If your teen or tween daughter, niece, or family friend had a holiday wish list that included snail mucin serum, you’re not alone. At an age when most of us remember wishing for Bonne Bell Lip Smackers stocking stuffers, many young consumers hoped that sheet masks, retinol creams, and even mini refrigerators to house skincare products would be under the tree.As evidenced by the frequent coverage of late from the likes of Vogue Business to NPR to CNN, the teen and tween skincare obsession has captured our collective attention, with most of us looking on with a mix of amusement and dismay. Twelve-year-olds with hyper-involved beauty regimens, already?Say hello to beauty’s newest consumer, Generation Alpha. Though the oldest members are only 13 (and the youngest have yet to be born), beauty marketers and brand founders are already hot on the chase for Alpha’s minds and hearts—and of course their (and, ergo, their parent’s) wallets. But who exactly is Gen Alpha? And why do they matter, at least yet? According to Australian trend research house and Gen Alpha experts McCrindle, by 2025 Alphas will be the largest generation in history at over 2 billion. The first cohort to be fully born in the 21st century, it is estimated that their direct spending (or influence) will reach $1 trillion, and that by the time the oldest enter adulthood in 2029, their direct spending power will be more than $1.7 trillion globally. The small-but-influential segment of Gen Alphas who have adopted surprisingly sophisticated beauty routines that eclipse even those of their millennial mothers are fascinating, to be sure. But it begs the question: Why? And at what cost?