Forever Young: Guide to Gen Alpha Skincare and Age Indications for TikTok-Favored Cosmetics

The ‘Sephora kids’ phenomenon got into the spotlight early this year, revealing the unexpected juvenility of beauty market consumers and raising a heated discussion around age-appropriate skincare. Numerous videos of 10-year-olds taking trips to cosmetic stores for fancy products, sharing their 12-step skincare routines, swearing by beauty tips beyond their age, and adoring trending cosmetic brands flooded TikTok and posed concerns among skincare professionals.

“Tweens should be educated to focus on their skin health rather than enhancement of their skin appearance. What we see now are very young girls attempting to fix skin issues that generally aren’t even present at their age”, says Valerie Aparovich, biochemist, certified cosmetologist-aesthetician, and science team lead at OnSkin, the app that scans cosmetic products for safety and skin match.

Social media is full of ads and cosmetic product reviews promising us flawless and ageless skin. Their allure is inherent as we’ve all heard skincare axioms like ‘prevention is better than cure’ or ‘the earlier you start taking care of your skin, the more youthful it will remain in the long run.’ According to Aparovich, “An important aspect that tweens often neglect is that those products are formulated to work on mature skin, while their own skin still undergoes growth and changes, and it’s naturally softer and more susceptible. Therefore, it can be reactive to adult cosmetics, resulting in heightened sensitivity, irritation, and disrupted skin barrier.”

What is a skincare routine suitable for tweens?

“Unless skin concerns like acne or inflammation occur, tweens don’t need extensive skincare routines,” Aparovich says. For maintaining skin health at the age of 10 to 13, she recommends a basic, three-step regimen that includes a gentle cleanser, suitable moisturizer, and broad-spectrum sunscreen. In cases where specific treatment is required, a dermatologist's guidance is crucial for picking safe and beneficial products to address the issue.

Step 1: Cleansing

Cleansing means eliminating environmental dirt and excess sebum from the skin’s surface and keeping it clear and fresh. It helps prevent pore clogging, inflammation, and breakouts and keep pores tighter, reducing the risk of enlarging over time. According to Aparovich, vegan, sulfate-free cleansing foams are most suitable for tweens as they are gentler and work better to comfort the skin, not compromising its moisture barrier.

Step 2: Moisturizing

“Maintaining the skin’s hydrolipid balance is essential, as it's synonymous with healthy skin both at present and in the future,” notes Aparovich. “Not only does moisturizing help keep the skin nourished and supple, but it supports its natural barrier functions and increases its protective capacity against environmental stressors.”

To replenish the tween skin’s hydration levels, provide it with an antioxidant boost, and enhance its healthy glow, Aparovich recommends looking for product formulations based on natural plant-derived extracts, such as aloe vera, pea, echinacea, green tea, kiwi, and fig. Chamomile, calendula, white nettle, lavender, and witch hazel extracts will empower the moisturizer with anti-inflammatory properties.

Step 3: Sunscreen

According to Aparovich, sunscreen is the primary skincare essential at tween age to protect sensitive skin from the harmful impact of ultraviolet radiation. Besides preventing sunburn, it alleviates cellular damage induced by free radicals, slows water evaporation from the epidermis, prevents moisture barrier degradation, and reduces the risk of hyperpigmentation and skin diseases down the road.

Aparovich recommends wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a 50 SPF rate formulated with a combination of safe mineral and chemical filters and reapplying it every two hours when outdoors in the daytime.

What are the risks of using active skincare ingredients on tween skin?

“The role of active cosmetic ingredients is usually in boosting the natural processes that slow down with age or fading the signs of aging, such as fine lines, wrinkles, and decreased turgor,” says Aparovich.

For obvious reasons, tween skin doesn’t require any of these improvements right now or in the foreseeable future. Youthfulness-promoting creams, serums, and toners are not only unnecessary expenses but can also be harmful rather than neutral for immature skin, Aparovich warns. “Incorporating anti-aging skincare from a young age won’t prevent aging. On the contrary, cosmetic products intended for adults can be too harsh on tween skin, overwhelming it, unbalancing its natural processes, provoking allergic reactions, irritation, redness, peeling, and dryness, and increasing its vulnerability to external stimuli”.

