Professor Caitriona Ryan on Children and Skincare: "This Is the Most Insidious Type of Marketing"

Professor Caitriona Ryan, Consultant Dermatologist and co-founder of the Institute of Dermatologists, appeared on The Claire Byrne Show on Newstalk to discuss a significant investigation published by The Guardian into the rise of children's skincare content on social media.

What the Guardian investigation found

The Guardian's investigation examined over 7,000 TikTok videos and identified hundreds featuring children believed to be under 13, some as young as two years old, performing multi-step skincare routines and actively promoting branded products to their audiences. In several cases, children were found to have received products directly from brands, raising serious questions about undisclosed commercial relationships and the exploitation of young influencers.

As Guardian consumer affairs correspondent Sarah Marsh, who led the investigation, noted, there are currently no equivalent protections for child influencers comparable to those that exist for child actors or models, despite the scale of this type of content online.

Professor Ryan's clinical view

From a dermatological perspective, Professor Ryan was direct. Children's skin is functioning at its biological best. It is well-hydrated, rich in collagen, and requires no intervention. The only product young skin genuinely needs is sun protection, and that is rarely what these videos promote.

The products being used in these videos are formulated for adult skin and contain active ingredients, including retinoids and exfoliants, that have no place in a child's routine. Professor Ryan highlighted the real risk of contact dermatitis, as well as premature breakouts caused by the occlusive effect of products that are entirely unsuitable for young skin.

The wider concern

Professor Ryan also addressed the broader implications of this trend. Children are at their most socially impressionable during these years, and peer-led content, delivered by faces that look and sound like their audience, is uniquely powerful in a way that traditional advertising never was.

When appearance becomes a focal point at such a formative stage, the long-term impact on mental health and self-image is a serious consideration, one that Professor Ryan feels warrants regulatory attention. She pointed to Italy as an example of a country already investigating brands involved in commercial relationships with child influencers.

Listen Back to The Interview:

https://www.newstalk.com/news/skincare-2-2255365 

Read the Guardian investigation

The full Guardian investigation is available here: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2026/apr/22/toddler-skincare-children-videos-tiktok