SAM FARMER

Samuel Farmer & Co Ltd, United Kingdom

Charles Dickens couldn’t have known that adolescence would become a such a large and important area of academic study, even though it was obvious he saw it as a pivotal time in our development as individuals when writing novels such as ‘David Copperfield’, ‘Oliver’ and ‘Hard Times’.

The word ‘Adolescence’ as we know it today, wasn’t really used until the 1900’s but this vital phase of our life, between childhood and adulthood, has since been defined by The World Health Organisation as, any person between the ages of ten and nineteen [1]. Referring to this age group as ‘teenagers’ didn’t really happen until the mid 1950’s, reaching common parlance in the 1960’s. Adolescents attract attention, well over two thousand years ago Socrates had been attributed as stating that “The children now love luxury, they contradict their parents, they have…contempt for authority”. In 2024, teenagers are the same as they ever were, nothing’s changed.

Recently, the marketing strategies some brands employ to capture young adult’s attention has transformed this segment of the cosmetics industry. Conversely there are important issues and considerations associated when selling our products to this vulnerable and dynamic group of consumers. The issues are nuanced and complex. Marketing departments have largely approached this consumer segment with a broad brush and traditionally reinforced sexual stereotypes, moved cynically from trend to trend, continue to promote unrealistic beauty and lifestyle standards and now we are seeing an increase in the use of illegal claims.

Understanding teenager’s is where Professor Sarah-Jane Blakemore’s Book ‘Inventing ourselves – The secret life of the teenage Brain’ [2] shares some insights. Professor Blakemore highlights the neurological and psychological transformations that occur during this period, these changes are crucial for forming a sense of self (how we want to be perceived and how we want others to perceive us) and in which cosmetic products play an important role. The research also looks at how capable we are at making informed decisions during these momentous years. Crucially, the study found differences in brain activity between adolescents and adults when reflecting on personal intentions, suggesting different cognitive strategies and mental approaches to ‘self-thinking’ between these age groups. Adults are marketing to teenagers even though these age groups are not thinking in the same way. What we say, how we say it, alongside the images we use to engage with young adults matters. It can and does have consequences.

As young adults start to experience body odour, spots and greasy hair due to the physiological effects of puberty (for girls around eleven to twelve and boys a little later from twelve to thirteen) the personal care industry has an opportunity to develop a trusted, enabling and meaningful relationship with adolescents. Teenagers are looking to our industry for advice, solutions and help, probably for the first time in their lives. It's clear from the research that, developmentally, what we believe and desire as a thirteen year old is different at fifteen, let alone eighteen but this isn’t being addressed in the way we communicate with young people. The relevance of this becomes all too acute when looking at the current marketing tactics used to sell adolescent cosmetic products. The insidious ‘clean’ beauty movement alongside the duplicitous ‘natural and organic’, no nasties, non toxic claims and the classic ‘not tested on animals’ used to falsely demonise other brands and appeal to young people has cleverly instilled an environment of mistrust. This has created a bizzare situation, of our own making, in which brands make their money from the same industry they are trying to destroy. Brands continue to invent new terms to increase sales based on fear and ignorance. It’s self-destructive and contradictory, leading to misguided and sensationlised media like Phyllis Ellis’s ‘Toxic Beauty’.

In an attempt to appeal to young adults we are now seeing a rather cynical move to claim the ‘sustainable’ space, not just from cosmetic brands but also from commercially driven ‘certification’ businesses. Alongside this there is an increase in ‘medicinal’ claims, such as curing acne, With the ASA and Trading Standards struggling to gain control of this type of aggressive marketing, it appears we are heading for another self-inflicted wound.

Who is responsible? A business, by its very nature, is a non-sentient thing, it doesn’t care about anything other than numbers, nothing. It’s always, always about the money. How can we influence change when fear and fairy tales, driven by cynicism, greed and ignorance, is winning the teenage cosmetic marketing sales race. Treating the consumer with contempt, especially when your consumers are young people, has always seemed to me an odd choice for a business model but it’s the default marketing position for many in adolescent personal care. It currently earns the money and wins the battle for attention.

