Skin-care routine videos commonly show 'harmful' (and expensive) regiments for children

The Journal

5 days ago

VIDEOS OF SKIN-CARE routines on social media are harmful and promote a 'high standard of beauty' to girls aged between 7 and 18 years old, a US study has found.
On average, skin-care routine videos on social media show women and girls using six products at a time. Some videos included in the Northwestern University study showed content creators using up to 12 products at one time.
According to
researchers in the US
this week, the use of a large amount of products can increase the risk of irritation as a result of the cosmetics using multiple active ingredients.
It comes as Irish dermatologists have reported an increase in the number of products that girls are using on their skin, with one expert warning of the adverse effects that the use of multiple cosmetics can have on the skin's durability.
Dr Caitríona Ryan, a consultant dermatologist and professor at University College Dublin, said this year that 'concerning trends' have been seen recently among children aged 9 and 12 years old.
She said that the routines by Irish children can be complex and expensive, and are often unsuitable for young, developing skin. The US study said that, on average, the cost of skin-care regiments online was $168 (€147).
Ryan said that, often, videos online are targeted towards people with ageing skin, using products that can be damaging to young skin.
She added: 'Also, [girls are] adopting layering skin care. Sometimes up to ten steps, morning and evening. Things that they're being told are 'essential' and which aren't appropriate at all for young, developing skin.'
High-risk behaviour
One example in the study showed a content creator use ten products on their face within six minutes. Senior author Dr Tara Lagu, medical social sciences lecturer at the university, said there was a visible skin reaction on the woman's face in the video.
Dr Molly Hales of Northwestern University said high-risk behaviour was witnessed in videos included in the American study. Only 26% of the videos collected by the researchers included some type of sunscreen.
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She said high-risk behaviour also included 'using multiple active ingredients at the same time, such as hydroxy acids, as well as applying the same active ingredient, unknowingly, over and over again when that active ingredient was found in three, four, five different products'.
Ryan said,
in a video posted to Instagram this year
, that commonly-found active ingredients can 'damage the skin barrier' for girls or cause frequent irritation or irritant contact dermatitis as they are often unsuitable for developing skin.
'The layering regiments can [also] congest the skin and start to cause acne cosmetica – acne caused by mechanically closing the pores and causing blockage of the pores,' she said.
'Unrealistic beauty expectations'
Northwestern University's study concluded that the videos included in its report 'offer little-to-no benefit' to the children they are targeted at. Hales said that the videos are 'setting a very high standard' for girls.
'The pursuit of health has become a kind of virtue in our society but the idea of 'heath' is also very wrapped up in ideals of beauty, thinness and whiteness. This insidious thing about 'skin care' is that it claims to be about health,' she added.
Lagu said the videos included in the study, which were collected through the creation of a TikTok account which reported itself to be a 13-year-old girl, 'really emphasised lighter, brighter skin'.
She added: 'I think there also were real associations between the use of these regimens and consumerism'.
Speaking this year, Ryan said what could be considered as an 'even more important' side effect of excessive skin-care routine videos online is that they create 'unrealistic beauty expectations' for children.
The dermatologist said: 'Seeing filtered images on social media the whole time and trying to work towards this flawless, glass-like skin is very, very concerning. They can't accept any type of blemish or any minor, little skin concern.
'This is at a point that they're forming their self identity, so it can be very damaging in terms of confidence and body image overall.
'This is the start of a trajectory of skin care and looking after their skin, and it's something that we really have to look long and hard at,' she added.
She recommended that parents purchase gentle cleaners for their children to use in the morning and evening, and recommended the use of a moisturising sunscreen.
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