In the past year, Sephora has been flooded by pre-teen and even younger girls buying expensive skincare and cosmetics. People call them “Sephora kids.” Workers have complained about them messing up displays and being rude.

Sephora kids are obsessed with skincare brands like Drunk Elephant, Glow Recipe and Lineage. However, they don’t buy the product because its beneficial for their skin, they buy it because it is trendy. This poses negative consequences because many of those products are meant for older skin and contain retinol, which is an anti-aging serum. This can damage the skin barriers of young girls because it’s not meant for them.

Young girls are so obsessed with skin care because of Tik Tok influencers. Most Tik Tok influencers are in their 20s, but the young girls want to live up to the unrealistic influencer’s lives as a 10-year-old. The young girls’ abundant access to the internet from such a young age has driven up their consumerism. According to Circana, Canadian beauty industry, sales rose 18% in 2023 and is expected to grow as the years go on because of Generation Alpha. They see owning trendy products as a “status symbol.” These young girls post their routines on Tik Tok, having long skin care routines with eight products. This encourages other young girls to buy these expensive skincare products.

Another issue related to Sephora kids is parenting. Parents need to learn to say no to their children. Many said that “gentle-parenting” is a part of this issue. Parents should be informed about the products they are purchasing for their child because many of the trendy products aren’t suitable for young girls.

The pressures of social media on young girls are causing these “Sephora Kids.” Gen-alpha’s growing up with easier access to the internet and social media is causing harm to their self-esteem. “Sephora Kids” are a result of Gen-Alphas low self-esteem and obsessive consumerism caused by social media.