Toxic Trend? Skincare Promotion on Social Media and Its Effect on the Self-Esteem and Consumer Choices of Tweens.

We have become aware that the “Sephora kid trend” has become a very recent craze on social media. In our project, we will be exploring how exposure to influencers promoting products affects tweens' self-esteem and consumer choices.
Ella-Anne Forma Mila Olszynski
Grade 6

Problem

In the past few years, we have noticed a trend on social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, where social media influencers are promoting skin care to young audiences, including tweens. Some of these influencers are tweens themselves. At the same time, we have also noticed a trend where more and more tweens are shopping at skincare stores such as Sephora. This is commonly known as the «Sephora Kid Trend». We think these two trends might be linked. We also wonder about what the potential effects of exposure to this social media promotion might be.
As pre-teens ourselves we experience this first hand, which is a reason this project was important to us and why we chose to explore the following question:
How does exposure to skincare promotion on social media affect the self esteem and consumer choices of tweens?
           

Hypothesis 

As primary targets of this problem, we hypothesize that tweens exposure to social media influencers promoting skin care products may lead tweens to purchase more skincare products. We also hypothesize that this exposure may have negative effects on the self- esteem of tweens, as it sets unrealistic beauty standards that could leave pre-teens feeling not good enough, anxious, self-consious and stressed, pressuring tweens to purchase products that they may not need. Further, the use of these products can have physical effects on their skin, which could cause even more self-consiousness, impacting their self-esteem.

Method

This scientific research project explores how exposure to social media influencers promoting skincare products can affect the self-esteem and consumer choices of tweens. Here is the method we followed in undertaking this project:
 
  1. Asked a question
Every scientific project starts with a question.
  • After noticing and being exposed to social media and this «Sephora kid» trend, we asked the question:
How does exposure to social media influencers promoting skin-care products affect the self esteem and consumer choices of tweens?
  1. Internet search/background research
After choosing our project topic, we researched the trend into further depth with our main research questions being:
  • What is the «Sephora kid» trend?
  • When and why did this trend start?
  • Is this trend healthy?
  • How does this trend affect the self-esteem of tweens?
  • How does this trend affect the consumer choices of tweens?
  1. Creation and distribution of our survey
To help us answer our question, we created and distributed a survey for kids from the ages of 8-12 (grades 4-6) in our school. The survey followed questions about various topics in our project such as:
  • Social media usage
  • Skincare usage
  • Self-esteem
  • Consumer choices
To ensure the anonymity of all participants, we followed the following measures to ensure participants would remain anonymous:
  • Participation was optional; participants did not have to fill out the survey if they did not want to or felt uncomfortable.
  •  We did not collect personal information; throughout the entire survey, we did not collect emails, names or other personal information to ensure the answers stayed private in regards to who filled them out.
  • Awareness of parents; before the survey was conducted, multiple emails were sent to parents including information about when the survey would take place as well as a copy of the survey questions (see survey questions in attatchments). 
  1. Interviewed key specialists
To collect more information on our topic, we interviewed certain specialists including a dermatologist, a psychologist, a family doctor, a nurse practitioner as well as a cosmetic consultant. We asked them specific questions about:
  • Their profession
  • Whether or not they have seen evidence of the «Sephora kid» trend in their practice
  •  The impact of this trend and social media on their patients (whether through self-esteem or consumer choices)
  1. Analysis of data (surveys)
To analyze the data of our surveys, we followed these steps in the process: 
I. Asked questions; before starting the analysis, we asked specific questions that we wanted to pull out of the results, such as:
  • Is there a difference between age?
  • Is there a difference between gender?
  • Is there a difference between the access of social media?
  • What stands out to tweens the most about the marketing of skincare products?
  • Trends going upwards or downwards based on age?
  • Did seeing Social Media Influencers using/promoting skincare products attract tweens to want to buy them and is there a difference in age?
  • Do tweens feel the need to have certain products to fit in?
  • Do they get treated differently for not having a certain product and is there a difference in age?
II. Exporting the results of our survey to Excel; after seeing the results of our survey on Google Sheets, we were able to export the results to Excel (an online spreadsheet program) for easier organization and analysis.
III. Organization of results; from Excel, we were easily able to organize the information based on age and gender.
IV. Choosing the data; to choose the data we wanted to analyze, we looked at the questions we had asked before our analysis and chose the data that best represented and answered those questions.
V. Graphing; after choosing the data we wanted to analyze, we converted that data into a separate sheet, where we could choose the graphs and charts we wanted to use and that were most effective.
VI. Testing the data: After graphing our data, we were able to test our hypothesis against our data.
           6. Analysis of data (interviews)
               To analyze our interviews, here are the steps we followed:
I. Summary; for each individual interview, we wrote a brief summary of each interview, making sure to only state their most important points.
II. Relevance; from each summary, we were then able to pull out from 3-7 points that were the most relevant to our topic.
III. Incorporating Interview Data: after reviewing our summaries, we were able to incorporate our interview data into our research analysis.
           7.      Conclusion
After doing background research, conducting and analyzing a survey as well as conducting and analyzing interviews, we were finally able to draw a conclusion and finish our scientific research project.
 
