What Zoë Foster Blake wants parents to know about the tween skincare craze.

If you've recently walked into Sephora and Mecca and spotted tweens buying luxury skincare brands like Drunk Elephant, Summer Fridays and Glow Recipe, then no, it's not a coincidence. In fact, it's the latest phenomenon to hit the age group, with many labelling it as an "epidemic".

Gen Alpha - the youngest generation after Gen Z - have acquired a taste for high-end beauty, possibly because they've seen their favourite influencer use it on themselves. However, one scroll through TikTok will show you several videos of angry people, saying their shopping experience was ruined because children are leaving around messy testers and selling out their favourite products.

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Putting aside the question of how they can afford such expensive skincare, it's simply not safe for 10-year-olds to be using such potent products on their face, many of which contain active ingredients that shouldn't be introduced until much later on.

However, for tweens, owning certain products seems to have become somewhat of a status symbol. 

Now, former beauty director and skincare founder Zoë Foster Blake has weighed in on the matter, sharing a video to her Instagram addressing the craze.

"I feel like as skincare founder, I do need to talk about the 10-year-olds in Sephora. I'm not going to slag them off because I know that if I was 10 years old, and I had access to social media, I would 100 per cent be doing the same thing," she said.

"I would do anything that my favourite influencer or celebrity told me to do. I wanted to be more grown-up than I was, so none of this is a surprise to me."

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A post shared by ZOË FOSTER BLAKE (@zotheysay)

Zoe, who founded the enormously successful skincare brand Go-To, stressed the importance of slowly introducing tweens to skincare, not only so they can learn good habits from an early age but also to stop them from experimenting and damaging their moisture barrier.

"We have an opportunity here to encourage this idea of looking after your skin, not because it's trendy, not because the bottles are cute, but because it can create self-confidence and it can create really strong skincare habits that will take them for decades and decades," said Zoe.

The businesswomen pointed out that growing up, millennials only had a few people to turn to for beauty advice, whereas Gen Alpha are inundated with information, creating confusion around what they actually need.

"It's never too young to start good skincare habits, and that can be as simple as applying SPF. [But] simplicity and key points are going to be critical, otherwise, they'll get completely overwhelmed, and they'll use things that are honestly completely unnecessary and quite harmful for their skin.

"I don't think anyone who is eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 even, should be using retinols, very expensive peptides and most of the acids, save them in your back pocket for later. You're going to need them, but you don't need them now," she stressed. 

"You're not treating anything, you don't have pigmentation, you don't have fine lines, you're not showing signs of ageing. You have beautiful, young skin. All you need to do is keep it hydrated and protected from the sun."

Zoe then recommended some age-appropriate skincare from Go-To for both tweens and teens.

For tweens, she suggested keeping the routine as simple as possible, telling kids and their parents to opt for a soothing gel cleanser at night, followed by a facial oil that will not only nourish their skin but also allow them to dabble in the world of serums.

Zoe then added in a few more products for those who want to feel as if their skincare routine is more extensive, throwing a hydrating sheet mask and lip balm into the mix. 

Then for teens, Zoe focused on acne-fighting products that help protect and hydrate, like a foaming salicylic acid cleanser that will remove all dirt and debris from pores without stripping the skin's moisture barrier, and a clarifying BHA toner, to balance out the skin and stop acne before it surfaces.

She further recommended a gel moisturiser with a matte finish, and a clay mask to help with congestion. 

For both age groups, Zoe strongly advised them to use SPF every morning before heading out the door. 

"If you have a tween or teen and they're showing a lot of excitement around skincare, then I promise you, that's actually a really positive thing. It's our job to encourage them and to help them understand which products are appropriate."

Feature Image: Instagram @zotheysay.

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