‘Sephora kids’ and social media: how to protect Hong Kong teens from appearance anxiety
Body image anxiety among young people is on the rise in the city and around the world – is social media solely to blame, and what can parents do?
As our world becomes over-saturated with increasingly unattainable beauty standards showcased by celebrity and influencer culture, it’s getting harder to look in the mirror and like what looks back. Today’s teenagers and preteens are no strangers to this pressure. While there’s no way to pinpoint one single cause, the trajectory between what young people see online and the effects this can have on behaviour is well documented.
According to a 2025 study in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, a monthly peer-reviewed online resource, “the advent of social media influencers and the widespread availability of beauty products have markedly amplified children’s interest and involvement with these products.” In the US, this resulted in the “Sephora kids” phenomenon, which saw increasing numbers of adolescents going into beauty retailers, testing, purchasing and using make-up or skincare products.
Children are often gravitating towards products hyped up on social media with harsh ingredients such as exfoliating acids and retinol. So even worse than “Sephora kids” wreaking havoc in stores, they’re wreaking havoc on their skin.
“Many of these ingredients have never been properly tested for safety in children,” points out Dr Steven Loo, a specialist in dermatology and venereology at the CUHK Medical Centre. “A young person’s skin barrier is easily disrupted, and piling on potent ingredients leads to irritation, dryness and breakouts.”
Hong Kong may have been spared the “Sephora kids” phenomenon – Loo says he’s aware of it, but his concerns lie more with the message it sends. “When a 10-year-old is taught to scrutinise her face for ‘flaws’, we risk fuelling appearance anxiety at an age that should be carefree.”
Dr Rick Smith is a Hong Kong-based clinical psychologist who has worked with adolescents for more than 25 years, but young patients coming to him with issues related to body image are comparatively new.