Are we letting our children damage their skin?

We’re all aware of the dangers of social media and taking a responsible approach to what our children consume online, but there’s growing evidence it is now affecting the choices they make for their skin.

It's a concern I've been noticing more and more lately. Parents are coming to me worried because their children are asking for complex skincare routines, influenced by trends and social media. Some are as young as 8, dabbling in skincare products like Drunk Elephant, Byoma, and Paula’s Choice, which aren't necessarily gentle enough for their delicate skin. While some trends are harmless, others can be harmful, and have long-lasting effects.

The skincare industry is booming with products targeted at teens, often brightly packaged, and endorsed by influencers. What our children don’t realise is that it’s a money-making machine, and for the most part, young skin is beautiful, and doesn’t need expensive, complex chemicals.

While it's fantastic to install simple, healthy skin habits early on, I want to guide parents and teens toward safer choices and highlight potential risks.

My advice is simply that less is more when you are young.

The Risks of Using the Wrong Products

More professionals are seeing young girls experiencing side effects from using products not suited to their age. Many popular products are meant for mature skin, aiming to tackle issues like wrinkles and sun damage and young skin is just not robust enough to handle them.

Using potent ingredients like retinol and acids formulated for mature skin can lead to redness, irritation, and other problems. Heavy moisturisers may trigger acne, while exfoliants and antioxidants can cause rashes and irritation. Our skin is a living, breathing organ, and once the skin’s barrier is broken, it can be very hard to build it back up again.

 Almost more importantly, the pressure on young people to have ‘perfect skin’ from social media beauty content can impact young minds, fostering unrealistic expectations and even body image issues, anxiety, and depression. Too many young people are demonstrating signs of being overly concerned about skin aging and aspiring to unrealistic beauty standards.

There are no Snapchat filters in real life, we need to teach them to be happy in their own skin.  

The Importance of Age-Appropriate Care

For most young people, a simple, inexpensive routine is enough for healthy skin.

Here are the basics to maintaining a healthy skin barrier:

1. Gentle cleanser for morning and night to remove dirt and makeup.

2. Light moisturizer suitable for young skin, nothing too heavy.

3. SPF of at least 30 or 50 to protect against UV damage.

 We love products like Cerave Hydrating Cleanser, Cerave Facial Moisturizer, and La Roche-Posay Hydra Phase. Choose an inexpensive sunscreen that is at least an SPF 30 or 50 that your child is happy to wear daily, La Roche-Posay Anthelios or Garnier Ambre Solaire are great.

Ingredients to avoid are:

1.    Strong retinoids - a big no unless you have acne and are under medical supervision.

2.    Acids such as glycolic and salicylic as they can be very irritating and can overstimulate and over exfoliate young skin.

3.    Anything containing fragrance, there is no place for this in skincare, it can be very irritating and can lead to sensitivity later in life.

 If you do have a specific skin condition such as rosacea, acne, and eczema you should seek medical attention from a skin specialist as these conditions may need to be treated with products formulated with active ingredients to ease symptoms. Don’t let your child try and treat them themselves and don’t look to social media for the answers. At the Pemberley clinic we have a skin scanning device which allows us to look at the deeper layers of the skin, see oil and bacteria levels as well as inflammation. This allows us to carefully monitor the health of the skin and really see the impact of the chosen treatment plan.

Lastly if you're a parent or teen needing guidance on skincare, please reach out. Let's ensure our young ones glow with health and confidence.