CBS News California investigates troubling skincare industry trend | “Sephora kid” Investigation

If you have a tween in your life, get-ready-with-me videos may be familiar to you. These videos saturate social media feeds, targeting young girls with multi-step skincare and routines.

Popular brands partner with kid-fluencers to create viral skincare products and social media content, and the skincare industry is cashing in, turning many in Generation Alpha into so-called “Sephora kids.”

The problem is that many viral products contain anti-aging ingredients like retinol and alpha hydroxy acid, which, unbeknownst to many of these kids, can harm their young skin, and it’s hard to tell the products apart.

So CBS News California investigative correspondent Julie Watts teamed up with her daughter’s fifth-grade class and CBS News Confirmed to examine the risks and what is being done to protect children. Here is part one, which examines the concerns of the Sephora kid trend.