Dove and Drew Barrymore tackle anti-ageing skincare pressures

The '#TheFaceof10' campaign, created by Ogilvy UK, raises awareness of the societal pressure for young girls to adopt unnecessary anti-ageing skincare regimens

By creative salon

08 March 2024

The Dove campaign by Ogilvy UK has partnered with Drew Barrymore, along with creators, dermatologists, and self- esteem experts to help parents and caregivers navigate anti-ageing conversations with young girls.

'#TheFaceof10' is a new global campaign that tackles young girls being exposed to adult skincare content. The exposure creates societal pressure for them to adopt unnecessary anti-ageing skincare regimens before they’ve even grown up. The anti-ageing skincare trend can foster premature appearance anxiety in young girls, which can negatively impact their self-esteem – now and in the future. Nearly one in two young girls (10-17 years- old) expect to worry more about their appearance as they age, and one in three young girls are expected to have cosmetic work or plastic surgery to alter their appearance as they age.

Dove’s #TheFaceof10 campaign unites powerful TikTok voices (academic experts, dermatologists, creators, body confidence advocates and more), including mother, actress and talk show host, Drew Barrymore, aim to draw awareness of the issue through creative content featuring decorated faces depicting #TheFaceofTen, and what it should be covered with – glitter, stickers, and face paint – not retinol and other anti-ageing skincare ingredients and products. #TheFaceof10 campaign will run across paid social, creator content on TikTok and across the UK, Europe and the US on DOOH (including London's new Tottenham Court Road Outernet site).

“As a mom to two young girls, it makes me think differently about skin care for younger girls” said Barrymore. “I’ve spent almost my whole life in a make-up chair, and as a little girl, I loved to play and express myself with things like glitter and stickers – and I would wear make up for expressing myself. However, now there is a huge skin care movement directed at all ages, and some of the products on trend happen to be anti-ageing. Not only can that be damaging to young skin, I feel like the message should always be pro age, and age appropriate. I’m so proud to be partnering with Dove to help boost girls’ awareness and self-esteem!”

Drew Barrymore on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drewbarrymore/video/7342585985760447790?lang=en

Young girls are excited by the anti-aging skincare trends and lengthy routines they see in their feeds – but without guidance on what is age-appropriate for young skin, they could continue to misuse anti-ageing products before they’ve even grown up. Dove believes a 10-year old’s face should be a canvas for care-free fun, not anti-ageing products.

“When did 10-year-olds start worrying about wrinkles and getting older? It is time to speak up to highlight the absurdity and protect their self-esteem,” added Firdaous El Honsali, Global Vice President, Dove. “At Dove, we believe beauty should be a source of happiness, not anxiety. For two decades, we have taken action to build confidence and self-esteem for millions of girls. Today, our girls are anti-ageing before they’ve even started to grow up and need us more than ever.”

“If young girls feel pressure to use skincare products containing highly active anti-ageing ingredients, it could be damaging to their body confidence and self-esteem in the long term, not to mention their skin health. Today, girls are exposed to adult skincare content online and pressures to look a certain way at a very young age, to the extent that they’re adding products designed for adults to their wish lists and skincare regimens, without understanding the possible consequences for their physical and mental health. All of this contributes to a toxic culture of unrealistic beauty standards and pressures.” explained Professor Phillippa Diedrichs, leading body image expert.

To further help support and encourage parents to have these important conversations with their kids, Dove, alongside Dr. Phillippa Diedrichs and body image expert certified dermatologist Dr. Marisa Garshick have created: ‘The Gen A Anti-Ageing Talk’ a free resource on the Dove TikTok page with guidance on how to talk to young people about anti-ageing pressures and beauty anxiety. ‘The Gen A Anti-Ageing Talk’ is pinned to Dove’s TikTok channel for all parents and caregivers. Together, let’s celebrate kids at 10 and allow them to enjoy life without the pressure of adult beauty concerns. Only together can we protect young girls’ self-esteem from adult beauty anxiety. Let’s change beauty. #TheFaceof10

Dove Research Researchers spoke with more than 33,000 respondents: 19,306 respondents aged between 18 to 64 years old (14,673 women, 3,776 men*) and 14,292 respondents aged 10 to 17 years old (9,475 girls, 4,753 boys). 15 experts ranging from academic experts to consultants on body image and activists in the field were consulted on the research questions and outputs, and we ensured the survey was representative of various subgroups e.g. people with larger bodies, disabilities, mental health conditions, LGBTQ+ people and people of colour. All interviews were conducted in local languages and dialects, with only appropriate questions asked in each market and the methodology was consistent with the level of national online penetration required to avoid sampling bias. *Note: Other gender identities and non-binary respondents were surveyed but are not reported due to the limited sample sizes.