WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Parents of any tween will tell you their daughters are obsessed with their skin care — even dermatologists.
“My 12-year-old has an undereye serum that she learned from an influencer,” said Westerville Dr. Angela Casey. “I remind her that she does not have puffy eye circles but she uses this caffeine serum under her eyes.”
Casey knows the social media influencers on TikTok, YouTube and other platforms are what’s driving girls as young as 8 years old into beauty stores across the country.
“I have a bit of concern about what we’re teaching our young people about their skin care and what their skin needs when we’re pushing products toward a younger demographic,” Casey added. “That being said, I think it’s really good to get into a really good skin care routine.”
10TV asked Dr. Casey to join us at the home of 9-year-old Julia Tate, where she and her best friend Olivia Riley, 10, explained their beauty routines for morning and night.
From moisturizers to face masks and toners, these girls know their stuff.
“It’s like face mist and it helps with dead skin,” Tate noted of one product in her beauty tray on the bathroom counter. “I use it every morning and every night,” she added.
“I like clay masks,” said Riley. “I want my skin to feel smooth and shiny and not bumpy.”
Dr. Casey kindly reminds girls like Julia and Oliva that not every product they see on social media is age appropriate for their skin.
“The hydrating serum I question if an 8–9-year-old really needs one, especially directed to the eye area,” she told the girls.
“There are many skin care brands that might seem like they’re fun to use at your age but they’re really made for older skin and because of that, they can be really irritating and sensitive to skin at your age,” Casey added.
In an effort to give tweens a sense of routine but also provide them with the proper skin care products, Casey created her own brand called Bright Girl. She said it’s specifically formulated at a specific pH with certain ingredients.
“It has a lot of hydrating ingredients including glycerin and shea butters so it’s actually moisturizing as we’re cleansing, which is so important for young skin because we don’t want to strip or dry out their skin,” Casey says.
She added her inspiration came from hearing patients tell her they wish they had not used products in their younger years that created more acne and breakouts. Casey notes her products also contain SPF to protect the skin from the sun.
“I love to layer products and that’s what I recommend to my patients of all ages,” said Casey. “Get that base of a good mineral-based sunscreen. It’s just like brushing and flossing every day. When you put on sunscreen every day and moisturize skin, you really will prevent a large majority of damage.”
10TV reached out to Sephora to comment specifically about the “Sephora tweens” trend. They have yet to respond.