To think pre-teen girls don't need expensive skincare - "Cosmeticorexia" BBC piece.

Surely a water baby wipe or bath
water is fine. Funny how we all survived without products before TikTok and Sephora .

I find Pears very harsh and drying, and my skin isn't particularly reactive.

There are gentle soaps that are far better for young skin than cleansers meant for adults, e.g Neutrogena or Pears, or Waitrose do a clear glycerine soap.

Certain formulas of micellar water have drawn scrutiny for containing controversial preservatives like PHMB (polyhexamethylene biguanide). PHMB is a suspected carcinogen in high doses.

Independent safety reviews, such as those from the Danish Consumer Council (THINK Chemicals), have occasionally flagged specific micellar waters. Some formulas were marked down for including suspected hormone disruptors or potential carcinogens.

There are warnings about the cumulative effect of low-dose chemicals we are exposed to across multiple daily products.

Why oh why would you give this to a 10 year old to play with and put on their skin on a daily basis?

TikTok is to blame. Sephora has a major problem with gangs of teenage girls now too apparently.
Sephora workers on the rise of chaotic child shoppers: ‘She looked 10 years old and her skin was burning’ | Children | The Guardian https://share.google/0MtB9w1UH7M9QsjQm

I was always asking for Matey in my bath. That was aimed at kids and probably full of harsh chemicals. We didn't have it often as I think my parents thought it was a bit daft and too expensive probably. My hair was knotty without conditioner and Vosene shampoo. Even with conditioners they were pretty bad in the 1980s.

Also had a perm about twice a year between the ages of 13 and 18. I was always dyeing my hair from 14 onwards. Let's not think too carefully about the chemicals that went on my head.

Oh I agree with that but that was the point I was making in my very first post that you were commenting on. It’s fine to buy a few bits to indulge an interest or help with a minor skin care concern but they just shouldn’t be complex adult aimed ingredients.

My girls are in their early 20s but the only time they wear make up is on stage (actually ds is the same )

There were girls that used a lot of makeup but not huge numbers in the school. The school had a rule that from year 9 upwards they could wear discrete make up, which I think helped because they could experiment a bit, but not overdo it.

Dd2 used to not infrequently get stopped and asked to prove she didn't have makeup on - which she did easily with a wipe. I told her the joke was that not only did they think she had makeup on, but they didn't even think it was discrete (and no she wasn't putting it on after she'd left).

Skin care products nearly all give me spots so I don't use them.

Just awful awful parenting. These poor girls. What hope have they mentally if subjected to such a focus on their face at 10?Then there is the chemicals slathering all over their faces.

At 10 the only thing on my DD’s face was mud and sunscreen. She has the most gorgeous skin now.

I have a preteen who isn’t interested in skin care at all and a teenager who loves skin care but is very balanced in what she uses.

I love skin care so have been able to talk to them about what is good for your skin and what isn’t. Im
not an expert at all, but have taught them that as a pre teen you do not need “actives” on your face unless these are prescribed by a GP for a skin condition.

On this basis, all my preteen is allowed to use is SPF and moisturiser. I did once let her buy a serum because the main ingredient was glycerin.

We aren't talking about adults. At that age I didnt have a skin care routine I just got in the shower or bath and washed my face. I never had horrendous skin not using adult products at 10

It doesn't mention adult aimed skin care doesn't it? That's the point

My 14yd old dd suffers horrendous eczema and us under a dermatologist. We never used soap. But body wash as a baby. No one actively uses soap because to be honest no one at 10 has a skin care routine!

Not true. Go to page 63. For tweens getting interested in skincare, they can have cleanser moisturiser and sun protection. Obviously, with the exception of the spf, most kids won’t need the stuff but like I said, my dd likes it, it helps with her post swimming skin, we bought a few inexpensive products and causes zero drama in our house at all.

I used Rimmel concealer from being about 11 or 12 when I started getting one or two spots. I still use it!! Have tried loads of other but have never found any better. We weren't allowed to wear makeup at school but I still wore a bit of eyeshadow and mascara at 13 or so as well and got away with it.

Agree. I don't agree with kids using hard products designed for adults but also don't agree with them been clueless and using harsh soaps ect. I've never used Johnson's etc when she was a baby, instead it was coconut oil, natural bathing products etc. I suffered with really bad eczema as a kid and fully blame the daily baths in Johnson's bubble bath, imperial leather soap ect.

And not all kids do have glowing skin. One of my DDs friends already has acne and she doesn't use any skin care products. I think prevents acne is easier than trying to cure it

To you maybe. She swims a lot so does get some dry skin. I like her to wear spf during spring summer for obvious reasons and she cleans her face in the evening to get the spf off.
The lip balms are an indulgence just because she’s got quite a few but I bet you wouldn’t be so outraged about by boys buying football cards of Pokémon cards. Or maybe you would.

It causes absolutely no conflict in our house. My daughter has healthy skin and it’s not her only interest- swimming as mentioned above, drama, gymnastics.

By the way, the moisturisers and cleansers combined cost a total of about £20. I spent more on my sons replica football kit.

I remember washing my face with soap as a little kid and my skin feeling very tight and horrible. I don't think standard soap is particularly great, it's just that you get away with it before spots start to appear. Unless you have eczema etc of course.

I had to get advice about what to put on DD1's skin as a baby as she had baby eczema. Certainly not soap.

Soap is bad for anyone's face!

My niece sees a dermatologist for acne,
the dermatologist told her that a lot of the expensive skincare brands can actually be very damaging to child and teen skin.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the other 'reason' that posters give for giving their kids all this shit, its necessary because they 'need' it for some high faluting reason for their skin, theres always a pseudo medical reason. 'looking after their skin' is a thing trotted out

Funny how its not the same for the boys isnt it?

We have the same book and funnily enough it mentions not using all the stuff she has bought her dd.

YANBU to the extent that some seem to get into it. It's good to start learning how to look after your skin though in puberty and this applies to boys and girls.

I soon learned in the 1980s age 11 that Aapri facial scrubs were not a great idea. I was definitely affected by advertising, books and magazines, if it was much too early for social media. Took me until I was 20/21 to realise that women's beauty magazines were selling insecurity, so we had our own issues back then too.

DDs buy more expensive stuff at 20 and 17 though than I do at 50.