Children seem to be jumping from their favourite toys to their favourite skincare products – which can have disastrous health effects. 

98FM Presenter Suzanne Kane was writing letters to Santa with her seven-year-old daughter when she first noticed the trend sweeping among children. 

"She asked for a Poppy [doll] from Trolls, she asked for a Furby, she asked for a surprise – and skincare,” she told The Pat Kenny Show. 

“Oh, and a scooter – because obviously, every skincare-wearing child needs a scooter to get around.” 

Suzanne told her daughter she didn’t need skincare at the tender age of seven – but started noticing social media telling her daughter the exact opposite. 

“You try and monitor what they're listening to and it’s videos like, ‘Hey guys, get ready with me for school’ - and it’s a seven-year-old on YouTube doing a skincare routine,” she said. 

"Even this morning, I was putting cream on my face and [my daughter] said I was doing it wrong."

She said all children end up with phases of certain hobbies – such as the recent trend in ‘loom bands’ - but it’s now evolving to cosmetics. 

“Loom bands were good for their fine motor skills - and they weren't taking a layer of skin off their faces,” she said. 

“But we moved quite quickly from loom bands into salicylic acid and serums. 

“Last week, she was putting sun cream on her face, and she was putting it on as you'd see in a video - ‘I'm just applying it here and a bit around my cheekbones’. 

Child doing makeup and skincare routine. Image: Dmytro Zinkevych / Alamy Stock Photo

“I read all the books when I was having my babies, I did all the parenting books - there was nothing in Annabelle Karmel’s Weaning talking about skincare.” 

Suzanne noted this is not a “playtime” trend or make-believe game – but a “regime” that young children are trying to copy from the internet. 

Expensive brands such as Drunk Elephant have become increasingly popular among the younger generation. 

Children using skincare

Clinical psychologist Mark Smith said there is an “increased anxiety” among young people about their appearance. 

“We're losing parts of children where they feel free and anxiety-free to go out in the fields, go out in the green, get mucky,” he said. 

“What we have seen over the last probably two to three years is an exponential increase in young girls presenting with eating disorders where they have an extreme form of self-hatred. 

“We need to be really, really careful that we don't inadvertently reinforce to our children that if you have something that they perceive to be a flaw, that that needs to be changed.” 

Certain skincare such as retinol – another product becoming popular among children under 10 – can cause retinoid dermatitis, particularly on young skin. 

Other anti-ageing products can cause itchiness and redskin – particularly for people who are barely ageing. 

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