Did you hear that too? This outcry from society? Even the ARD Tagesthemen (the main German news show) reported on it! Children are now storming retail beauty departments and it’s super dangerous! I recently tripped over one of these little rascals. We both went down, but Lisa-Marie was caught softly by her diaper. No harm done!
When I tried to help her up again, Lisa-Marie seized the opportunity and pointed her freshly manicured finger purposefully at the retinol cream on the top shelf. Could I hand it to her? She was still complaining that the products were very child-unfriendly on the shelf when her pacifier fell out of the corner of her mouth. No big deal, because when Lisa-Marie held her long-awaited new day care in her hands, her eyes sparkled again and the potty was placed with great tenderness in the shopping cart right next to the anti-cellulite lotion. I felt almost as good as if I had helped an old lady across the street. I know you’re going to say, how could you! I thought so myself afterwards – after all, Lisa-Marie was certainly not yet nine years old and therefore far too young for a retinol cream.
Does skincare need an age restriction?
Worse still, the little girl is probably already on her way to her video lab and is currently recording a Tik-Tok video with it. If this goes viral, it’s all my fault. Kids with pigmentation problems, kids with inflamed skin and whatnot – it’s all my fault! But on the other hand, what is the little girl supposed to do? What young woman isn’t shocked when she looks in the mirror in the morning and discovers her first wrinkles? Why should it be any different for Lisa-Marie? And what if nobody wants to play with you at nursery anymore because you can see the orange peel skin under your diaper? Some people are already calling for an age restriction on the sale of certain cosmetic products to pre-teens. Better still, an age limit for kids’ access to the beauty departments. Just like the erotic corners used to be. No more birthday parties in the stores, where people splash each other with hydroxy acid serums like we used to throw gummy bears at each other. Sounds like more bureaucracy, but it works with alcohol and cigarettes too… at least to a certain extent. Someone has to take responsibility, because many parents don’t seem to take what their kids do very seriously any more. However, we should also be consistent and introduce age restrictions in fast food outlets. The kids hanging around there aren’t all 16+ either and often provide a good explanation for why the body positivity trend is so hyped.