 

Research

Why This Project?

Since fourth grade, we have had friends, family members, relatives, and peers, talking constantly about different skincare products they just got or how amazing they are. When the trend first started, we both didn’t really care, but as the trend grew, we started caring more and feeling more pressure to be fitting in and purchasing skincare products. As of this school year, we both have noticed more and more younger age groups starting to get involved in this trend. We thought it would be an interesting topic to be researching this trend into further depth to help tweens like us.

Objective 

More and more kids have been seen entering beauty stores and requesting skin-care products not necessarily appropriate for their age level.For most of these kids, we think that skincare is about fitting in and feeling a sense of belonging amongst their peers. In this project, our objective is to explore how tweens being exposed to social media influencers promoting  skin-care products can affect their self-esteem and consumer choices.

Definitions

As a part of our project, here are a few important definitions and concepts we will be using throughout this presentation:
  1. Social Media: Social Media refers to a range of online platforms where users can share ideas, thoughts and information through photos, videos, text and much more.                                                                                     A few examples of Social Media platforms are: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat
  2. Influencers: A person with the ability to influence or affect the interest of potential buyers in something such as a service or product by promoting or recommending them through social media.  A person who inspires or influences others.                                                                                                                                         *Often times, influencers can be paid by a brand to  talk about and promote their product.* 
  3. Promote: To give publicity to a product or service with the intent of increasing publicity and sales awareness.                                                                                                                                                               * Influencers often get asked to promote a brand's service or product*
  4. Skincare: For the purposes of this project, when we refer to skincare, we mean:
    A range of physical products for the skin such as: lotions, moisturizers, cleansers, sunscreen, toners, serums, and facial mists
  5. Skincare/Cosmetic industry: The market of skincare includes cosmetic products that are designed for the protection and care of skin. This covers all types of creams, lotions, moisterizers and more for someone's face, body, hand or foot care. The skincare industry is also part of the personal care and beauty portion.
  6. Self-Esteem: Self-esteem is essentially how we value and see ourselves.                                                            "Self-esteem is like the inside of us; how much we love ourself." - Tasha Belix                                              Often times, when we feel good and we know we have enough self-esteem, we do not think about it. It lets us be kind to people, see the best in others and forgive people when they've made mistakes; it brings out the best in us. If we don't have enough of that self-love inside us, it can turn into mean behaviour, and put other people as well as ourselves down.  
  7. Consumer: A person that purchases services or goods for personal use.
  8. Consumer Choices: The decision-making process of consumers when deciding to buy a product or service.
  9. Tweens/Pre-Teens: Kids anywhere from the ages of 8-12.

