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Original poster

Skin care for children

35 replies

Bunnycat101 · 08/10/2024 21:38

My 8yo has decided she wants skincare. Any recommendations? I was looking at spots and stripes and a few others. I don’t want anything heavy or too grown up but she is convinced her friends have better skin and are using all sorts of products- this has not come from me at all.

I am very low maintenance myself but have excellent skin now so there is part of me that wonders if a lot of skincare is a con or if I’ve just been lucky genetically. I was pretty spotty as a teen though and probably chucked loads of crap on my face but now I only really use water and spf in the summer - no cleanser, toner or moisturiser etc.

What would others do? Get something gentle or hold off as she’s too young? I suddenly feel like everyone else is doing skincare and I’m sort of oddity that doesn’t know what I’m doing

OP posts:
Ophy83 · 08/10/2024 23:01

Just get something really gentle... spots and stripes is lovely and the packaging looks pretty. Some of the bubble range is safe for tweens but check the packaging as some products are too harsh. Aveeno or similar are fine.

MixieMatchie · 08/10/2024 23:04

She is too young. Children's skin hasn't changed since we were kids.

When she says her friends have "better skin", what does she mean? The only things that come to mind for me are irrelevant to an eight year old:

Spots and blackheads - she is too young for this

Ageing - she is too young for this

Rashes, redness etc - if that's an issue, it's a question for a nurse or pharmacist, not a beauty product issue.

Elfbeth · 08/10/2024 23:07

An 8 year should not want or use skincare. End of

WhatMe123 · 08/10/2024 23:11

Research is starting to come out suggesting skin care products in young children can have an impact on their hormones. Its only new research so possibly flawed but I won't be running the risk personally with dd1

amp.theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/14/kids-sunscreen-lotions-phthalates-study

Scottishday · 08/10/2024 23:13

Child's Farm.

Honestly I wouldn't entertain such bullshit as skincare for an eight year old.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 09/10/2024 09:11

Pretty flannel and some nice soap for the bath ,not her face. Good grief !

Original poster
Bunnycat101 · 09/10/2024 12:32

It’s interesting as a lot of the reactions were similar to mine. She says ‘everyone else is’ which might really be 2-3 of the girls and thinks their skin is softer. She’s a very outdoorsy type so was quite surprised when she started asking. If it comes to it I’d rather pick something myself than have it as presents from her friends but this definitely feels like a conversation I wasn’t expecting to have for a few more years.

OP posts:
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 09/10/2024 13:03

Everyone else is...that old chestnut 😉

weareallcats · 09/10/2024 13:29

I wouldn’t - their skin is perfect at that age and I think that once you start, that’s it, forever. My dd still doesn’t do anything and she’s nearly 15 - she has gorgeous, clear, soft skin.

AuntieStella · 09/10/2024 13:34

If she's very outdoorsy, then she needs a sunscreen. So a moisturiser with a good SPF might be the thing to start with. With stronger/separate sunscreen in the summer.

I suspect that the interest will prove to be flash-in-the-pan, but I also think it's a pretty harmless one.

If she's actually using it, then you could consider adding a gentle cleanser at Christmas, and Father Christmas could also get her lip balm, hand cream, other nice smellies, emery boards and one of those nail buffing blocks

KevinDeBrioche · 09/10/2024 13:38

Nothing until puberty / outbreaks hit, and even then only if it happens. I have one teen with flawless skin and the other struggles with spots so I help him take care of it. At 8 it would be a nice flannel and soap or shower gel to use, that's it.

MixieMatchie · 09/10/2024 13:39

If she's very outdoorsy, then she needs a sunscreen. So a moisturiser with a good SPF might be the thing to start with. With stronger/separate sunscreen in the summer.

Does she even, though? Sunscreen in summer, yes. SPF year round, in the UK (I assume)? I do that when I remember (in the hope of slowing down ageing), but I'm not eight years old!
Can you even imagine trying to get an eight year old out the door to school on a wet October morning and she's fussing about her SPF-infused moisturiser?

iloveshetlandponies · 09/10/2024 13:47

8 year olds do not need skincare

Behave.

AuntieStella · 09/10/2024 15:55

MixieMatchie · 09/10/2024 13:39

If she's very outdoorsy, then she needs a sunscreen. So a moisturiser with a good SPF might be the thing to start with. With stronger/separate sunscreen in the summer.

