Tiktok skin care trends could cause long-term skin damage in teenagers

Tiktok skin care trends could cause long-term skin damage in teenagers

It turns out that when teens say "finish with me" on Tiktok, it can be more damaging than they may realize.

In the first peer-reviewed study to examine the potential risks and benefits of teen skin-care routines posted on social media, Northwestern Medicine scientists found that girls ages 7 to 18 use an average of six different products on their faces, with some girls using more than a dozen products. These products tend to be heavily marketed toward younger consumers and have a high risk of skin irritation and allergies, the study found.

The results will be published in the journal on June 9thPediatrics.

Each Teen Daily Skin Care regimen costs an average of $168 (which the authors estimate typically lasts a month depending on the size of the products), with some costing more than $500, the study found. As summer approaches, the study authors cautioned only 26% of daytime skincare regimens - sunscreen - arguably the most important skincare product for every age range, especially children.

The top videos contained an average of 11 potentially irritating active ingredients, the study found, putting content creators at risk for developing skin irritation, sun sensitivity and a skin allergy known as allergic contact dermatitis. Previous findings have shown that developing such an allergy may limit the types of soaps, shampoos and cosmetics users can apply for the rest of their lives.

“That high risk of irritation came from both using multiple active ingredients at the same time, such as hydroxy acids, as well as applying the same active ingredient unknowingly over and over again when that active ingredient was found in three, four, five different products,” said corresponding author Dr. Molly Hales, a postdoctoral research fellow and board-certified dermatologist in the department of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

For example, in one video included in the study, the content creator used 10 products on his face in six minutes.

As she applies the products, she begins to express discomfort and burning, and in the last few minutes she develops a visible skin reaction. “

Dr. Tara Lagu, senior author, adjunct doctor of medicine and medical social sciences at Feinberg and former hospitalist at Northwestern Medicine

Videos 'accentuates lighter, fairer skin'

“We saw that in some cases there was preferential, coded racist language that really emphasized lighter, lighter skin,” Lagu said. “I think there were also real associations between the use of these regimes and consumerism.”

These videos provide little to no benefit to the pediatric populations they target, the study authors concluded. Given the way the algorithms work, it is almost impossible for parents or pediatricians to keep track of exactly what children or teens are looking at. After all, there are dangers outside of skin damage, Hales said.

"It's problematic to show girls that they're devoting so much time and attention to their skin," Hales said. "We hold these girls to a very high standard. The pursuit of health has become something of a virtue in our society, but the ideal of health is also very wrapped up in ideals of beauty, thinness and whiteness. The insidious thing about 'skin care' is that it is about the health of health."

Young people study in the Tiktok environment

In the study, Hales and another researcher each created a new Tiktok account that identified themselves as 13 years old. The For You tab displayed relevant content until 100 unique videos were compiled. They collected demographic data from content creators, number and types of products used, and total cost of regimens, then compiled a list of products used and their active and inactive ingredients. The pediatric baseline series used in patch testing were used to identify ingredients with increased risk of allergy contact dermatitis.

Funding for the study was provided by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (grant number 5T32Ar060710-11). Other Northwestern authors include Drs. Amy Paller and Walter Liszewski and medical student Sarah Rigali.

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