sunscreen.”

Gen Alpha drives sales

Canadians spent almost $9 billion US on beauty and personal-care products in 2024. According to Statistics Canada, households started spending “substantially” more on personal care after the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing by 30 per cent in 2023 compared with 2021.

Meanwhile, Generation Alpha continues to drive skin-care sales in the United States, according to recent Nielsen data. A global Mintel marketing intelligence report this year noted that this digital-first generation also has spending power projected to reach $5.5 trillion US by 2029, when the oldest of the cohort will be 19 years old.

Members of Gen Alpha, who were born roughly between 2010 and 2024, see beauty influencers and their routines as sources of inspiration, the Mintel report says.

“However, this acceleration into adult-oriented skin care often results in routines that prioritize appearance over health — a gap that the beauty industry must address,” it adds.

For now on TikTok, where there are some 18.3 million “Get Ready With Me” videos, Gen Alpha influencers show off their skin-care routines and “hauls” on videos with millions of views and comments.

In the Pediatrics journal study, the authors found that these products tend to be marketed heavily to younger consumers. They also expressed concern that it’s “nearly impossible” for parents and pediatricians to track exactly what children or adolescents are viewing.

“We’re seeing kids as young as eight or nine who are using anti-aging ingredients they picked up on TikTok,” Carroll said.

“You’re setting kids up for an unrealistic beauty standard that isn’t really appropriate for an eight-year-old, nine-year-old, 10-year-old. They already have usually pretty perfect skin, so to set them down that road that early can be quite harmful.”