Interest in skin care among children is growing rapidly, and beauty companies are introducing more products aimed at this young audience. At the same time, consumers, doctors, and dermatologists are questioning where the boundary lies. Are brands simply responding to existing demand, or are they encouraging insecurities in children? Dr. Masoud Saman, a US-based double board-certified facial plastic surgeon and head and neck surgeon, believes the expanding market deserves much closer attention.
A health need or an identity project?
Dr. Masoud Saman says his main concern is not centered on a single ingredient. He argues that the wider message behind many products is changing how children view themselves. In his view, the industry is taking a basic aspect of health and turning it into an identity project for young people.
“The problem is not simply one bad ingredient. It is the message underneath the category: that a child should be studying her face, finding flaws, and buying products to fix them.”
Companies developing personal care products for children say they are answering a clear demand. Social media has become a major influence, with children regularly seeing images of glowing skin, flawless facial features, and Dorian Gray-like youth across their feeds. Those ideals encourage cosmetic purchases as users try to achieve the same appearance. E-commerce accelerator Pattern reports that more than 30,000 beauty brands currently sell through TikTok Shop, where the beauty category is expanding by 26%. According to Pattern, that rate of growth is faster than almost every other consumer category on the platform.
The market has expanded in other ways too. More brands are launching products created only for children, with many promoted as being developed by caring mothers or even by children themselves.
Saman believes a children’s range can still be ethical if it remains “boring, functional, and medically grounded…” He says the situation changes once the packaging, influencer marketing, and overall messaging begin to copy adult beauty culture. At that point, he believes the products stop serving children’s health and start turning them into consumers.
Real skin needs versus created insecurities
Children can benefit from skin care in certain situations. Saman points to sunscreen, a gentle cleanser when appropriate, moisturizers for dry or eczema-prone skin, and treatments for specific medical conditions.
“Sometimes there is a genuine need. Children with eczema, dry skin, acne, sun exposure, or sensitive skin deserve safe products. But that is different from telling every child she needs a ‘routine.'”
He argues that children do not need multi-step routines promoted with claims such as “anti-aging,” “glow,” “pore,” “brightening,” or “corrective.”
Supporters of the children’s skin care market often argue that young people are already buying these products anyway. They say it is preferable for children to use formulas designed for their age instead of adult products containing stronger active ingredients.
Saman says he understands that reasoning but considers it incomplete. He warns the personal care industry not to turn children’s faces into “a marketplace of insecurities.”
“Yes, if children are using retinoids, acids, or harsh adult products, safer alternatives are better. But creating children’s lines can also normalize and expand the behavior.”
He does not believe the answer is simply producing child-friendly versions of existing beauty products. His recommendation is to reduce the scope of the category, remove beauty promises, avoid influencer-driven aspirations, and teach parents and children that most young people need little more than sunscreen and basic hygiene.
He adds that children should no more inherit adult beauty anxieties than they should inherit adult cosmetics. According to Saman, responsible children’s skin care should always be health-first, directed toward parents, and free from adult beauty messaging.
Products should protect, not correct
Saman believes there is room for children’s skin care, though he says the category should be much smaller than it is today.
“Kids’ skin care done right is protective, not corrective. It treats a real need, not an invented insecurity.”
He says products that protect health or address genuine conditions can be appropriate. His concern begins when products encourage children to inspect normal facial features for flaws, chase beauty trends, or build part of their identity around changing their appearance. In those situations, he considers the practice exploitative.
He calls on the beauty industry to stop promoting anti-aging language, pore-shrinking claims, “glass skin” messaging, before-and-after correction images, and influencer campaigns directed at minors.
TikTok receives particular criticism from Saman. He says the platform has condensed adult beauty culture into short, addictive, aspirational videos. Children who watch this content often join in because they want to belong and feel included within a wider social group.
“Children see routines, hauls, ‘get ready with me’ content, and influencers presenting skin care as status, self-care, and identity. The child is not just buying a moisturizer. She is buying participation in a social world.”
He believes responsibility does not rest with one group alone. Platforms, brands, and retailers all have a role to play.
“Brands should not seed products to child influencers or design campaigns that clearly appeal to minors. Retailers should create clearer age guidance and avoid positioning active ingredients as toys or collectibles. Platforms should restrict paid beauty content targeted to children and make sponsorships more transparent.”
This viewpoint reflects wider criticism from regulators and across the beauty industry. Earlier this year, Italian authorities opened an investigation into Sephora and Benefit Cosmetics following allegations that “covert marketing strategies” had been used to sell adult cosmetics to children.
Saman recommends that children’s products remain simple, use minimal fragrance, be informed by dermatologists, and focus on genuine needs such as sun protection, dryness, eczema-prone skin, chapped lips, and basic cleansing.
He would also like to see stronger age-gating measures, more education aimed at parents, clearer ingredient warnings, and more responsible placement of products in retail environments.
At the same time, he says parents and children should not become the target of public criticism.
“We should be careful not to shame children or parents. Kids are responding to a culture that adults built. Parents are often trying to protect their children from worse products.”
Saman believes brands, retailers, platforms, and professionals all share responsibility for setting clearer limits.
“The goal is not to ban sunscreen or moisturizer. The goal is to stop telling children that their normal, healthy faces need correction.”
The impact goes beyond the skin
The discussion around children’s skin care became especially visible through the “Sephora kids” trend. Social media quickly filled with complaints and concerns about children becoming interested in expensive adult skin care products and anti-aging cosmetics.
Dermatologists have warned that children using these products may develop allergies or eczema. The British Association of Dermatologists has stated that anti-aging ingredients and other powerful active substances can leave children with irreversible skin problems.
Saman believes the physical effects and the psychological effects are closely connected, describing them as feeding on each other.
“A child uses an active product, develops irritation, then becomes more focused on redness, texture, or ‘imperfections.’ The product creates the problem, then the market sells the solution.”
For Saman, the emotional consequences are the greater concern. He says they may last much longer than skin irritation itself.
“We are teaching children, especially girls, that their natural face is a project of correction. That can create anxiety, body dissatisfaction, compulsive mirror-checking, and a premature relationship with beauty culture.”
He concludes that irritated skin can often be treated, but teaching a child that her healthy, natural face is somehow defective may influence her self-image for many years.