Growth of the Skincare Industry

  • The skincare industry is a growing industry all around the world. In the US, the youth skincare market is “expected to reach $380m in market volume by 2028” (Guardian). In Canada, beauty industry sales rose 18 percent in 2023. This is expected to continue to grow, especially for expensive products, and there is one group of consumers that is expected to cause this growth the most “a particular cohort that will likely drive growth for years to come; Generation Alpha, those born in 2010 and later.” (CBC)
  • In our interview research, we learned that 50% of Sephora sales are by people under the age of 15. (Dr. Justin Chia)
  • In our survey,  our data shows that most tweens surveyed use skincare products (see figure 3).

The Rise of Social Media

  • At the same time that the tween skincare industry is growing, tween and teen use of social media is also growing. More than half of teens now spend over four hours daily on their phones. A lot of this time is used to view skin care videos such as “get ready with me” videos. (Westone/Grant-Kels) For example, the hashtag “ Sephora Kids ” has 331.9 million views on TikTok. (CBC)
  • Our survey data showed us that most tweens use Youtube, followed by Instagram and TikTok, showing that most tweens surveyed seem to use social media quite frequently (see figure 2).

What are the Impacts on Tween Consumer Choices?

  • In our research, we discovered that experts have found that social media use has made skincare more popular among tweens and teens: “Platforms like TikTok have fueled the popularity of skincare among tweens, leading to increased use of products often unsuitable for their skin.” (Westone/Grant-Kels)
  • In our interviews, healthcare professionals confirmed that they think that exposure to social media and influencers promoting skincare is leading their patients to purchase more products. This was confirmed both by Dr. Chia and Frances Krawiek.
  • In our survey data, we found that there is a significant number of tweens that have seen social media influencers using skincare and then wanted to buy it for themselves, especially females (see figures 6A and 6B).

What are the Impacts on Self-Esteem?

  • In our research, we learned that viral trends and tween interest in “grown-up” products are nothing new. It is very common for tweens to want to act like grownups: “Teens, tweens and kids mimicking trends they see in pop culture and from older role models is nothing new. Playing with dolls, even, is one of the earliest forms of this long history of  pretending to be older, notes a media psychologist in Glamour magazine.” (CBC)
  • The “Sephora kid trend” is also not the first skincare trend. Dr. Justin Chia explained that different skincare trends come up every few years.
  • The ”Sephora kid trend” is different though and potentially harmful. Mental health professionals have noticed an increase in anxiety in tweens who are feeling pressured to follow beauty trends and fit in with their peers. When tweens see perfect skin on social media, while struggling with acne their self-esteem may be negatively affected: "The pressure to achieve flawless skin can fuel perfectionist tendencies, leading to anxiety over maintaining strict routines and fearing visible imperfections." (Westone/Grant-Kels)
  • Also, some skincare products are not safe for tween skin and can cause acne or damage the skin barrier of tween skin. James Hamblin, author of Clean: The New Science of Skin and the  Beauty  of Doing Less explains overusing skincare products is “a major contributing factor to acne”. (Guardian)
  • In our interview, Dr. Justin Chia explained that a healthy skin barrier is really important, and that overusing skincare products or using certain skincare ingredients like retinols or vitamin c serums can damage the skin barrier of tweens. These negative effects of using skincare could harm the self-esteem of tweens even worse by creating skin problems they didn’t have before using skincare.
  • In our survey data, we saw that certain tweens do think that they need skincare to fit in, as well as some of them are being treated differently (see figures 7 and 8).             

