Gen Alpha is growing up beautifully!
When we say Gen Alpha is obsessed with skincare, it is an understatement. They are the tweens and early teens, who are navigating through the variety of products available to them at their fingertips. And where do these skincare-obsessed teens get their skincare and makeup? It’s typically at your standard brick-and mortar beauty stores. Being that this age group has spent an impressive $4.7 billion in 2023, they have now been dubbed the “Sephora kids”.
What is a Sephora kid?
It refers to Gen Alpha trying to emulate beauty and makeup routines, typically used by adults. A generation who has grown up with social media, they are learning their skincare routines online. While they are using many of the viral beauty routine and makeup trends as a learning experience, many parents are starting to express concerns regarding the exposure of anti-aging ingredients to kids at such a young age.
So, what are the most promising emerging ingredients that can address Gen Alpha's unique skincare needs?
It is essential to focus on gentle yet effective ingredients, typically targeting moisturization, suncare, and acne which support healthy skin development. These can be ingredients based on plant extracts or biotechnology aimed towards supporting healthy skin without compromising its natural balance.
Gen Alpha is very focused on their appearance, to boost self-confidence. So simple makeup products can also make them feel good about themselves. Lip gloss, mascara, and eye shadows seem to be the most popular with the younger kids, and concealers, bronzers, and then foundation follow as they get a bit older.
What are the most sustainable and ethical sourcing practices for ingredients used in Gen Alpha products?
Gen Alpha is focused on this generation’s growing awareness of environmental and social issues, which makes sustainability and ethical sourcing practices essential to the products they are purchasing and using. Ethical and sustainable ingredients can be obtained in many ways, however, biotechnology is a clear choice. Mibelle Biochemistry has been a pioneer in this segment over the course of 30 years and has developed a variety of different technologies, which fits the need.
How can we ensure Safety and Compliance for beauty and personal care products targeting Gen Alpha?
There are not many Regulatory or Safety testing requirements currently in place targeting Gen Alpha. What we know is that young skin is delicate and more sensitive than adult skin, and some products can cause irritation, dryness and accelerate changes in the skin associated with aging, long term.
When developing BPC products for younger skin, it is important to check country-specific regulations, and should meet safety standards set by these agencies, as they can vary vastly. Always refer to restricted or banned ingredients for cosmetics in general. As an example, the EU has stricter regulations on cosmetics than the USA. However, some states in the USA have started to become more vigilant in their safety requirements.
For example, California is the first state to take into consideration safety concerns for young adults. Bill AB2491 was introduced in early 2024 aiming to protect children from potentially harmful skincare products. It would ban the sale of over-the counter cosmetic products to children under the age of 13, specifically one’s advertising skin aging and/or containing: AHAs (ie glycolic acid, ascorbic acid, citric acid) and Vitamin A or its derivatives (including retinol).
Although this bill ultimately did not pass as it fell short on specifics on regulation, a new iteration of the bill (AB 728) was introduced in February of 2025. This is still currently in review and could be signed into law as early as October this year.
So what is a single ingredient in our portfolio that is my personal favorite, something that is very suitable for use in products targeting Gen Alpha?
As we spoke about, some key factors for younger skin are moisturization and balance, through sustainable practices. One of my personal favorite ingredients is the aloe-moss which is suitable for Gen Alpha.
Aloe-moss extract is sustainably obtained through our MossCellTec™ technology. Thanks to an intensified connexin-mediated cell-to-cell communication, it optimally evens the moisture distribution in the skin. Aloe-moss, which is also known as Aloina aloides, has high water retention capacity and is considered a rare species. Mibelle Biochemistry’s culture technology enables the large-scale and sustainable production of this endangered moss species which conveys the beneficial properties of aloe-moss for the skin. It improves hydration evenness, and can comfort dry skin, which can sometimes be caused by using anti-acne products which tend to strip young skin.
