Nearly 11 year old obsessed with skin care

[Oakstreet]

Getting on my nerves. As far as kids goes she isn't always on social media but all I hear is my friends have it! Fed up. Her dad ended up buying her some, so expensive too, she doesn't need it. I've tried telling her that it is a money spinning scam, and kids her age don't need it. She just doesn't listen, she really is like a stubborn teenager, but still a very a young child who shouldn't even be interested in this stuff. Anyone advice on how to talk to her?

Bum Bum cream is just a nice scented body cream- it's got nice ingredients, will make skin feel soft and moisturise. I can't see any harm in it- I would have let my DD have a small size at that age if she wanted it and then their curiosity is satisfied. You're just creating a mystery round it by not allowing it.

To be fair the bum bum cream is gorgeous, the whole range smells divine, but it does F all for cellulite (because, science) and it is far too heavy to use on young bodies.
The body sprays are nice though. Just like impulse and So! in my day (but not in aerosols so potentially better?)

@DojaPhat We have no evidence that’s what she’ll do, all she needs is some cleanser and moisturiser.

Ds has always had v dry skin. I have actively encouraged him to use moisterisers and he started being interested in decent cleansers aged 11. Currently he uses Simple or Cerave. Apparently though I need to buy a different colour cerave.... so yes, boys are aware of this too and I consider that a good thing.

I don't think Bum Bum cream claims to do anything for cellulite. It's pretty lightweight- can't see how a cream can be too heavy for a young body- what's gonna happen? Anyone can have dry skin at any age and I use it and it soaks in quickly. Look at the heavy creams some put on a baby's dry skin. The body spray is nice and a great scent for young ones- just sweet and summery.

That’s fair. I don’t think it’ll do any major harm but maybe cause spots on the body which teens are prone to anyway on backs and arms, as it’s quite a heavy cream compared to lighter lotions like Aveeno daily etc.

As far as I can recall it clams to be a firming cream?
edited to add, from its own description “the body cream works to visibly firm thanks to a nourishing cocktail of ingredients.”

I have always just thought of it as a fairly thick, it’s a bit sticky to rub in and you can scoop a dense lump out of the pot rather than pouring a more runny lotion out of a bottle.

But it is lovely and probably won’t harm anything more than their bank balance! It’s so expensive, I will not be lending mine to my 10 year old anytime soon . 😂

I think I must have been about 13 and doing the cleanse, tone moisturise thing. The toner stung like fuck.

Dd is 12 and waffles on about skincare. She's happy with a bit of primark stuff but mainly uses simple. I've explained that most of it is snake oil and that healthy eating, keeping out of direct sun and drinking water is what she mainly needs. Not that I took any of that advice.

Toners used to be very harsh and contain alcohol. Which I expect is why user @SimilarThreads keeps arguing against them. Thankfully that’s a thing of the past and they’re just hydrating (or active) but don’t strip skin like they used to.

Never heard of these products so Googled them. Are people seriously paying £70 for stuff to put on kids' faces that they don't need

Get them off TikTok and stop buying this stuff.
Let them be children. I despair 😪

Rather than fight against it, lean into it.

You can’t change the fact that kids get their info from different sources than we used to. For me it was Just17 and the advice in that was dreadful. We were told as kids to use Clearasil /Teatree and the likes.

Whereas now it is quite common knowledge that hydrated skin is healthy skin and anyone applying Clearasil would have just been making things worse.

If I were you I’d get clued up on skincare products if you’re not already and just steer her interest in the right direction.

My daughter became very interested around the same age as yours due to tiktok and, I think, lockdown as there was little else to do. I won’t let her use Drunk Elephant or anything else that isn’t gentle or formulated for young skin or has a drying effect. But 4 years on, she has a great routine that will see her through her life and has become second nature. She always wears spf, even in winter which is the best thing that any of us can do for our skin.

