Curbing the social media obsession with skincare for the very young. A major Swedish pharmacy chain is setting a precedent and has decided to ban the sale of age-appropriate cosmetics to children under the age of 15.
Apotek Hjärtat, as the pharmacy chain is called, has decided to impose an age limit for the sale of certain beauty products in order to prevent the premature use of certain products containing active ingredients that may be harmful to children's skin.
The Swedish pharmaceutical market leader published a statement on 20 March explaining the reasons and guidelines for this measure. It details that anyone who wants to obtain this type of product must be 15 years old, have parental consent or have a skin condition that justifies the use of these products.
The implementation of the age limit has already begun in 390 of the chain's pharmacies and the ingredients and products included in this measure are AHA acids (glycolic, mandelic, lactic and citric), BHA acids (salicylic acid), vitamin A (retinol and retinol derivatives), vitamin C, enzyme peels and mechanical peels.
Monika Magnusson, the company's CEO, has stated that this decision is because "we must take more responsibility and not get involved in promoting unhealthy behaviours and ideals that have arisen in many young people".