Viral skincare routines on TikTok could be doing more harm than good.
According to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, two researchers at Northwestern University each created their own TikTok accounts and represented themselves as 13-year-olds. They went on to discover relevant videos on their “For You” pages on the app, before compiling 100 unique clips of girls, aged 18 or younger, sharing their skincare regimen.
After examining the footage from these content creators, the scientists gathered a list of products used in the videos. They went on to identify products’ active and inactive ingredients, in order to identify if they had an elevated risk of developing a skin allergy known as allergic contact dermatitis.
Results of the study found that on average, girls between the ages of seven and 18 were using six different products on their faces, while others were using more than 12.
In the top-viewed TikTok videos included in the study, some of these products had an average of 11 potentially irritating active ingredients. As a result, researchers determined content creators were at risk of developing skin irritation, sun sensitivity, and allergic contact dermatitis.
“That high risk of irritation came from both 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,” the study’s corresponding author, Dr. Molly Hales, said in a press release.
One video specifically showed a girl applying 10 products on her face in six minutes.
“As she’s applying the products, she begins to express discomfort and burning, and in the final few minutes, she develops a visible skin reaction,” senior author of the study, Dr. Tara Lagu said.
The study also found that these content creators pay a hefty price for their skincare routines. In fact, each teenager’s daily skincare routine costs an average of $168, with the study’s authors estimating that each product lasts at least a month, depending on its size.
However, some skincare regimens demonstrated by teens on TikTok cost more than $500, depending on how many products they use every day.
The study about skincare came a year after tweens turned heads for taking over the aisles of Sephora. In late 2023, college student Chloe Grace took to TikTok to share her shopping experience at Sephora, and inadvertently sparked a viral phenomenon known as “Sephora Kids.”
“Has anyone else noticed that every time you go into Sephora now, it’s just all little girls?” she began the video.
TikTok user Megan Lacey also went viral when she detailed her Sephora encounter with a few tween girls “taking up every single section” in the store. Just days later, TikTok user Dane recalled “a group of three young girls” were “rude” to him at a Sephora.
Social media is driving the “Sephora kids” epidemic, with children as young as seven sharing their skincare routines on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Children as young as 10 are also using anti-aging products, containing ingredients such as retinol, exfoliating acids, toners, and serums designed to minimize the effects of aging.
This has sparked heated debate, with some people claiming the clips are harmless fun. However, others, including dermatologists, have argued that young skin is too new and delicate for aggressive adult skincare products that could damage it and make it extra vulnerable to the sun.
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