Skincare For Kids – The Dangers Parents Must Know

🚨 Attention Parents: The Beauty Industry Is Targeting YOUR Kids!

Let’s talk skincare for kids because we are about to break an entire generation’s skin barrier!! Most parents are unaware of the damage we create to our kids’ skin. As parents, it’s time we stand up and become aware of what is REALLY going on.

Skincare For Kids

Skincare for kids has been trending for a few years and is not slowing down. Teaching our kids to do skincare at a young age can be important, especially if they can get started on a good skin routine. However, the problem is kids are using adult products on their skin and end up hurting their skin by forcing the skin to do what it is already doing. Parents must ask themselves, “Are we helping or hurting our kids?” We are unintentionally hurting our kids’ skin by creating long-term damage. The truth is alarming but we also need to be aware of the cost of using adult products on kids’ skin and how it is hurting them by creating acne and sensitive skin that we will have to address in a year or so.

What Skincare Is Best For Kids?

Keep it simple! The goal is to establish a simple skincare routine that teaches kids the importance of caring for their skin.
Our expert recommendation:
🧴 Cleanser
🧴 Moisturizer

That’s it! Plus this saves you from wasting money on skincare products your kids don’t need.

When Should Kids Start Doing Skincare?

Kids don’t need to start doing skincare until they hit puberty, but we are seeing kids as young as 6 having an extensive skincare routine. If your child is starting on skincare, we suggest keeping it simple. Teach them to wash and moisturize consistently.

Kids aged 10-13 should keep their skincare simple unless they begin to develop blackheads and oil. Until your child shows signs of oil production, stick to products, such as a cleanser and moisturizer. Still, the goal is simplicity – add a gentle weekly exfoliant that doesn’t contain acids or scrubs to help keep blackheads under control.

Kids 13 and up should keep it simple by adding a gentle exfoliant weekly to help prevent blackheads. They should avoid dairy and watch their diet because inflammatory foods can trigger oil production and acne breakouts. See our acne blog for more details on this topic.

Best Skincare Products For Kids?

We recommend gentle skincare, such as a creamy cleanser or a light gel. Over-the-counter cleansers are designed to strip the skin, always seek a professional when purchasing skincare. Follow up with a hydrating moisturizer or lotion.

Safe Skincare For Kids

Kids don’t need exfoliants, retinol, acids, or any product made for adult skin.  The safest skincare products are a good cleanser and moisturizer.

How Companies Marketing Skincare To Kids

Did you know that kids’ skincare trend wasn’t born out of a need? It’s pure marketing!

It started with marketing companies targeting kids to become skin influencers and talk about skincare. Marketing companies know how to create trends. As Robyn McAlpine points out in her blog, “This is NOT born out of a need for a skincare solution for an existing skin care problem. Kids rarely have skin issues requiring such intervention. Not problems that retinol and eye cream are needed for. It’s purely marketing. It’s driving want and desire through very cleverly placed advertising. They’re paying kids to sell to other kids!” This is a scary trend for our kids because marketing companies have used influencers to create the demand, package “cute products” so kids want to buy them, and convince your kids to use a 17-step skincare routine. 

Why Is This A Problem?

Parents need to understand the negative consequences influencers have on kids’ skin. Using adult skincare is doing two things: 1) damaging the skin barrier; and 2) speeding up the aging process – both are major issues for our kids’ skin. 

Skin Barrier

Our skin barrier is our skin’s natural protective layer against harmful substances, environmental pollutants, toxins, and UV rays. When we use damaging products (this includes adults too), it breaks down the skin barrier and causes acne, sensitive skin, or dehydrated skin. Robyn states in her blog, “Our skin is a living functioning cellular organ and children’s skin is still developing. From a skin perspective, pre-teens still don’t have fully functioning sebaceous glands, so their oil production is minimal if at all. This means their skin barrier is less supported and more easily disrupted. A child’s skin microbiome is SO delicate and Their skin cell lifecycle is in its prime, which means their skin already has a well-functioning keratinocyte lifecycle,  but its about to go through a tricky time with the changes that happen to skin during puberty.”

