When Shay Mitchell announced the launch of rini, her new skincare line for kids, the outrage was loud. Mitchell’s line, which is composed of kid-sized sheet masks boasting animal face prints, was marketed with imagery of very young kids (who, let’s be clear, don’t need fancy skincare). Some even called the brand marketing, which features children using animal-themed face masks, “dystopian”. And in my opinion? The criticism is valid, but (hot take incoming!) perhaps a touch overblown and misdirected.
When I came across the rini launch announcement, I wasn’t at all surprised by the concept Mitchell (along with her partner Matte Babel and friend Esther Song) had created. I’m a journalist who has covered the “Sephora kids” trend and explored Gen Alpha’s obsession with skincare. I’m also a parent of a little girl who ultimately just wants to do everything she sees her mom doing. She isn’t a “Sephora kid” and has no real interest in skincare (convincing both my kids to cleanse their faces and apply sunscreen is a real challenge!). But does she love having her nails painted and swatching lipstick on her hand every time we pass a beauty counter? Yes, absolutely. Here are my honest thoughts on rini.
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Kids mimic the adults in their lives
Kids like to feel older, to dabble in the things they see the adults in their lives using. That’s nothing new (see: The enduring popularity of play cash registers, fake makeup sets for toddlers, and even toy cleaning supplies).
There’s a lot of criticism about exposing kids to beauty and skincare products, and so much of it is completely valid. There’s the overconsumption piece (though, frankly, the overconsumption of skincare and beauty products is a real problem among adults too, IMO). No child needs a $90 serum, yet many tweens are requesting or even buying those products. There’s also the risk of skin irritation, especially when kids slather on multiple products that aren’t specifically formulated for delicate young skin.
Why are kids so interested in skincare products?
And then there’s the piece of it that’s harder to pin down. The piece that forces us to dig deeper and ask why young kids, especially young girls, are so interested in skincare products. Is it truly the fun branding and the experience of it all, and the sense of maturity kids are chasing? Or is it about a pursuit of some unattainable beauty standard that starts affecting kids before they’ve finished elementary school?
These are the pieces we need to be talking about in deeper, more nuanced ways. And while Mitchell’s line is proof that overconsumption and a desire to skip over childhood are real issues affecting our kids, it’s not the root of the problem. What we need to remember as parents is this: There will always be brands like rini creating products that appeal to our kids, that feed the capitalist machine, and feel downright precocious. We can’t stop the creation and distribution of those things.
What we can control when it comes to our kids
But more than that, we can’t filter out all the other stuff that leads to the demand for these products. We can’t undo the societal beauty standards, or the trendiness of “adult” concepts (like skincare) among children, or end our cultural overconsumption habit, or stop other people’s children from buying products like these and talking about them at school. But what we can do is make the rules in our homes, draw the boundaries we see fit for our own kids, and (perhaps most challenging of all) watch the way we talk to ourselves in front of our kids so they’ll absorb the idea that they don’t “need” these products to be beautiful.
Honest thoughts on Shay Mitchell’s kids’ skincare line
As for the products themselves, here’s my unpopular opinion: They don’t seem nearly as dangerous as people are making them out to be, though I would absolutely advise checking in with a dermatologist before using them. In my non-expert opinion, though, I don’t think a gentle face mask that was developed with guidance from a pediatric chemist and marketed around the experience of self-care rather than the aesthetic results of said products is the most dangerous product out there for kids. I’d much rather my kid use these masks than, say, a serum formulated for adults with harsh active ingredients.
“I don’t think a gentle face mask that was developed with guidance from a pediatric chemist and marketed around the experience of self-care rather than the aesthetic results…is the most dangerous product out there for kids.”
Obviously, kids don’t need either the serums or the face masks, but they also don’t need iPads, an excess of toys, belt bags, brand-label shoes, or sprawling Barbie collections (no judgement here! We own a Barbie Dream House and more than a few pairs of overpriced kids’ shoes; I’m not immune to the call of overconsumption myself). Let’s not pretend that Mitchell’s new endeavor is the first or even most egregious example of overconsumption for children.
Skincare for kids and tweens was a thing for us, too
Let’s also not pretend that this is so completely unlike some of the products we grew up with: LipSmackers and Bath and Body Works body sprays, for example. If you’re a millennial woman, the scents of Dr. Pepper chapstick and cucumber melon spray probably take you right back to your own childhood. We did the very same thing our own kids are doing: We chased the feeling of being older, we gravitated towards the fun packaging, we collected the little things we didn’t actually need. We just did it in an era in which every little thing didn’t feel so loaded, so ripe for public criticism, and so impossible to escape.
Rini feels pretty low-risk to try if kids are curious
Speaking of eras, some critics are pointing out that at this particular moment in time, when families are struggling to put food on the table, this launch feels especially out of touch. That’s absolutely a fair criticism. Like I said, I don’t think the outrage over this launch is all wrong.
With that being said, rini’s face masks sell for just under $6, which is accessible in comparison to so many of the skincare products kids are lusting over right now. Like the products millennials grew up with, rini’s sheet masks meet skincare-curious kids where they are. Maybe that’s part of how we steer them away from the products that were never meant for them.
“rini’s sheet masks meet skincare-curious kids where they are. Maybe that’s part of how we steer them away from the products that were never meant for them.”
The marketing feels a little bit too young
Of course, there is such a thing as too young, even for kid-specific products. The marketing for rini feels more geared towards little kids rather than skincare-loving tweens. And yeah, that feels off: Toddlers certainly don’t need skincare. Rini probably would have been better off marketed towards tweens. Especially those who want to experience skincare and build a little self-care routine, but can’t try some of the products other tweens are loving from Sephora due to price point or formulation concerns.
I think these products feel more accessible and experiential than so many others on the market. Kids will get a real kick out of the fun packaging, the animal faces, and the “spa night” experience of it all, applying a face mask and kicking back with a book, maybe even sipping a cup of caffeine-free tea. Ultimately, I think that’s pretty harmless, especially if we as parents clearly drive home the narrative that these products are for fun, not for them to use in order to look a certain way.
I get the backlash. I think it touches on some important issues—but they’re issues that didn’t originate with Mitchell’s kids’ skincare launch.
Zara Hanawalt, Contributing Writer
Zara is a twin mom and freelance journalist with over a decade of experience covering parenting, women’s health, and culture. In addition to The Everymom, she’s written for outlets like Vogue, Marie Claire, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Parents, Shape, Motherly, The New York Times for Kids, What to Expect, and many others. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, cooking, travel, watching TV, and trying new restaurants.