Aparovich names retinoids, alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic acid, mandelic acid, and more), and beta hydroxy acids (salicylic acid) as ingredients worst tolerated by delicate tween skin, except when dermatologically prescribed for acne treatment. Besides, she notes, “incorporating products with active anti-aging agents from early age can cause the skin to develop dependency on them that may decrease the efficacy of these ingredients when they are genuinely needed later in life.”

What other ingredients aren't safe for tween skin?

Sulfates

Aparovich recommends avoiding sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate in cleansing foams, opting for softer surfactants like lauryl glucoside, coco glucoside, and disodium cocoyl glutamate. “Sulfates create more creamy foam and perform a seemingly more substantial cleansing effect, but they are too harsh on the skin and high in pH, so they can strip the skin of its beneficial oils needed to support the efficiency of its barrier functions, causing dryness, irritation, redness, and itching.”

Comedogenic ingredients

Given that tween skin is often acne-prone, Aparovich calls to steer clear of leave-on cosmetic products containing ingredients with a high comedogenicity rate. This precaution primarily refers to individuals with oily and combination skin that overproduces sebum. Altogether, these substances can clog pores, leading to blackhead formation and inflammatory conditions like acne. The most comedogenic ingredients are cacao, palm, coconut, and wheat germ oils, as well as acetylated lanolin alcohol, isopropyl myristate, isopropyl linoleate, isopropyl isostearate, isopropyl palmitate, myristyl lactate, myristyl myristate, laureth-4, oleyl alcohol, and ethylhexyl palmitate.

Toxic fragrances and preservatives

Allergenic aromas such as citral, cinnamon, coumarin, eugenol, farnesol, geraniol, and more, as well as toxic preservatives such as methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, and formaldehyde releasers, are no-go for everyone. Still, they can be especially hazardous for sensitive tween skin, triggering allergic reactions, irritation, redness, itching, and rushes. Another risky group of preservatives is parabens, which are suspected of disrupting the endocrine system.

Unsafe chemical (organic) UV filters

Three of the most hazardous sunscreen filters are oxybenzone (or benzophenone-3), homosalate, and octinoxate. Some studies have shown that oxybenzone can trigger allergic reactions, cause eye and skin irritation, and induce endocrine disorders. Homosalate and octinoxate are also believed to have a potential adverse impact on the endocrine system.

At what age should active skincare ingredients be incorporated?

The average recommended time frame for incorporating active anti-aging ingredients into one’s skincare regimen depends on the skin goals they target, states Aparovich. “The ingredients aimed at supporting the skin’s suppleness and plumpness and preventing premature aging can be introduced in one’s twenties, while those intended to diminish the appearance of existing signs of aging should be postponed until the mid-thirties,” she recommends.

Vitamin C: age indication 20+

Vitamin C provides antioxidant and brightening properties, strengthens the skin barrier, stimulates new collagen synthesis within the skin, and lightens discoloration, promoting a firmer skin texture and a more even complexion.

AHAs and BHAs: age indication 25-30+

Alpha hydroxy acids and beta hydroxy acids provide skin exfoliation and boost cell turnover, making dead cells shed and revealing new skin underneath.

14-15-year-olds can consider using acids to tighten enlarged pores and reduce blackheads, but seeking a dermatologist’s advice beforehand is crucial to minimize unwanted consequences like skin reactivity or irritation.

Bakuchiol: age indication 30-35+

Bakuchiol, a plant-derived analog of retinol, promotes skin renewal and rejuvenation. It stimulates the production of new structural collagen proteins in the skin, smoothes fine lines and wrinkles, and fades hyperpigmentation.

Retinoids: age indication 35+

Retinoids promote skin renewal, speed cell turnover, and stimulate metabolic and regeneration processes within the skin. They encourage collagen and elastin fiber synthesis, improving skin texture, enhancing surface smoothness, and reducing fine lines and wrinkles.

Peptides: age indication 40+

Peptides, the protein building blocks within our skin, directly impact collagen production. They support skin healing, promote repair and regeneration mechanisms within the cells, and act as humectants, helping the skin seal in and retain moisture.