Accelerate Aging

Kids have healthy, plump skin because their skin cells are fully functioning. Using acids, vitamin C, and retinol increases cell turnover, targets the cells that cause our skin to age and helps brighten it from sun damage. If a child uses these products on skin that is naturally doing this, we are accelerating the process and their skin begins to work in overtime. This will lead to early signs of aging in our kids. Another issue to address is skincare products to repair kids’ skin barrier and anti-aging products for them to start using in middle and high school. And I guarantee that these poor kids are going to feel that they need to start doing injections in high school to help their skin because of all the damage they created when they were kids.

Skincare For Kids with Acne or Sensitive Skin

First, this should NOT even be a conversation or a topic of discussion!  Why do young kids have acne or sensitive skin? Here’s the shocking truth: The products used create skin sensitivity and acne! If a little kid has acne that’s not normal. The last thing a kid needs is harsh acne products that strip the skin and cause more acne. In a blog about acne, we discuss the different types of acne and its causes.

Sensitive skin is caused by using skincare products that are too aggressive and damage the skin barrier. This isn’t just for kids, this applies to adult skin too. This is also why we are so passionate about creating weekly blogs and educating you about skin. There are so many “experts” these days and it’s hard to know which are educated and which are not. In our blog post about a healthy skin barrier, “Another skin problem caused by a compromised skin barrier is sensitive skin. Sensitive skin means you react or become sensitive to certain products and ingredients. Sensitive skin has become an issue because most consumers use skincare products they learned about through blogs or social media influencers.”

🌱 Instead of seeking harsh treatments and medications for your kids, we need to reevaluate what they are using and what can be the cause of their skin problems. We need to focus on products that will support their skin and don’t create harm.

Skincare For Kids at Sephora

Anything at Sephora is bad for kids’ skin! These products are marketed and packaged to make kids want to buy them. Even for adults, the skincare products sold at Sephora are not designed to help your skin, but to make it worse, continue to spend money, and buy more skincare products that never give you the results you’re looking for.

What Can Parents Do?

If you care about your kids (and we know you do) please do us a favor and stop buying into the kids’ skincare trend. I know we all want our kids to fit in too but at what cost?  Would you tell your kid to go smoke a cigarette?  No, because you know how dangerous that is!  Buying skincare for your kids is like giving them a cigarette – these products are hurting kids’ skin. As parents, it’s our job to stop spending our hard-earned money on this trend. Educate yourself on what is safe for your kids. Talk to a trusted esthetician about skincare instead of turning to over-the-counter products and listening to influencers with no education to back them.

How We Can Help Our Kids

As a mom of 3 kids and an esthetician, I cannot sit here and keep my mouth shut and watch parents hurt their kids because there is not enough education or knowledge for parents. We are here to help educate you so you can make better decisions for your kids. When we know better, we do better. That’s why we created Zozo Skincare, a simple, effective, and gentle skincare line that is safe for kids and good for adults! Our skincare line consists of a gentle cleanser that contains arnica and chamomile to soothe and calm inflamed skin. Our hydrating moisturizer contains chaga mushroom extract that calms inflammation and is ideal for sensitive or acne skin types.

Getting Your Kids Started Right

We work with kids and have a Tween Facial that includes cleansing, steam with extractions (if needed), face mask with massage, and moisturizer. This lets our kids feel grown up and pampered, plus we know they can go home with safe skincare. We educate our kids and parents about how the beauty industry has marketed to and targeted our kids’ precious skin. And create a simple plan for parents and kids to follow.

Who’s With Us?

We must stand up as parents and do something about this dangerous trend. Let us be the generation who says NO to manipulative marketing and YES to establishing healthy skin habits.

Here’s what you can do:
🙌 Comment below if you’re ready to do something about this
🙌 Share this blog with parents who need to hear this message

Let’s be the change for our kids!