Social media channels such as TikTok, Instagram and snapchat all have a minimum age of thirteen yet the reality is that children as young as seven are being used to sell cosmetic products. For all the benefits of social media, it would be negligent to avoid talking about the grim statistics being reported by children’s charities and Government bodies surrounding the epidemic of mental health issues amongst adolescents. These platforms, especially when it comes to our industry, have been shown to help manipulate the user. From spreading misinformation around subjects such as cosmetic ingredients, product safety and health to promoting illegal claims, dubious ‘beauty hacks’ and mis-using of products for attention. As an industry we are not able to control what consumers choose to do with our products but the recent TikTok trend of children using expensive brands aimed at adults and applying inappropriate ingredients, went mainly unchallenged by the brands concerned. The so called ‘Sephora Kids’ trend. A lack of education and information provided by both brands and retailers was perhaps down to the amount of money being generated and it’s always, always about the money.

The use of certain influencers to sell products has also impacted the repuation and trust of our industry. While influencer marketing is a powerful tool for brands, it raises numerous ethical concerns and has various negative implications for the mental health and wellbeing of young consumers. Lisbet Berg’s research "Young consumers in the digital era: The selfie effect”[3] highlights how teenagers spend money on beauty products due to being heavily influenced by the trends and products they see on social media. Teenagers are particularly vulnerable as this spending behaviour is often beyond their financial means and the cosmetics industry, through its presence on these platforms and their mass participation in using the ‘influencer’ marketing tactic, could be argued to exploit rather than support teenagers. Add to this the increased use of consumer ‘reviews’, which are a grey area to say the least, they have been corrupted for many years now as the use of false and manipulated reviews to convert sales are commonplace in all areas of business [4] and our industry is no different.

As we now know, adolescence is a time of major physical and mental change as teenagers develop their identity and self-image. Their appearance becomes a means of communication and expression during this important time, so the cosmetic industry has recognised teenagers as an important consumer demographic, referred to as "powerful" consumers. Our products are kept in the most private rooms of our home and used on the most intimate parts of our body, therefore the relationship we have with these products, especially at a vulnerable age, is important and should not be treated with such a lack of care or responsibility. As Peter Wanless CEO of the NSPCC has said, "Young people face intense pressures…bombarded by society’s unhealthy obsession with appearance…”

The industry is at a crossroads in the adolescent personal care market. Recent studies have highlighted the complex relationship between the cosmetics industry, social media and teenagers [5][6]. While there are benefits, such as access to cosmetic education both in relation to products and application, there are also significant concerns about how these influences affect teenagers' spending habits, self-esteem and perception of our industry. [7] Adolescence is identified as a vulnerable period for the development of depression [8] and the promotion of beauty products and trends through social media and influencers can lead teenagers to make uninformed or pressured choices.

On a more positive note, what other industry has an opportunity to engage and help young people and then continue this relationship with them for the rest of their lives? They look to us for help and advice, as well as provide products that can help see them through one of the most complicated and challenging periods of their life. If we could better understand and address the vulnerabilities and complex motivations of adolescents in their relationship with hygiene and personal care, then using responsible marketing, we could support and educate instead of relentlessly following the current ‘self-sabotaging’ marketing tactics.

There is a responsibility of brands to promote healthy and realistic standards as well as inform and enlighten when it comes to the products we formulate. Let’s focus on research-driven product development, ethical marketing practices and educational initiatives. This approach can empower teenagers with knowledge and promote a healthier relationship with cosmetic products, because while adolescents are aware of advertising, they often lack the critical skills to fully understand its persuasive nature [9].

Let’s stop telling young adults who they should be and how they should behave? It’s time for a meaningful and important change, while we still have the chance.