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CAN I SEE your ID? In bars, cinemas and supermarkets, showing your driver’s licence is commonplace for the under 25s – but those who fall into camp Gen Z and Gen Alpha might have to get used to bringing ID to the beauty aisle, too.
Providing proof of age to buy a serum? So far, so nanny state. But for Josefin Landgård, founder of CBD skincare brand Mantle, it’s a necessary step against the ‘Sephora kids’ phenomenon and the rise of extensive and expensive skincare routines. ‘We find it problematic that many young people are searching for, buying and using strong active products,’ she says.
‘My 11-year-old son has been asking for Drunk Elephant serums and moisturisers,’ says Nottingham-based jewellery consultant Eleanor Pereira. A Drunk Elephant face serum that promises to ‘target multiple signs of damage’ sells for £71.
Ask any dermatologist what a skincare routine for teens and tweens looks like and the advice is simple. ‘A gentle cleanser, a lightweight moisturiser and sunscreen. That’s really all they need,’ says GP and dermatology expert Dr Sonia Khorana.
If good habits are formed at an early age, surely that applies to skincare, too? Not exactly. It’s unnecessary, and even damaging, for Gen Alpha to replicate the multi-ingredient routines they see on social media, unless prescribed by a doctor to treat a specific skin condition. ‘Products containing ingredients such as retinol, vitamin C and exfoliating acids are formulated for mature skin,’ says Khorana. ‘They risk damaging their skin barrier, developing contact dermatitis, irritation and skin issues if they continue to use ingredients formulated for mature skin.’
Curbing the use of ingredients that could do more harm t
