The Epidemic of “Sephora Kids” and Social Media

A few minutes of scrolling on social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram could lead you down a rabbit hole of “get-ready-with-me” videos. These types of videos are structured similarly, with influencers wearing spa headbands, applying a variety of products and sharing makeup tips for their viewers. 

With a generation chronically online and technology more present now than ever, these “GRWMs” are reaching the screens of young tweens. Makeup videos featuring expensive, brand-sponsored products are increasingly targeting preteens, typically under the age of 13. The stream of videos has spurred children, often branded as “Sephora Kids,” to flock to cosmetic stores for makeup products. Buying Drunk Elephant serums and Glow Recipe cleansers, children are no longer addicted to fidget spinners and slime trends from 2017. 

In the past few months, videos of young girls showing off their lavish makeup hauls or doing a shopping spree at Sephora have been circulating all over social media, especially on TikTok. The videos have caused concern and anger over the fact that young children are buying these products, which are often not catered towards young skin and could be damaging. Dr. Carol Cheng, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology and board-certified dermatologist at UCLA, explained, “Many products are more suitable for mature skin to target wrinkles or skin with specific concerns like acne. For tweens and teens, these ingredients can do damage, irritate the skin and cause the reverse effects they are hoping to achieve.”

“Kids are easily influenced by social trends and fitting into a certain mold/aesthetic. Realistically most of them don’t have skin concerns; they just want kid clout to make them feel better about themselves, which is normal. But, using unprescribed strong topical skincare products (retinol, tretinoin, salicylic acid, etc.) is unnecessary and dangerous because it can have potential side effects, especially on children,” Thomas S. Wootton High School sophomore Leanne Mpay said.

Additionally, some online users even stated that children destroyed makeup testers or were rude to employees at stores. Sephora employee Natalia Herrera, or @natsodrizzy on TikTok, posted a video on the platform that garnered over 35 million views. Herrera witnessed a young girl around 10 to 11 years old about to buy over $900 worth of makeup before getting into an argument with her mother. “Long story short, after minutes and minutes of arguing, the little girl ended up spending $500 at Sephora instead of almost $900 and the mom was okay with that,” Herrera said.

Herrera raises concerns about parenting. She explained, “These 10-year-old girls at Sephora are crazy, but what’s crazier are the parents that aren’t parenting.” Parenting has evolved and changed, especially with Generation Alpha, people born between the early 2010s and mid-2020s. Mark McCrindle, a social researcher who helped coin the term “Gen Alpha,” wrote, “Parents [of Gen Alpha] are turning to the internet, not just family or friends, for parenting advice.” The effects of technology play a significant role in fostering parent-child relationships, negative and positive.

According to the Cleveland Health Clinic, “gentle parenting” is a notion that is also gaining traction. Cleveland Clinic explained, “[Gentle parenting is] a parenting style [that] relies on empathy, understanding and respect.” This opposes a more authoritative parenting style used in the past by baby boomers and Generation X, those born in the late 1940s-1960s and late 1960s-1980s, respectively.

As parenting changes through generations, this may affect how children nowadays behave and carry themselves, especially in public. It is clear that Gen Alpha is growing to have different views on the world compared to generations past, surely attributed to the rise of social media. Specifically, general trends suggest that Gen Alpha are seeking to be treated more like adults, will be more adaptable and more bold in speaking about issues they care about.

Unfortunately, the digital age of filters and beauty standards can be detrimental for young preteens. Beauty standards can push young girls to congregate in cosmetics stores and buy expensive products to remove their non-existent wrinkles or eyebags. Seeing influencers online with zero blemishes and glass skin can convince young girls to buy unnecessary products to achieve a certain look.

Jessica Hager, an employee at The Cosmetics Company Store in the Clarksburg Premium Outlets, has not dealt with the youth Sephora craze but understands social media’s impact on the beauty industry. 

“Beauty concepts that people put out there are sometimes unrealistic and a lot of people don’t realize that influencers use filters. In my time, it was magazines and TV, but it wasn’t so in your face. Now, it’s like you’re bombarded by all these beauty standards. It’s nice to wear makeup to make yourself feel better but as far as beauty standards, they can be unrealistic,” Hager said.

It is impossible to unpack every contributing factor to this epidemic, including ideas of consumerism, parenting and beauty standards. However, there is a bright side. The point of makeup is to have fun and make an individual feel happy with themselves, and through proper usage of social media, new ideas can be exchanged—even for youth.

“It’s good as far as getting the word and getting your brand out there and sometimes it’s also good so that people can see what [the makeup] looks like on a person’s face before they buy it. It’s nice to wear makeup to make yourself feel better,” Hager said. 

Addressing these concerns with social media and preteen beauty standards is crucial, as we are in an ever-changing world where tomorrow is unpredictable. However, just like the changing of generations and trends, there is always hope for positive reform.

Written by Pragna Pothakamuri

Photo Courtesy of Cedrik Malabanan and Creative Commons