As we got further and further into the year 2023 and started heading towards the holidays, I noticed a sharp uptick in the number of patients asking me one question. It may have been due to holiday wish lists forming. It is most definitely due to social media and “influencers” becoming even more common amongst Generation Alpha individuals(those born between 2013 and today). This is also a big topic for Gen Z(which is 1997-2012). Can you guess what the hottest topic/patient FAQ I heard recently?
“What do you think about my child getting into a complex skincare routine at age 9/10/11/12/13 etc…?” or “My child is asking for a lot of beauty items they have seen on social media for the holidays, what is your opinion on those?” or another variation of the same question.
My initial answer is ….. whoa, I need to take a deep breath, gather my thoughts, and by the way do you have another 20 minutes to discuss this topic? It’s almost always a last minute question as we are finishing up mom’s appointment about whether the pre-teen age group should get into detailed beauty regimens and my answer is LONG …..or could be long, at least the answer in my head. Additionally, the questions are which products should that young age group be using, if any? It is a complex topic that involves me thinking as a scientist and dermatologist and then also putting on my mom hat and looking at the issue from multiple angles. That being said, obviously the parents need to decide on their own how they feel and what guidelines are to be in place in their own house. I will mostly address my thoughts on the pre-teen beauty industry craze from a dermatologist perspective but will touch on the parent aspect briefly acknowledging that it is my own opinion and that will vary in other families homes.
So, in dermatology we see patients who have oily skin, dry skin, and combination skin. There is no one product that will be just perfect for everyone. Therefore, when an influencer states that
“this cleanser, this toner, this serum, this moisturizer is AMAZING”
it must be taken with a grain of salt. If the product is affordable to the person doing the purchasing, its not a terrible thing to try something new. However, it could cause the skin to be dry or irritating for some people, could cause an allergic reaction, or just plain not really seem to make any difference even when the advertisers were claiming it would.
False advertising is one topic that could be discussed over time with your pre-teen so they understand that not everything on the internet is true and that influencers are trying to make money. Secondly, since this age group is heading towards puberty there will be a lot of variability in their skin type. If someone is age 8-10 years old they may have very little oil production to their complexion and therefore might not be able to tolerate astringents or products that strip oil off the skin. Conversely, a young patient who is 11-14years old may be getting some acne and could use a product that has something like salicylic acid or an alpha hydroxy acid in it. On the flip side, that same person could use an advertised oil or serum that causes them to break out even more with acne.
If any product seems to be increasing the amount of acne or causing the skin to burn or be red, it would be wise to stop the product and go back to something your skin has tolerated before. If the acne or rash doesn’t resolve on its own, then consult a dermatologist to resolve the rash/acne and then inquire which products may be better suited for you.
The second group of dermatologist thoughts that I have on this topic is that I hope we can teach young individuals that they don’t need to be doing complex skin regimens for healthy skin. The very best thing we should be teaching is that using a daily oil-free, non-pore clogging sunscreen would be wonderful for their skin. Over their lifetime, they will have a more even skin tone, less wrinkles, and less sallowness to their skin. Just sunscreen doesn’t have to be all they use. As they begin to have more oil production or acne, it is a great idea to teach twice daily skin cleansing. This acts to remove dead, sticky skin cells to prevent acne. (they get sticky because of oil production in the double digit age group) Acne patients could use an acne cleanser but everyone else without acne can just use a gentle facial cleanser. The type of cleanser doesn’t make much difference to overall skin health. The act of cleaning the face matters more. However, if someone uses a lathering/foaming face wash and feels too dry, then they need to switch to a gentle cleanser that doesn’t lather(lathering agents remove natural oil and dry the skin out). Gritty cleansers that feel like sand is in them are really harsh on the skin and not great to use on the face EVER. If someone needs exfoliation, I prefer cleansers with salicylic acid(beta hydroxy acid for acne prone skin) or alpha hydroxy acids(like glycolic acid) to gently dissolve the bonds between the dead skin cell layer rather than ripping dead skin off with the gritty face washes.
Now to put on the mom hat. I will keep this brief because, again, this is a personal household decision regarding whether to allow them to look at social media, how much to get into the beauty craze, and at what age. I worry as a mom of 3 kids (two of which are girls) that on top of what we know about teen girls in particular being hard on themselves and their physical appearance, we also know that social media increases rates of depression by comparing oneself to others who are unrealistic body types/filtered images.
So, first when moms were asking about their 10 year olds, I wondered how 10 years old girls were being exposed to all this information. Was it the parents or family member using complex beauty regimens and the youngster was watching while chatting in the bathroom? Were other friends talking about this at sleepovers or bringing their serums to sleepovers? Was it on social media and internet through influencers? Based on what I have learned from patients, they feel like most is from social media.
So, I would urge you to have frank discussions with your child about how no matter how many serums from social media are purchased, it will likely not do anything that different than a well suited facial cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen from a local store. If its a fun activity and budget allows then SURE try new things, but encourage them to appreciate their natural beauty. Keep those little ones young as long as you can before they inevitably criticize their skin/body because we all know how easy that is to do!
Written by
Dr. Andrea LaTorre, a board certified dermatologist
andrealatorremd 