Swedish retailer bans children from buying anti-ageing skincare

While some may view a buyers’ age limit as overkill, it’s ultimately for a good cause.

Dermatologists have warned against the use of most anti-ageing ingredients on young skin, even though they have been proven as beneficial for older age groups dealing with hyperpigmentation, fine lines, and acne scarring.

The ‘start early’ approach to anti-ageing doesn’t apply to age-reversing formulas, as children’s skin barriers are far more sensitive to active ingredients such as retinol and exfoliating acids, which are often included in advanced skincare products.

In fact, applying these prematurely will likely have the opposite of the desired effect on young skin, including accelerating sensitivities and causing damage to the overall skin barrier.

It’s clear that a lack of knowledge and factual information in online spaces has led children and tweens to start incorporating ingredients into their beauty regimes that are too harsh – and at times damaging – for their skin.

This, unfortunately, is further fuelled by online narratives that encourage trying to avoid the ageing process at all costs.

the sephora tweens are actually out of control y’all are not lying. but i wonder if they realize how deeply unserious they look buying expensive skincare for their literal fresh out the womb faces like be sooooooo fr

— aquariana ♒️🍒 (@brianoire) February 19, 2024

It should be mentioned that most beauty influencers don’t intend to sway young audiences into using products inappropriate for their skin types.

Unfortunately, the viral nature of beauty content on platforms like TikTok ropes impressionable young people into spending unnecessarily on skincare that they will reap no benefit from.

Even though the ‘Sephora Tweens’ phenomenon will likely live on, it’s great to see pharmacies opting out of selling harsh chemicals to kids who are less discerning about the products they think they ‘need’.

Hopefully, it’ll take the pressure off young people and lead to more awareness when it comes to age-appropriate beauty routines.