Pediatric dermatologist concerned by use of anti-aging products among tweens

A Halifax dermatologist is setting the record straight ontween skin care, as get-ready-with-meroutines using potentially harmful lotions and serums go viral on social media.

Dr. Natalie Cunningham has been practising pediatric dermatology in Halifax for the last seven years and she's noticed a rise in interest in skin care among her clients between ages 10 and 12.

"Especially over the holidays, I had young people and their parents asking me, 'What is the best skin-care routine?' 'What are the best products to use?'So it's definitely much more of a hot topic these days," she said.

What's behind the surge in interest? People sharing their skin-care routines on social media. Some videos show kids with large collections of serums and creams. The trend is leading to complaints online aboutchildren being spotted inside cosmetics shopSephora.

But what's concerning to Cunningham is that tweensare gravitating toproducts marketed as anti-aging. Those products often come in funpackaging but contain ingredients that are too intense for young skin.

"A lot of the products that kids are asking about and are interested in are not only very expensive products, but they often contain active ingredients. So these are things like retinol, niacinamide, or even snail mucin," Cunningham said, adding thatretinol can increase sun sensitivity.

Niacinamide, retinol and snail mucin can be found in anti-aging skincare products. Niacinamide is a vitamin that is marketed to make the skin appear more hydrated and retinol is another vitamin marketed to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

In some cases, kids can be prescribed retinol as an acne treatment, Cunningham said, but this should be done with the guidance of a health-care professional.

"A lot of the time, these are not going to provide a lot of age-appropriate benefits for children, and in some cases they may actually be harmful for the skin of teenagers."

Layer, don't mix products

That can mean irritation, redness and flaking in younger skin, she said, and some heavier-duty productscan also be a triggerof conditions like eczema and acne.

Cunningham sees reactions like this in her office, she said, andthe more products that are being used, the more difficult it can be to determine what's causing the issue.

"They typically come in with a big grocery bag full of different products, often ones that can be found at cosmetic stores or that they've seen advertised online. And there is usually at least fiveto 10 different products in that bag," she said.

Some skincare videos on TikTok show people mixing products together on a surface before putting them on their face creating what's known as a skincare "smoothie." While some brandsformulate their products to be used this way, Cunningham advises against it. She said products should be layered, not mixed.

"Most products are actually formulated to be at a certain pH so that it's well tolerated on your skin. And when you're mixing products, we're not sure how that's changing the makeup or composition of a product," Cunningham said.

Products with aCanadian Dermatology Association symbol on themare safe bets, shesaid, because they have been "reviewed and held to a high standard."

'It makes me feel relaxed'

In some instances, younger clients do need to use products like retinol but that should be done with the guidance of a dermatologist, Cunningham said.

In Halifax, PeytonPower, who turns 10 next month, saidshestarted becoming interested in skin care two years ago after developing really dry skin. Watching her mother and sister's skin-care regimens made her want to start one of her own, she said, so she built up a collection of products usingmoney from her birthday, the holidays and doing chores.

"My routine is like,Fenty skin toner, because I only have a mini one of it. Then an Ordinary serum. And then I use a moisturizer and a serum, and it's hyaluronic acid. And then I use the Glow Recipe Dew Drops and sunscreen. And then E.L.F. Holy Hydration," Peyton said.

She's had noadverse reactions to anything she's used so far, she said, and the dryness she was dealing withis mostly gone. She says the wholeprocess is therapeutic.

"It makes me feel relaxed, and it's just calming," she said.

While some of the products in Peyton's collection are free samples, her mother, Laura, says the most important consideration is ingredients. She saysthey put a lot of thought into the best approaches to learning about skin care. For example, Peyton doesnot use retinol.

More sun protection awareness

"I know that there's things that she shouldn't be putting on her face that could do more harm than good, so we compromise a lot," Laura said."We talked to the people at Sephora and they really do give good advice on the products we should maybe wait for, and ones that we could try now."

One of the silver linings of the skin-care social media buzz is that youth are more aware of the need for sun protection, Cunningham said.

"Here is the secret that all dermatologists have been trying not to keep: The best anti-wrinkle cream is sunscreen," Cunningham said.

"I think kids now are starting to realize that some of the concerns that might be considered more cosmetic later on are actually caused by sun. And so they are in many cases including sunscreen in their skin-care routines."

Adoptingsun protection habits early in life will also reduce the risk of skin cancer, she said.

Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island havethe highest rates of skin cancer in Canada.

The tween and teen skin-care routine

Cunningham recommends the following skin-care routine for most tweens and teens:

• Gentle cleanser in the morning and at night.
• Moisturizer in the morning and at night.
• Sunscreen in the morning, after using moisturizer.

It's important for young people to recognize that a lot of social media influencers and content creators are being paid to advertise, she said. And when they're seeing perfect skin online, they should be wary ofsophisticated filters that actually change the appearance of skin texture and how someone actually looks in real life.

"Take it all with a grain of salt," Cunningham said.