"The Skincare Aisle Aimed at Kids: I Checked What They Actually Buy"

8 September 2026

For two years, the coverage of children and skincare has centred on one brand: Drunk Elephant, and nine-year-olds with $50 serums at Sephora. We checked what tweens actually buy. A 2024 consumer survey puts CeraVe first, bought at Walmart, with Drunk Elephant used by about one girl in ten. The worry is real, but it is aimed at a shelf most of them have already left.

What we checked

We picked four: the one tweens use, the one built for them, the one they want, and the one everyone argues about. Nothing here was sponsored.

What the label said

CeraVe. Three ceramides, hyaluronic acid and, in this product, no fragrance [1]. It had 4.6 stars from 16,741 ratings at Walmart when we checked.

Bubble Slam Dunk. 25 ingredients. No retinol, no acids, no niacinamide, no fragrance [2]. Where some competitors list around 70 ingredients, none of these 25 is trying to be clever. The box says "clinically proven" and claims an instant 85% improvement in moisturisation. The footnotes, on the same page, say that test had 34 people. The "eight times" hydration figure had 29. The 94% who said their skin felt moisturised came from a survey of 50 users, not a measurement. Small studies — but Bubble printed every footnote.

rhode Glazing Milk. No retinol, no acids, no vitamin C. Ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and a Seal of Acceptance from the National Eczema Association [3].

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Fresh. 15% vitamin C, fragrance-free, a sensible pH, with the brand's own study printed alongside [4]. The retailer lists what it is for: fine lines, loss of firmness, photoageing.

What the evidence shows

What tweens actually use. Among tween skincare in the 2024 survey, CeraVe ranks first, then Neutrogena, Cetaphil and Aveeno — drugstore brands, bought at Walmart rather than Sephora [5]. In June 2026, an analysis of three million posts by Nectar Social, reported by WWD, found that among 13- to 17-year-olds the brand with the strongest pull was rhode, at 97 out of 100 for teen affinity. Drunk Elephant did not make the list [6].

The cost per millilitre. We expected rhode to be the rip-off. The arithmetic says otherwise. Per millilitre, the large rhode bottle costs about 26 cents; the Bubble moisturiser, made for teenagers, about 32 cents; CeraVe about four cents. Drunk Elephant's C-Firma Fresh costs about $2.82 per millilitre — roughly 73 times the CeraVe. These products are in different categories, so treat the comparison as indicative, not definitive. The real cost of rhode is that it sells a four-step routine, and this bottle is step two.

A product sold for problems a child does not have. Fine lines, loss of firmness and photoageing are the effects of decades of sun. An 11-year-old has not got them yet. The Drunk Elephant serum is not failing; it is being sold to someone whose skin has nothing for it to fix, and nothing between the social feed and the till checks who is buying.

A brand arguing against its own sales. Bubble says it clinically tested the products it recommends for eight- to 13-year-olds, and tells customers not to use its stronger products on faces under 14 [2]. It also went on TikTok and told its younger buyers to skip its exfoliating range; Fortune reported the post drew more than 40,000 likes [7].

What the dermatologists say. Dermatologist Shereene Idriss says a 12-year-old needs a cleanser, moisturiser and sunscreen — and nothing marketed as anti-ageing [8]. Dr Saedi has said that Drunk Elephant's vitamin C, toner and retinol are unnecessary for preteens [9]. But Blair Murphy-Rose pushes back on a blanket ban: plenty of tweens have acne or eczema, and refusing all active ingredients fails those children. In her view the risk is overuse, not the ingredient [8]. Young skin already makes plenty of collagen. It cannot be improved, only overdone.

What the law did. In California, a bill that would have required age checks on anti-ageing products sold to minors died in committee in February 2026. An earlier attempt failed in 2024 [10]. Two attempts in two years, and nothing on the books.

The verdict

Three buys and one caution. CeraVe, because it works and it is what tweens already use. Bubble, for 25 plain ingredients, for printing its footnotes and for telling its own customers to buy less. rhode's Glazing Milk, on its own rather than as a routine, because it is cheaper per millilitre than the product made for teenagers. Drunk Elephant is not the villain of this story — it is a good product sold to the wrong skin. The aisle is the problem.

For a tween who wants the whole shelf, the answer is three products and a conversation, not a ban.

Worth knowing

• A simple routine — cleanser, moisturiser, sunscreen — is the starting point most of the dermatologists we read describe.
• If your child has acne, eczema or another skin condition, talk to a GP or dermatologist; some active ingredients may genuinely help.
• Words like "fine lines", "firmness" and "photoageing" on a label are a quick sign the product is not meant for young skin.
• Prices and stock change. rhode was out of stock when we checked.

Watch the video

The video walks through the survey, the price-per-millilitre ladder and the dermatologists' advice: The Skincare Aisle Aimed at Kids: I Checked What They Actually Buy.

Sources

1. Walmart, CeraVe product listing and ratings, checked 7 September 2026
2. Bubble, Slam Dunk product page, footnotes and FAQ, checked 7 September 2026; founder interview
3. rhode, Glazing Milk product page and ingredient list, checked 7 September 2026
4. Drunk Elephant, C-Firma Fresh retailer listing, checked 7 September 2026
5. Consumer survey of tween skincare use, 2024
6. WWD, reporting Nectar Social's analysis of teen brand affinity, June 2026
7. Fortune, on Bubble's TikTok post advising younger customers against its exfoliants
8. HuffPost, dermatologists Shereene Idriss and Blair Murphy-Rose on tween skincare
9. Axios, Dr Saedi on tween skincare
10. California Legislative Information (leginfo), AB 728 (2026) and AB 2491 (2024)

Every claim above is sourced in the text. Prices are what we paid, on the date shown. We buy what we test; nothing is gifted, and nothing is sponsored.