Brooke Tritton | 20/05/2025
snowing12 – stock.adobe.com
With skincare now tied to social media’s beauty standards, concerns are growing over the impact on children’s mental wellbeing. The growing craze of young children collecting skincare products and mimicking adult routines is prompting questions that go beyond the physical risks of inappropriate ingredients.
Stephen Holland, a Newcastle-based cognitive behavioural therapist, says children are especially vulnerable because their identities are still taking shape.
“Children and adolescents, their self-concept and their self-identity is still forming… They’re still figuring out who they are and how they fit into the world.”
Social media, he explains, not only shapes how young people compare themselves to others but also influences what they value. Many begin to internalise the idea that beauty and success are linked.
“If you’re a young child and you observe people online,
for instance, who seem to have a high degree of followers or a lot of kind of social clout…You might start to develop the belief that in order to be successful or in order to be liked… this is what you must do or what you need to look like.”
Kristy, a mum of a 12-year-old, says her daughter’s skincare fixation began through exposure to TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
“Peer pressure and constant social media algorithms related to skincare have convinced my child she must buy, but only the best,” she said. “I don’t think there is much of a restriction we can put on it as parents, other than saying ‘no’ which will then create other problems with lack of fitting in etc.”
Holland says these behaviours can easily become reinforced. A child who posts a skincare video online and receives positive feedback will feel rewarded and repeat the behaviour.
“maybe I got some likes, comments, and that gave me a bit of a buzz. That buzz is going to reinforce the behaviour, it’s like, ‘oh, that felt good!’”
Fixating on physical appearance can also lead to distorted perceptions.
“If you’re hyper fixated on an area of your body, you’re going to notice things that you wouldn’t notice otherwise… The more you fixate, the more imperfections you’ll notice… the more the image gets distorted.”
Holland draws a connection between such thought patterns and issues like body dysmorphia. “It reinforces this negative view that ‘I just look hideous’.”
While the psychological consequences are becoming clear, dermatologists are also witnessing the physical side effects firsthand.
Dermatologist Dr Faheem Latheef says he’s already seeing the physical fallout of this trend.
“We are actually seeing younger patients being referred in because we’ve got patients as young as 7, 8, 9 using 7 step skincare routine’s. They use hair products and… acrylic nails. All of that sort of builds up as well.”
Strong ingredients like BHA exfoliants and retinols can lead to lasting sensitivity and even allergic reactions.
“If they have irritant reactions and then the skin barrier is impaired… it can then actually lead to sensitisation… Then the next time you get exposed to it, you get a reaction.”
Kristy believes companies aren’t just unaware of their influence, but that they’re leveraging it.
“Not only do I believe brands and social media influencers are aware of how strongly they’re impacting kids, I think they are capitalizing on it.”
Latheef agrees there is a systemic problem. “Some of them [influencers] are basically non-professionals just promoting products… Sometimes they [brands] use very colourful branding… more appealing to a younger audience. But the product might not be intended for them.”
The influence of digital culture runs deep. Holland says repeated exposure to filtered perfection shapes self-image.
“You just make comparisons… ‘I’m just constantly comparing how I look to these heavily edited, distorted images. Coming to the conclusion that I must be ugly’.”
For many teenagers, these beliefs become fixed.
“The belief that ‘I’m ugly unless I look a certain way’… might feel as real to a person as today being Wednesday.”
Holland says breaking out of these thought patterns takes time and effort.
“The longer that children have those thoughts and drive those behaviours, the harder it is to break out of. It’s not impossible, that’s why jobs like mine exist.”
As Holland puts it, the danger is confusing temporary thoughts with long-term truths. “People can mistake who they are for what they think they are. And thoughts can be very persuasive if you don’t realise they’re thoughts.”
He urges parents to help young people diversify their identity.
“It’s almost like pillars holding up a structure. If I’ve only got one pillar holding up the whole thing, if something happens to that pillar, the whole thing crumbles down. But maybe my skin is a pillar, but then maybe a sport that I love, an interest that I have, friendships that I support.”
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