Fear of Aging: Skin Care for Young Kids
You've probably heard of Sephora Kids, young girls obsessed with skincare brands like Drunk Elephant and Glow Recipe. But where did these trends emerge from? TikTok? Instagram? Peer pressure? It's most likely a mix of multiple different factors. But what is at the root of this issue, causing girls as young as eight years old to use preventative anti-aging products?
As social media platforms have grown in popularity and the world has become more interconnected, culture change occurs quicker and more efficiently. While this can be beneficial in some cases, it can also be harmful in others. The ‘ideal image’ of a girl or woman has also been an issue. The first Barbie doll, with its ideal features and body type, was released in 1959. However, social media has taken this issue to a new level.
A growing fear among young people is at the root of this new wave of Sephore Kids: a fear of aging. Statistica reports that the global anti-aging market is worth an estimated 62 billion dollars, with projections to grow to 93 billion by 2027. More and more people are using products to stay youthful for longer, and this desire is now spreading to children.Â
Drunk Elephant and Bubble are favorites of Sephora Kids everywhere. BBC interviewed eight-year-old Sadie, who talked about what attracted her to these brands. She said she likes Bubble, which "when you push down, comes up in [the shape of] a flower." She also shared with BBC that she was attracted to Drunk Elephant because "she liked the packaging a lot."
Drunk Elephant and Bubble both stated that their products do not target children. Tiffany Masterson, the CEO of Drunk Elephant, has even stated that some products are too potent for kids and tweens, expressing that “their skin does not need these ingredients quite yet."

Tweens began using anti-wrinkle and face-tightening screams to stop aging preemptively, but these products have not worked as expected. Parents have reported that their children experience skin rashes and breakouts since the products are not made for young skin.Â
However, despite their intentions, the packaging and design of many skin care and anti-aging brands are attractive to children and have become extremely popular. Children also use skin care products to emulate beauty influencers on TikTok and Instagram. While these platforms can be blamed for spreading the desire among youth, they are not the root of the trend.Â
There is a clear negative rhetoric around aging that is exacerbated by social media and the growth of the internet. It's almost seen as a fact of life: No one wants to age. No one wants to wrinkle and ‘lose their beauty’. Because this idea is so deeply ingrained in our culture, kids learn this fact at a young age and are now being pushed into using preventive measures against signs of aging like wrinkles.Â
Our culture has demonized aging and caused people to dread the process. Since the media constantly pushes beauty standards and unrealistic expectations onto young girls, they are particularly susceptible to this rhetoric.Â
The anti-aging industry has boomed due to an increase in ‘Sephora Kids,’ and while it might not be the industry’s intent, it is profiting off of young people’s insecurities and this generation’s growing fear of aging.Â
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