Stunned Actress Responds to Backlash Over Skincare Line for Toddlers

Do toddlers need sheet masks? That is, in a nutshell, the debate that took over the beauty industry on social media after actress Shay Mitchell launched Rini. After several days on the receiving end of internet ire, Mitchell finally responded on Wednesday, November 19, during an appearance on the Today show, where the Pretty Little Liars star and lifestyle influencer seemed bewildered by the backlash.

For those unacquainted with the brand, which brings new meaning to the term “anti-aging,” here’s what happened. On November 5, a day before the product’s official launch, Shay Mitchell took to Instagram to share news of the entrepreneurial endeavor with her over 35 million followers. According to the Rini website, the products are designed for children ages three and up. Mitchell created the line, described as “truly clean, non-toxic, skincare and play products,” with boyfriend Matte Babel and close friend Esther Song.

Thousands of responses flooded in—and the sentiments were overwhelmingly negative, with many people concerned about the marketing of skincare products to extremely young children. One comment with 17,000 likes read, “I struggle to find the right words to articulate how disappointing and dystopian this is,” another fan wrote, “Seriously??? Teaching young girls from a very sensitive age that they need things to be and feel prettier like they are NOT ENOUGH is disturbing. DO BETTER.” One simply read, “Horrified.”

On November 19, Mitchell appeared on the Today show as a guest to respond to the criticism. Mitchell revealed to hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Olivia Munn that she was “a little surprised” by the response, but said she thought that a conversation is welcome, because “anything that involves kids, there should be a conversation around it.”

The hosts pointed out that some of the products were designed for children three and up. In her response, Mitchell said she felt the products were “very age appropriate,” saying, “We moisturize, we soothe, we comfort their skin as newborns. This is the same thing, it’s just in a different format that’s just more fun.”

On the show, the hosts brought up a comment from a dermatologist, who said the products were “pushing the agenda that kids’ skin needs to be fixed,” and that they were “potentially highlighting imperfections for kids at a really young age.” Mitchell admitted she did not think masks were necessary for children, but that she feels they are “great for added comfort and extra hydration.”

Mitchell, who is a mother of two herself with daughters Atlas, 6, and Rome, 3, told Today that she felt the products are a “positive introduction into a healthy relationship with skin care,” adding that her kids “love the mask.”

The actress also said she would not have created the products if her children were not fans, saying, “I think this only came because of my experience from having my girls and seeing my other friends’ kids who love it, too.”

While the brand has faced considerable backlash for its concept, not everyone hates it. Glamour published a backlash to the backlash with an opinion piece titled “Shay Mitchell’s Kid Skin Care Line Isn’t That Deep. Neither Was Your Childhood Beauty Obsession.”

Then came the backlash to that story (lashception?) when Glamour UK’s former editor-in-chief, Jo Elvin, commented on an Instagram post promoting the article. “Wow,” she wrote. “This is not the same Glamour ethos when I was an editor.”

Elvin went on to write and publish a piece on her Substack, My Goodness! From Jo Elvin, titling it, “Beauty products for toddlers—are we all on glue?” In the blog post, she describes Rini as “the next inevitable descent into a very bleak sector of the beauty industry.”