Can you be too young for a skincare routine?

Social media influencers have made skincare products very popular, but should children be copying their routines?

Words:

• You can call something elaborate if it’s very long, detailed, or complicated.
• When people compromise on a decision, they both give up something to get something.
• A dermatologist is a medical specialist who focuses on the skin, and a paediatric dermatologist is a specialist who researches and treats children’s skin.
• The pigmentation of skin means the colour of skin. When you describe skin as very pigmented, it means it’s dark in colour.
• When people describe how skincare products are formulated, they mean what ingredients are in them and how they are made.
• The term pH is a scientific measurement of how acidic something is.  The pH-level of something influences how our bodies respond to it. 
• Something like a trend, product or behaviour is called pervasive when it’s very widespread or common, to the point where you can’t escape it. 

Watch 00:00 – 01:13 of the video.

1. Peyton’s mother Laura says she knows some ingredients in skincare ‘can do more harm than good’. What does she mean by this?

A. The ingredients are supposed to have positive effects on your skin, but they have even more negative effects on young skin. 

B. Some ingredients in skincare don’t do anything for young skin, even though the products are expensive. 

C. If you don’t choose skincare with high-quality ingredients, you could harm your skin. 

D. If you know which ingredients are in the products you buy, you can choose the most effective ones for young skin. 

2. What does Laura do at the shop Sephora to make sure she buys the right products for Peyton? 

Watch 01:14 – 2:30 of the video.

3. Why does the paediatric dermatologist Dr Cunningham say children shouldn’t products marked as ‘anti-aging’?

A. She says you can’t trust a label, and you should always read the ingredients.

B. She says children should be using products aimed at irritated skin instead.

C. She says ingredients in these products can be irritating to young skin.

D. She says these products should only be used if you have red, flaky skin.

4. One of the current skincare trends is making ‘smoothies’. Fill in the missing words in the sentence about skincare smoothies. Use the list. There are three extra words in the list.

influenced – change – formulated – layered – mixing – absorb – tolerate – decreased

Instead of […] your products together, they should be […]. That’s because these products are […] to be of a certain pH. This means your skin can […] the product well. Skincare smoothies can […] the composition of the product.

Watch 02:30 to the end of the video.

5. One benefit of the skincare trend is that children are learning a good habit. What is this habit, and why is this good for you?

6. Dr. Cunningham mentions two reasons why skincare videos on social media can be a problem. Write down both reasons in your own words.