Help! My 12 Year Old Wants a $90 Serum! - Selecting The Right Products For Teen Skincare

Why social media trends are ruining teen skincare and how to find the perfect routine for your kids.

Let’s be honest-entering the teen years with your daughter can be daunting as a parent. Suddenly she wants to do Tiktok dances till 2am, gets asked out by that boy in her class, and now she’s wanting you to drop all your cash for skincare you’ve never even heard of and certainly don’t use yourself! So what is going on?

The “Sephora Kid” Phenomenon

Skincare is about taking care of your skin. Right? Unfortunately, in recent years skincare has become more about following trends and staying relevant than actually doing what’s best for your skin. Your daughters are watching their favorite influencers show off extensive routines in get ready with me’s, skincare hauls, daily vlogs, and more. 

Even girls as young as 10 or 11 apply 5 or more products to their faces while dramatically proclaiming their fears about “looking old” and the need to start using anti-aging serums and retinols. Videos have been surfacing of children spending hundreds at Sephora on their favorite trendy brands, all of which will ultimately end up doing more harm than good.

Finding The Right Skincare Is Overwhelming, We Know

If you’ve heard your teen asking for brands like Glow Recipe, The Ordinary, Biossance, and Sol de Janeiro, you might feel a little like a Drunk Elephant yourself looking at the prices and overwhelming options of all these products. You want the best for your daughter, but with your cart piling up and your heart rate rising, it’s hard to know which of the dozens of products she needs-especially when she’s been watching all those 10 step routines on Tiktok.

What’s The Appeal Of Using So Many Products?

After scrolling these websites and finding yourself completely stumped, you may be asking: “What skincare does my teen need??” Luckily for you, the answer is very simple! But first, let’s talk about why these excessive routines are popular in the first place.

There’s no denying that self-care is fun and calming. But, you can get those exact same benefits from a simple routine versus the ones you see in those convoluted get ready with me videos. So why are they so popular? First off, anything an influencer does, goes. Social media stars have the benefit of getting paid more for promoting more products, but your daughters don’t know that. All they see is the person they look up to using a multitude of serums, retinols, creams, sprays, and exfoliants. 

Brands know that even if their products are trending, they still need to pull in average consumers who are paying full price for these products. They know they can easily entice tweens and teens, so they utilize bright colors, fun patterns, unique designs, and yummy smells. Unfortunately, this kind of marketing is less likely to appeal to the age groups that they are beneficial for, and the result is that parents end up spending more than they want for products that ultimately will damage more than they help.

More Skincare Is Not Always Best

Young skin is surprisingly resilient. But potent products can cause too much stress too early and can result in damaged skin barrier, irritation, skin sensitivity, and early breakouts.

What Skincare Does My Teen Really Need?

Your teen doesn’t need anti-aging products and chemical exfoliants. The perfect skincare routine is simple, clean, and age-appropriate. Luckily for you, that also means saving $$ for your next family vacation!

Healthcare Professionals recommend a simple, 3 step routine.

• A cleanser, to wash away the dirt and oil trapped in pores from your teen’s busy day

• A moisturizer, to replenish the skin without reintroducing clogging oils

• A sunscreen, preferably a mineral sunscreen, to protect from harmful UV rays and prevent premature aging 

What Brands Should I Look For?

With all this info, we’re sure you’re starting to feel a little overwhelmed. It’s easy to reach for simple, trusted drugstore brands like Cerave and Cetaphil.

While these brands have clean ingredients and simple routines, it’s no mystery why teens aren’t running for these brands: They’re boring. Clinical packaging feels too grown up when there’s a world of bright colors and cutesy names on the market.

Does Fun, Age Appropriate Skincare Exist?

Of course! But you have to be careful. Many brands tout themselves as youth safe and simple, but frankly, there’s a lot more to them.

Brands like Bubble and Versed have that fun teen appeal and the more budget friendly parent appeal. And while they’re free of some harmful ingredients like fragrances, many still contain AHA’s, BHA’s, and peptides. These ingredients, while helpful for older consumers, are unnecessary for your teen. And although they do have the basic skincare steps, they still offer a confusing amount of serums, sprays, and chemical exfoliants which can be tempting to your teen.

Enter Girlyish Skincare

Wait…did we just say clean ingredients, simple 3 step routine, and fun, unique packaging? Yes we did! While it might seem too good to be true, we promise it’s not! 

Girlyish Skincare, created by sisters Macy and Madison, has a mission to revolutionize the teen skincare industry by offering fun and safe products. Girlyish Skincare’s products are paraben free, fragrance free, and don’t contain any hormone disruptors or anti-aging ingredients.

The Glowing Girly Routine

You really can’t go wrong with Girlyish Skincare. The Glowing Girly Routine consists of just 3 things: A creamy cleanser, lightweight moisturizer, and zinc oxide mineral sunscreen. They come in adorable round bottles with a unique twist-to-open feature. And with no extra products besides a simple lip balm, it’s as easy as click and buy.

You’ll love the price, your teen will love the products and packaging, and you’ll both love the results! And mom, we’ll let you in on a secret: Girlyish Skincare is great for you too!

The Best Skincare For Your Teen

So take a deep breath, parents. Finding the perfect skincare for your teen is not as hard as you thought. Just remember to look for easy and simple routines, and clean ingredients. A brand like Girlyish Skincare gets you all that plus a style that your teen will love and a price you’ll appreciate. Say goodbye to digging through the couch to find extra change for that $90 serum!