Shay Mitchell’s New Kids Skincare Line Draws Criticism From Parents
Do three-year-olds need self-care?
Shay Mitchell, the Pretty Little Liars star and BÉIS founder, has been met with criticism after the actress unveiled a new skincare line for kids. Parents commented online against the idea of little ones being taught to use face masks and the concept of “self-care” at such a young age.
In a video announcing the new line, which is called Rini, Mitchell said the idea was inspired by her daughter seeing her wearing a face mask and asking for her own. Mitchell is the mother of daughters Atlas, 6, and Rome, 3, whom she shares with partner Matte Babel.
"And I tried to find her a sheet mask online," she said. But what she found "shouldn't be used for kids at all."
She added that "the same was true for makeup," referring to potentially harmful ingredients.
"I'm looking at all the things now that we eliminated from Rini products, and it kind of makes us look at our own like, oh," Mitchell said.
Rini pledges to use only mineral-based mica and plans to offer products including a healing ointment, a foaming body wash, and a daily barrier cream.
Despite the claims of being a trusted product, none of this seemed to impress parents.
“It’s not too late to delete this post,” one user wrote.
Another said, “Everything about this is wrong but also WHY is this AGAIN only focused on little girls?? Why can’t we teach boys to take care of themselves?? Oh maybe because they might grow into self aware adults who take care of them & each other….”
One parent wrote, “So yet again we are subjecting little girls (didn’t see a boy on the picture) to adult behaviors. Got it!”
One pointed out, “What does a literal child need self-care for!? And the formulas do nothing so you literally let pay parents pay for a product that does nothing. And the signal it sends to young girls is, that they shouldn't age and look like they're never getting older than 8 years. This is so so wrong and so harming for young girls.”
"This makes me so sad!" a commenter wrote on one of Mitchell's Instagram posts. "Let our kids be kids please!"
Someone else wrote that "we all know this disproportionately will be targeted at little girls who already deal with so much harm."
While Mitchell wrote in a teaser post that her line would be "gentle" and used images of children, Rini was slammed as "disappointing," "dystopian," and "a terrible beauty precedent to start for children."
And while the messaging behind this new product is definitely horrifying, is the actual mask harmful as well? Do kids need this at all?
One facial plastic surgeon and father of three says absolutely not.
“As a facial plastic surgeon and the father of three daughters living in the thick of this ‘glass skin’ mania, I can tell you the answer is a firm no,” Masoud Saman, MD, FACS, tells Scary Mommy.
“Healthy kids do not need a menu of products. Sunscreen and an occasional gentle cleanser are more than enough. When parents ask me about the newest trends, I always remind them that the best skin is the one left mostly to itself, not layered with products inspired by the latest influencer,” Saman added.
Dr. Saman says this kind of product is damaging to kids who are experimenting with skin care.
“I see the fallout in my clinic every week. Kids as young as 8 are arriving with rashes or stinging faces after trying out creams or acids they saw hyped on YouTube,” he explains.
“Even more worrying is how self-critical kids have become. They pick apart what they see in the mirror and start talking about ‘texture’ as if it's a medical emergency. The real damage is not just on the skin but on a child’s sense of self. The pressure to chase some manufactured ideal is making our children feel not good enough. As both a doctor and a parent, I find that heartbreaking. We are feeding children adult-like insecurities that fuel the multi-billion-dollar beauty industry. Aesthetic improvement should be to become more aligned with who you are, rather than pursuing some impossible perfect look,” he added.
What about the claims that these kids' face masks are trusted and safe? Well, sure, Vitamin E may be deemed safe, but making these kinds of masks and beauty practices the norm for young kids can have damaging effects.
“Vitamin E is generally safe, but the issue is not just that one ingredient,” Dr. Saman continues.
“I see so many parents relieved to hear ‘it’s just vitamins’ and then surprised when their child reacts badly. A weekly pampering mask, carefully chosen, is unlikely to do harm, but making it a daily ritual just trains kids that their faces need ongoing fixing. In my office, cases of irritation and contact dermatitis are growing, and the culprit is usually an overused or unnecessary product, not the Vitamin E itself. Kids simply do not need facial masks as part of their regular lives.”
