Tween skincare obsession fuels industry boom and raises concerns

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Transcript Audio

Ask many pre-teens what’s at the top of their wish list and there’s a good chance the answer will be skincare. Special correspondent and Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell reports on the growth and some of the concerns around this boom.

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Amna Nawaz:

It's the latest craze among some preteens. Ask many tweens what's at the top of their wish list, and there's a good chance the answer will be skin care products.
Special correspondent and Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell has the story about the growth and concerns around this boom.
Catherine Rampell:

One of Emma Scott's must-have skin care products is her glow recipe toner.
Emma Scott, 10 Years Old: And if you smell it, it smells, like, really good.
Catherine Rampell:

Oh, yes. Sort of fruity?
Emma Scott:

Mm-hmm.
Catherine Rampell:

The 10-year-old's preferred body butter, Sol de Janeiro.
Emma Scott:

This one is like a creamy consistency.
Catherine Rampell:

In her skin care fridge.
Emma Scott:

I really like this Laneige sleeping mask.
Catherine Rampell:

And for lip care, Summer Fridays' butter balm.
Emma Scott:

Because it's like a limited edition. And I was like, oh, I really want this.
Catherine Rampell:

Scott does a multistep skin care routine every morning and every evening.
Emma Scott:

In the morning, I will do a face wash, a toner, a moisturizer, and my ELF-tinted SPF.
Catherine Rampell:

Why do you do it every day?
Emma Scott:

Because I feel like it's really hydrating for your skin and it feels good on my skin. Normally, when I first wake up, I look like a really — like a white ghost. So, I like being a little bit tanner and glowier.
Catherine Rampell:

Move over, Barbie. Today's tweens are obsessed with expensive skin care, products usually marketed to a much older, wealthier clientele.
Households with tweens, aged 6 through 12, spent almost $2.5 billion facial skin care last year, an annual spending increase of 27 percent, more than double the average.
Girl:

I like that it's like kind of watery.
Catherine Rampell:

This is Scott's skin care crew, a group of friends and fellow skin care enthusiasts who meet daily, usually online, to bond over their beauty regimes.
Girl:

I'm going to moisturize my hands.
Catherine Rampell:

The Girl's parents are still getting up to speed.
Amy Scott, Mother:

I don't really use a whole lot of anything, so it's been very eye-opening for me.
Catherine Rampell:

Amy Scott is Emma's mother.
Amy Scott:

Sometimes, I get her leftovers, so I have started using a gel moisturizer that she has turned me on to.
Catherine Rampell:

And you got her leftovers because she didn't like it?
Amy Scott:

No, she was just sick of using it. She always is looking for the newest thing.
Girl:

Get ready for the day.
Catherine Rampell:

The newest thing, as seen on social media.
Girl:

First, I'm going to use these bronzer drops and then the oil. Let's do it.
Catherine Rampell:

YouTube and TikTok teem with so-called skinfluencer content.
Girl:

We're going to do a pump of that like this.
Girl:

And then I go in with a little bit of this (INAUDIBLE) moisturizer.
Catherine Rampell:

There are get ready with me videos of step-by-step routines.
Girl:

I love that stuff. It makes my skin feel so good after putting that stuff on.
Catherine Rampell:

Unboxing videos and P.R. hauls showcase the latest products…
Girl:

Glow recipe. Look how this box opens. Very unique.
Catherine Rampell:

… sent to influencers by brands for promotion. This is the actual Plum Plump moisturizer. Fabulous. Thank you, Glow Recipe.
Amy Scott:

She sees this person opening this product and it's like, oh, I have to try that. It's very expensive. So it's trying to say, let's talk about this. Is it really worth it?
Catherine Rampell:

The most popular place to shop for skin care, Sephora.
Allie Ross, Influencer:

First thing first, we need to see if they have the new Sol de Janeiro body cream.
Emma Scott:

There's this Girl that I watch, Allie Ross. And she goes to Sephora a lot.
Allie Ross:

Oh, my God. You're kidding me.
Emma Scott:

And she will, like, buy all these products.
Catherine Rampell:

The retailer is now notorious for packs of young shoppers or Sephora kids looking for viral skin care products. Emma Scott goes at least once a week.
How much do you think Emma has spent this year?
Amy Scott:

It's got to be hundreds.
Girl:

