Last month, a member of California’s House of Representatives introduced a bill that would restrict what t(w)eens can buy on their viral trips to Sephora, Ulta, and the like. A similar bill failed last year, but that didn’t stop Assemblymember Alex Lee from introducing a revised bill meant to “protect” kids from anti-aging skincare.
The bill, if passed, could ban the sale of anti-aging products to kids under the age of 18. This includes any products with Vitamin A and its derivatives (including retinoids and retinol), an alpha hydroxy acid including glycolic acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), or citric acid in its formula. Read: Ingredients that dermatologists have deemed harmful for young skin.
“The beauty industry is cashing in on the ‘Sephora kids’ phenomenon where children are buying and using adult anti-aging products,” Lee said in a statement. “ … We have to stop the beauty industry from exploiting our youth. It’s time we take action, and my bill is a common sense measure to protect kids from unnecessary and potentially harmful anti-aging products.”
Well, Lee and dermatologists nationwide aren’t the only ones who have thoughts on the matter. T(w)eens themselves have now entered the chat. A recent New York Times article — suggested and supported by Joel Neden’s English class at New Paltz High School in New Paltz, N.Y. — includes diverse Gen Z voices from across the country.
Why Do Teens Not Want These Age Minimums?
Some t(w)eens told The NYT that they should be able to spend their money how they want, without government interference.
“It is completely possible that passing this law could prevent a teenager from looking in the mirror and telling themselves, ‘I like how I look,’” said one teen identified as Tyler from North Carolina. “We don’t know why every individual person does what they do, but if it makes them feel more comfortable and better about themselves, then who are we to get in the way of that?
Mariam from New York thought the bill was an “excessive infringement” and said lawmakers “have bigger fish to fry.”
“Quite frankly, the products in a child’s shopping basket are none of my business,” she said. “While anti-aging products can have the opposite effect on a young person’s skin, it is a parent’s duty to supervise their child’s purchases.”
Why Do Teens Want These Age Minimums?
Other teens who spoke to the outlet were on board with this legislation and think that online trends are making teens want to buy these products — even if they don’t know what is in them.
“There is a large amount of unawareness towards what ingredients are in skin care and the ages they should be properly marketed to … Hopefully, the age limit will cause people to be more aware of the situation and think about the skin care products they are purchasing and applying to their bodies,” Jasmine from New York said.
Alexa from Texas agreed that a lot of her peers are buying these products because of online trends without knowing about the damage their skincare routine can cause. As for “KM” from Minnesota, she pointed to the pressures felt by young women to live by a certain beauty standard set by social media, TV commercials, and classroom chatter.
“This is very exhausting,” she told the outlet. “So for me personally, I think there definitely should be an age minimum to be able to purchase anti-aging products.”
And yet, even those who support Lee’s measures, have a hard time thinking it will actually pan out. Since when have age minimums stopped teens from getting access to harmful substances? Like it or not, they are still able to get their hands on alcohol, nicotine, “Galaxy Gas,” and more.
“Unless we can truly convince younger people that these products are harmful, they would still want to buy the product,” a teen only identified as “Aidan” said.
And how do you do that? Like other t(w)eens said, you’re not just going up against the marketing of a multi-billion dollar industry — you’re going up against the weight of peer pressure.
“Social media trends and social pressures have played a large role in young kids trying to grow up too fast, comparing themselves to influencers, and stressing too much over their appearance,” Naomi from New York said. “This insecurity is likely causing young kids to throw away their parent’s money for fancy-looking products without doing proper research.”
It might sound silly and easy to dismiss the idea of a 10-year-old (!!!) shopping for anti-aging products, but Charlie from Minnesota said it’s not that child’s fault.
“They’re given technology from a very young age that tells them they need to be flawless, smooth and glowing to be valued, which isn’t true,” Charlie said. “Of course, much more needs to be done to dismantle these beliefs, as it’s very typical of the beauty industry to push them to women, but marketing to under-18s is especially harmful.”
“Having this kind of mentality since childhood is going to make it harder for these girls to free themselves from it,” Charlie continued. Because even if the bill passes and the beauty industry has to stand down, the voice nagging in the back of a young girl’s mind — or the perky influencer yelling at them from their screens — is going to be a lot harder to quiet.
These celebrity parents are sharing the struggle — and sweetness — of raising teenagers.
