The teen and tween beauty market has always straddled the fence between attracting new users to the category with the hope of forming life-long habits, and providing age-appropriate products. Parents continue to battle the KGOY (kids growing older younger) phenomenon, but young girls are facing intense pressure from both the media (and sometimes Mother Nature) to adopt adult behaviors before they’re ready. In the retail word the phrase “Christmas creep” refers to stores displaying holiday merchandise earlier each year (now it’s common to see Christmas decorations set up next to the Halloween items). In this same fashion it appears that the beauty industry has waged a type of “tween creep” where girls as young as 7 or 8 are considered fair game for tween products.

The teen and tween beauty market has always straddled the fence between attracting new users to the category with the hope of forming life-long habits, and providing age-appropriate products. Parents continue to battle the KGOY (kids growing older younger) phenomenon, but young girls are facing intense pressure from both the media (and sometimes Mother Nature) to adopt adult behaviors before they’re ready. In the retail word the phrase “Christmas creep” refers to stores displaying holiday merchandise earlier each year (now it’s common to see Christmas decorations set up next to the Halloween items). In this same fashion it appears that the beauty industry has waged a type of “tween creep” where girls as young as 7 or 8 are considered fair game for tween products.

For brands looking to initiate long-term relationships with these young users they must create product lines that grow with these girls as they mature or they’ll be abandoned as “too childish” which is a death sentence for cosmetics hoping to see the light of the high school hallways. Mintel examines the factors surrounding the teen and tween beauty market by focusing on the following topics:

Types of makeup worn and the frequency used by girls aged 9-17, as well as reasons for not wearing cosmetics

Exploration of the continuing green movement, as well as the role that social networking and peer pressure play in promoting brands partially aimed at teen and adult audiences

The impact of family and friends and how they influence purchasing patterns

Preferred makeup brands and favorite teen/tween retailers