Tweens don’t need retinol!

Young girls’ obsession with skincare isn’t as innocent as it seems. There’s nothing quite like being a child. Nothing really matters, you are free to do what you want without worrying about life’s big issues. You make daisy chains, you play hide and seek and, at the end of the day, you give your face a quick once-over with a flannel then it’s off to bed to dream about kittens.

That’s the way it should be. Social media, as always, has other ideas.

Today’s tweens are growing more and more infatuated with skincare. What started out as harmless fun has become a harmful obsession that needs to be addressed.

Skincare brands like Drunk Elephant and The Ordinary have made their way onto little girls’ Christmas lists. When I was younger the only ‘skincare’ I wanted was an Eos Lipbalm but now we have nine-year-olds who know what retinol and peptides are. For those of you who don’t know, retinol boosts elastin and collagen production helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and sun damage. Peptides are chains of amino acids that form proteins like collagen, elastin and keratin, which make our skin smooth and plump. Of course, I can understand the appeal of these products for older women but why on earth would a child need these?

Youthful skin is just that: youthful. There is no need for a young girl to be trying to reverse the effects of ageing when hardly any ageing has happened. Ageing is a privilege that unfortunately not everyone is blessed with. We should wear our wrinkles and imperfections with pride for they show that we have lived our life, which is a gift in itself. It breaks my heart that little girls are spending their childhoods trying to look like perfect porcelain dolls, when they should be playing wink murder and putting mentos in Coca Cola bottles.

Not only are these products unnecessary but they can be dangerous to the skin. Retinol, if used haphazardly, can lead to irritation and increased sun sensitivity, as well as overstimulating the natural collagen production process, leading to even more damage. Layering retinol on top of other skin products like acid-based cleansers can also wreak havoc on your skin, unbeknownst to most tweens. In some cases, severe disruption of the skin barrier can cause dermatitis – not exactly the outcome they are wishing for.

Of course, social media is to blame for this phenomenon. TikTok videos and Instagram reels preaching about the importance of a good skincare routine have amassed millions of views: #DermTok has 167.9M views on TikTok. It is understandable why these videos have been such a hit with tweens as they are easily influenced and desperate to fit in with their peers. As a result, we now have a generation of young girls growing more insecure and obsessed with their looks by the day.

The best thing we can do to address this problem is to be proud and unashamed of the way we look. Studies have shown that when a mother is positive about her body, her daughter is less likely to experience insecurity or body dysmorphia, and vice versa. It’s not just mothers and daughters either. We all have children that look up to us – let’s try to do better for them. If you have nothing nice to say about your body, don’t say anything, it’s as simple as that.

At the end of the day, it’s not how you look that’s important. It’s your thoughts, your beliefs, your principles, and your jokes. It’s the way you treat others, the way you laugh, the way you smile and the way you dance. It’s the way you live your life, not how you look while you’re doing it.

So to any young girls reading this: bin the retinol and peptides, you don’t need them. Don’t let your life pass you by while you’re fixated on how you look.