WAYNESVILLE, N.C. — The water is prepared and products are lined up. Prescott Perry, 10, is ready for her daily skincare routine.

What You Need To Know

  • Data published from Statista shows that the baby and child skincare market is expected to grow by more than 7% each year until 2028
  • UCLA Health points to active ingredients like retinol should only be used by people with mature skin and warns that those ingredients can do damage to younger users
  • Prescott Perry, 10, worked with a local Waynesville business to create a skincare line specifically made for kids’ faces

“It makes your face feel really soft, and then once it soaks in, it feels really clean,” Perry said.

Her interest in skincare products grew with those of her friends as they began learning more about their options. 

“We'd be talking with my school friends and when we had sleepovers, I would bring all my skincare over to their house or they would bring their skincare to my house,” she said. “We'd all be like ‘Oh my gosh, you have that thing! I have that thing!'”

Perry is one of many children across the country influenced by the youth skincare trend that has grown on social media. As Perry saw her peers trying out products, she had one big question.

“Thinking about it, I realized that there was adult skincare and then there was baby wash and baby moisturizer, like Johnson & Johnson baby lotion and stuff like that,” Perry said. “But, I was like … where do kids fit into all this?”

Data published from Statista shows that the baby and child skincare market is expected to grow by more than 7% each year until 2028.

“I was like … I want to find something!” Perry said. “The adult skincare I was using, face wash with retinol and stuff in it that definitely weren’t the best things I could be using.”

Prescott adds that navigating ingredients in all these products can be difficult.

UCLA Health points to active ingredients like retinol should only be used by people with mature skin and warns those ingredients can do damage to younger users.

That’s why Perry got to work — to give herself and other kids her age more local options.

“I have this feeling that I'm definitely not the only kid out there that's been using all this stuff that wasn't healthy for your face,” Perry said. “So I was like, if I'm not the only one, then why don't we help other people?”

Perry worked with Waypoint Owner Kelly Allred to create a skincare routine that was made specifically for kids’ skin.

“Finding things that have more natural preservatives and things like that,” Allred said. “Products that don't have retinol, per se, or things that you would find in adult skincare.”

“I want to show kids that there's stuff out there that will actually work for you, and help you feel clean so you don't have to use adult stuff,” Perry said.

Soon enough, the Just Kind skincare line was formed at the Waynesville shop.

“I wanted to help spread kindness to others while also showing people that the best way to spread kindness to other people is to start by being kind to yourself,” Perry said.

In addition to the skincare products, Perry wanted to include cards to encourage others to be kind, including some ways to do so.

“We've seen a huge increase in sales just from the start of Instagram,” Allred said. “A lot of turnaround, even just students from her school, teachers from her school, things like that!”

As Perry attended her first market selling cleansers, toners and moisturizers, the duo continued to recognize a local demand for this niche product line.

Perry’s family added that they’ve seen this trend impact her self-care habits at an early age, and they believe these habits will follow her, alongside other Generation Alpha members, throughout their lifetimes.