Photo used with permission from Google Creative Commons

Sephora has become the main destination for young girls looking for products such as Drunk Elephant and Rare Beauty.

When I walked into my nearest Sephora one day, I was shocked and horrified to see that the store was a mess. There were ruined product displays, dried-up makeup on the counters and empty containers of makeup. What could have caused this awful mess?

The answer is not a tornado or a zombie apocalypse, but instead Sephora’s newest shoppers: “Sephora kids” or young girls under the age of 12.

Most of the products at Sephora and other makeup stores have typically been marketed for older consumers. However according to BBC, “Generation Alpha are buying products containing ingredients like retinol, harsh exfoliating acids or pricey moisturizers, toners and serums designed to minimize the effects of aging.” Young girls are becoming obsessed with the idea of not aging, doing everything in their power to prevent wrinkles or anything else associated with getting older.

Videos on TikTok have gone viral of young girls crowding Sephora destroying displays and treating other customers and workers rudely, as well as videos of people complaining about young kids in makeup stores and how disrespectful they were being. One solution for this could be age limits in makeup stores. “Makeup stores should have an age limit because there are young kids in full makeup looks and it’s too much, they’re just kids,” sophomore Shayna Kreiser said.

Students have described their experiences in these makeup stores. “I’ve been in Sephora for Sol De Janeiro products and I’ve seen a lot of aggressive 11-12-year-olds in Sephora and they waste a lot of product,” freshman Jade Klotz said.

However some say that an age limit in makeup stores is too extreme and there should be other restrictions instead like “You can’t enter the store without a parent present,” Klotz said.

Instead of having age limits in makeup stores, there could be kid-friendly sections with skincare and makeup geared more toward children. Additionally, parents should take an active approach in their children’s lives and teach them about the benefits as well as the dangers of skincare. “I don’t think there should be an age limit but young kids should have an adult with them because they are constantly buying things that are detrimental to their skin,” sophomore Aava Nikakhtar said.

Parents could also take this moment to teach an important lesson about budgeting and finance to their kids. The most expensive products in the store are not always the best ones.

Social media is one of the major contributing factors for young girls becoming so obsessed with makeup and skincare. “Social media and the beauty industry often show idealized versions of women which influences young girls to want to look more mature and sophisticated,” Nicholette Leanza, a licensed professional health counselor said in an article. Furthermore, influencers have a large impact on kids and therefore “influence” their decisions. “Kids look up to these [influencers] online and they want to be like them so they put on elaborate makeup,” Kreiser said.