Younger and younger children are being inspired by social media to use advanced skin care. It involves a lot of money and can even be harmful.
– The products are not developed for children’s skin, says skin researcher Johanna Gillbro.
Buying advanced skin care has crept further down the ages. When a product is praised on Tiktok, it results in children flocking to the stores and buying them home. At some chain stores, staff testify that children as young as 7 ask about expensive creams they’ve seen on social media.
Products that are not made for children’s skin should not be used by children, says skin researcher Johanna Gillbro.
– There is a problem in that these products are not safety assessed for the child’s skin. If you look at these ingredient lists, there are ingredients that have no place in the child’s skin at all, she says.
Children have thinner skin
Something that is trending right now is that the products should give luster or “glow” to the skin. Johanna Gillbro tells us that those products contain acids that grind away part of the outermost skin layer. When children, who have thinner skin than adults, use these products, it makes it even easier for the other ingredients in the product to penetrate the skin.
– Colloquially, people talk about dead skin cells, but they have a very important function in the skin, they are there to protect the skin.
Hormone-disrupting and carcinogenic substances
The EU has watch lists of substances in skin care and make-up that can be harmful – even for adults. Among other things, there are many products that contain PFAS, which the EU now wants to phase out, but whose use is not prohibited. PFAS have both endocrine-disrupting and cancer-causing effects. Johanna Gillbro also tells us that there are certain UV filters that are suspected of having an endocrine-disrupting effect.
– Several of these products trending on Tiktok contain many of these topics.
There are products adapted for children
Gillbro believes that you usually do not need or should lubricate children’s skin at all, unless there is a special reason, such as eczema.
– If you have dry skin as a child, you may need to moisturize your skin, but then choose products that are suitable for children and that are minimalistic. A moisturizer absolutely does not need to contain more than 20 ingredients to have a good effect, says Johanna Gillbro.