Skincare is the worst gift parents can give young daughters

Parents of young girls should be careful not to give them a lifetime of insecurity and skincare issues this holiday season — even if it’s on their darling daughters’ wishlists.

Gen Alpha — defined as the cohort born from roughly 2013 to 2024 — already spends more on skincare than any other age group, according to consultants AYTM. In 2023 alone, they reportedly spent $4.7 billion on products — presumably with mom or dad’s credit card.

There are now even skincare brands made just for Gen Alpha, even though the oldest members of the generation are around 12. Some are targeting girls as young as four with elaborate beauty routines and treatments — as if the preschool set really needed to slather on products to look fresh and baby-faced.

In November, actress Shay Mitchell launched Rini, a skincare company hawking sheet masks for kids age four and up that claim to “hydrate, soothe and recover” with ingredients like tremella mushroom, beta-glucan, glycerin, and red algae extract.

What exactly is one recovering from at age four? Mitchell responded to criticism on the Today Show, saying, “Truly, skincare starts from birth.”

While Rini’s masks, some of which have animal themes, aim to look like cute, harmless fun, they send young girls a terrible message: that there’s already something about themselves that needs to be fixed or improved. Soon they’ll be scrolling social media, where influencers push products and reinforce all sorts of insecurities.

Pipa Skincare, which launched in 2024, is also marketed to Alphas. It sells glow serums, moisturizers, a “skin saver” product, and even a “start young” tween skincare kit.

Both Pipa and Rini claim to be dermatologist-tested and formulated for young skin.

“We created Pipa as a safe, age-appropriate alternative when we saw tweens — including mine — using adult products,” Kristi Kubler, founder and CEO of Pipa, told The Post. “Our formulas are pediatrician and dermatologist-approved, giving parents a trusted option that supports healthy habits without unnecessary pressure.”

Rini and Mitchell did not respond to a request for comment, but the Rini website says products are “approved by US Dermatologists and Top Safety Firms.”

Meanwhile, there are also Gen Alpha skincare influencers who unbox sponsored products from brands and share their skincare routines. One pair of sister kid influencers have more than 5 million TikTok followers.

Independent dermatologists warn that kids with increasingly complex skincare routines are creating life-long skin issues for themselves.

“Kids and tweens are developing lifelong contact allergies to things like fragrances, which will impact their use of personal care products for the rest of their lives,” Toronto-based dermatologist Dr. Sandy Skotnicki told The Post.

She recalls a 15-year-old asking her during an acne consultation if she can still use niacinamide, retinol, eye bamboo masks and skin primer. If your kid starts at 4, imagine where they’ll be at 15.

The whole trend flies in the face of expert advice.

“They don’t need lactic acids, they don’t really need vitamin C at this age, and they don’t need glycolic acids. Their skin is sensitive and they don’t need to exfoliate and tear their barrier,” Upper East Side dermatologist Lauren Levy told The Post. “A fragrance-free moisturizer, and a daily sunscreen — preferably a mineral sunscreen — is all they need.”

So, parents, don’t start your kids on a spiral of self-obsession before they even hit puberty. Let them enjoy the youthful skin everyone else is striving for. They have an entire lifetime to shell out on skincare.

Remember when we used to give our kids toys instead of serums?