Age 11 or 44, what’s the deal with skincare? Our Best Life
CLEVELAND, Ohio — My friend gave me wrinkle cream for my 44th birthday. My daughter got blemish serum for her 11th. What’s the deal with the skincare obsession?
For decades, my twice-a-day skincare routine consisted of washing my face (I used Johnson & Johnson’s Clean & Clear far past its target demographic) and applying moisturizer – a store-brand bottle with sunscreen in the morning, Cetaphil without at night. I had no complaints. And while of course I’d seen the TV and magazine ads for creams that promised to defy aging and deliver a fountain of youth, I was too overwhelmed by the cost and the sheer number of options to try any of them.
Vitamin A? Vitamin D?
Retinol? Hyaurolic acid?
Collagen? Anti-oxidants?
The ingredients sounded like chemistry class. I had no idea what I was supposed to put on my face. So I didn’t.
Until my daughter got hooked on skincare.
If a fifth-grader could spend a half-hour cleansing and toning and moisturizing her face, maybe at 44, I could spend 2 minutes. I will likely never get Botox, but maybe a cream could help lighten the jowls I saw in video calls, or fade the red patch on my forehead.
I read a book on skincare. I asked friends for advice. And I bought retinol, a serum and a moisturizer from The Ordinary, the most affordable line I found recommended. There, finally. I had four items in my skincare regime. I’ll work in that birthday bottle of Kiehl’s “Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate with 12.5% Vitamin C + Hyaluronic Acid” when I work up the nerve.
Compare this to my daughter, who has a drawer full of products. She has Drunk Elephant scalp scrub she won in a raffle, Bubble moisturizer she got for her birthday, Wet & Wild brightening serum she bought with a Target gift card, cotton candy sugar scrub, a stack of face masks from our neighbor and something called a jade roller from the Dollar Tree. I had never heard of a jade roller, and I’m fairly certain that one from the Dollar Tree is not made of jade, but according to the internet, it supposedly helps reduce puffiness and improve circulation.
All this for a girl who’s skin is – like every other 11-year-old’s – pristine. She is not allowed to wear make-up. She does not have a cellphone and has no access to TikTok or Instagram, unless I’m showing her a video from the Holderness family. But she does watch YouTube on the computer (much too often in the summer).
Skincare is all the rage for tweens.
The American beauty industry has grown from $72 billion in 2020 to $108 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach $129 billion in 2028. Brands say they’re not marketing to 10-year-olds, but I’m not sure I believe them. Generation Alpha is a huge market, enamored of Sephora and Ulta. Child influencers on the internet show off brands like Drunk Elephant and apply products for the camera.
Why the trend? I think it’s because the products smell good. The packaging is pretty. It’s a fun activity, like making friendship bracelets of Taylor Swift songs. And like texting, or like playing house when they were in preschool, skincare makes the girls feel grown-up — as well as part of a group.
The thing is, this obsession isn’t harmless, even if kids don’t develop some kind of body distortion mental health issue.
These products are not meant for young skin. Experts say they should steer clear of products that exfoliate or contain acids and retinols, which could make their skin more sensitive.
My daughter never had a blemish until she started using all those products.
Touching your skin that much can’t be good for it. The only skincare routine these kids need is face wash and some SPF.
Meanwhile, for Mother’s Day I got a mini refrigerator for our bedroom to keep my retinol cold.
Cleveland.com content director Laura Johnston writes weekly about life in her 40s in the column, Our Best Life. Subscribe to the newsletter to get the column delivered to your inbox Friday mornings. Or find her on Instagram @ourbestlifecle.
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