A Try for Change

  •  The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (CCAS) includes the following: Advertising that is directed to children must not exploit their credulity, lack of experience or their sense of loyalty, and must not present information or illustrations that might result in their physical, emotional or moral harm. (The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards - see Code Previsions 12 & 13)
  • In the US, there’s a rule that prohibits kids under 13 years old from using platforms that advertise to them without parental consent: The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act that went into effect in 2000, before today’s tweens were even born. (COPPA)
  • The goal was to protect kids’ online privacy by requiring websites and online services to disclose clear privacy policies and get parents’ consent before gathering personal information on their kids, among other things. To meet these guidelines, social media companies have generally banned kids under 13 from signing up for their websites.
  • In April of 2024, California Assembly Member, Alex Lee introduced a bill aiming to completely ban the marketing of over-the-counter skincare products to kids under the age of 13 years old that are advertised to contain anti aging ingredients such as retinoids and certain acids. (California Ban)
  • All of this shows how well recognized this trend has started to become, and how important it is for skincare companies and governments to help tweens stay safe.

 

Interview Summaries

Dr. Justin Chia (Dermotologist)

  • Skincare has two objectives: skin function and skin appearance
  • An impotant part of skin function is protecting the skin barrier
  • A skincare routine is important for all ages, as skin changes through all stages of life
  • For tweens, protecting skin function is important. A simple inexpensive skincare routine of a cleanser, non-comogenic moisurizer, and sun protection is all they need
  • He has seen a lot more tweens coming to see him that have used many different products 
  • Expensive products with harsh ingredients can damage the skin barrier of tween skin
  • One positive thing about the Sephora kid trend is that kids are becoming interested in the care of their skin

Tasha Belix (MAC Psychologist)

  • “Self-esteem is the inside of us, how much we love ourselves.” Oftentimes when we feel good and have enough self-esteem, we don’t think about it and it can bring out the best in us. When we don't have enough self-esteem and self-love, it can turn into mean behaviour towards others and ourselves very quickly.
  • Social media can take away some sleep, because it might make tweens get up earlier to do all of the things they think they need to do to look «perfect». The way tweens are spending their money now is also being influenced by social media.
  • People that you look up to or follow online can especially influence you more to buy certain products.
  • In the past few years, she has seen much more kids talk about skincare and exactly because of the Sephora Kid trend. 
  • Always remember that oftentimes what you see on social media is there because they want you to buy something (for promotion purposes).  It is important to always remember to take a step back and look at what research would say; ask parents, dermatologists, useful websites and sources. 
  • You don’t always have to follow the trends and if you do, remember to keep a balance.  
  • A lot of what you see online is fake, so always be cautious.

Frances Krawiek (Nurse Practitioner) & Kylee Spooner (Cosmetic Consultant)

  • Skincare is not a static concept, it should change with age and needs and concerns.
  • The best time to begin a skincare routine is when you are interested in it (the younger the better). "You don't need anything fancy but you need to be aware of what not to use."  Frances Krawiek
  •  Keep your routine basic: A gentle cleaners, sunscreen protection outside and a light cream that provides a nice barrier function. You don’t need active ingredients unless you are treating acne.
  • Avoid any products that strip your skin, the barrier function.
  • Kids' skin is newer, younger and more functioning skin than adults'. Because of these differences, a kid's skin may react differently to skincare products meant for adults.
  • It’s challenging because a lot of kids and families, whether the products cause damage or not, can’t afford it.   
                                                                                  "In reality, anyone who is making millions of dollars has a responsibility.”
  • Sephora themselves and the people who work there should have more education that when a 10 or 12 year old who wants a serum that is mixed with glycolic with retinol, that should not be something they are selling to them.

Data

*For the purposes of this project, we excluded the responses of eight year olds, as there was only one answer from this age category*
Sample size by age (9-12 year olds):
Figure 2 (Q4) - Types of platforms used by tweens (9-12 year olds):
  • 9-12 year olds use YouTube the most commonly, followed by TikTok and Instagram.
  • Facebook, Roblox, Capcut, Disney/Netflix and Messenger are mentioned, but not as frequently used as Youtube, TikTok and Instagram.
 
