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This summer, sunscreen and bug spray are not enough for the next generation of skincare-obsessed tweens. Gen Alpha\u2019s \u201cSephora Kids<\/a>\u201d are so obsessed with beauty products that summer camps have taken action to ban them from suitcases and cabins.<\/p>\n Lake Bryn Mawr Camp, an all-girls sleepaway retreat in northeastern Pennsylvania; Camp Mataponi in Maine; and Tyler Hill Camp, near the Pennsylvania-New York border, are among several summer havens explicitly telling campers and their families to avoid bringing makeup brushes and face creams to camp, Business Insider<\/em> reported<\/a>. Camp Canadensis, located in Pennsylvania\u2019s Pocono Mountains, has seen campers cycle through trends over the years and sent a letter to parents to prepare them to address their kids\u2019 latest obsession.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile nail polish and sheet masks in limited quantities can be a fun activity sprinkled into downtime at camp,\u201d the letter said, \u201cwe want to avoid \u2018playing with skincare and cosmetics\u2019 becoming an activity.\u201d<\/p>\n Parents have rejoiced at camps cracking down on skincare. A few years ago, sheet masks became trendy among young people, a fad that soon escalated into multi-step beauty routines<\/a>. Some parents complained of their middle-school-aged girls<\/a> going through 20 pounds of product, including some that cost upward of $90 an ounce. With U.S. households with 6- to 12-year kids spending 27% more on skin care last year than they did the year before, per a report from NielsenIQ<\/a>, beauty has become a fixation for Gen Alpha. And it\u2019s not only a distraction from camp activities\u2014it\u2019s a full-blown obsession.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s everything: retinol serums, masks, hyaluronic acids, eye creams,\u201d one parent with a 9-year-old camper told Insider<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019ve seen them come over with cosmetic bags full of every single expensive product that I wouldn\u2019t even pay for myself, like $40 blushes and Dior lip oil.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Skincare is certainly the latest fad among Gen Alpha, a demographic who appear to want to grow up fast<\/a>. The generation born between 2010 and today, now nearing teenagedom, are entranced with beauty influencers and vulnerable to brands associated with status. Influencer beauty content online has not only helped drive sales<\/a> of cosmetic products, but also encouraged Gen Alpha\u2014who spend over two hours per week<\/a> online shopping\u2014to use their parents\u2019 credit card to buy popular brands.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether we like it or not, many kids are chronically online, having grown up with the internet,\u201d Alex Popken, vice president of trust and safety at content moderation service WebPurify, told Fortune<\/em><\/a>. \u201cThey have a level of digital literacy in navigating sites above and beyond what their parents have.\u201d<\/p>\n Through their online escapades, tweens have come across products like Drunk Elephant\u2019s polypeptide cream and The Ordinary\u2019s squalane serum that contain skin-firming retinol meant for older, wrinkle-fearing adults. Skincare experts are skeptical of kids using these products when really, most should only be using cleansers, moisturizers, and sunscreen.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t understand the function of skin and that it\u2019s not just this wall you can throw anything at,\u201d dermatologist Brooke Jeffy told USA Today<\/em><\/a>. The fight to convince them otherwise is \u201cof word of reason\u2014word of their parents, sometimes, word of me or other physicians\u2014against this huge industry of beauty and social media.\u201d<\/p>\n But worried parents have reason not to panic, according to Keneisha Sinclair-McBride, pediatric psychologist at Boston Children\u2019s Hospital. Just as with any trend, it comes and goes, with Gen Alpha likely to bandwagon<\/a> onto whatever interest the internet decides it should have next.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes we put adult lenses on things. For example, kids are probably attracted to skin care simply because they think it\u2019s fun and the products smell good \u2014 we\u2019re panicking that next they\u2019re going to want anti-aging treatments,\u201d she told Today<\/em><\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re putting our own grown-up fears onto them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nBeauty beyond the bunk beds\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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