TikTok skin care craze has Long Island tweens flocking to Sephora, Ulta. What is safe? 

April Sirianni drew the line when her 11-year-old daughter asked for eye cream.

Like many tween girls, Natalie, a Port Washington sixth grader, watches social media influencers who promote skin care products online. When Natalie wanted a simple cleanser and a moisturizer, Sirianni, 41, a freelancer, says she was on board to start Natalie on healthy self-care habits.

But then came the eye cream.

“I saw somebody recommending it,” Natalie says. That gave Sirianni pause. “Eleven-year-old skin doesn’t really need eye cream. Maybe someone my age,” Sirianni says.

Not only does tween skin not need some of the products that trend on social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, using products meant for adults can actually do their skin harm, dermatologists say. Most tweens and teens don’t need, for instance, chemical exfoliants that are used to smooth wrinkles and improve skin texture or retinol to combat aging.

When adult social media influencers post popular "Get Unready With Me" videos showing themselves doing their personal before bed skin care routine, they aren't typically addressing what age range particular products are meant for or whether they've been paid to promote the items or are getting them for free from companies who hope they will pitch them. 

“Unfortunately, I see a lot of patients who make visits because they are experiencing facial redness, irritation, burning or itching,” says Dr. Annie Grossberg, director of Pediatric Dermatology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, referring to her tween patients. “Many of these patients are using products with alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and beta hydroxy acids (BHAs), and sometimes they also have retinols in them.” Parents are frequently unaware that certain ingredients, while they may be suitable for adults and, in some cases, teenagers, are often too harsh for preteens who have skin that is thinner and more sensitive.

PROMOTED ON TIKTOK

According to the Chicago-based marketing firm NielsonIQ, U.S. households that include kids between the ages of 6 and 17 are overall spending more money on beauty products. The firm says sales of facial moisturizers went up 36.5% in households with children between the age of 6 and 12 in 2023 when compared with the previous year. Sales of toner among households that include that age group increased by 46.8% in 2023 when compared with the previous year.

Tweens can be enticed by the colorful product packaging and caught up in the viral TikTok videos posted by influencers they follow and want to emulate, parents and beauty consultants say. Girls also say they learn about products through YouTube tutorial videos. “It’s just very colorful and bright, and the packaging is very appealing to their age,” Sirianni says. Some also have scents that appeal to younger girls, like watermelon, she says.

“It’s anywhere 10 and up,” says Victoria Ruggia, beauty advisor at Ulta in Farmingdale who helps girls who come into the store. “They all see it on TikTok, and they’re influenced by TikTok to come here and get it.” She agrees that some of the products pitched by adult influencers are not formulated for girls who haven’t hit puberty. “They don’t need that. In the long run, it’s going to end up not working out for their skin. They’ll see an increase in acne,” Ruggia says.

And some trendy brands can be expensive. “Some of these products are $60, $40, and you’re like, ‘What? This is insane,’” says Maria DeLuca, 48, of Glen Cove, a marketing consultant whose daughter, Isabella, 11, a sixth grader, has been interested in skin care products for the past two years. “I was never aware of some of these sophisticated products that now exist.” 

‘LESS IS MORE’

Ironically, many young people who are seeking better skin have the best skin of their life right now, says Dr. Navin Arora, founder of Borealis Dermatology with offices in Syosset and Garden City. Other than the basics, no extra products are needed unless the patient has an active breakout from acne or rosacea. “I think that’s the disconnect,” he says. “They think it's going to get better when there isn’t much to improve … it has hydration, great volume, firmness, texture.”

Tweens and teens typically only need a gentle cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen to maintain healthy skin, dermatologists say.

Dr. Pooja Shah, a dermatologist at Northwell Health Physician Partners Dermatology in Huntington, tells her patients that less is more. Most tweens and teens with average skin that may be drier in the winter and oilier in the summer should wash their face twice a day with a cleanser, use a moisturizer and apply broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30, she says. They may switch products according to the seasons, with a heavier moisturizer in the winter and deeper cleaning wash in the summer.

“A lot of teenagers come in, adults as well, thinking that the more expensive the brand they buy, the better their skin is going to be with that product,” Shah says. “Good skin care does not have to be expensive. It’s not like it has anything more magical than something that's equivalent.”

Faith Khan, 42, of South Ozone Park, Queens, was shopping with her daughter, Avery, 9, at Sephora one recent afternoon in Roosevelt Field mall in Uniondale. She says her daughter's dermatologist told her to "keep it simple" when buying Avery skincare products, so she has Avery wash with Cerave. "Her skin is beautiful as it is," Khan says.

PARENTS SHOULD ASK QUESTIONS

DeLuca says she was excited to see Isabella showing an interest in skin care, because it was something positive. “It wasn’t like she wanted to sit there and eat junk food. She wanted to take care of her body,” DeLuca says. “I also felt it was a really fun way to bond with my daughter. It was an opportunity for use to do something together, go to Sephora and browse the aisles, go to local pharmacy.”

She and Isabella learned together about the products. “It’s incredible how informed she is,” DeLuca says of her daughter. “I’ll be falling asleep, and she’ll be like, ‘Mom, you need to wash your face.’ She’s actually pushing me to have a skin care routine.”

Max Farrell, 45, of Freeport, who works in retail, also found himself researching products when his daughter, Ava, 10, started asking for them by brand, such as Bubble and Tatcha and Glow Recipe. “I just like it because it’s fun and it’s nice to take care of your skin,” says Ava, a fifth grader.

“I definitely recommend reading up on the products themselves and asking a lot of questions,” Farrell says. “When you use a lot of skin care stuff you can get a lot of blemishes when you haven’t hit puberty yet. It clogs your pores.”

He also says he was happy to see Ava grilling salespeople herself about the products before she uses them. “I know some people my age who use Drunk Elephant, and that’s not good for younger skin,” Ava says. Some specific product lines in certain companies can be appropriate for tweens while others may not.

“Even with simple benzoyl peroxide you need to be careful because percentages matter,” dermatologist Arora says. “There’s a big difference between 5% and 10%, which might be a lot more irritating.”

Cecilia Ng, 12, of New Hyde Park, has this advice for her tween peers: “If you see content creators or celebrities using skin care products, you should really do what’s best for your skin, and not just go out and buy the most expensive skin care because it’s popular.”