Children as young as 8! being conned and manipulated by the "beauty" industry

[hatetheexploitationofinnocentgirls]

And of course it is almost all girls getting told they need to put chemicals on their skin to look "pretty". Then they will be told they have to cover their faces up completely in make up to be acceptable to be seen in public.

Why are parents not protecting their daughters from this blatantly misogynistic and physically and emotionally damaging exploitation?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67993618

We’re not talking about teens though but preteens. Of course teenage girls have always been interested in makeup. I would still try and steer a teenager away from heavy duty skincare aimed at much older women though.

£££

Gotra keep the economy going and making it robust for the future!

you are a whole generation out! I have raised my girls and nieces, and have the next generation at this stage now - but I teach in a girls schools as well, so literally thousands of them have passed through my hands.

Some of the girls who fall for this crap at a young age never recover, and are left with cripplingly low self esteem for life. I have seen it. And the sheer waste of young lives spending hours in front of the mirror each week! precious hours they will never get back, and the money that is thrown down the drain is eye watering.

but have plenty of teenage nieces and yes they are all massively into skincare , hair etc , of course they have other issues but hours are spent a day on this tbf !
severally abnormal, and their mental health is very much at risk, as well as their physical and financial wellbeing

At 8 I was playing with dolls and riding my bike around pretending it was a horse. My niece turned 8 recently and got an iPhone for her birthday. Depressing how the world changes. Kids should be kids.

I have a daughter (and a son) and try to lead by example. I try to teach my kids inner beauty is more important and while I do wear a bit of makeup and I do like to look after my skin, I am far from obsessed.

I'm guessing this is an autocorrect typo but it made me laugh because thick is exactly the right word for people who let children on Tiktok!!

My 10yr old is currently wearing a cat mask and tail pretending to be a cat. I was only saying last night she seems very immature still playing in this way but reading this stuff I'm glad. I would absolutely hate if she started nagging me about this stuff so young.

Probably fewer than are obsessed with 'wine o'clock' a few pints or a 'cheeky G&T', yet we don't have 8 year olds running around drunk. Some things are for adults only, and children need to be told that. No need to use this as (yet another) chance to shame women who enjoy using cosmetic products. For one thing, the article makes it clear this is a peer activity driven by SM rather than girls copying their mums. Adult women have groomed for centuries without their 8 year old daughters using harmful chemicals on their faces.

They are learning this from their Mums and the adults around them.

I think this is a sweeping generalisation and one that hugely underestimates the influence of SM, and Tik Tok in particular. I can assure that most of the Year 4 and 5 children I work with who are convinced they need Retinol, Vitamin C serum, Sacylic Acid and MAC or Charlotte Tillbury make up are not being influenced by their Mums because, in the nicest way possible, I have met their Mums and they're clearly not into that stuff. These kids openly say the reason they want this stuff is that various influencers they follow on Tik Tok and idolise are talking about it. We have reached a point where they worship these influencers, and trust them more than they trust the adults in their lives, so even when their teachers or relatives tell them "of course you don't need Retinol, you're 8" they don't believe them. I don't believe its the parents putting the ideas in their head but I absolutely do blame parents for allowing them access to SM and for giving into their pestering to spend stupid amounts of money on stuff that they don't need and is bad for their skin.

I personally spend quite a lot of money on make up and skincare but my own 10 year old knows nothing about any of it and isn't interested, because she doesn't have a phone and isn't on social media, neither are the girls in her friend group.

I agree it's a judgy thread too, it's got a really nasty tone and lots of snarky comments about the parents wearing make-up (god forbid 😱) and how they never wear any make up 🙄 As if it's a new thing.

I think this a wider issue. I certainly dislike the early introduction of screens / smartphones and the constant pushing of 'tweakments' that seems to be everywhere, presumably this is a trickle down of this, but the judgement of normal parents doing their best here is unreal. We all know there are school/social media crazes, kids ask for things /emulate older siblings, it's tricky to balance and most will get something wrong at some point.

Btw my dd is 8 and I've never heard of Drunk Elephant, she has never mentioned skincare, and won't be getting a phone for as long as I can get away with, however I don't turn my nose up at those that decide to participate in trends (noting the sneery Stanley cup comments) - last year it was Air Up and Prime. It happens. I recognise it's hard to manage the onslaught of social media and advertising.

@sunshine237

I really don't know what a Stanley cup is unless it is a travel mug?

Is that sneery?

Back in my day, skincare for DC consisted of Nivea to deal with dry/chapped/irritated skin, Soltan suncream in summer and plain Lypsyl lip balm.

Then in the teens we all branched out, mainly into No17, Rimmel and of course Kissing Potion

I did have those dreadful Rimmel lipglosses when I was around 10/11 I think

When Grease was released

Adult women have groomed for centuries without their 8 year old daughters using harmful chemicals on their faces.
This.

