A bill in California that aimed to ban the sale of anti-aging skin care products to children under 13 failed to advance in the state Assembly on Thursday after being introduced in a session Appropriations Committee meeting.
AB 2491 was introduced by Assemblymember Alex Lee last month in an attempt to combat the controversial skin care craze influencing children online.
Over the past year, the Internet has been overrun with discourse about “Sephora kids.” Many online posted viral reports of children breaking into stores like Sephora, leaving a mess and even fighting with adult buyers on the latest stock of trendy skin serums and lip oils. Children who still have half of their mouths full of baby teeth have gained a large following on social media by sharing videos of their makeup or skin care routines It is shopping marathons.
Experts have warned that some skincare products popularized on social media can irritate young skin. Seven dermatologists told NBC News in February that for months, preteens have been showing up in droves to their offices with red, dry, bumpy, itchy rashes after using skin products they don’t need.
The bill, approved by the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee last month, would prohibit children under 13 from purchasing over-the-counter anti-aging products containing vitamin A or its derivatives (such as retinoids and retinol) or an alpha-hydroxy. acid (such as glycolic acid, ascorbic acid and citric acid).
“While I am disappointed in today’s outcome, I am committed to protecting children from the unnecessary harm of anti-aging products,” Lee said in a statement to NBC News after the bill failed to pass.
Twenty California state legislators signed and sent a letter to the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC), the national trade association representing 600 companies in the cosmetics and personal care products industry, Lee said.
Lawmakers, Lee said, are “asking the industry to share what concrete actions they plan to take to address the issue of children purchasing anti-aging products.”
“The multi-billion-dollar beauty industry has a responsibility to take meaningful action on this issue,” he added.
On a Press release In April, Lee said that anti-aging products — which often include powerful active ingredients retinol, glycolic acid and ascorbic acid — have become much more accessible in retail stores in recent years.
A PCPC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.
In his most recent declarationThe PCPC urged California lawmakers to vote no on the legislation, describing it as a “hastily crafted attempt to use legislative force to stop a social media trend” that threatened to over-regulate safe skin products like sunscreen , moisturizers and cleaning products.
If the law had been passed, sellers would have had to take one of several “reasonable” steps to enforce this age limit, including placing a prominent notice next to the product, in-store or online, stating that it is not intended for anyone under 13; require the buyer to confirm their age at checkout; and prohibit the use of prepaid credit cards for online purchases.
“We share Assemblymember Lee’s concerns about the social media trend of tweens and teens using anti-aging products, but no matter how well-intentioned, California AB 2491 presented significant compliance issues, requiring cashiers to verify claims of products and the ages of customers at checkout,” a PCPC spokesperson said in an email statement.
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