It’s no secret that Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s skincare routines are vastly different than those of their predecessors. Next gens’ skincare routines are so complex that they have many a millennial fondly remembering their bad-skin days of Noxzema cream and Stridex pads topped with a high salicylic acid content “moisturizer.”

To say that the idea of making pimples a “fun and joyful experience” resonates with next gens is an understatement. It’s hard to spend an hour at a high school or college campus without crossing paths with someone wearing pimple patches, creating a circus-like atmosphere of self-expression through skincare-infused adornments. There are now more than 500 million videos talking about the “best pimple patch” on TikTok.

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However, next gens have no nostalgia for the millennials’ scorched earth approach to skincare––dry it out and then top it off with acid. In fact, when it comes to older generations’ skincare routines, next gens have only scorn. Rather than align with their predecessors’ legacy skincare routines, next gens are doing their own research online to find ingredients that work––leading to an influx of ingredients/value-focused brands like The Ordinary and Jessica Alba’s Honest Company.

This ingredients obsession is also leading next gens into the dangerous territory of at-home medical-grade skincare. While youths risk their health and beauty on DIY skin treatments they are, paradoxically, publicly embracing age-specific skincare concerns like acne in new ways.  Let’s look at what this means for future beauty spend.

Skincare-Obsessed Yet “Aging Like Milk”

Someone needs to tell teens that medical-grade skin care products like retinol have long been relegated to adult use for a reason: If used improperly, certain ingredients in these products can create issues or even exacerbate the aging process. Retinol, for instance, makes skin more susceptible to sun-induced aging when not paired with a strong sunscreen. Few next gens realize this caveat of retinol use in skincare. But the same thing is true with alpha hydroxy acid, beta hydroxy acid, and kojic acid, and the sunscreen oversight is one of the “alarming” reasons that Gen Z is “aging like milk.”

Gen Z’s affinity for medical-grade skincare contrasts with how they embrace unvarnished real beauty on social media, showcasing acne, scarring, and other skincare concerns. It also contrasts with the latest skincare trend of Starface pimple patches, which are being traded in cafeterias and dorm rooms like prisoners peddle cigarettes.

Starface Pimple Patches

Did it ever occur to you to make pimples a more “fun and joyful experience”? Me neither. But that’s the aim of Starface pimple patches, which is now a $90 million a year business. Starface isn’t just a brand, it’s a subculture, urging youths to proudly adorn their faces with hydrocolloid-infused star patches, rather than hide out and pile on concealer like millennials did at that age.

To say that the idea of making pimples a “fun and joyful experience” resonates with next gens is an understatement. It’s hard to spend an hour at a high school or college campus without crossing paths with someone wearing these patches, creating a circus-like atmosphere of self-expression through skincare-infused adornments. There are now more than 500 million videos talking about the “best pimple patch” on TikTok, while 60 million videos mention “Starface pimple patch” by name.

Starface pimple patches shifted the paradigm around acne from one of shame to one of reverie. Now, if only next gens had the same paradigm shift around the first signs of aging.

Shifting Gender Paradigms Play a Role

When it comes to beauty, next gens focus on joy and fun, rather than responsibility or using beauty products as a prerequisite for societal acceptance. It’s common to see Gen Z wear bright, architectural eyeliner with otherwise bare skin, for instance; and one size, look, or product doesn’t fit all. This is partially due to next gens’ focus on individuation, but it’s also due to their evolving concept of gender and orientation.

Gallup reports that each younger generation is twice as likely as the generation that came before it to identify as LGBTQ+. More than one in five Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ+, as do around one in 10 millennials, less than five percent of Generation X, two percent of Boomers, and one percent of the Silent Generation. LGBTQ+ individuals historically challenge gender norms.

So, as the percentage of LGBTQ+ folks grows, so does the percentage of people subverting traditional gender norms––norms like women applying a full face of makeup before leaving the house, feeling shame about naturally occurring body hair and acne, and following these norms as a prerequisite for social acceptance. Next gens aren’t wearing makeup because they feel like they have to; they’re wearing it because they want to––viewing cosmetic use through this lens is paramount to the ability of beauty brands and retailers to offer next gens the products they actually want.

Beauty as Individuation

Beauty is more about personal expression than ever, for some next gens. Ulta’s recent Beauty Report says these days, next gens concretely define what beauty means to them around age 11: “While Gen Z females started experimenting with beauty products and services around age 13, Gen Alpha is eclipsing them by five years — starting at the average age of 8 for females and males.”

The blonde and buxom beauty template which few women fit is falling by the wayside almost as quickly as new apps talking about The Golden Ratio, or perfect face shape down to the millimeter, rise on social media. There’s a distinct bifurcation of next gens getting surgeries and attempting dangerous at-home treatments in an attempt to become the most beautiful of them all, and those foregoing the traditional, gender-based beauty game altogether.

“Skinfluencers” on TikTok peddle wares to both parties––lip-plumping glosses for the Kardashian-inclined alongside pimple adornments and black lip gloss for the rebels. Brands and retailers in the skincare/beauty need to decide what percentage of their inventory to devote to each party, or if they want to forego dated beauty concepts altogether. Cultural conceptions of beauty aren’t evergreen and neither are the products that cater to them. But one thing hasn’t changed: Stocking the right inventory starts with understanding the vagaries of your customer base’s purchasing mentality.