Figure 3 (Q6) - Do you have or use any skincare products? (9-12 year olds):
  • More girls at younger ages (9-10) have/use skincare products than boys. 
  •  By 11 and 12 years of age, boys seem to catch up to girls with usage of around 47% - 100%.                                                                                                              
 
Figure 4 (Q9) - What stands out to you about the marketing of skincare brands? (9-12 year olds):
A graph of marketing with text Description automatically generated with medium confidence
  • N/A is very commonly used by boys more than girls.
  • Girls (9-12) more commonly use products if they are «good for your skin», and «smell good» in addition to the promotion of the product.
  • Although the majority of boys responded N/A, boys (9-12) more commonly use products if they are «good for your skin», and «feel good» on your skin as well as because of their friends and the promotion of the product. 
 
Figure 5 (Q 10) - Have you requested a specific skincare product? (9-12 year olds):
  • Girls are more likely to be requesting products, with the lowest percentage being 25%, while boys stay within 20% and under.
  • At 11, the percentage of both boys and girls go up, and then change drastically by age 12.
  • By 12 years old, boys and girls are complete opposites, with girls at 100%, and boys at 0%.
 
Figure 6A (Q 19 and 20) - Have you seen a social media influencer (SMI) use skincare products online? Did seeing this make you want to buy the products being used? (Figures 6A and 6B) (Girls and boys by age)
  • A large percent of girls see social media influencers using skincare products.
  • After seeing these influencers, 42% - 66% of girls between the ages of 9 - 12 want to buy those products.
Figure 6B
  • Boys do see these influencers, however they don’t often want to buy the products. 
  • Boys go from a small percentile of around 25%-40%, seeing these videos, to a large and drastic change by 11 years old of 87%, suggesting that boys of 11 years old are more prone to seeing these SMIs use skincare products online.
 
Figure 7 (Q 23) - Do you feel you need skincare products to fit in (Girls and boys by age)
  • Only between 0% to 33% of girls feel they need skincare products in order to fit in
  • As of 9 years old, boys and girls stay around the same with only 21% - 27% feeling a need to have skincare products to fit in.
  • After 10 years of age, boys stay at 0% while girls climb up to 33% of them feeling a sense of need for these products to fit in. 
  • Although these percentages seem low, 27% and 33% are still arguably big numbers, suggesting that a fair amount of kids feel the need to have certain skincare products in order to fit in with classmates or peers.
 
Figure 8 (Q 24) - Do you get treated differently for having or not having a certain skincare product? (Girls and boys by age)
  • At age nine both start with a small pourcent with girls at 5% and boys at 0%
  • As of 10 years both genders rise, leading to 18% and  19%
  • Both genders split and girls go up while boys go all the way down
  • By age 12 both boys and girls have gone completely down
 
Table 1 (Q 8) - Please clarify which brands 9 year olds:
  • None is the answer that is the most frequent for 9 year olds
  • Some mentions of CeraVe
  • Not high but subtle mentions of Bubble, Drunk Elephant and Glow Recipe
 
Table 2 (Q 8) - Please clarify which brands 10 year olds:
A close-up of words Description automatically generated
  • For 10 year olds, CeraVe and Cetaphil both show up very frequently.
  • Subtle mentions of Glow Recipe, Drunk Elephant, Bubble as well as Bath and Body Works appear for 10 year olds. 
  • None is very commonly used for 10 year olds, suggesting they don’t have or haven’t asked for any specific skincare brands.
 
Table 3 (Q 8) - Please clarify which brands 11 year olds:
  • “Cerave” is the number one brand for 11
  • Bubble becomes more popular, being mentioned 10 times.
  • None is still relevant, but more brands are mentioned, like Laneige, Glow Recipe, Drunk Elephant
  • More skincare brands are being named

 

Conclusion

Conclusion

Social media influencers have been promoting skincare products on platforms such as Youtube, TikTok and Instagram, to younger audiences including tweens. At the same time, more and more tweens are shopping at skincare stores such as Sephora, this is commonly known as the «Sephora Kid Trend». For our project, we hypothesized that these trends are connected. After completing our project, we have determined our hypothesis was correct.  
Exposure to influencers promoting skincare on social media has made skincare more popular among tweens. This was proven through our interviews, survey and research. We learned that this can affect the self-esteem of tweens as it can cause them to think they need to have certain skincare products they see others using online. Our interviews proved that it is highly important to have a good self-esteem and that going on social media is not always the answer.
 

