Early incorporation of body capital in adolescent beauty culture: A qualitative study of the ‘Sephora Kids’ phenomenon

Objective Adolescence is a developmental stage in which identity formation, bodily self-awareness, and social evaluation intensify, increasingly within digital and consumer environments. In recent years, growing attention has been directed toward the so-called “Sephora Kids” phenomenon, referring to children and early adolescents who engage in advanced skincare routines, use premium cosmetic products, and emulate adult beauty influencers through social media platforms. Despite its visibility in media discourse, empirical research on this phenomenon remains limited. This study explores how adolescents themselves understand skincare practices, beauty consumption, and age-related boundaries associated with the “Sephora Kids” phenomenon. Methods The analysis is based on 30 in-depth interviews conducted with adolescents aged 13–16 in Poland. A qualitative research design and reflexive thematic analysis were employed to capture participants’ everyday routines, sources of beauty knowledge, peer and parental influences, and perceptions of health risks and age appropriateness. Results The findings show that beauty practices are highly normalized in adolescents’ daily lives and are often organized as structured routines resembling adult cosmetic regimens. Social media platforms, particularly TikTok and Instagram, function as environments of informal learning, where algorithmically curated content and influencer practices shape both knowledge and expectations. Participants demonstrate considerable consumer literacy, including brand awareness and price sensitivity, while simultaneously expressing ambivalent attitudes toward younger children’s use of advanced skincare products. Parental mediation emerges as a significant factor, ranging from shared beauty practices to restrictive gatekeeping. Adolescents also articulate reflexive awareness of age-inappropriateness and potential health risks, often drawing on quasi-expert discourses circulating in digital and peer environments. Significance By foregrounding young people’s perspectives, this study contributes to sociological debates on digital consumer culture, algorithmic socialisation, and the embodiment of aesthetic practices. The findings suggest that engagement in beauty routines can be understood as an early stage in the incorporation of body-related resources, interpreted here as emerging forms of body capital. In dialogue with existing research on aesthetic and cultural capital, the study demonstrates that such processes are not only socially distributed but also developmentally internalised through routine practices shaped by platform environments.