The "Sephora kids" trend: why Gen Alpha girls want retinol at age 9
A 2025 Pediatrics study found TikTok skincare routines by girls as young as 7 average 6 products and $168, skip sunscreen, and risk real skin damage.
Gen Alpha girls are chasing retinol and multi-step anti-aging routines because TikTok influencers and tween-targeted marketing have convinced them their young skin needs fixing, but dermatologists say these products offer kids little to no benefit and can cause irritation, allergies, and sun damage.
Walk into a beauty store on a Saturday and you might spot them: nine-year-olds with birthday money, testing anti-aging serums made for women four times their age. Online, they are stars. TikTok's "get ready with me" videos show girls as young as seven layering product after product on their faces — and a peer-reviewed study published in Pediatrics in June 2025 decided to find out what is really going on in those routines.
What the science found
Researchers at Northwestern University posed as 13-year-olds on TikTok and analyzed 100 popular skincare videos from creators aged 7 to 18. Each video averaged 1.1 million views. What they found should make every parent stop and think:
- Routines averaged 6 products, costing an average of $168 per regimen — with some costing more than $500.
- Only about a quarter (26%) of daytime routines included sunscreen, the single product dermatologists say matters most.
- The 25 most-viewed videos averaged 11 potentially irritating active ingredients (alpha-hydroxy acids, citric acid, and others), with a maximum of 21.
- Twenty of the inactive ingredients found are on the pediatric patch-test list of common contact allergens.
The authors' verdict was blunt: these regimens are costly, infrequently include sunscreen, expose kids to ingredients that risk irritation and allergic contact dermatitis — and "offer little to no benefit for the pediatric populations they are targeting." In one video in the study, Northwestern reported, the creator applied 10 products to her face in six minutes, began to express discomfort and burning, and developed a visible skin reaction before the video ended.
Why it is happening: marketing meets the algorithm
This trend did not bubble up by accident. Skincare brands market to tweens and teens directly, and the routines spread through "get ready with me" videos that look like advice from a friend. The videos in the Pediatrics study averaged 1.1 million views each.
And the biology makes it worse. Because children's skin is still developing, it is thinner, more sensitive and more prone to irritation than adult skin, according to the American Academy of Dermatology's guide.
Real kids are already getting hurt: the study authors described the creator above developing a visible skin reaction on camera, and dermatologists warn that actives such as retinol can irritate young skin.
The TikTok routine vs. what kids' skin actually needs
| The typical "GRWM" routine | What dermatologists actually recommend |
|---|---|
| 6 or more products layered in one sitting | Gentle cleanser, fragrance-free moisturizer, SPF 30+ sunscreen |
| Anti-aging serums with retinol and exfoliating acids | No retinol or exfoliating acids for kids unless a dermatologist prescribes them; they target wrinkles children do not have |
| Bright, fruity fragrances in every bottle | Fragrance-free where possible — fragrance is a top contact allergen |
| Sunscreen skipped in 3 out of 4 routines | Daily broad-spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen |
| About $168 per regimen (some over $500) | A basic routine costs a small fraction of that |
| Goal: "glass skin" and anti-aging | Goal: clean, protected, healthy skin |
In the American Academy of Dermatology's guide, board-certified dermatologist Dr. Marisa Garshick recommends that tweens and teens avoid products with retinol, vitamin C and exfoliating acids, which target wrinkles, sun damage and uneven skin tone that children don't have. For tweens she recommends a gentle cleanser, a fragrance-free moisturizer and a broad-spectrum, water-resistant SPF 30+ sunscreen every day. Teens dealing with acne may add salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide.
The deeper harm: what it does to self-worth
The physical risks are only half the story. As Psychology Today notes, these routines set an unrealistic beauty standard that teaches girls their worth is measured by how much others admire their appearance — before they have even reached adolescence. The message sinks in at exactly the age when self-consciousness peaks and the need for peer approval is strongest.
The Pediatrics study also noted racially coded language in some videos emphasizing "lighter, brighter" skin — another layer of pressure kids do not need.
Lawmakers have noticed. In California, Assemblymember Alex Lee introduced AB 728, a bill that would ban the sale of anti-aging products containing retinoids and alpha-hydroxy acids to under-18s — the political version of what dermatologists have been saying all along.
What parents can do
You do not have to fight the entire beauty industry alone. A simpler playbook:
- Teach the three-step rule. Cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen. That is the whole routine for a child — and it is worth being proud of, not a junior version of an adult one.
- Read labels together. Make ingredient-spotting a game: retinol and retinoids, glycolic acid, lactic acid, strong salicylic acid, and heavy fragrance are red flags for kids' skin.
- Watch GRWM videos with your child. Ask: who made this, what are they selling, and does a 10-year-old actually need "anti-aging" anything? Media literacy is skincare literacy now.
- Talk about where worth comes from. Praise effort, kindness, humor, and curiosity far more than appearance. Kids who feel valued for who they are resist influencer pressure better.
- See a dermatologist when it matters. Real acne, rashes, eczema, or a reaction to a product deserve a doctor — not a new serum from the trending page.
If your child already owns a shelf of serums, do not shame them — redirect. Interest in skincare is normal curiosity about growing up. The goal is simple, safe habits, not a 10-step routine bought with birthday money.