Where Culture Gets a Wicked Twist

Where Culture Gets a Wicked Twist

Why are 10-year-old little girls so obsessed with anti-aging skincare?

At what age did you start to swap your Barbies for beauty products? Maybe at 15? 16? If you’re of the millennial variety, your early skincare routine was probably just soap, water, and maybe whatever drugstore moisturizer your mom had lying around. Fast forward to 2024, and we’re facing a new reality: 10-year-olds are storming Sephora with the fervor of 20-somethings on payday. But why are preteens treating themselves to $40 Drunk Elephant serums instead of playing dress-up?

Today’s 10-year-olds are no longer the glitter lip gloss connoisseurs of our youth. No, these kids are stocking up on Glow Recipe’s latest serum and arguing over the benefits of niacinamide like they’re estheticians with years of experience. And they have the receipts—well, their parents do actually…

This epidemic of preteens-turned-skincare-gurus is fed by a niche yet wildly influential group: Gen Alpha influencers or “Sephora Kids.” These are kids who, instead of playing house, are making “get ready with me” videos that feature seven-step skincare routines complete with serums, masks, and anti-aging products. What’s the irony here? They’re barely a decade old—with skin as fresh as a dewy morning.

Beauty stores like Sephora and Ulta have seen a surprising demographic shift. Once the stomping ground of makeup aficionados and skincare enthusiasts aged 18 and up, they’ve now become playgrounds for tweens who test samples with impunity and even worse with sticky, unwashed hands. Picture it: a sea of middle schoolers swarming the aisles, dripping product from testers, and leaving glittery fingerprints on every highlighter palette in sight.

@lexislately

Honestly the drunk elephant testers at sephora werent terrible but you could tell a 10 year old had just just made a skincare smoothie. 12 year olds dont need retinol that is all 💀✋🏼 #sephorakids #sephora #drunkelephant #omg #relatable #lmao #skincaresmoothie #gross

♬ Smells Blood – kensuke ushio
@michelasheedy

This is embarrassing. Go get a lip smackers 😳💀 #sephorakids #sephora #makeup #drunkelephant #kids

♬ Funny – Gold-Tiger

Store employees have been left playing defense, trying to protect pricey products from the siege of enthusiastic preteens who’ve swapped playgrounds for product swatches.

But here’s where this trend turns from a playful “aww” to an “uh-oh.” The problem isn’t just the sudden surge in Sephora’s tween traffic; it’s what these young skincare devotees are doing to their faces. With social media glorifying “luxury” and “self-care” through aesthetic videos and over-filtered influencers, kids are picking up routines meant for skin damage control—not prepubescent perfection.

Think retinol—yes, the holy grail of anti-aging—being applied to faces that haven’t even seen a pimple yet. Or vitamin C serums slathered on kids who have yet to encounter dark spots. And don’t get me started on exfoliating acids. These products, designed to combat signs of aging and environmental stressors, are overkill for a 10-year-old.

According to dermatologists, introducing these potent products too early can disrupt the skin barrier, lead to irritation, and potentially cause long-term sensitivity issues. In other words, by the time Gen Alpha hits their teenage years, their skin might already need actual repair—ironically, from the ‘care’ they’ve been lavishing on it.

It’s easy to blame the influencers, but let’s not pretend parents don’t have a front-row seat to this show. A full-sized jar of La Mer doesn’t just waltz into a 10-year-old’s room unannounced. So, why aren’t parents stepping in? One part of it is likely the desire to keep up with trends, even through their kids. Social media has turned parenting into an arms race of “look at what my kid has” moments. If Sarah’s 11-year-old can flaunt a mini-fridge stocked with The Ordinary serums, so can yours.

To make matters even worse, a good deal of these “Gen Alpha Influencer” accounts are actually run by parents themselves. Yep, they are not only funding these Sephora shopping sprees, but they’re active participants.

@kcstauffer

Relax they got lip gloss, blush, perfume and power (for what I have no idea) but ya know what…they will learn quick what they need and what they dont need when its their own money. #shoppinghaul #sephora

♬ original sound – Kcstauffer

Social media is shaping Gen Alpha’s beauty standards in ways that would make even the most trend-obsessed millennial’s head spin. The overexposure to high-end skincare has turned these kids into mini-beauty moguls, often at the cost of their still-developing skin.

Until parents, influencers, and brands take a hard look at this trend, expect to see more 10-year-olds at Sephora—fighting over the last tub of Glow Recipe.

Till next time, be wickedly wonderful.


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Grandma Pat
Grandma Pat
21 days ago

It is abysmally sad to see youngsters driven by profit-only-based advertising. Where is parental control?

letmepicyou
letmepicyou
21 days ago
Reply to  Grandma Pat

The word “parent” is LEGAL-ESE and literally means “a pair who rents”, as in, “your” children from the state. To use and accept the term is to accept, even unknowingly, the ownership of your children by the state.

There is the mother, and the father, and the FATHER, and there is nothing else.

letmepicyou
letmepicyou
21 days ago

Want to avoid premature aging?
Avoid any and all ‘vaccines”.

HTuttle
HTuttle
21 days ago

Gotta be prepared for that gig at Disney!

rick
rick
17 days ago

Because their parents’ suck.

Steve Miller
Steve Miller
17 days ago

Welp, society asked for this very issue.

  • Hollywood is to be worshipped—to the point that kids have their full-blown networks with soap opera-like shows. No longer do cute/funny cartoons suffice. The brainwashing begins before the kid can talk.
  • Teen magazines, for decades, have pushed similar trash as Hollywood. The articles are no longer about “heartthrobs,” but now about “issues” that now target pre-teenage kids. I’ll let your imagination fill in the rest. What’s worse is that the magazines’ core revenue stream is not subscriptions, but advertising. And who advertises?!? And what is being advertised?!?
  • As has been mentioned, the government—with the help of global corporations—has perpetuated the notion that kids are a bother. Just drop them off at school (before they can walk) or a babysitter/nanny/au pair to be raised—then get your a$$ back to work because keeping-up-with-the-Jones is too important.
  • To continue with parenting, or lack-of… Where are the priorities of the parents? Dads are no longer allowed to be present, in most cases, let alone be involved with showing proper affection/parenting. Mom has been trained in a manner similar to the kids in the article. Looks, fashion, $$$, and the size of a guy’s eggplant (and how many eggplants she can get) are the holy grail of mom’s life. Time, devotion, affection, involvement, morals, ethics, discussions, training, or examples are too bothersome to deal with.

The article did a great job at creating click-bait to get us here.
The article did nothing to rectify the underlying issue or even suggest quality methods towards resolution.
smh

MAGAnificent
MAGAnificent
17 days ago

Lolita much?

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