The young slaves of beauty

He barely reaches the table where some sponges and small containers of water rest.

Everything is pink in the TikTok video from the @studiosBYF account from which, with her angelic voice and face, a girl explains, one by one, her beauty routines.

“First we proceed to apply the soap in circular movements, now we are going to apply the tonic that will give us a super refreshing sensation.

Penultimate step: exfoliate our skin so that it is extremely soft, don't forget to remove it with water on your face.

Last and most important step, sunscreen, which will help us take care of our skin from the sun's rays."

Let's assume that in the TikTok of 2024 a 10-year-old little angel is capable of leaving the “Ponds plan, beauty in seven days” at the level of the intern.

Dermatologist Martha Viera reveals on the same platform that “girls of 9, 10, 11 years old come to her consultation who follow 10 steps of the facial cosmetic routine in the morning and as many at night (…) They have had irritations, contact allergies because of the chemicals that that type of skin does not need and is not prepared to receive.”

The confluence of two titans, digital platforms and the cosmetics industry, seems to be leading to the birth of a new heading in the relationship of possible mental health disorders related to the digital life of adolescents.

Cosmeticorexia

defines the early obsession with emulating facial care habits and, above all, purchasing habits of beauty products recommended by

, traditionally, were more appropriate for older women with greater purchasing power.

This process of rejuvenation of the consumer of creams and paints is leaving its mark on the scenes of daily life.

TikTok accumulates more than 64 million video tutorials on makeup for all ages, with protagonists such as young Kassie, six years old, who, under the gaze of her proud mother, Shab, shows her four and a half million followers, brush in hand, how a suitably schooled brat can “master makeup better than most grown women.”

Goodbye to the mythical Miss Pepis briefcase, a mere object of worship after this new wave where many girls and young women want to play, cosmetically speaking, in the senior league.

The publications around #sephorakids have accumulated more than 371 million views on TikTok, a label that captures the adventures of the little girls crazy about creams in the hallways of the American stores of the Sephora chain, the new temple through which the little ones walk , they test dreamy and unaffordable cosmetics and make recommendations to older users.

The phenomenon gives rise to a social experiment like the one that Lauren, a young yoga teacher, carries out with her beautiful and made-up 10-year-old daughter, whom she asks, inside a Sephora store, to choose all her favorite products in less than two minutes.

Three hundred dollars later, the video has accumulated three and a half million views and harsh criticism.

“Take her to Juguettos!” exclaims a user from the comments line.

We have one year left to see if

deserves the honors of contemporary evil or if it is just a magnified occurrence in the face of an adapted and acceptable social change.

Parents and educators have the floor.