DEDHAM, Mass. — A local dermatologist is sounding the alarm over kids and pre-teens buying expensive skin care products they see on social media, but these products might not be safe for them.
Kids and teens are looking at sites like TikTok and Instagram and buying cleansers, creams, exfoliators, and sometimes even anti-aging products with retinol and glycolic acid that their favorite influencers use.
“If your a teenager, if your a pre-teen or kid, your skin is doing everything it needs to do doing, it is exfoliating itself, it’s renewing itself, it is doing everything without the need of any sort of products,” said Dr. Abigail Waldman a Dermatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Waldman says that products with retinol and glycolic acid can cause irritation, redness in the skin, and hyperpigmentation if used too much at a young age.
The best option for teens under 15 is to keep it simple.
“Wash your face with water or a gentle cleaner, you need a moisturizer and a sunscreen, and that’s it,” Waldman said.
The only time you need to use certain products at a young age is if you have a dermatologic condition like acne, which is very common is teens.
“Use focus skincare, you want to use benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid wash for the morning and adapalene at night which can help with acne and acne scaring.”
Waldman says that if you are influenced to use certain products to look out for certain ingredients.
“Avoid the ingredients like retinol, and glycolic acid that are irritating and can cause problems, and look for ingredients like hyaluronic acid and snail mucin.”
The number one thing Waldman recommends is to use sunscreen multiple times a day.
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