When she was in fifth grade, Scarlett Goddard Strahan started to worry about getting wrinkles. By the time she turned 10, Scarlett and her friends were spending hours on TikTok and YouTube watching influencers tout products for achieving today's beauty aesthetic: a dewy, "glowy," flawless complexion. Scarlett, who recently turned 11, developed an elaborate skin-care routine with facial cleansers, mists, hydrating masks, and moisturizers. One night, however, Scarlett's skin began to burn intensely and erupted in blisters. Heavy use of adult-strength products had wreaked havoc on her skin. Months later, patches of tiny bumps remain on Scarlett's face, and her cheeks turn red in the sun." I didn't want to get wrinkles and look old," she tells the AP. "If I had known my life would be so affected by this, I never would have put these things on my face."
Scarlett's experience has become common, experts say, as preteen girls around the country throng beauty stores to buy high-end skin-care products, a trend captured in viral videos with the hashtag #SephoraKids. Girls as young as 8 are turning up at dermatologists' offices with rashes, chemical burns, and other allergic reactions to products not intended for children's sensitive skin. "When kids use anti-aging skin care, they can actually cause premature aging, destroy the skin barrier, and lead to permanent scarring," says Dr. Brooke Jeffy, a dermatologist in Scottsdale, Arizona, who has posted her own social media videos rebutting influencers' advice.
More than the physical harm, parents and child psychologists worry about the trend's effects on girls' mental health, for years to come. Extensive data suggests a fixation on appearance can affect self-esteem and body image and fuel anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. The skin care obsession offers a window into the role social media plays in the lives of today's youth, and how it shapes the ideals and insecurities of girls in particular. "It's like a trance. You can't stop watching it," Mia Hall, 14, of the Bronx, New York, says of the "Get Ready With Me" videos she watches online. "So when they tell me, 'Go buy this product,' or, 'I use this and it's amazing,' it feels very personal. Getting what they have makes me feel connected to them." More here.
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