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Gizmodo
09-06-2025
- Health
- Gizmodo
Study Links TikTok Skincare Routines to Lifelong Skin Allergies and Other Risks
A search for the hashtag 'skincare' on TikTok turns up more than 35 million videos, but most follow the same formula. 'Get ready with me,' a beauty influencer coos before walking viewers through their routine, which often involves several steps and a slew of products. These videos are wildly popular, but new research suggests they may do more harm than good. In the first study of the risks and benefits of social media skincare routines—published today in the journal Pediatrics—Northwestern University researchers analyzed the regimens of TikTok creators aged seven to 18. The findings revealed that these girls use an average of six different products on their faces, and some use more than a dozen. The typical routine costs roughly $168 per month and includes 11 different active ingredients, which are chemicals designed to address a specific skin concern such as acne or aging. The creators of these videos are chasing flawless skin, and they want to help you find it too. But the reality is that layering this many active ingredients at once increases the risk of developing skin irritation, Sun sensitivity, and a skin allergy known as contact dermatitis, according to the researchers. Previous studies have shown that developing this allergy can limit the kinds of soaps, shampoos, and cosmetics you can use for the rest of your life. 'That high risk of irritation came from both using multiple active ingredients at the same time, such as hydroxy acids, as well as applying the same active ingredient unknowingly over and over again when that active ingredient was found in three, four, five different products,' said lead author Molly Hales, a postdoctoral research fellow and dermatologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, according to a university statement. For this study, Hales and a colleague each created a new TikTok account and reported themselves to be 13 years old. They gathered a sample of 100 unique skincare videos, then documented the demographics of the creators; the number and types of products used; and the total cost of each regimen. All but one of the 82 creators were girls with clear, light, blemish-free skin, according to the study. The researchers then created a list of each product's active and inactive ingredients and identified which were most likely to cause contact dermatitis. The 100 videos featured 260 distinct products. Among the 25 top-viewed videos, 76% contained at least one potential contact allergen—typically fragrance. But the most common ingredients were chemical exfoliants called alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs). The top videos contained three AHAs per regimen on average, with some featuring up to seven of these exfoliants. The most popular active ingredient, citric acid, was found in 29% of all products. AHAs can cause skin irritation and increase Sun sensitivity, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Because of this, it's important to use these ingredients in moderation and follow them with SPF to prevent sunburn and reduce the risk of developing skin cancer. Despite this, only 26% of videos about daytime skincare routines included sunscreen. 'The overall low rate of sunscreen use in the videos represents a significant missed opportunity, particularly for the youngest creators and users who do not yet need acne treatments, antiaging ingredients, or even topical emollients but would benefit from diligent sun protection,' the authors state. In one video, a 10-year-old with red hair and fair, freckled skin—which are markers of melanoma risk—applied eight different products, none of which contained SPF. Gizmodo reached out to TikTok for comment, but the company did not respond by the time of publication. A TikTok spokesperson told The Guardian, 'this type of content is common across all media, and the authors admit they did not assess its impact on teen wellbeing. However, they did find actual benefits to teen self-expression, parent-teen bonding, and building a supportive community on TikTok.' Still, the researchers concluded that these videos 'offer little to no benefit for the pediatric populations they are targeting.' The regimens are overly complicated, time consuming, expensive, and increase children's exposure to irritation, allergy, and sun damage, they say. What's more, the proliferation of skincare content has increased the stigma around acne, eczema, aging, and other skin conditions, Tess McPherson of the British Association of Dermatologists—who was not involved in the study—told The Guardian. 'Younger and younger children are seeking skincare products when they don't need them, they're not helpful,' she said. 'This is a very concerning statement on society and how we view how skin should look.'
Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Times
Noble Panacea: quiet luxury's answer to skincare
We think so much about how to protect our skin that the UK skincare industry is now a £3.5 billion machine. But what are successful beauty brands doing to protect and preserve the potent ingredients within that skincare? Besides housing it in swanky bottles and fancy packaging, it seems not very much. That's where Noble Panacea differs. • This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue Founded in 2019, the luxury skincare label Noble Panacea was created by the late Sir Fraser Stoddart whose lifetime contribution to chemistry was recognised by many prestigious awards, including a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth in 2006, the Albert Einstein World Award of Science in 2007, and becoming a 2016 Nobel laureate in chemistry. To this day it is one of the only skincare brands whose founder has such extensive accolades. After four decades of research and thousands of experiments unlocking molecular secrets, Stoddart and his team found a way to engineer the molecules within skincare to unleash properties of the active ingredients inside. And so the Organic Super Molecular Vessels (OSMV), Noble Panacea's proprietary system, was born. Behind the fancy name, in reality it is a shell built from biodegradable, renewable carbohydrates and fatty acids. These encapsulate the active ingredients within skincare, protecting them from oxidation and environmental degradation, which can have a negative effect on efficiency. While there is no way of seeing these OSMVs (they are 10,000 times smaller than a skin cell to enable them to deliver ingredients deep into the skin), the clever chemistry allows ingredients to be protected at the individual molecular level. This helps them to preserve their integrity for optimal freshness and to prevent any cross-interaction. The science doesn't stop there. The OSMVs can also be programmed to release ingredients in an ordered sequence and to allow a long-term release through a carefully controlled, staggered, multi-layered method based on the ingredient profile and its skin benefits. 'Similar to pharmaceuticals, skincare has a therapeutic window where a continual and precise dosage is the most potent and effective,' the brand says. 'Too high of an ingredient dosage may turn it into a skin irritant, whereas too low may not be effective.' To put this into perspective, most other skincare products are absorbed immediately after application, without taking into account the skin's therapeutic window, and are therefore less efficient. Noble Panacea products are different as the OSMVs let the skincare work over time — programmed to be in keeping with when your skin is the most receptive to its ingredients. This is particularly significant when it comes to nighttime skincare. Named as being one of the most iconic innovations by Noble Panacea, The Overnight Chronobiology Peel is an intensive, leave-on treatment powered by the brand's OSMV technology. The brand claims it can improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, pores and uneven skin tone through a deep exfoliation. It is one of the few chemical peels on the market calibrated to the skin's natural overnight biorhythm. The overnight peel is designed to release a micro-dose of potent active ingredients in stages throughout the course of eight hours, each designed to target a specific cycle of your sleep. During the first stage (for example, 11pm to 4am), which is the time of cellular renewal, a controlled release of complex AHAs and BHAs are released to help remove dead skin cells and exfoliate the skin. In the second stage (when the peel has been applied for over 5 hours), the skin is in its maximum absorption phase, so the product releases a blend of the herb Gotu Kola for a soothing feel. Unlike other chemical peels, there is no need to follow up with a neutralising agent post application, nor is any downtime necessary the next day. Simply use the resurfacing treatment once a week to see the results. While lots of luxury skincare brands shout about the active ingredients inside their top secret formulations, what sets Noble Panacea apart is just how those ingredients are delivered into your skin. 'We do not believe in myths and hype,' the brand says. Instead it relies on highly efficacious, dermatologist and ophthalmologist approved products, which are optimised by its programmed OSMVs and rooted in molecular chemistry. Welcome to the next generation of science-backed skincare. Shop Noble Panacea's The Exceptional Overnight Chronobiological Peel (£280 for 8 doses) at Harrods
