The Beauty Industry Won’t Define My Daughter: Why I Refuse to Raise a ‘Sephora Child’
I love skincare, the way it makes me feel in the morning before a busy day or in the evening as a moment of self-care. I even co-founded a beauty brand that was once sold at Target and Nordstrom. But when my daughter, now in pre-K, reaches her tween years and asks me to buy her skincare or makeup, my answer will be no. Not because I don’t love beauty, but because I want her to have a healthy relationship with it when she’s older.
Today children are bombarded with social media filters, AI edits, and beauty influencers promoting clinical-grade skincare they don’t need. I don’t want my daughter to grow up believing that beauty is something to be ‘fixed’ with a product. Trends like retinol, peptides, and vitamin C are meant for aging skin, not young, collagen-rich faces. Over-exfoliating and layering unnecessary actives can do more harm than good, and I want her to ask herself, “Is this right for me?” before jumping on a viral trend.
Beyond skincare concerns, there’s also the issue of overconsumption. Beauty shopping can become a cycle of chasing the next best thing, falling for ‘RFOMO’ (retail fear of missing out), and accumulating products that end up in landfills. Even Sephora’s CEO agrees that teens only need three products. I’m not against beauty, but I want my daughter’s first experience with it to be intentional and informed not dictated by hype. I hope she never calls herself a ‘Sephora Child.’
