Little girls are harming their skin by using anti-aging products encouraged on social media.gettyPreteen girls taking an interest in skincare may initially sound like a fun, healthy trend. And its big business: in 2023 American families with tweens aged 6 to 12 purchased 27.2% more skincare, while familes with teens aged 13 to 17 purchased 28.6% more.But when girls as young as 8 show up at doctors offices with allergic reactions, rashes, irritant dermatitis because they are using anti-aging products meant for 40 year old women, we have a problem. Driven by the viral #SephoraKids social media trend, little girls are harming their skin with anti-aging products. And the harms dont stop there: both body image and how girls form community are also being influenced by the skin care trend.Social Media And Anti-aging Products For Little GirlsHow can an 8 year old think her skin needs highly irritating products like tretinoin or ferulic acid for wrinkles she doesnt have? Initially, watching skincare videos from kid skinfluencers is about fun and community.15 year old Ellie and 14 year Noe Etheridge told WATE 6 that they enjoy trying new skincare products. Its fun and it makes you feel clean and good about yourself. But sometimes you can get carried away and take that too far,said the Etheridge girls.The video below shows social media clips of these young skinfluencers, and they are shockingly young. In order to avoid encouraging these young skinfluencers, I have not linked directly to their social media.For other girls, the anti-aging social media trend is no fun at all. At 10 years old, Scarlett Goddard Strahan was so worried about getting wrinkles that she and her friends watched hours of skinfluencers on TikTok and Youtube. In order to achieve a flawless, glowing complexion, Scarlett used facial cleansers, mists, hydrating masks and moisturizers. But these products were not made for her young skin, and her skin began burning and blistering, leaving marks that lasted months.I didnt want to get wrinkles and look old, Scarlett told the Associated Press. If I had known my life would be so affected by this, I never would have put these things on my face.How Anti-aging Products Can Harm Young SkinWhat 8 year old social media skinfluencers dont know is that they are spreading harmful misinformation to other kids their age.When kids use anti-aging skin care, they can actually cause premature aging, destroy the skin barrier and lead to permanent scarring, Dr. Brooke Jeffy, a Scottsdale, Arizona dermatologist told the AP.One of the reasons young skin looks young, i.e. plump, moisturized and smooth, is because it has good barrier function. But when kids use irritating anti-aging products, they can dry out their skin, create breaks in the barrier, and set off redness and irritation.This break down in the barrier then lets outside substances and microbes in and the immune system goes wild. Immune cells release chemical messengers to promote inflammation. The process recruits fibroblasts, the cells that lay down scar tissue.Now here is where things really scary. One of the key processes in skin development from infancy to adult skin has to do with collagen. As anti-aging gurus will tell you, collagen is a large molecule that help gives skin its firm smooth appearance. In infants and young children the skin is full of small bundles of collagen. As the skin transitions to adulthood, fibroblasts work to cross-link those collagen bundles.During inflammation, such as wound-healing and scar formation, fibroblasts lay down relatively disorganized structures. Now imagine activated fibroblasts in the skin of a young girls face, potentially cross linking collagen bundles prematurely and in a disorganized way. And if the girl keeps using the irritating products, prolonged inflammation is known to cause ongoing inappropriate fibroblast activity.How Anti-aging Videos Can Harm Young MindsYoung skinfluencers are everywhere, and some girls are finding that bonding over skin care routines has become a key price of entry to community. According to 14 year old Mia Hall, who saves her $20 a week allowance to buy products at Sephora with friends, skin care was the only way she felt she could fit in.Its like a trance. You cant stop watching it, Mia told the AP about the social media skin care videos. So when they tell me, Go buy this product or, I use this and its amazing, it feels very personal. Getting what they have makes me feel connected to them.But this product peddling has its dark side: Mia feels jealous and insecure when she sees other girls her age who look very pretty or have an amazing life.Rutgers University psychologist and author of The Body Image Book For Girls, Charlotte Markey told the AP that detailed beauty tutorials send vulnerable young girls the message that they are a never-ending project to get started on now. The message is: you are not OK the way you are.Protecting Young Girls From SkinfluencersLike most problems caused by social media, protecting young girls from the harmful misinformation peddled by skinfluencers requires legal protections, parental involvement, and correct information.Legal efforts to protect young girls from anti-aging productsCalifornia assemblymember Alex Lee of San Jos is currently trying for the second time to get a bill passed banning the sale of anti-aging skin care products for shoppers under the age of 18.The beauty industry is cashing in on the Sephora kids phenomenon where children are buying and using adult anti-aging products, said Assemblymember Lee in a statement. Kids dont need anti-aging products. The beauty industry knows that We have to stop the beauty industry from exploiting our youth.Parents can protect their daughters from social mediaSkin-damage driven by social media skin care videos is just the latest of many dangers to girls on social media. Parents have many reasons to take an active role in protecting their girls. It can be hard to know where to start, but in a prior article for Forbes I detailed three ways parents can protect their kids from social medias mental health effects.Correcting the record on anti-aging products and kidsMany parents assume that the products their children are using have been tested for safety. However, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency, do not require testing of cosmetic products such as anti-aging creams on children. Such testing is only required when a product is labeled as a product for children.Therefore, doctors are trying to get the word out to the public about the dangers of anti-aging skin care products for kids. The Connecticut Childrens Medical Center, UCLA Health Reports and the British Association of Dermatologists are just a few of the health experts warning that children who use anti-aging products could experience irreversible skin problems.A pediatricians skincare advice for kids and teensWhen it comes to their skin, kids and teens need only simple, inexpensive skin care routines. As a pediatrician, heres what I recommend (I have no financial connection to these brands):For kids without acne:1. A gentle cleanser such as the inexpensive drugstore brand Cetaphil cleanser or glucoside foaming cleanser from The Ordinary.2. A light, non-irritating moisturizer such as drugstore brand CeraVes AM and PM facial moisturizers. Bonus: the AM version contains sunscreen.3. If using a moisturizer without sunscreen, apply a light sunscreen.For kids with acne:1. An over the counter benzoyl peroxide face wash, such as over the counter differin.2. An adapalene gel, such as over the counter differin.3. Follow with a light moisturizer and sunscreen.If your child needs more help with their skin, maybe check with your pediatrician or dermatologist before you head to Sephora.