Actress and entrepreneur Shay Mitchell is facing backlash over a new business endeavor.
On November 5, Mitchell took to Instagram to make an announcement, revealing she would be launching a new skincare company.
However, the backlash came when some fans believed it is was a skincare brand specifically geared towards children.
Her post teasing the launch showed an image of a young girl, believed to be her daughter, placing a pink jelly face mask on her face.
In the caption, Mitchell wrote, “Something gentle, something new — launching tomorrow” before tagging @rini, the brand’s official Instagram account.
The rini Instagram account‘s bio simply reads “Consciously Crafted in Korea, Just for Kids!”
The account’s only post is a video of Mitchell and her longtime friend, Esther Song, explaining their reason for starting the brand alongside clips of kids modeling some of the products.
In the video, Mitchell explained that as her own daughter got older, she began asking if she could do a face mask with her. It was that that ultimately led Mitchell to look at the ingredients in the face masks she often used.
She then questioned why there weren’t any face masks on the market with ingredients that are safe for kids and decided to make her own.
While Mitchell’s idea may have started with good intentions of connecting with her daughter and offering her safe products, many fans pointed out in the comments that promoting skincare products for kids could lead to children developing insecurities around chasing flawless skin from a young age.
“I’m deeply disappointed. Why are we projecting beauty standards onto children now?” one Instagram user questioned on Mitchell’s post.
Others in the comments brought up the current economic conditions in the US and pointed out that the frivolous nature of the products makes it seem like a cash grab, saying, “Yikes. Maybe read the room? People are losing healthcare and food benefits…maybe not the best time to sell skin care for toddlers.”
Even fellow skincare brands jumped in on the conversation with the brand account for Orora Skin commenting, “Children do not need this kind of skincare. They need very simple ingredients as they are still growing and developing. Of course I’d like to see the ingredients of this before passing judgements but we all need to protect our kids from this skincare trend which is doing more harm than good to them long term.”
However, some parents in the comments defended the idea, saying that if kids are asking to participate in skincare rituals already, it’s better to have a safe product to give them.
One fan left a comment saying, “Kids often look up to their parents and want to try the things they do. I don’t think it’s a terrible idea as long as it’s kid-friendly ingredients.”
Mitchell’s account and the brand account have not responded to any of the negative comments, but Mitchell has “liked” several of the comments defending the idea for the brand, including the one mentioned above.
