https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/11/uk-parents-urged-not-to-buy-children-anti-ageing-skin-products
Experts say social media behind increased use of products unsuitable for young people’s skin
"I do have concerns about them using ingredients like vitamin C, vitamin A (retinoids) and exfoliating acids like AHAs and BHAs."
As someone who's 'into' skincare, it also happens that the ingredients mentioned are also amongst the best treatments for blackheads, spots, sebaceous filaments and other assorted teenage/hormonal changes skin issues - I suspect this article is not about ageing, but about "youngsters" being more educated about what they need!
Vit C has also been shown to help boost spf's, so is something recommended to anyone at any age (if your skin 'gets on' with it).
This is a stupid article, as Guardian subscriber I'm very disappointed, it's a 'nothing' article that I'd more expect of the Mail!
This is how I take it as well, I assumed I was biased because I am a middle aged person who deeply regrets not taking better care of my skin. Growing up with keratosis pilaris sucked and I wish I would have known back then how easy it is for me to take care of back then rather than being ashamed of my ugly, bumpy skin.
I mean, I wouldn't recommend an over the counter retinol to a 10 year old, but you're right.
I remember using so many drug store teenager products to get rid of pimples, nothing worked, I went to the dermatologist, he prescribed simply 2g of salicylic acid in 100g ethanol, it worked. Like, pimple free within 2 weeks. Then I ran out of the bottle. Was too lazy to get a new one. When I finally went again, boom. Everything gone again.
I mean, this was basically when the internet was just becoming a thing. But I highly regret that it took me so long to get into skincare. And I also regret the laziness about going to the dermatologist (especially since a visit is free in Germany). How I wished that I had gotten into skincare before my wedding, I had to choose a dress that covered up all of my back because I thought I would never get rid of the pimples there. It was a wonderful dress, but had I gotten into skincare just one year earlier, I could have felt more freedom.
And I think a lot of people regret not looking out for their skin earlier. As you mentioned, SPF. How often did we skip this as teens.
"As young as 10" probably implies that most children we are talking about in this article are teenagers. And it is so much preferable to get a good skincare routine if you have specific concerns than to just overdose on drugstore crap that has no effect. Can you overdo it? Sure. Are there products that aren't too good for such a young age? Some. Should they check with a derm first? Recommendable. But all in all this seems like a healthier trend than using lip fillers, botox, or anything else. Mostly because, especially if we are talking anti aging here, most aging occurs from actual damage. And I would guess that if you get into that stuff, no matter whom you follow, sooner or later the kids end up realising that they should use a good SPF, avoid harsh treatments, be gentle, avoid sun. And I don't see something wrong with that.
SPF in this context refers to sunscreen. Sunscreen is rated with an SPF (such as 15, 30, 50) that describes how much sun protection the sunscreen provides
The kids probably don’t understand exactly what “anti-aging products” are, or what they do. If I was a kid, I wouldn’t want to grow up in today’s world, either. I’d demand anti-aging products too.
On a serious note - it's true, it's becoming clear human lifespan is too short and this information is subconsciously filtering to children. It will become worse.
Try this lecture by Andrew Steele on for size if you’re actually interested: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fX9P1xuIJGg
No amount of extra time alive will make life less shit. Life is shit at all ages. The sooner we exit it, the better.
You good, buddy? I hope you're okay.
Unless it's literally just the mundaneness of human life. Then u can get behind that.