The beauty industry has found a new audience: children. And it is using other children online – so-called “child skinfluencers” – to promote all kinds of skincare products.
Research by The Guardian’s consumer affairs reporter Sarah Marsh found teenage girls on TikTok, as well as Instagram and YouTube, showing their skincare routines, some having become “ambassadors” for major brands.
Some will be using products from a new and lucrative market segment – skincare produced for children – others might be demonstrating to other 10 or 12 year-olds the anti-ageing powers of retinols and strong serums.
As the phenomenon grows, dermatologists are expressing concern about harsh chemicals damaging delicate young skin, but parents and guardians are also worried that children are being convinced that their skin needs something it almost certainly does not, with all the implications for self-esteem and body image that carries.
And there are concerns at official level with the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) investigating two beauty brands over the use of young influencers to market skincare to children.
So where is this all going? And how damaging is this form of marketing, to the young girls who are served it daily on one their social feeds, and the children involved in its marketing?
Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair, with research by Ellen Clusker.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.