Why Gen Z teens do ‘baby’ Botox, sleep in anti-wrinkle tape and cover car windows to dodge UV

The oldest members of Gen Z are just 25 — but they’re all-in on anti-aging.

Teens and girls in their early 20s are slathering themselves in serums, using anti-wrinkle tape, and getting “baby Botox” — all in the internet-fueled pursuit of eternal youth.

It’s a testament to just how toxic social media can be, especially for young girls.

Don’t believe me? Check out Gen Z’s natural home of TikTok, where the hashtag #antiaging has 7.9 billion total views, #botox has 10.2 billion, and #wrinkles has 2.4 billion.

Perhaps the most disturbing example on offer is a 14-year-old influencer’s anti-aging routine — which she says she’s been refining since the age of twelve.

It’s complete with SPF 50 sunscreen, apple cider vinegar pills, harsh retinol creams, and even taping pink construction paper to the car window when she goes on long roadtrips to avoid too much sun exposure on her skin.

Mind you, that’s the backseat window because, even though she’s already doing an elaborate anti-aging regimen, she can’t yet drive.

None of this is to make fun of this teen, who clearly is a product of internet culture that values beauty over everything else.

Social media seduces girls into the pursuit of likes, constantly comparing themselves with peers. Is it any wonder teens want a competitive jump start on the preventative anti-aging hype?

That teen isn’t alone — more and more Zoomers are pouring serious time and money into preserving their youth.

Makeup brands marketed to young women, like Glossier and Elf, have branched out into expensive Vitamin C serums and retinol creams, which are popular for their anti-aging qualities.

Zoomers are falling asleep with anti-wrinkle tape plastered all over their face where they believe lines are forming.

And teens and young women are getting “baby botox” — small doses of the muscle relaxant which freeze your muscles to prevent you from moving your face in a way that would cause wrinkles to form, at the expense of normal facial expressions — not because they actually have wrinkles yet, simply because they’re willing to shell out up to $1,000 per appointment to preemptively prevent them.

But most experts agree starting too early isn’t a good idea.

Countless doctors have taken to TikTok to advise against fighting aging too early — like Dr. Chris Tomassian who says that retinol for anti-aging should be started in your late 20s at the earliest, and Dr. Mundeep Shah who says to wait on Botox until your mid 20s to mid 30s at the earliest.

“Where does it end?” Dr. Amanda Hanson asked of girls already doing anti-aging procedures in their 20s. “I can’t even imagine where you’ll be, honestly, when you’re 30 and 40 and beyond.”

She’s right. These girls are going to be trapped in a perpetual battle against time and nature. But it’s no wonder, considering that Gen Z are digital natives.

Many have been curating their social media personas since their tween years, trapped in a constant battle for likes and popularity.

As tweens, they were emulating young adult influencers — copying their makeup looks from video tutorials and their outfits from Instagram posts. As they grew up, they were in a battle to look older.

But now that those same influencers they idolized are entering adulthood and sharing their anti-aging skincare routines, those same Zoomers who look up to them are doing a complete 180 and are now desperately attempting to look younger.

Add in TikTok’s creepy aging filter, which gives girls who use it an “eerily accurate” view of their wrinkly future selves, and you’ve got teens desperately fighting to stop the clock.

The girls covering themselves in tape and poking themselves with needles are the same girls who once woke up an hour early for middle school to cake their face like makeup gurus on YouTube, irritated their lips with plumping glosses to look like Kylie Jenner, and starved themselves to achieve the “thigh gap” glorified on Tumblr.

They’re victims of the digital age: slaves to self-comparison, constantly discovering new insecurities online, and folding in on themselves.

As a consequence of being overly online, Gen Z is losing out on the carefreeness of youth. There’s no better proof than a teen girl touting her anti-aging routine.