As "Sephora kids" head to summer camp, some camps are telling them to leave their makeup and skin care products at home. A number of adults have taken to social media to complain about the rise in tweens and teens shopping at Sephora and Ulta, and summer camps seem to have confirmed that skin care is trending among tweens and teens.
Zoe Oosting, a camp counselor at the Rockbrook Summer Camp for Girls in western North Carolina, told the New York Times that "all the girls just beg every single day: 'I want to shower. I need to do my hair routine, my skin care.'"
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The Rockbrook Summer Camp for Girls is a summer camp for ages 6 to 16, but the girls in Oosting’s cabin, who have been bringing their luxury skin care products to camp, are 11 to 13 years old, she told the New York Times.
Camp Somerset for Girls in Maine posted about the issue on its website, telling parents to make sure their kids leave their Sephora products at home.
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The camp told parents and campers to "refrain from sending any Sephora (and similar) accessories to camp" because "they are NOT needed for a summer camp experience."
"Camp is not about what you have but who you are with, and part of this obsession with 'skin care' is consuming our kids more and more each day," the summer camp noted, adding that they understand some products might be necessary for girls' health as they grow up. However, they said "there is a limit."
Certain products, such as bug spray and sunscreen, are obviously welcome at camp, the summer camp explained. While the camp could not list every single product that is allowed at camp, there are certain types of products that are definitely not needed at summer camp: "They DO NOT need perfume, a daily six-step skincare routine, or excessive amounts of makeup."
Luxury beauty products can also create a competitive environment among campers. Camp Somerset for Girls noted that campers who have completed sixth grade will be allowed to wear "limited amounts of makeup if it helps them feel comfortable and strong" at some social events. However, the camp hopes to encourage girls to be "comfortable in their skin, literally and figuratively" and "not weighed down by the demands of this trend."
Other camps have also taken measures to limit the number of cosmetics at summer camp, reported Business Insider. In particular, several camps have taken a stance against products like retinol serums and face creams.
Lake Bryn Mawr Camp, Tyler Hill Camp, and Camp Mataponi, are among the summer camps that have banned luxury skin care products. While some summer camps haven't noticed a huge problem with kids bringing cosmetics to camp, market research suggests that the "Sephora kid" is a real phenomenon.
Market research firm Circana found that this past winter, there was a 16% increase in spending on beauty products in households with children and with an income of $100,000 and above. Spending on beauty products only increased by 6% for households with no children, suggesting that Gen Alpha really does love skin care, reported CNN.
