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

[Prombles]

I found this BBC article interesting and a bit concerning - it describes girls as young as 8 spending hundreds of pounds on skincare, including products with ingredients aimed at much older skin, such as retinol, which might damage young skin.

I'm not in touch at all with the world of teenagers and pre-teens. When I was that age (1980s) we would start buying bits of make-up probably about secondary school age, use the kind of acne-defeating products mentioned in the article, and maybe a basic moisturiser such as 'Simple' or 'Oil of Ulay' as it used to be called, but no one would think of buying anti-ageing products or having a multi-layered skincare regime costing £££.

Posters who have daughters in that age bracket - how common is this now? Would you discourage them from doing this?

The concern is not so much having a skincare routine per se - it does seem a shame for them to get locked into an expensive and time-consuming process before it's needed - but the use of retinol products that might actually be damaging their skin.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx212x41evwo

Nobody really needs anything though do they other than food and water!

My pre-teen kids are obsessed with skincare because of friends who are putting all sorts of actives on their faces. There’s no way I’m going to let them ruin their skin or waste money on this stuff. I encourage them to wear sunscreen and because of that I also let them use a gentle cleanser to remove it and a basic, simple ingredient moisturiser if they want, but that’s it.

“Genetically bread into us”. I’m 47 and have never worn make up - not even on my wedding day! It’s only my been in the last few years I’ve started wearing moisturiser and menopause means my skin is drier. I think not wearing products has ironically helped my skin remained healthy looking. DD is 15 and she too only washes her face and wears sunscreen and spf lip balm. I’m glad and I hope she keeps her healthy looking skin throughout her life free from chemicals.

Well they need to wash their face. And use sunscreen

I get the issue with actives, marketing, tiktok etc but MN goes too far the other way sometimes with “oh you can just wash your face/feet/legs with water”

washing your face, neck, behind your ears is basic hygiene

What kind of parent allows their young children unfettered access to SM ? Don't these parents give a flying fuck about the MH of their child or are they just useless lazy bastards that let their child do anything as long as it keeps them quiet and away from them so they themselves can stick their head in a screen, drink wine or snort cocaine?

Yes of course. Sunscreen yes. Washing with water yes. A pharmacist would advocate that. We were talking about faces though. They aren't putting products behind their ears in the main. They are convinced their skin isn't / won't be good enough.

One of mine got heavily into it at Y6 sort of level - I took the line (I still do) that it's her pocket money she's wasting, that I was fine with the lip gloss, bit of blusher, bog standard moisturiser and SPF type level of it but she was to stay the fuck away from all the anti-aging type things that would wreck her skin.

They're both 13/14 and have a "skincare routine" these days which seems to involve hogging the bathroom and playing loud music more than actual skincare - but then at that age - we were stinking the school out with Body Shop Dewberry so it's pretty much in line with age-norms. We do have a periodic discussion how your blazer pocket is not for 5 different, badly clashing, versions of different body sprays.

and shelter and clothes and a hairbrush and shoes and money and tampax

Yeah i remember a friend having her face wiped at school because of the amount of makeup on
if it looked natural, they weren’t bothered but she went mad with the eyeliner and brows
impulse o2 was the one here

And going into SpaceNK recently felt like walking into a primary school playground. This age children do not need the kind of skin care and make up sold by SpaceNK.

There was already a bit of a weird angry 'shit parents everywhere' vibe to this thread but this has tipped over into funny furious.

No, they don't need actives-based skincare but there is a real imbalance between the anger at individual parents and at the skincare companies, social media companies and individual influencers who are pushing this stuff- which spreads by social contagion even to those children with no access.

Perhaps we need some regulation or warning labels on things containing retinols etc too- e.g. for adults only unless on prescription (for acne).

I used soap and water as a kid, always sun tan lotion on my face as I grew up and have always used a basic face cream daily. Have drunk next to no alcohol, did not smoke had a good diet and gentle exercise since I was very young.
I'm now 63 and don't have visible wrinkles or bags under my eyes, people have said I look a lot younger than I am. Mum didn't age either until she was early 70's even then she looked early 60's.
Never brought expensive serums, lotions creams and wouldn't touch fillers or botox if my life depended on it.
But of course everyone is different, but had I not done the things I did, I could have been a prune at 50 and wanting to change things with toxic shite.

I think the Skincare obsession is more worrying and toxic than a makeup obsession.
Hear me out.
Makeup is outward looking - experimentation, a certain level of artistry/technique involved, its changeable every day
Skincare...its inward looking. Its a form of self obsession. Its compulsive as you do the same thing every day and try not to deviate from the norm.
I think the new Skincare obsession in kids and pre teens points tk an unhealthy self love

Warmlight and others - much will depend in where you live, ie the quality and softness of the water used.
Welsh girls were famed for their lovely skin, as Yorkshire girls and possibly other areas I know nothing of as yet in soft water areas.

However, hard water areas, lime rich particularly can play havoc with tender sensitive skin whether applied or imbibed.
It’s all very well saying drink more water and take a multivitamin if said water is awful.

Ive written of this many times in the past, how we moved away after two years in a village south of Grantham because of the harsh often brackish water, played havoc with our skins, stomach aches, even with an array of filter jugs, although our dentist informed us teeth are stronger in a hard water area. Is this true?
We spoke to many locals, neighbours about the water, some were dismissive, some said you will get used to it, what, hair like straw, red blotchy patches on our faces, itchy arms, skin scaling off ?! Some were resigned to the awfulness and couldn’t move, most didn’t know any different, one said camping in France was a revelation as the water ‘was silken’ and hadn’t realised water wuality often depends in geography, stone, granite, limestone, whatever.
So after two years we moved to a soft water area, bliss. Soft skin, clear faces,
no more scratching, restored hair, massive difference. We are all pale skinned.

Chemicals are chemicals and chemicals are an addition in many water supplies.
Young skin and chemicals however are a choice which should be well informed.

Laying down the foundations of good skin care begin young.

We are a long way from fabulous pink Camay and Ponds vanishing cream,
Vitapoint and Max Factor Creme Puff, now we have a wonderful array, spoilt
for choice, all skin tones catered for, thank goodness for Iman and others.

Please !!! can little girls have a childhood first.

My DD is nearly 10 and I don’t recognise this at all - she’s still very much a kid, as are her friends. I have just bought her some skincare products as she has some hormonal spots, cleanser and topical cream and spf

Little girls from toddlers love lipsticks, its genetically bred into us.

Jesus wept.

This is not how genes work. This is sexist drivel which doesn't understand nature v nurture and doesn't understand that toddlers including boys like to copy the adults around them but they usually grow out of it.

It then comes down to whether parents impose gender stereotypes on their kids or tell them no this is not appropriate because you are a child and I am an adult.

Genuinely that sentence is one of THE worst lines of ignorant sexist drivel I've seen on MN which is an achievement.

Maybe because there is a lot of harmful content on social media , not just this particular issue. I don’t disagree with your suggestion, and some companies have started to put age restrictions on some of the products . However , even if it becomes mainstream, that only tackles this particular issue.

Unfettered access to the internet/SM isn’t good for children, particularly such young children.

gosh
so angry
and
unpleasant

as for myself, I am indulging in only 2 of these decried activities atm,
peacably.
wearing a cucumber face mask as a form of antidote
because I am home alone atm
bothering no one

gosh!

Sunshine is good/important too, vitamin D, the difference in the solidity of skin
of country girls out with ponies, walking, outward bounding, (and boys of course)
who we see passing by here and their contemporaries who seem dedicated to their online presence, bedrooms, friends bedrooms, the stayathomes.

Genetics too have to be taken into consideration, as some posters upthread have
pointed out, they have been soap and water, basic skincare devotees now have
good skin and do not look their age, good genes and a pragmatic approach to
skincare. Fantastic.

Water - the drinking of bottled water, a school project of one daughter,
(which resulted in a bin for squashed plastic bottles then recycled for
useful stuff apparently)
in relation to spotty skin, seemed to be an obvious correlation, as in,
it is unusual nowadays to see spotty kids, maybe one or two with acne
which was deemed different to exercising personal hygiene of the daily
shower/hairwash routine.

Makeup is not allowed, including mascara.
The mixed school has a Friday class of Sociology/Society type subjects
covering teen concerns, savings, parents! societal expectations, Skincare!
a discussion group rather than a tutorial, a great benefit of a mixed class
as boys have skin too.
Most of them said they prefer girls without make up but with ‘nice skin’
the girls said, likewise!

Healthy skin, glowing not covered, so attractive as anyone who has spent
time in Scandanavian countries will attest, clean clear skin, young ladies
and older, its so attractive.

At the moment with influencers, social media of various forms, the Korean face becoming dominant, are we seeing a form of mass hysteria here, the badge of
which is the made up face of pre teen girls, peer pressure, parental collusion?

Prombles,
exactly OP, and possibly as posters have already pointed out,
destroying what they have in the process!
mad!

my mums only tip for staying beautiful was to sleep on our backs
so wrinkles couldn’t form and don’t frown or smile or they will 😳

Surely most children are only getting pocket money, so who is paying for all these expensive and completely unnecessary products?

Marketing misogyny at work. Let’s make a whole new generation believe they’re physically flawed and prey on that to build ourselves a huge untapped customer base.
Wheres the common sense?
Kids don’t need actives.
Caroline Hirons: ‘pores aren’t doors’: they don’t open and close.
By all means, start good habits: gentle cleanse, moisturiser where needed, spot care and SPF.
Every time we see a school mum, her teen is scrolling social media, showing off her ‘hauls’ from Sephora and Space NK, repeating ‘buying it’, ‘this drops next week’ etc. You don’t have to do what the internet tells you.

It is quite common unfortunately and a lot depends on their friendship group and what they’re allowed to access online.

I have 15 and 11 year old girls, my 15 year old has in the past had issues with wanting expensive skincare and putting all sorts on her skin, but it’s calmed down now, combination of me resisting and her having sensitive skin and realising she is better off with more natural products. She tends to just do face wash/scrub and moisturiser most days, sometimes a serum or face oil, occasional face mask. Never harsh products though.

My youngest so far isn’t interested, she uses a simple face wash and fragrance free moisturiser (she gets spots so these get worse if she doesn’t moisturise)

I have overheard conversations with my 11 year old’s friends talking about their “skincare routine” though, which I just think is sad.