Application

This scientific reaserch project can help raise awareness about how Social Media influencers can influence tweens' self-esteem in addition to consumer choices. Here are a few applications of this project:
  1. Parental guidance: It is important for parents to be actively involoved in their children's lives. This project helps parents become aware of how social media and influencers can affect their childrens' self-esteem as well as buying choices.
  2. Education: It is important to be educated when it comes to your mental health as well as consumer choices. This project can help educate tweens about advertising, peer pressure and influence as well as self-confidence.
  3. Marketing awareness: It is important for tweens to know that they are being targeted by skin care companies. This will help them be more critical about the promotion of skin care that they are exposed to.  It is exciting to think that our project could actually help other tweens by spreading this awareness.
  4. Mental health: By sharing our project, we can help other tweens like us to recognize the potential harm to our self-esteem that can come from social media promotion. After seeing our project, tweens could be more cautious when using social media.
  5. Responsible Product development & Marketing: As we discoverd in our reaserch, it is important for skincare companies to develop and advertise their products responsibly. As marketing coorporations and skincare brands, it is their job to be responsible adults when it comes to the marketing of their products towards younger audiences. By sharing research projects like ours, these brands can see how young audiences react to influencer marketing and responsibly change their strategies. After seeing this project, skincare brands can design products and ads that focus more on health and education to younger audiences, rather than trends and influencer hype.  This research can also help governments understand the importance of making sure that there are protections in place for tweens.

 

Sources of Error

Possible sources of error in our project include:
  1. Small or Biased Sample: As our survey only included a small group of tweens from our school, the results might represent the tweens opinions in our school, but maybe not represent all tweens.
  2. Misunderstanding Questions: Some of the younger children that took part in our survey like the fourth graders might have not understood certain questions, and that could have lead to inaccurate answers.
  3. Influence from Parents or Friends: The case for certain tweens' answers might be based on what their parents or friends might think onstead of their own personal opinions.
  4. Honesty of Responses: Some tweens may not have answered truthfully, especially if they maybe thought there was a «right» or «wrong» answer, even if our survey was designed for tweens to give their own opinions.
  5. Memory Bias: Tweens might not have remembered exactly what ads or skincare experiences they might've seen or how they felt about specific skincare products or their personal marketing, potentially leading to a memory bias.   
  6. Changing Opinions: The interests and feelings of tweens can change quickly, so their responses in the survey may not have reflected their long-term opinions and attitudes.
  7. Teens vs Tweens: Some of the articles we researched focused on teens instead of tweens. The information in those articles might not fully apply to tweens, which is the group we are studying in our project.

Citations

Sources Cited

Additional Sources

Acknowledgement

First and foremost, we would like to thank our school administration and Division 2 teachers for their support, and all of the students in our school who took part in our survey. We would like to especially thank M. Iticka, our science teacher for allowing us to choose a project that means so much to us and for his amazing support and guidance throughout the year, as well as Mark Driedger, our principle, who made our survey possible.
We would like to also acknowledge and thank Tasha Belix MAC, Dr. Justin Chia, Dr. Nasreen Sheik, Frances Krawiek and Kylee Spooner who generously gave us their time to answer our questions and provided us with such valuable information. We would equally like to thank our parents and family for their transportation and their help and support throughot this project. 
Finally, we would like to thank CYSF. To organize and run the Calgary Youth Science Fair program is a huge and difficult task and as students, we are so grateful to have the chance to benefit from all of their hard work, aswell as listening to us and our ideas. From the organizers to advisors, judges and volunteers, your hard work has not gone unrecognized; we are extremely grateful!