Does she even, though? Sunscreen in summer, yes. SPF year round, in the UK (I assume)? I do that when I remember (in the hope of slowing down ageing), but I'm not eight years old!
Can you even imagine trying to get an eight year old out the door to school on a wet October morning and she's fussing about her SPF-infused moisturiser?

I think if you have an 8 yo who is going to faff rather than get ready for school on time, then you'll have that problem regardless of whether it's moisturiser, or teeth, or sunscreen, or getting hair just right, or finding something they need to take in that day, or whatever; and you adjust the morning routine to deal with it.

And most moisturisers have SPF, so you wouldn't need to go hunting for a special infusion.

I reckon this will prove to be a 5-minute wonder. But if it isn't, then moisturising when you're an outdoorsy type is a pretty good habit to have.

AuntieStella · 09/10/2024 16:01

iloveshetlandponies · 09/10/2024 13:47

8 year olds do not need skincare

Behave.

There's lots of things they don't "need" but which parents are perfectly happy to supply.

Good skincare is a good habit.

And of course, I took it for granted that the parents would be having good communication about why she wants it. If it's to fit in, then this can be a useful opportunity to talk about what is harmless fitting in and what are the things when it really matters. Starting these convos will really help when it comes to the teen years, when the stakes will be considerably higher that a bit of skincare

YYURYYUCICYYUR4ME · 09/10/2024 16:13

Sadly this is the messaging / social media that our children are currently being exposed to and there seems to be a big push on skin care products to a ridiculously young age group and they are falling for it. A friend's grandaughter only wants products she has seen and is constantly pestering her parents / grandparents for, that I would shudder at purchasing, as she said they are the ones that work and everyone has them!! This is marketing at its worst and sadly it is having an impact that I think will cause my harm than good. All about selling more!

ahemfem · 09/10/2024 16:16

Maybe get her some of that kids moisturiser from aveeno

ahemfem · 09/10/2024 16:16

And what does she mean "better skin" that's so sad

Jessie1259 · 09/10/2024 16:17

I think you have to be clear if you're going to go down this route that skin care is one thing, make up is quite another. If you start down the road of getting things because her friends have them (and lets be real this has nothing to do with her friends looking like they have softer skin) then you need to be very clear that there are strong boundaries, otherwise it's a very slippery slope.

Spots and stripes does look pretty good, I checked out all the ingredients and there didn't seem to be anything nasty. I wouldn't just run out and get this for her though - what is that going to tell her? If you're going to get it tell her skincare is not something she needs at 8 but if she really wants it she can put it on her Christmas list. That means she can tell all her friends she's getting some, but if the phase is over by December then it can be quietly dropped.

StMarieforme · 09/10/2024 16:20

Get her off Tik Tok.

Children do not need skincare. Nor do they need telling that they do need skin care.

If Tik Tok told her to dress like a 1970s hooker would you agree to that, too?

Parent fgs.

outforawalkbiatch · 09/10/2024 16:27

I don't think there's any harm in washing her face (because everyone should be doing that) and then using a light moisturiser if her skin needs it. Plus a nice lip balm?

Cerave is gentle for washing with

People are very against "skin care routines" but that can be as simple as washing her face morning and evening which is a good habit to have!

If you wanted to do a treat then a space mask - they warm up and go over your eyes - are really gentle and a bit grown up Smile

DGPP · 09/10/2024 16:36

Just say no. It’s all driven by social media nonsense. Tell her why her skin is perfect and beautiful and keep saying no! I won’t entertain this until mine is a teenager

Reugny · 09/10/2024 16:37

StMarieforme · 09/10/2024 16:20

Get her off Tik Tok.

Children do not need skincare. Nor do they need telling that they do need skin care.

If Tik Tok told her to dress like a 1970s hooker would you agree to that, too?

Parent fgs.

It may not be Tik Tok.

LivingDeadGirlUK · 09/10/2024 16:44

Thats so sad, my son is going to be eight, the thought that girls in his class are already being pushed into skincare consumerism is really depressing. Make a stand OP, some nice soap for the bath, shes got a lifetime of being told her face is wrong, put it off as long as you can.

AuntieStella · 09/10/2024 16:48

if Tik Tok told her to dress like a 1970s hooker would you agree to that, too?

Of course not because
a) skincare and "dressing like a hooker" aren't remotely comparable activities
b) 8 yos shouldn't be on TikTok, and I think it's considerably more important to deal with that

I won’t entertain this until mine is a teenager

I'm well in to and past he teen years with mine, and that might be an important factor in how one looks at which issues are really important in the longer run.

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