The days of tweens using Noxzema to wash away their shimmery Wet n Wild eye shadow and flavored Lip Smackers are long gone. Today's youngest generation seems to be obsessed with skincare -- to the level that some 10-year-olds have 10-step routines.
Fueled by social media trends and influencer culture, a growing number of pre-teens from Generation Alpha, those born from 2010 and 2024, are shopping at beauty retail stores like Sephora and Ulta, buying up expensive skincare products intended for adult use. The hashtag #sephorakids is trending on TikTok with nearly 400 million views.
"Extensive expensive skincare routines and makeup has become a status symbol for Gen Alpha driven by a desire to fit in with peers," Dermatologist Brooke Jeffy told Fox News.
As kids fill their carts with facial scrubs and highlighting serums so they can feel like they're part of the trend, experts say the products they covet are designed for adults with certain ingredients that can be too harsh and not appropriate for young skin.
Retinol, a popular anti-aging skincare ingredient, is especially of concern.
"Retinols can potentially be very irritating in those with young, normal skin," dermatologist Mamina Turegano told BuzzFeed. "Retinols increase skin cell turnover, which is useful as we get older because our cell turnover rate decreases as we age. At a young age, the cell turnover rate is normal so using a retinol to induce higher cell turnover rate could lead to unnecessary irritation."
When children use products designed for older skin or are overexposed and layering on too many products at one time, it can actually have the opposite effect on their skin and lead to more issues.
"Putting on all these products, people do have more irritation, flaking, redness, more inflammation in their skin, which isn't good," Dermatologist Nazanin Saedi told Axios.
And, in a strange twist of fate, it can actually make them look older.
"Overuse or unnecessary application of filler and toxins at a young age may affect the natural facial development, causing younger patients to look older than they are," Dr. Rasha Rakhshani-Moghadam told the Daily Mail.
Kids who want to focus on taking care of their skin only need a few products, according to Dr. Turegano.
"A cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen are skincare products that are safe for kids. If a child has acne and oily skin, they can incorporate a salicylic acid-based cleanser or topical serum," Turegano told BuzzFeed. "Just because a skincare line has 40 different products, it's not necessary for them to use all of them. I say to keep things simple with a cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen."