It’s a classic of the genre. Smartphone placed between the sink and the mirror in her bathroom, a young lady films herself “maintaining her skin” to music. These tutorials are some of the oldest and most popular social media formats. Except that in the image, the young woman who is nodding while applying a mask, a cream and a lotion, princesses and elves on the pajamas, is not one: she is only 10 years old and has no wrinkles. .
The video in question was made by North West, daughter of rapper Kanye West and reality TV star Kim Kardashian. Published on TikTok at the end of 2022, it is one of the successes of the genre, a children’s version of content where “grown-ups” test products sent by brands in search of notoriety. Several million little girls have seen the child of the Internet slathering himself with all kinds of concoctions. And in turn, shook themselves in front of their phone, armed with Mom’s cosmetics.
Rather recent, this trend, grouped under the hashtag #Sephorakids, already has more than half a billion views, on the Chinese platform alone. What does it matter if these products are not suitable for such youthful faces – around ten years old at most – and whose skin has barely been formed. “There is no justification for using this type of product on these populations. The practice is at least useless and can even prove dangerous” protests Christine Lafforgue, researcher member of the French Society of Cosmetology.
Aggressive products on flawless skin
With such popularity, the practice is worrying. In the United States, where the trend started and even in France, more and more dermatologists are sounding the alarm on their own social networks. Everyone recalls that the use of anti-aging creams, firming creams or even powerful “peelers”, these lotions which eliminate the surface of the skin to remove imperfections, is contraindicated at this age. Because before puberty, the skin does not have any of the wrinkles and spots that they are supposed to hide. “It is, on the contrary, finer and more sensitive, because it is immature,” specifies Doctor Brooke Jeffy, one of the American specialists who raised the alarm.
Redness, plaques, acne… Cosmetics, if useless at this age, can on the contrary generate significant irritation because of certain aggressive active ingredients, such as retinol or fruit acids (AHA). On all skin types, but especially on atopic-prone skin. However, these are very common in children, often prone to eczema for example. “In the most extreme cases, these lesions can be permanent,” warns chemist Christine Lafforgue. In recent weeks, more and more videos showing this damage have also been appearing under the hashtag “#Sephorakids”.
No precautions for use
A practice that is all the more dangerous because although manufacturers must prove the safety of cosmetics, nothing obliges them to carry out their tests on children. So, in reality, it is very rare for this age group to participate in trials organized by brands. There is therefore almost no perspective on early and repeated use of these products, which without being medicines, are far from harmless and sometimes contain controversial ingredients, accused in particular of being endocrine disruptors and of triggering puberty. increasingly precocious.
Do young girls who want to do what they do on social networks have the free will necessary to protect themselves from these risks? In the United States, they are now rushing into the beauty aisles in front of stunned employees who, by filming themselves to denounce the trend, are only fueling it in spite of themselves. “How many of these toddlers know, for example, that certain creams accentuate sunburn and that you should therefore never expose yourself?” laments Laurence Coiffard, cosmetologist and advisor to the National Medicines Safety Agency, upon seeing these pictures.
Parents must be informed of the dangers
Another risk: misuse. Without supervision, some children may consider these reactions normal. Don’t they say that it has to sting a little for it to be effective? They might also be tempted to apply more lotions, to correct the side effects. How do they know if they have allergies? “Little girls are completely foreign to the compositions of the products and choose on the basis of the colors on the packaging,” underlines Laurence Coiffard, frightened by the success of the practice. And even if parents were present, they would still need to be informed of these dangers.
Behind the practice, there is often the idea, conveyed by brands, that a good cosmetic routine, or “skin care routine” in English, could have a preventive effect on the aging of the epidermis. “We capitalize on the fear of aging,” points out Annick Barbaud, dermatologist at Tenon Hospital (AP-HP). It would be good to start as early as possible, some parents say. This is false: “Putting on anti-wrinkle products from the age of 5 will not prevent aging,” chokes up the head of the department.
While hydrating your skin and protecting it from UV rays can be beneficial, no cosmetic acts directly on the functioning of the skin. The best: sleep well, eat well, don’t smoke or drink, and above all, don’t expose yourself to the sun for too long. Farewell then, the tanned face, even though it is also made a model on social networks.
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