From Dolls to Dermis

Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition

A study of childhood influences formed the basis of ‘From Dolls to Dermis’.

The project was presented by Aoibhe McCrudden and Sarah Millar from St Bricin’s College.

Aoibhe explained: “Our project looks at the shift from childhood toys to early beauty routines.”

Sarah continued: “We came up with this idea as we started to notice that more and more kids, even as young as eight or nine, were using beauty products such as make-up, skincare and perfume. Also, on social media there were videos like Sephora Kids or young influencers promoting retinol or anti-ageing creams.

“The conclusion was definitely girls are more affected by this problem, but influence wasn’t really the full reason. A lot of it was a way to fit in or find common ground with people. It was very age dependent as well. We actually found that eight and nine year olds were more likely to be influenced than say 10 to 13 year olds. Then it rose again at 14-15, which was the most influenced of all ages.”

Aoibhe aspires to be a dermatologist and both students thanked their teacher Daryl Dunne.