NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio — The beauty and personal care market is skyrocketing right now, especially among a new, skin-conscious generation. Generation Alpha tends to be the children of millennials, younger than 14 years old. They’ve been exposed to skincare at a much younger age than their parents, thanks to social media. While taking care of your skin is a good thing, it’s important parents help them understand the right way. News 5 Anchor Katie Ussin went to some experts for advice and spoke with one teen about her routine.
Thirteen-year-old Charlotte Piazza described herself as a girly girl. She told Katie she loves Sol de Janeiro products because “they smell really good, and they just make me feel really happy.” Charlotte and her friends all love makeup and skin care.
“I just want my skin to be healthy and I also want it to look good,” she said. “And then we all kind of do our makeup to try and make our skin look glowier.”
Charlotte is also a big fan of the brand Bubble, along with “a lot of brands that you see on TikTok.”
But just because an influencer uses a product doesn’t mean she will.
“If it’s harmful to me I don’t want to use it,” she told Katie. She’s close with her mom, Danielle Piazza, and they talk about what’s best.
“We have a lot of conversations about, you probably shouldn’t be tapping into mom’s skin care. You can use my makeup but not the skin care,” Piazza said.
Katie went to Skin Deep Laser Spa in Strongsville and spoke with the owner, Jamie Cole.
“It’s extraordinary to me how young people, starting at the age of 10, are obsessed with skincare,” she said.
While it’s important to prioritize health and self-care, Cole cautioned that there is a lot of misinformation out there.
“They are buying things that are actually hurting their skin,” she told Katie.
Medical Esthetician Melody Ortega said the skincare routine for most preteens and teens is pretty simple.
“A gentle cleanser that maybe has a little bit of foaming, but not too much alcohol content or sulfates because that can be drying,” Ortega said. “What that gentle cleanser is going to do is balance out the pH of their skin so they’re not too dry or not too oily, and they just need a hydrating product and an SPF to protect their skin.”
Ortega said this age group should avoid three ingredients: retinols, acids, and peptides. Those ingredients speed up the exfoliation process and collagen production, which the skin doesn’t need help with until after the age of 20.
“What happens if they start using those products on a daily basis, their skin will become compromised, meaning they will have more redness, sensitivity down the line,” Ortega said.
That includes sensitivity to sun exposure, which is responsible for most visible signs of aging and skin cancers.
Charlotte’s dermatologist helped guide her skincare routine. Now, she’s ready to put her best foot forward at her upcoming confirmation—a milestone her mom is still wrapping her head around.
“Her first communion seems like it happened a blip ago,” she said. “Now we’re here, end of eighth grade, headed to high school.”
Danielle and Charlotte are setting an example for how to talk openly with kids about what they’re seeing on social media and bring educated voices into the discussion. Ultimately, as Piazza pointed out, it’s the parents who control the purse strings.