There's some interesting discussions to be had about the beauty industry and its role in socialising women to look a certain way, but that's a different kettle of fish to this.

Something is going wrong when parents are giving their children access to this online content and then are choosing to buy their primary school children this sort of stuff.

Let's lay the blame where it belongs. No one is conning anyone. Who is buying them the products? I too played with my mum's makeup. There was no way she would have gone out and bought anything ridiculously priced for me. So it's women who are the real influencers and problem here. Fgs, stop blaming 'society', 'social media', everyone else except parents who are in control but have lost control.

It is indeed a travel mug! They are massive which I think tends to encourage ridicule

I obviously didn't mean not knowing what one was, was sneery. There were a few comments.

Disclaimer: I don't have one and have no intention of getting one! It's just the latest SM thing, I thought more of an adult thing but imagine it's unsurprising for kids to ask.

As it usually is.

Some are so quick to want to ban things instead of hold parents responsible for buying the stuff in the first place even when companies have pointed out that their marketing and target market are 18+.

Saying that, I don’t think there is anything wrong about teaching children how to take care of their skin. It’s about how it’s presented and what is being used. Wouldn’t be telling my children to get retinols but cleaning, moisturising their skin (all of us have dry skin issues), and wearing sunscreen are things they should know.

Quite.

I am appalled at the number of people saying “awww only playing mummy”, or “it’s just some fun colour”, and organising “pamper parties” for their little girls. Of course also demonstrating to girl children that mummy needs her “full face” on.

I have a son and a daughter and neither are getting pamper parties and “just for fun only a bit of colour” paints. Their mum is also same I guess. Clean body, moisturised, and off doing work/fun/sports whatever.

I was really surprised when my daughter started school and I found out other 4/5 year olds were allowed unsupervised access to YouTube and to their parents phones.

If my kids were asking for something unsuitable the answer would be no, but apparently some parents would rather be their child’s friend than their protector.

If consumers didnt buy the products there wouldnt be a problem. At some point we need to stop blaming everyone else and take personal responsibility.

Tbf, Stanley cups (if filled with water) are probably way better for most kiddo’s skin than piling drunk elephant all over it. Hydration is important!

It’s an insulated metal mug/cup with a handle on it and a straw, and they come in all sorts of colours. You can Google image it if you are curious to see what they look like.

They’ve been wildly popular in the US and on social media for quite a while now. The trend seems to finally be coming to the UK, either because the company is expanding or perhaps because of some of the recent media about it.

@hatetheexploitationofinnocentgirls they are not remotely “abnormal”, what a strange phrase for a secondary school teacher to use…. They are wonderful girls and have a load of interests ; horse riding , languages , travel , they all work in part-time jobs , they have great social lives but also love makeup and skin care 🤷‍♀️. I actually have over 10 nieces as come from a huge family (not in uk ). Also spending hours experimenting with makeup
with all their friends makes them really them really happy tbh . How did it go with your daughters? How many do you have ?
I have also worked in secondary for years and honestly don’t recognise what you are talking about but I’m not in the uk so maybe it’s different there…

I didn't say your nieces were abnormal, I said their behaviour was , spending hours on skin care as a young teen is physically, emotionally and financially damaging. Most don't do it. And this thread is about even younger girls.

If you work in education then you will have met the girls whos self esteem is so hammered into the ground that they cannot leave their house without make up on

Unfortunately the way you speak about your neice is quite scathing tbh . I loved makeup , spent lots of time getting ready to go out , hugely enjoyed it tbh , part of being young and carefree. I also studied lots in university, travelled loads and now in my late 30’s with three older kids also enjoy wearing makeup , going to the gym and dressing up when going out .
Problems with self esteem is usually from more serious issues ; poor attachment , broken homes etc etc . I agree that young girls of 8 talking about skincare is a bit mad tbf

Sure, there are many attacks on self esteem, but why compound it all by allowing a child to be brain washed into thinking she has to cover her face to be socially acceptable? That just makes everything else bad going on in life a whole lot worse

My nieces don’t wear makeup everyday but are definitely all very interested in it and watch YouTube tutorials etc ,they are all highly social-able and spend loads of time hanging out work friends and horse-riding and plenty of sports , in fact one of my nieces is a successful soccer player here where we live. They also all love makeup and dressing up , they are confident and seem genuinely delighted with life! Your view is v v blanket . Im sure there are cases where makeup is a mask but that’s hardly a new concept , there’s also the fact that some people just enjoy putting it on , how it makes them look . It can actually be v creative .
What ages are your daughters, something tells me there’s something else going on especially when talking about your neice ….