Skincare industry profits from marketing products tweens shouldn't use

Skincare brands marque billions selling products, including immoderate harmful to young skin, to tweens

Skincare brands marque billions selling products, including immoderate harmful to young skin, to tweens 04:28

In a TikTok video, then-17-year-old histrion Symonne Harrison unveils a bath antagonistic afloat of products from the skincare marque Drunk Elephant that would retail for astatine slightest $700 total. 

"Guys, I conscionable got the biggest bundle from them," Harrison tells her 3.8 cardinal followers, adding that she's caller to the brand's "family." "I cognize Drunk Elephant is known for mixing, doing small potion vibes." 

Those "potions" are alleged "skincare smoothies," fashionable connected societal media and marketed by the brand, which suggests trios of products to premix unneurotic arsenic portion of a skincare regimen. They've go a blueprint for immoderate of Generation Alpha's favourite "get acceptable with me" videos arsenic skincare products and big influencers who beforehand them person go progressively trendy among tweens. 

But similar successful Harrison's video — which features an oculus pick containing vitamin C that Drunk Elephant recommends those 12 and nether debar — galore of those societal media posts advertise products not suitable for specified young skin. (Harrison did not respond to CBS News' petition for comment.)

CBS News Confirmed analyzed much than a twelve fashionable TikTok accounts featuring skincare-obsessed teens and tweens and recovered that galore featured products with anti-aging ingredients that, according to dermatologists, tin beryllium harmful to young skin. Often, those were promotions done successful concern with brands. 

Nielsen information show that households with children 12 and nether spent $2.4 cardinal successful 2023 connected skincare and constitution — much than households with teens. 

Dr. Smita Awasthi, manager of pediatric dermatology astatine U.C. Davis Health, said definite skincare products are meant to peel the skin, but removing the outer furniture of a child's tegument tin pb to achy rashes and accrued hazard of sunburns. While she does prescribe retinoids for acne attraction to children successful immoderate uncommon cases, she stresses determination is simply a stark quality betwixt over-the-counter retinoid acne treatments and the retinol utilized successful cosmetics. 

"When I'm prescribing a retinoid, I cognize the concentration, and I cognize precisely what it is and however it's going to work," she told CBS News.  

Cosmetic retinol products see antithetic ingredients which she said tin pb to accrued hazard of irritation and adverse reactions successful young skin. 

Packaging for over-the-counter acne retinoids intelligibly place that it is an acne treatment, she said. But galore fashionable skincare products that incorporate retinols and different harsh anti-aging ingredients don't intelligibly place what they are intended for oregon that the ingredients tin beryllium harmful to young skin. 

Kierstyn McBrayer, a 22-year-old contented creator who focuses connected constitution and skincare, told CBS News her assemblage is mostly tweens. Her 16-year-old sister archetypal got into skincare astir 3 years ago, she said, and was utilizing products with retinol and vitamin C until she realized they weren't bully for her skin. Other viewers person told her they were doing the aforesaid until they learned what was harming their skin.

"A batch of the occupation is conscionable kids watching adults doing skincare content, and I cognize a batch of these adults are astir apt not purposely aiming their contented astatine children, but it's benignant of hard due to the fact that it's similar [in the] past fewer years, skincare contented has been considered heavy by children," she said.

In California, lawmakers are considering a measure that would marque it amerciable to merchantability definite anti-aging cosmetics to children nether 18 years old. The measure was defeated past twelvemonth and reintroduced successful the existent legislative session. 

But portion the projected instrumentality would people retailers, brands could proceed to usage societal media and kid-friendly branding and packaging to marketplace their products to children. 

A CBS News reappraisal of 240 caller skincare posts from a twelve fashionable teen influencers connected TikTok showed lone 15 videos, oregon conscionable 6% of posts, were tagged arsenic promotional content. 

The Federal Trade Commission requires that online influencers disclose erstwhile they person a "material connection" to a brand, including being paid oregon receiving escaped products. The agency's website specifies the disclosure should not beryllium mixed successful with a radical of hashtags oregon links.

TikTok instructs creators to crook connected the "content disclosure setting" erstwhile promoting a marque oregon product; this would adhd a statement to the video that intelligibly states the footage is "promotional content" oregon a "paid partnership." If the mounting is not enabled, TikTok could region oregon restrict the video.

Embreigh Courtlyn, 15, often posts "get acceptable with me" TikToks — chatty, casual videos showing radical doing skincare oregon constitution oregon getting dressed. In 1 video, she holds up 2 look masks from the Korean skincare marque I Dew Care, saying, "It's my favourite look disguise ever." At the bottommost of the video is simply a tiny statement that reads "paid partnership."

Courtlyn's manager told CBS News, "For immoderate marque woody she accepts, she either enables the paid concern tab oregon includes #[brand]partner successful the caption to guarantee compliance with FTC guidelines." 

Sometimes TikTokers awesome promos to their assemblage successful little evident ways, specified arsenic putting #ad oregon #partner successful the caption. 

Mar Taylor, a 17-year-old with much than 270,000 TikTok followers, said the skincare brands he's worked with person instructed him connected however to stylize and statement the footage. Taylor utilized the hashtag "glowpartner" successful a TikTok advertizing Glow Recipe's caller toner. Taylor besides said brands tin springiness influencers a customized discount codification to stock with their audience, and the influencers person a chopped of the wealth erstwhile radical usage the code. 

McBrayer said sometimes brands volition inquire her not to statement her collaboration videos with #ad. Instead, they inquire to beryllium referred to arsenic "partners."

She said this whitethorn beryllium due to the fact that videos with #ad don't execute arsenic well, thing she has noticed successful her ain TikTok content.

This means that whether contented creators mean to oregon not, they're advertizing products to children who whitethorn not recognize they're being marketed to. 

"We cognize that developmentally, they don't admit ads astatine the aforesaid level that adults do," said Drew Cingel, an subordinate prof astatine U.C. Davis who studies the intersection of adolescents, science and societal media marketing. "And it becomes overmuch much blurred successful a societal media environment."

"I can't archer you however galore tweens that I've spoken to that say, erstwhile I turn up, I privation to beryllium an influencer," helium added. "If they spot a teenage influencer getting these products, getting likes and getting each of the societal gratification and money, that's what they're going to privation to do."

As the skincare inclination among tweens has grown, immoderate brands launched counter-marketing campaigns to archer kids they don't request elaborate skincare routines. Dove launched a campaign called "Face of 10" wherever dermatologists station videos aiming to pass kids astir due skincare. On Instagram, Kiehl's posted an representation of a young lad successful the soil labeled "the lone exfoliating kids should do," and a young miss successful a ballet people labeled "the lone 10-step regular kids should learn." 

At the aforesaid time, galore skincare brands diagnostic kid-friendly packaging and marketing. While Drunk Elephant advertises "skincare smoothies," Glow Recipe sells a $76 "glow essentials kit" successful a container made to look similar a pinkish locker and labeled "back to school." The acceptable contains a watermelon toner and strawberry primer with beta hydroxy acerb and a articulator balm with hyaluronic acid, each ingredients dermatologists accidental tweens should avoid. 

Drunk Elephant and Glow Recipe did not respond to CBS News' petition for comment. 

"How bash you get a child's attraction amid each these different products successful a store?" Cingel said. "You enactment fruits, you enactment things that are cute connected it, you enactment agleam colors, we cognize that those things gully and clasp children's attention."