Is your 10-step skincare routine actually good for your skin — or good for your feed?

The global skincare market crossed $122 billion in 2025, and some of that growth is getting harder to defend on health grounds alone. In 2024 the "Sephora kids" story went viral for a real reason — nine- and ten-year-olds were photographed stocking up on $70 retinol serums and vitamin-C acids meant for adult skin, and dermatologists (backed by an actual peer-reviewed harms study) started publicly warning about real irritation and barrier damage in young skin. Meanwhile a backlash trend called "skinimalism" — three products, done — has been trending for over a year, with dermatologists calling it the smarter approach all along.

The debate isn't really about whether skincare "works" — most of these ingredients are legitimately backed by dermatology research. It's about what's actually driving the routine: are people layering serums because a dermatologist would recommend it for their specific skin, or because "get ready with me" videos and $40 serum unboxings have turned a bathroom counter into a status display? Is the modern skincare aisle selling skin health, or selling the aesthetic of self-care?

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Multi-step routines exist because skin isn't one-size-fits-all — a retinol at night, a vitamin C in the morning, and SPF year-round are each backed by real clinical research, and layering them correctly is standard dermatological advice, not a marketing trick. The "10 steps" number gets mocked, but most of those steps take 30 seconds each. A dermatologist-guided routine is protective, not harmful — the real problem isn't multi-step skincare, it's kids copying adult routines with zero guidance. See how dermatologists are actually responding to the "Sephora kids" trend.

The explosion in routine length tracks suspiciously well with the explosion in skincare creators who get paid per product they feature — dermatologists didn't start recommending 8-step routines around the same time "shelfie" culture did by coincidence. The clearest evidence this is a status game, not a health one, is that it's trickled down to nine-year-olds — the "Sephora kids" phenomenon got bad enough to trigger real warnings from doctors and a peer-reviewed study. That's not self-care. That's marketing that found an audience too young to know better.

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