SALES of beauty products for children rose last year in South Korea, industry data showed today, as a growing number of girls start wearing make-up at an early age, reported the Yonhap news agency.

The data, provided by SK Planet Co, the operator of local e-commerce platform 11st, showed that sales of such products on its website rose 29% on-year last year.

The company declined to provide actual sales figures.

It said the sales of lipstick for children, for instance, skyrocketed 549% during the cited period.

The company said the sales of cosmetics for children on the online platform had been on the rise in recent years, recording on-year growth of 94% and 251% in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

“The popularity of cosmetics, which have long been regarded as being just for women, is expanding to include men and even children now,” said an SK Planet official.

A study posted on the website for the Korea Citation Index showed that 42.4% of elementary school students wore make-up, and 43.4% of respondents said they first started wearing make-up in fifth grade.

The survey involved 288 girls in fourth, fifth and sixth grades at elementary schools in Seoul, Incheon and the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan, and was carried out from November 14, 2016, to December 9 of the same year.

The government is mulling whether to monitor children’s cosmetics by adding a separate category to mandate that manufacturers label ingredients, including those that may cause allergies.

“There have been different views on whether we should make a separate category for children,” said a government official.

“We are currently gathering more opinions on the matter.” – Bernama, January 5, 2018.