Slime, silly bands, barbies, anti-aging retinol serum. What do all of these things have in common? Ten-year-olds. Nearly a decade ago, hanging out with your friends consisted of sleepovers, and begging your mom to take you to the mall so you could buy the new Justice shirt. Somewhere along the lines, Justice changed to Sephora and that shirt changed into endless amounts of makeup products. The “Sephora 10-year-old” epidemic is quickly infecting our local communities. The buying out of products and messes made on the shelves are harming our stores. Who knew 10-year-olds would be beauty gurus before mastering long division?
A “Sephora 10-year-old” refers to a child who bombards Sephora stores, either buying all the latest products or destroying them. Recently, all Sephora stores globally have been impacted by this ratchet epidemic and many complaints are popping up across the board. These kids must be stopped. Not only is it inconvenient for a consumer, it’s downright annoying. It’s damaging and embarrassing to walk into a store targeting your age group, only to be scared away by kids seven years younger than you— or just seven years old. The products they are buying are harming their skin and will arguably make dermatologists a lot of money in coming years.
Dr. Brooke Jeffy, a dermatologist making headlines on TikTok, criticizes this new societal trend.
“Take it from a dermatologist [and] tween mom. This #sephorakids trend needs to stop! Kiddos don’t need harsh actives [and] AHA’s & peptide creams,” Jeffy said on TikTok.
Even hearing a professional’s advice won’t stop them, so it’s hard to say what could. The only difference between walking into a jungle and walking into a Sephora is that one has rabid animals running around, and the other is a tropical forest. These days it’s hard to tell if you’re at a children’s playground or a makeup department store.
Yes, when you’re younger makeup is a fun toy that gives you many opportunities to feel like a “big girl.” Some may say these kids are just having fun and experimenting with makeup like everyone does. That’s how we were when we were young, right? Wrong. When we were 10, we were searching up how to make slime without glue or activator— our age group didn’t even know what “Sephora” was, or what a 10-step skin care treatment routine consisted of.
The most obvious source of this virus: TikTok. It’s not just social media; it’s a gateway drug to brightening oils and hydration serum. Getting young children on the app was probably one of the worst things we’ve done as a society; ever. Now, not only do they buy all these products, but they are encouraged by their feed. Children are influenced to make “get ready with me” videos, mixing their new Drunk Elephant moisturizer with bronzing drops, creating a bigger mess on their faces than they do at these poor stores. Not only are they being infected via TikTok, but the epidemic continues to spread through social cues and norms within a school.
To combat this recent surge, society needs to band together to put restrictions on these children. There should be not only an age limit but also a height limit, similar to how amusement parks are run. If a child can’t see over the makeup counter, they shouldn’t be allowed to use hyaluronic acid and niacinamide serum. It’s time to unite and take back our beauty stores and stand against these intolerable acts!
