Gen Alpha: A lost generation that had little guidance from the generations older than them. Now influenced by the generations older than them to “fit in”. Skincare recently became popular in 2020, people started taking care of their skin way more. Skincare can be from facial products to body products and come in many different sizes and scents. Products like Drunk Elephant, Glow Recipe, The Ordinary, all have retinol, BHA + AHA, etc. Retinol is a chemical used to “reverse” wrinkles on someone’s face. Children do not have wrinkles nor do teenagers. BHA+ AHA’s are an exfoliating chemical that are harsh to remove impurities and dead skin on the face.
Even older teenagers are concerned for Gen Alpha and their skincare. Junior Emily Detmer said,“I think parents need to be reading what’s on the labels before they allow their young children to put it on their face. Some of that stuff they are using can damage their young skin barrier and can make their skin even worse in the future. They are going to look 30 when they are 20!”
Recently there’s been an uprising of tween girls going to sephora and ruining the testers, snatching products out of customer hands, insulting workers, and all around being disrespectful. I’ve seen countless TikToks, Reels, and Shorts talking about these sephora kids. Either the videos contain “POV” styles of entertainment or its direct footage of a child fighting over makeup. Many influencers have convinced these children that they need certain products to be in their clean girl area. Many dermatologists have stitched videos of these sephora incidents and recommended products from those popular brands that are better for tween skin. I have watched footage of some dermatologists such as Dr Aamna Adel. All of the dermatologists have said the same thing, all tweens need are a cleanser, moisturizer, and SPF
Sephora kids should listen to the advice older generations are trying to give them. An anonymous freshman said,” Sephora kids are trying to cure their insecurities before they even have them. They also spend way too much money on something that’s not going to help them in the long run. I’m older than them and I don’t even shop at Sephora. I only use Mascara and CeraVe Lotion.”
Personally, I have a sister who has been influenced by all these skincare products. Some products I think are fine like her bubble moisturizers, Sol de Janero perfumes, and the Supergoop sunscreen. Others not so much such as her Drunk Elephant products, Glow recipe toners, and The Ordinary Niacinamide/ hyaluronic acid serums. When I go out with her, I see her reaching for these products. As her older sister I advise her that at her age she’s at prime oil production and her skin is still baby smooth, regardless of the products she uses. Of course I can’t interfere and it’s her own money but it still concerns me as I care about her. All of her friends follow “skincare gurus” and order the same products. So naturally, she follows what her friends do.
A teenage girl who also loves taking care of her skin shares insight on an alternative for extreme skincare. Junior Dalilah Vazquez said,” I think children shouldn’t be raiding Sephora. They need to be respectful of their surroundings and have good manners. As long as they are able to do that, then I think it’s fine for them to be in there and look around. Maybe they’ll discover a new passion! I’ve loved things like that since I was little too, but they are really going overboard like, destroying testers and buying unnecessary products for their age”
Adults who need these products cant access the products they need to have healthier skin. Since their skin is slowing down on collagen production and oil production, they need a bit of help from outside products. When fresh skin is being damaged by harsh chemicals it’ll end up having the opposite effect on your skin. These tweens are going to look 40 years old by the time they hit 20 years old if they continue using harsh products. Not to mention the amount of tester products being ruined from influenced children and tweens. Disrespecting public property which makes the Sephora workers jobs harder than it needs to be.
Bad habits make for bad manners. ”As the years go by more and more children are creating bad habits caused by no manners at home so they go in public and reflect what they don’t have at home.” said Junior Caleb Chairez.
