What Parents Need to Know About Gen Alpha’s ‘Sephora Kids’ Trend
By Movieguide® Contributor
Social media is buzzing about Gen Alpha’s “Sephora Kids” trend.
Tweens and children—13 years old and younger—are obsessed with the upscale beauty care store Sephora and can’t get enough of expensive anti-aging products and makeup brands created for adults. Complaints include kids swooping into stores, messing up tester products and terrorizing Sephora staff and customers.
“10-13 year old kids are taking so much space at Sephora. They are being disrespectful to the customers and employees,” a customer named Loyle wrote on the Spehora Customer Support page. “I’ve even heard people being directly insulted by them. Plus, they are always messing up with testers, emptying them and mixing different products. For people like me who really want to analyze a product before buying it, it’s really inconvenient,”
She went on to say, “That is why a lot of people on social media, myself being part of it, ask to start checking ID to be sure people who enter Sephora, buy the products, and have an account on their application, are at least 14 years old.”
Therapists Lindsay Fleming, LPC, and Stacy McCarthy, LCPC, hosts of the podcast “It Takes Two,” told Buzzfeed, “Girls who have never discussed skincare before are now fixated on having 10-step routines. It becomes more about having the product all their friends want/have than the actual impact that product has on their face.” They are seeing an uptick in their counseling office of tweens, “focusing on how their skin/face looks and less on interests that could be more developmentally appropriate.”
One brand popular with tweens is Drunk Elephant, which has cute packaging but contains Retinol, which can damage growing skin. Parents need to be informed of what ingredients their tween should avoid in beauty products.
“It is inappropriate for children to be using products that address adult skin issues like wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and dullness, which kids do not have,” Dr. Brooke Jeffy, an Arizona dermatologist and founder of the youth skin-care brand BTWN, said. “The actives used in these products can be irritating, especially to young, more sensitive skin, and cause damage to the skin barrier. This damage affects skin function, leading to damage, rashes, infections, and breakouts.”
What beauty products are safe for tweens? Triple board-certified dermatologist Dr. Mamina Turegano told BuzzFeed, “A cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen are skincare products that are safe for kids. If a child has acne and oily skin, they can incorporate a salicylic acid-based cleanser or topical serum.”
Like most trends, Sephora Kids will run its course. “Instead of focusing on this specific trend, parents can zoom out and help their kids learn valuable life skills around social media and consumerism. These skills will enable them to have the confidence to think independently,” Fleming and McCarthy said.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
