The Backlash Over Shay Mitchell’s ‘Dystopian’ Skin Care Masks for Kids, Explained

Shay Mitchell is facing backlash for her latest business venture Rini, a skin care line developed for children. On November 6, the Béis mogul and Pretty Little Liars star launched a new line of sheet masks for tiny faces, including two jelly masks for hydration and after-sun care, as well as “everyday” masks that come in three animal faces.

“We created Rini because we wanted products that are gentle, trustworthy, and inspire creativity, elevated by Korean innovation,” Mitchell wrote in a brand mission statement alongside cofounders Esther Song and Matte Babel, Mitchell’s long-term partner. “Rini is where skin care meets play, a world where kids can dream, transform, and explore with dermatologist-tested products parents trust. Our mission is simple: to nurture healthy habits, spark confidence, and make thoughtfully crafted daily care essentials and play products accessible to every family.”

When Mitchell first teased the products on Instagram with a glossy editorial photo of a little girl using a pink jelly mask, the response was loud—and overwhelmingly negative. “I struggle to find the right words to articulate how disappointing and dystopian this is 💔,” commented Sarah Adams (@mom.uncharted), an anti-child exploitation activist prominent on social media. Another wrote, “This is paving the way to future adults with serious body image problems. Not good.”

But what, exactly, is all the outrage about and what else do you need to know? Here’s the TL;DR.

Give me the TL;DR.

Shay Mitchell is facing backlash for launching a new skin care line designed for children. The brand is called Rini, a colloquial term for “children” in Korean.

Wait, I need more. What’s the background here?

Last year saw the boom of “Sephora Kids”—a.k.a. children obsessed with skin care brands like Drunk Elephant, Summer Fridays, and Laneige. Some parents had concerns over their kids using skin care made for adults, specifically products containing actives that could potentially irritate young skin.

Mitchell is not the first to launch a skin care brand marketed towards children: brands like TBH Kids, Rile, and Evereden have created products to help meet newfound demand in a safe and responsible way.

For Rini, Mitchell was inspired by her own daughters. “My girls would always see me with [masks on], especially when getting prepared for any makeup to follow,” she told Elle of the inspiration behind the brand. “They would just come into the bathroom and look at me in the mirror and be like, ‘Can I use that? What’s that?’ I’ll even pass them some deodorant—with a lid on, of course—just so they feel like they can be a part of my routine. I also want them to know that skin care, for me, is about creating healthy habits and about having that self-care time—that’s important.”

According to a Rini press release, the formulas were developed in “collaboration with leading pediatric chemists and laboratories in South Korea,” adding that “Rini offers dermatologist-tested products designed to inspire curiosity and confidence while supporting healthy habits from an early age.”

What age is recommended for Rini?

On the website’s general FAQ page, Rini teases future “bath essentials” that are “generally recommended for ages 2 and up.”