Do they have the pink one?
Catherine Rampell:

We tagged along with the skin care crew on a recent visit as they browsed, tested, counted their money, and spent.
Emma Scott:

Thank you.
Amy Scott insists Emma use her own money or gift cards from her birthday and other holidays. While this trend is certainly a boon for Sephora, others aren't totally sold.
Dr. Nava Greenfield, Schweiger Dermatology Group:

We're seeing 10-, 11-, 12-year-old Girls bringing a shopping bag of their 12-step routine that they're doing in the morning and their 10-step routine that they're doing at night.
Catherine Rampell:

Nava Greenfield is a dermatologist in Manhattan.
Dr. Nava Greenfield:

They might say, I want beautiful, flawless, perfect skin and I'm looking at them thinking, you already have that. There are a few times in life where a skin is going to be more beautiful.
Girl:

Next up, my Glow recipe Firm Serum. Got to keep those wrinkles away.
Catherine Rampell:

Greenfield blames influencers for convincing tweens that they need lotions and potions containing anti-aging agents like retinol and other active ingredients that can be harmful to young skin.
Girl:

Ever since I told my mom's retinol and started using it, I swear I'm aging backwards. I look so young.
Dr. Nava Greenfield:

Just like adults will use Dr. Google to talk to me about their skin and about what they think is going on with their rash, adolescents do too.
Catherine Rampell:

So, it's Dr. TikTok instead of Dr. Google.
Dr. Nava Greenfield:

Exactly, yes.
Girl:

My friend's skin is gorgeous.
Catherine Rampell:

Greenfield says it's not just young Girls who think they need extensive skin care.
Dr. Nava Greenfield:

I have adolescent boys coming in and asking about Botox.
Catherine Rampell:

Really?
Dr. Nava Greenfield:

Yes.
Catherine Rampell:

What do you tell them?
Dr. Nava Greenfield:

I tell them, you don't need Botox. I'm very direct.
(Laughter)
Dr. Nava Greenfield:

And I tell the Girls too. I say, you have perfect skin. I can't help you.
Sonia Rodrigues, Rutgers University:

I think it's mostly just wanting to fit in and feeling connected to their friends and being a part of the new trend and craze.
Catherine Rampell:

But psychotherapist Sonia Rodrigues says the high cost can be a stressor.
Sonia Rodrigues:

This is a huge issue because a lot of parents can't afford this, and the kids feel like, I can't keep up with my friends.
Catherine Rampell:

Post-pandemic tweens are also hyper aware of how they look on camera.
Sonia Rodrigues:

A lot of kids were able to hide behind masks, and now there's no masks and there's also so much happening on their phones with their face front and center.
Catherine Rampell:

Do you think that there's more focus on physical appearance today than was the case when you started out practicing?
Sonia Rodrigues:

Yes, absolutely. I think now, with social media and the pressure that kids are constantly feeling with all of the products that they're seeing, how people are looking, the airbrushing, there's so much pressure on kids to look a certain way.
Catherine Rampell:

Emma Scott says her primping routine is just a hobby.
Emma Scott:

Doing with my friends, it's really fun and I feel like it's really relaxing, and I can sit up here and, like, watch a movie and just have a face mask on to do all that fun stuff.
Catherine Rampell:

Emma says she avoids ingredients that are bad for young skin. Mom Amy keeps tabs on Emma and the rest of her crew.
Amy Scott:

For all of them not to, like, compare themselves to these digital influencers, because a lot of them are very pretty, and, from my standpoint, always being involved and knowing that it's OK to say no.
Catherine Rampell:

Amy makes sure her daughter carefully weighs each purchase.
Amy Scott:

She will say, this is at Sephora, I want to go see what it is or I want to buy it. Well, why would you want to buy it? Because so-and-so has it. Well, that's no reason to buy something.
Catherine Rampell:

Dr. Greenfield admits there are some benefits to the skin care craze.
Dr. Nava Greenfield:

It's wonderful from my perspective that people are thinking about their skin and people are taking the health of their skin very seriously, more so than we ever used to.
But it's important to strike a balance. If their goal is to have healthy skin, well, then that's really just about a cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen. You really don't need anything more than that.
Catherine Rampell:

Despite what you might hear from Dr. TikTok.
For the PBS "NewsHour," I'm Catherine Rampell in Greensboro, North Carolina.