If you have been somewhere near Tiktok recently, you have probably encountered “Sephora Kids”, a phenomenon where tweens and children as small as 7 swarms the store in search of all Trending serum, moisturizer or tackle they can get hold of. As Skincare takes the center of generation alpha (That is, those born between 2010 and 2025), the retail giant is now the place chosen for play dates and scavenger hunting, with their often unwavering clientele that leaves a mess with color boxes and product display for employees to tend. Some children who have not yet met two -digit are more familiar with ingredients such as Hyaluronic acid and niacinamide than their parents, and many have not even learned basic mathematics before changing squishmallows for intoxicated elephant on their birthday present lists.
That obsession is not limited to store visits. In September 2025 Salish matterNew skin health line, sincerely yours, an estimated 80,000 fans drew to a pop-up at New Jersey’s American Dream Mall, with some campsite overnight to hold products before the brand’s Sephora debut. It was also the launch of Yes Day, a Gen Alpha brand formulated by a chemist behind Hailey Bieber’s Rhode, Ron Robinson. The same week, Ulta $ 42 Tween-focused birthday parties with mini-makeovers, product demos and gift bags filled with brands such as Bubble, Daise and Starface certificates introduced that beauty dealers see Gen Alpha as a consumer base of their own.
By taking the thing a step further, “child impactors” are also on the way up, with children taking to Tiktok to show off their New purchasesreveal theirs Skin care routinesAnd take part in the story “Get ready with me” which involves expensive multistep routines. This outward fixation in your face with beauty products is in sharp contrast to millennial mothers like Jackie Hosey, who reminds you to have to sneak mascara and lip gloss to school in third class. Now she is in navigating her 11-year-old’s desire to use jobs for skincare and spend all her after-school hours at Sephora to seek different formulas and collect product samples.
According to Mariel Benjamin, a parent expert, licensed clinical social worker and vice president of groups and content on CooperThis is not something new – to a certain degree. “In terms of development, it is appropriate for children aged 8 to 12 to notice how others look, create their own perception of what beauty is and try to imitate the adult and older children around them,” she says. “But instead of using her mother’s makeup, there has been a colossal change in behavior where parents allow children to participate as consumers.”
This shift also raises the eyebrows among cultural critics. Casey Lewiscreator of After school Newsletter, published one Tiktok September 9, responds to the sincere your launch and urges what it signals for Gen Alpha. “Children have always wanted to play with makeup, it’s natural,” she said. “But why are we trying to sell skincare to seven -year -olds? … What do we teach Gen Alpha if they are sold serum before they can even read?” For Lewis, the record -breaking turnout and sales were not a marketing gain, it was a red flag about how quickly beauty brands normalize potent products for children who are barely out in elementary school. Her criticism used a broader concern among parents, many of whom feel caught between indulging in their children’s interests and resisting an industry that seems anxious to control them younger and younger.
This raises the question: Where does this attraction come to the beauty space (and specifically expensive products) from? Many parents point to Tiktok. “They see these products on Tiktok and want to go to Sephora and try them to keep up with the trend,” says Hosey. “Knowledge about skincare products has become a status symbol among girls of this age.”
Kristjana HillbergMom to an 11-year-old, agrees. “(My daughter) Lily has always been interested in makeup – she has witnessed that I act as an antenna and have really extravagant makeup – but I feel like downloading Tiktok was really the beginning of the fascination and growing interest outside what she was already used to,” says Hillberg.
There are also peer dynamics and an inevitable social context to consider. According to Benjamin, it is evolving in terms of TWEENS to both receive terrible advice from their peers and to care deeply about what their friends think. It is even true for Hosey, who says that her daughter and her friends “come on Facetime and showcase the products they bought for the day.”
Glossy Instagram ads and eye-catching packaging are also played. “Companies will not stop marketing anything to children just because it is not suitable for them,” says Benjamin, adding that social media has made it easier for children to request these things and blur that line between what is For them and what is not For them (think: flavored vapes).
When you navigate in this specific dilemma, open dialogue is key. “The best way to approach this topic is with curiosity and asks your tween in a non -deciding way,” Why do you want to use this product? “, Benjamin says.” Start by listening and finding out more – how do they like to wear the product? Will it make them feel confident? Is it because their friends carry it? ”It is important to get to the root of the motivations for carrying skin care or makeup before something else; then parents can validate these very real feelings before setting reasonable boundaries that make sense to the family, says Benjamin.
As for the seemingly endless Tiktok videos that spew the product after the product? When it comes to content that children consume and record, Benjamin says that parents have a role in not only choosing appropriately, but in modeling behaviors that support their children’s growing self -esteem, trust and body image. While some people can claim that the above “are getting ready with me” can, like today’s attire, are worried about why children are interested in this attention, what they are looking for from the films and what the skincare routine “means” to them. “Making these videos for clothing, and not publicly publishing, is a simple alternative that focuses on games and exploration, not about likes and attention,” says Benjamin.
“Making these videos for clothing, and not publicly publishing, is a simple option that keeps focus on games and exploration, not about likes and attention.”
In addition to what they are looking at and publishing on social media, parents also have control over what their children buy. It is important not to exercise that control without discussion, but to understand what your children need or want, and without sensitivity to how they feel, says Benjamin, who offers the following statement for parents who are struggling: “” I understand that you want this and that everyone else uses this product.
It is true that for many parents there is a lot of concern about children who use potent ingredients such as retinol and hard activities such as exfoliating acids. “For me, this is not just an experimental phase that comes with zero consequences; our skin is the body’s largest organ and immediately absorbs what we put on it,” she says. “Lily is in the midst of the puberty timeline, and with puberty comes different hormones, which can play a huge role in your skin.”
Instead of blaming the world we live in to make such products available to children, Benjamin is an advocate for educating yourself about ingredients and product use. “This is a new area of interest, and we have no idea about the long -term effects of the use of these products on our children,” she says. “Most of these products have never been tested on children or prepubescent skin, so I recommend that you check with a dermatologist about ingredients and follow their advice.”
Incorrect use of ingredient is partly why Sara Marinoa mother to three and the founder of Green girl goodsA pure beauty and skincare box for tweens and teens began to investigate beauty products suitable for children. “I started the brand to respond to the challenges I faced finding the right products for my own daughter and to avoid exactly what is happening right now with parents who did not know how to find products that work for their children,” says Marino. “We do not shoot antiaging products or those with active ingredients – instead we share products with safer ingredients that are Compatible with young skin And work to train our customers about why we have included a product in the box, what the ingredients mean and how to make better choices for themselves when shopping. “Among these products, fragrant colorful cosmetics, makeup brushes and nail products, as well as lifestyle items that include gratitude officials and sunglasses and sunglasses are certainly.
So where do we go from here? Remember that most children want a product for their name, popularity, packaging or smell, and that they may not fully understand its function. This makes it much easier for parents to set good limits on which articles are allowed, which is not and why. While setting and keeping limits on their children can be uncomfortable, Benjamin says that parents should see this as an opportunity to educate them about their own decision -making process and find a way to sensitively execute boundaries that feel right for them.
