A 5-Year-Old Girl Who Wants to Wear Makeup... The Pros and Cons of Children's Cosmetics

TV·Online·SNS Influence
Unstoppable Trend
Perception That It's Better Than 'Adult Cosmetics'
"Carefully Check Product Ingredients"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] "My 5-year-old daughter keeps insisting that she wants to wear makeup."

Housewife Yoo Hyemi (pseudonym), who has a young daughter, is worried because her child throws a tantrum every time she sits at the vanity, wanting to apply her mother's pink lipstick. The child is especially insistent on days when her peers at kindergarten come dressed up prettily. Ms. Hyemi said, "I'm worried that the chemical ingredients in color cosmetics might have a harmful effect on my child's skin," adding, "So I plan to take this opportunity to give her a children's makeup box recommended by a close acquaintance as a gift for Children's Day in May."

With Children's Day on May 5 approaching, children's cosmetics are gaining attention as gifts for girls. Although the safety management network for children's cosmetics has become more thorough, users still need to carefully check the ingredients. In particular, toy-like products disguised with familiar characters or overseas direct purchase products promoted by famous brands often fail to comply with mandatory regulations, requiring more meticulous caution.

◆Rapid Increase in Popularity of Children's Cosmetics= According to Naver Data Lab on the 3rd, the search index for the keyword 'children's cosmetics' was 63 as of the 1st, 3.5 times higher than the beginning of the year (18). Although the index has declined since reaching its peak of 100 on the 27th of last month, it remains at a high level. It also spiked briefly to 50 on December 16 and 17 last year, just before the Christmas holidays. The search index is based on search volume ranging from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100 over the past year.

When searching for 'children's cosmetics' on the online shopping mall Gmarket, 6,826 domestic and international products are found as of this date. The main categories include childcare products, cosmetics, and toys. Popular brands related to the search terms include 'Recipe Box,' 'Pink Gongju,' 'Disney,' 'BNC,' 'Futo,' and 'Blue Dog.' The best-selling product on Gmarket is the 'Pinky Princess Beauty Set' from the Pink Gongju brand. Searching the same keyword on 11st yields 2,610 products, and on Coupang, an astonishing 91,267 products are found, including overseas direct purchase items.

The increased interest is largely due to social network services (SNS) like YouTube, TV and online media featuring idol singers, and peer group influence. According to the Korea Cosmetic Association, the domestic infant and toddler cosmetics market grew from 120 billion KRW in 2014 to 200 billion KRW in 2017. Since this trend is unstoppable, parents have started seeking children's cosmetics, believing that adult cosmetics might be worse for children.

◆Not Always Safe Just Because It’s for Children= However, just because a product is advertised as children's cosmetics does not guarantee safety. Under current cosmetics law, children's cosmetics are not separately included in an official management supervision network but are managed at the same level as 'infant cosmetics.' Infant cosmetics target children under 3 years old, while children's cosmetics are for those aged 4 to 13.

Children's cosmetics must have the product name, business operator's name, manufacturing number, expiration date, or period of use after opening displayed on the outer packaging of the primary container. Users can easily check the permissible ingredients and those requiring usage restrictions online. This information is available from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety or the Living Law Information 'Children's Life and Health' section. Selling or importing cosmetics containing prohibited ingredients can result in imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW.

Especially, toy-shaped children's color cosmetics often do not comply with these regulations. Many overseas direct purchase products also lack ingredient labeling. For example, the Disney Princess cosmetics series are Chinese OEM products featuring familiar princess characters such as 'Elsa,' 'Rapunzel,' 'Snow White,' and 'Cinderella.' Many of these omit cosmetic ingredient labels, violating current laws. Since 2017, the Fair Trade Commission has mandated that all ingredients, not just major ones, be labeled when selling children's cosmetics via e-commerce, regardless of domestic or international origin.

◆Strengthening Safety Management in a Growing Market= The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the responsible agency, is also reinforcing the safety management network. In September 2017, it considered adding 'children's products' as a cosmetic category but withdrew the plan after concerns that it might encourage children's makeup culture. Earlier this year, it established 'Safety Guidelines' that regulate advertising media for cosmetics responsible sellers and specify methods for preparing and storing safety data for each product. The guidelines require approval from an authorized responsible person, clarifying liability for violations of the cosmetics law.

A representative from the Daejeon Chungnam Consumer Federation said, "Recently, the 'Adolkids' culture (a portmanteau of Adult and Kids), where children wear makeup and mature clothing like adults, is spreading, but objective information on the safety of these products is insufficient," emphasizing, "It is necessary to strengthen crackdowns on businesses that do not comply with product labeling requirements under the cosmetics law and to enhance monitoring of unregistered manufacturers and sellers distributing products online."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.