Plus, unlike most of her friends, she hardly wears any make-up on her face as her skin is healthy, glowing and she can see that she doesn’t need foundation, contouring etc.

*My 9yo has been obsessed with makeup and skin care for years..

I buy my DDs cleanser, face washes, make up remover and moisturiser with SPF. They love it and I don’t think it’s a bad idea to start getting them into a cleaning routine and applying moisturiser especially with spf. *

Gosh how depressing. I consider it a real shame you are enabling your 9 year old to be obsessed with her looks.

Yes. We only use it in bright sunshine for the kids, which does not happen very much in this country!

Why is your 11 year old on social media?

You are her parent
Stop her purchasing shit. Tell you OH not to buy her shit
Ride out the tantrums
She is 11 for god's sake

Unfortunately, not getting.enough vitamin d doesn't negate the issues of sun damage. And skin on.face is v sensitive.

I really don’t think 10-11 year olds require cleansers. It’s not as if they wear make up, at least I hope not. Washing with a gentle glycerin soap like Neutrogena (or Waitrose do an unperfumed, colourless) is fine.

A cleanser is for cleansing the skin not simply for removing makeup. I use eye makeup remover for eye makeup.

I haven’t used soap and water since I was 11, light cleanser is much less drying than water.

Flashback to destroying my teen skin with St Ives scrub and tea tree wash 🙈 we didn’t need social media to make bad decisions

Yes, mine doesn't have social media, no phone and at the moment, not even a tablet to use. It all comes from her social media obsessed friends. It's annoying, but it could be worse. I buy her normal stuff from Boots or Tesco and let her crack on, but none of these expensive brands.

My SD is absolutely crackers for skincare and covets all the high end ranges however when she was nagging her dad for it recently and he was going to get it (you know, Disney dad style), I said don't be ridiculous! Also some of it really isn't suitable for young delicate skin so I don't think it should be encouraged. Get some basic gentle moisturiser and cleanser and be done - but of course, that's not what they want!

I hope everyone getting moisturer with SPF for their teenage/pre-teen daughters who are at most risk of osteoporosis in later life are also remembering to buy it for their sons.

Find an influencer article or video that explains that the best sort of skin care is sun cream!

And a few sheet masks for good fun 😆

So you’d rather I let her put crap on her face that she’s got from her friends, stuff that I have no control over. Yes she’s been obsessed with her looks, unfortunately, not my doing, but rather than make it more appealing than outlaw it, I let her use it under strict rules and educate her on it. As I said my 11 yo has only taken an interest since high school and puberty. She dosnt care about make up, but definitely about wanting clear zit free skin. My 9yo gets it from the large population of girly girls in her class, it’s just the way it is.

Using face wash, cleansers and moisturiser is not enabling her to be obsessed with her looks, it’s an educating her on good skincare. All my children are fair skinned, they need sunscreen all year round, teaching her to apply moisturiser that has a good spf and explaining why is good parenting as far as I am concerned. The same with teaching her that ensuring she cleans her skin daily is also important.

Previously she’d come home from play dates with all sorts of crap on her face, share mascara with god knows how many others. Now she dosnt as she understands sharing makeup is not safe or healthy. The only time mascara is allowed is when she’s doing a stage show and her drama school insist on it. im actually proud of the fact she can remove the copious layers of make up they make the kids wear herself and would never dream of sleeping in it.

My ten year old boy wouldn't even know what skincare is. He only wants to spend money on Lego and Nerf guns. It's all I can do to get him to wash his face, though he has moisturiser on prescription for eczema so flings a bit of diprobase on his dry patches every now and again. The idea of him asking for expensive creams or starting a skincare routine is absurd. I feel a bit sorry for girls learning that their looks are so important, while boys get to mess around being kids for longer.

Cleansers are not just used to remove makeup. They remove sweat and impurities that accumulate on the skin during the day. They're particularly important if one wears SPF as sunscreen will clog the skin otherwise.