Shay Mitchell has addressed the negative response to her recently launched skincare line for children.
Earlier this month, the Pretty Little Liars alum and Esther Song announced the launch of their brand Rini, which sells hydrating face and eye masks for kids. However, people were quick to insult the brand, claiming that young children should not be subjected to societal beauty standards and do not need to use skincare products.
Speaking Wednesday on the Today show with host Jenna Bush Hager and guest host Olivia Munn, Mitchell admitted she was “a little surprised” by the response.
“I think anything that involves kids, there should be a conversation around it,” she said. “I have a lot of questions as I'm sure you both do when anything involves our kids — with what they eat and what they put on their skin. So I didn't think this would be anything different.
“But this came from my experience being a mom, having two girls myself and seeing that there wasn't anything out there I felt safe enough putting on their skin when they wanted to share in on this moment that I do,” she continued, mentioning her children, Atlas, six, and Rome, three, whom she shares with partner Matte Babel.
Bush Hager then asked Mitchell about those who claimed children should not need to focus on their appearance at such a young age, to which the BÉIS founder responded by explaining that skincare starts at birth.
“We moisturize, we soothe, we comfort their skin as newborns. This is the same thing, it's just in a different format that's just more fun, and I feel, very age-appropriate,” she said.
“I think this is coming down to it not being a beauty thing,” she added. “Kids don't look at masks and think about fixing, they think about it being a cooling sensation and a shared moment.”
The brand’s next product release will be cleansing wipes for children, which stems from Mitchell’s children coming back from birthday parties covered in face paint and adhesive rhinestones.
Mitchell’s latest business endeavor comes amid the ongoing “Sephora kids” trend, where tweens and young teens rush to the makeup store to get the latest adult beauty products trending on social media.
Usually, beauty brands fight for the attention of Gen Alpha — people born between 2010 and 2024. But children as young as seven are sharing their own skincare routines on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. In fact, skincare routines are one of the biggest trends on TikTok, where there are more than 20 million “get ready with me” tutorials under the hashtag “grwm.”
