Dermatologists warn extensive skincare routines could harm pre-teen skin

Key Points

Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are driving a surge in skincare use among children, some as young as eight
Many children are adopting adult skincare routines, including anti-ageing products, which dermatologists warn can harm young, sensitive skin
Parents are noticing adverse effects at home, such as rashes and breakouts, after their children use inappropriate skincare products
Some professionals, like salon owner Chelsea Mann, are responding by educating children on safe skincare practices
Experts and industry insiders fear that large skincare companies may exploit this trend to market aggressively to younger consumers

Dermatologists are raising concerns that adult skincare products, increasingly used by pre-teens due to social media trends, may be damaging to children’s sensitive skin.

Skincare has become a popular topic on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

But children as young as eight are adopting extensive skincare routines, often involving products designed for anti-ageing.

The trend is already being noticed by parents.

Pamela Blekley said her nine-year-old daughter, Olivia, was using cleanser, toner, serum and moisturiser before she realised the effects it was having.

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t checking at first,” Pamela said.

“I was just letting her use whatever she brought home until I saw different changes in her skin – breaking out and having wee rashes and stuff, obviously that was on my part. I wasn’t checking, but I wasn’t really aware of how bad they were for her skin to be honest.”

Salon owner Chelsea Mann also decided to act after seeing her daughter’s reaction to popular products. She now runs classes in Glasgow to teach children what is and isn’t safe.

She told STV News: “I saw it for myself with my wee girl because she jumped on the hype and she used all the skincare and I saw what it was doing to her skin.

“It broke her skin out and it dried her out because they’re using it every single day and I think that’s coming from social media and the things that they’re seeing like ‘come get ready with me’ videos and things like that.”

Professor Sara Brown, a clinical academic dermatologist at the University of Edinburgh, said young skin is naturally resilient and does not need extra products.

She told STV News: “Healthy pre-teen skin is amazing, the skin is made to regenerate and look after itself and essentially what you should be doing in young skin that’s healthy, is just leaving it to do what it’s good at, leaving it to grow, leaving it to breathe, and extra products on top of that just bring challenges to the skin.

“Probably one of the commonest challenges I see is people using a lot of greasy products on their skin that clog the pores and it makes you more prone to getting acne type spots.

“Another category would be products containing retinol or things that are designed to prevent aging, it can sensitise the skin, make the skin more irritable, more red, more itchy and also make the skin more sensitive to sunshine, which is clearly not something that we want in young skin.”

But there are fears that larger companies could take advantage of this growing market of younger consumers.

Tommy Crooks, founder of the Edinburgh Natural Skin Company, said: “Children are watching a lot of social media and they’re getting bombarded by marketing from very powerful influencers.

“I think if anything, the big players in this, the multinationals, will absolutely monetise it and try and market it really hard if they see a route to higher revenue.”