Skin care from 18: Are skincare trends dangerous for young people?

Interest in beauty products has been growing for years in line with the popularity of social media. Users are getting younger and younger – already from the age of 10 Children and young people diligently scroll through TikTok and Instagram, where new products are presented to them every day. But not only has general interest in beauty increased, it is also specifically aimed at the skin care sector. People are now much more concerned with their skin, its texture and ways to optimize it. In addition to “harmless” moisturizing products, the focus is also clearly on Active ingredients. Active ingredient cosmetics have never been more in demand now that users seem to know what is really effective. But this half-knowledge can be dangerous – especially for young skin.

Skincare 18+: This brand only sells to adults

When you go to the Scandinavian skincare brand Mantle’s website, you first have to answer one important question: Are you over 18?

They are pioneers when it comes to this Restrict sales to underage customers. The Swedish pharmacy chain “Apotek Hjärtat” is also placing restrictions on the distribution of cosmetics to young people. Of course, there is no way to check whether the person answers truthfully. Nevertheless, with this pop-up window, founder Josefin Landgård creates a disruptive factor that makes the buyer pause. In the interview she reveals why:

Care routines for advanced skin with appropriate Active ingredients have been a trend on social media for several years. In our opinion, it is problematic when young people buy and use products with such strong active ingredients.

It refers to active ingredients such as: acids, Peptides and Retinoidswhich would have no direct negative effects on the skin, but could lead to complications in young skin.

When young people start using strong active ingredients, this can lead to complications such as increased sensitivity, acne or allergies.

The age query is primarily intended to provide guidance and draw attention to the fact that not every skin care product is suitable for every skin and, above all, every age. “We hope this will cause young people and their parents to stop and think twice.” It’s also about educating and encouraging other brands to follow their example so that young people “stop using active ingredients that could potentially harm their skin.”

Do we need a beauty age restriction? That’s what beauty editor Melanie thinks

As a diligent consumer of social media, I have participated in many skincare hypes as a beauty editor – sometimes with more, sometimes with less success. In order to be able to say whether I think an age restriction on skin care products makes sense, I think it is first important to know the possible negative effects on the skin. I am referring to the three active ingredients that Josefin Landgård named: acids, Peptides and Retinoids:

1. Acids

This is where the Mantle founder refers to chemical peelsHow AHA (alpha hydroxy acids) or BHA (beta-hydroxy acids), which are applied to dry skin after cleansing, where they remove dead skin cells. Their use can have many benefits on skin health – regulating sebum production and their anti-inflammatory properties are just a few of them.

While I think it’s great that more and more people are daring to use active ingredient cosmetics, I still think that too many people of all ages are careless with acids. For many products this is the case Acid concentration very high. This can of course be very effective, but the effectiveness also increases Potential for irritation. This can happen particularly with skin that is not used to dealing with acids (e.g. young skin). serious skin irritation lead. If you apply an acid, for example wet skin on, it penetrates the skin even more and can irritate even more.

There are just a lot of things to pay attention to when using acids. The right concentration is just one of them – because dead skin cells are removed from the skin (which is good in itself), it also loses some of its strength natural protection against exogenous influences, such as UV radiation. A use of one high sun protection factor is therefore essential to protect the skin from skin cancer. If you use chemical peels every day, you can also Skin barrier disturbed because the mechanical barrier consists of fats and dead skin cells, both of which can be dissolved by acids.

For these reasons, I find it extremely important to deal with acids responsibly. Do you already know this under 18? I’m not sure.

2. Peptides

I actually see peptides in skin care in relation to age less problematic at. This may be because the effectiveness of many peptides has only been confirmed theoretically, but clear scientific evidence is lacking. They are smaller proteins with several amino acids as building blocks that Increase collagen production in the skin can or have anti-inflammatory properties.

Do you need peptides in your skin care as a child or teenager? Of course not. I see that the skin’s collagen production only slows down around the age of 25 no advantage often using expensive peptides at such a young age. However, I don’t classify them as dangerous even for those under 18.

3. Retinoids

I see things completely differently with retinoids. This term includes all active ingredients that are related to vitamin A, i.e. retinol, retinal and their derivatives. The active ingredient can Reduce wrinklesagainst acne and impure skin help, as well Free radicals which can damage the collagen structure of the skin. The following applies here again: the potential for irritation also increases with the effectiveness. Very high concentrations of vitamin A are freely available to people of all ages, which I do not approve of.

Because retinoids make the skin more sensitive to light and make the daily use of again Sun protection essential. Here too, you can quickly overdose, which can cause severe skin irritation. Almost all children and young people can do without vitamin A in their skin care. If teenagers have acne, it is a skin disease that should be addressed by a doctor who may prescribe a vitamin A cream.

Conclusion

As a skincare lover, I think it’s an interesting move for Mantle to introduce this age restriction. The signal that a certain Skin care maturity I think the requirement to use active ingredients is great. However, I think the age of 18 is a relatively high age when you consider what things are allowed in Germany from the age of 16. I think it depends on the level of information about ingredients and the individual skin condition. Do you need an age restriction for all products on the website? I do not think so. Moisturizing creams in particular are safe to use. Nevertheless, I think the message is right and I hope that other brands also feel inspired by it, more information about possible negative effects to operate.

Bridget