Are parents buying what kids' skincare brands are selling?

Parents have the important job of teaching children the basics of hygiene, from teeth brushing to regular handwashing. For everything else, there’s social media, where TikTokers, Instagrammers and Youtubers preach the importance of 10-step skincare routines and Sephora hauls.

Children and young teens have always mimicked adult behaviour, but they are raiding the skincare shelf far earlier than their parents may have anticipated. Millennials started experimenting with cosmetics around age 15, but their Gen Alpha kids — the oldest now 16 — are starting at around eight years old on average, according to Ulta. Nielsen IQ, meanwhile, found that households with tweens spent $2.4bn on skincare in 2023.

That spending has caught the attention of new brands hoping to freshen up the category. Mass-market staples like Clearasil and Cetaphil have long dominated tween skincare routines, but these newcomers want to see if they can capture this cohort of young spenders who have learned about peptide serums and bronzing drops online, and divert them from adult brands that may not be safe for their young skin. Their price points are more similar to a premium skincare brand, and their messages typically center around common themes: fun, self-care, and safe ingredients. But are parents buying it?

“My 12-year-old started asking for skincare products about a year ago, and she also asks to give skincare as gifts at birthday and bat mitzvah parties,” says Michelle, a New York-based mother of two daughters. “She recently asked for an eyelash curler, which is not in my regimen.” Her friends are the ones who suggested she start using one, Michelle says, and Bubble is the most requested brand for gifting to friends.

“My friends use a lot more skincare and makeup than me,” Michelle’s daughter explains. “They use concealer, foundation and blush, and they have full skincare routines.” A recent request has been for Laneige’s new lip tints. “Katseye was in the ad for it,” she says, which she saw on YouTube.

What Gen Alpha (and their parents) want

Adolescents are tricky customers. They can be intolerant of their parents’ sensible suggestions, instead preferring to seek advice from peers, whether that’s friends at school or influencers who get them. Beauty products have become status symbols for young people in the same way that iPods, Juicy Couture tracksuits and Loom bracelets were for their parents. When Sincerely Yours, a skincare line co-founded by 16-year-old YouTuber Salish Matter, surveyed 3,000 teens before launching, it found that the price points of their favorite products tended to land between $30 and $40. “Teens who shop at Sephora are constantly inundated with lip glosses for $20, and anything in the adult aisle can be $40, $50, $60,” says Shelagh Wong, COO and CMO of Sincerely Yours. “That’s what they’re asking for.”

The problem is, the products kids are asking for aren’t always the sorts of thing parents want to buy for them. Price point aside, even products marketed as “clean” for adults may not be suitable for younger skin, which is typically thinner and holds more water. Ingredients like retinols and vitamin C can be harsh on delicate skin, while fragrances may also be more likely to cause irritation. Dermatologists generally recommend a simple routine of gentle cleansing, moisturizing and SPF for tween skin. Active ingredients that provide gentle, non-comedogenic hydration, such as hyaluronic acid, can also be OK. Sincerely Yours’ products start at around the $22 mark, and are marketed as "barrier-friendly" and free of harsh ingredients.

And while tweens may feel only their own generation can truly understand them, parents are acutely aware of what it’s like to cross the threshold between childhood and adulthood. “I want her to be young and naive for as long as possible,” says Amy, a writer from New York with an 11-year-old daughter. “One of my favorite pieces of parenting advice is ‘delay, delay, delay.’ It’s definitely my MO, but there’s a tension there too. I don’t want her to feel excluded. I’m not going to rail against it, but I am so not into it and don’t want her to be either.”

“I also loved trying my mom’s makeup, and we buy a lot of lip gloss for [my daughter],” says Michelle. “She’s asking for fragrances, but I’m conscious of ingredients and I haven’t bought her that yet. I mostly avoid talc and fragrances, and I sometimes consult the Environmental Working Group website [which provides safety advice around ingredients].”

The pitch to parents

Selling skincare products to tweens requires brands to find a balance between creating a product that's enticing enough for kids to actively request, satisfying parental concerns about ingredients and cost, and avoiding coming across as corporate robots who see dollar signs in the eyes of smiling children.

Not every brand gets the balance right. When actress Shay Mitchell revealed her kids’ sheet mask brand Rini, the backlash was swift. Designed to be safe for kids three years and up, the products were criticized for pushing adult beauty standards on very young children, and essentially marketing wellness culture to preschoolers. Rini says its masks are not for "fixing" skin, but to create a "shared moment" between parents and kids. Brands are taking concrete steps to address safety concerns, promoting partnerships with dermatologists who have helped them ensure products are appropriate for teen skin. Tween skin and haircare brand EverEden has taken the step of getting its products EWG certified.

The responsibility cuts both ways. Some brands, concerned with the Sephora Kids trend, are reasserting their positions as brands for adult skin. Drunk Elephant's recent 'Please Enjoy Responsibly' campaign emphasizes the reasons why certain ingredients have been chosen for its products, subtly calling out the fact they should probably not be used on children's skin. Bubble also appears to be growing up, having appointed 39-year-old Leighton Meester, most famous for her 2010s role in Gossip Girl, as its first brand ambassador.

Threading the needle between appeal and responsibility is now crucial for new brands entering this market. Founder Melis Brufman says that while most tweens discover cosmetics products by themselves, the brands behind them can't forget they are speaking to parents, too. “It’s a controversial space,” she says. “But it’s a space that needs to be addressed. We need to make sure that parents know that putting perfume on kids is not good, [nor is] buying products on Amazon when you don’t know what goes into [them].” Her brand Silly Unicorn is launching in late April after two years of development, with a range of four lip glosses aimed at ages 11 and up, made with all-natural ingredients. Brufman says the extended development time allowed the brand to focus on creating formulas specifically for younger skin, rather than simply repackaging adult products with kid-friendly branding. For example, the lip glosses are designed to be easily removed with water, unlike adult products that needs staying power — a practical consideration for parents worried about ingredients lingering on skin.

“Parents will decide whether or not they want their kids to use these products, and if they are OK with it, and their kids are OK with it, I want to give them an option you wouldn’t have to think twice about,” Brufman adds.

Indeed, today’s tweens are heavily marketed to via social media, often discovering and requesting products before parents have a chance to research them. But parents still control the purse strings, and the growing number of brands positioning themselves as the "safe" choice suggests the industry knows that parental approval, not just tween demands, is what will ultimately drive purchases.