Drunk Elephant is an expensive, famous self-care brand, mostly seen for their skincare on TikTok. It’s easily noticed for its very interesting, colorful packaging, fun names, and use by “preppy” accounts on TikTok. The target audience for the brand is millennials, some with more mature skin. Little did the company know their section would be raided at Sephoras and Ultas by tweens and younger. Products were flying off the shelves; it was hard for stores to keep popular items in stock, such as the D-bronzi drops and Protini polypeptide cream.

Drunk Elephant was founded by Tiffany Masterson in 2012 but gained popularity in January 2023. TikTok creators started using the product for their get ready with me videos, such as Alix Earle, a popular content creator who rose to fame quickly. She was seen using the D-bronzi drops in some of her videos; everyone was obsessed with the beautiful tan glow it gave her. The more videos that came out, the more people wanted these products. But should kids be using it? How will using these fun packaged products affect them in the long run?

Drunk Elephant’s primary consumers weren’t who you expected to be. Tweens and younger dragging their parents to the nearest cosmetic store hoping to score one of the popular TikTok products to be on trend would soon be the core reason for their skin problems.

Garzacrew is a popular content creator with over 4 million followers. The account comprises Mom (Andrea) and her twin daughters (Koti and Haven). With the girls only being 6, you would assume they don’t need skincare because they aren’t teens or adults, but you would be wrong. Haven (6) shared her skincare routine to TikTok, including the D-bronzi and B-goldi drops. Both aren’t just for looks. They contain properties of niacinamide and peptides, each serving a purpose. Niacinamide targets dark Spots, fine lines, wrinkles, pores, dullness, uneven texture, and loss of firmness and elasticity. Peptides target dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles, and dullness. Neither of the two girls has any of these concerns yet. They purposely post these videos to create tension and gain attraction. They have stated some of the products they used at times were for satire purposes, but kids didn’t understand that.

Another famous creator with 3 million followers influencing young minds is Kcstauffer. Their page also consists of Mom (Katie) and her twin daughters (Mila and Emma). Daughter Emma (8) shared her skincare routine in a TikTok video. Her routine followed, similar to Haven’s. Watermelon Glow BHA + PHA Pore-Tight Toner (Glowrecipe), spray toner (Bubble), hyaluronic acid (The ordinary), Day Dream vitamin C +niacinmide tone and texture serum (Bubble), brightening serum (Byoma), B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Gel (Drunk Elephant), Watermelon Glow Pink Juice Moisturizer (Glow Recipe), and D-bronzi drops and B-goldi drops. These products create unsureness; it’s hard to understand why an 8-year-old uses a serum to eliminate wrinkles. Especially the B-Hydra Intensive Hydration Gel, which goes for $50 and aims to attack fine lines and wrinkles, dryness, dullness, and uneven texture.

All these Drunk Elephant products that are supposed to help will ruin their skin before they reach their teen years. Victoria Rose, a licensed esthetician, made a post warning parents of the potential danger of letting use of these highly concentrated items.” The daughter (9) had a really big bubble on her face, and her mom was going to take her to Urgent Care because she was using those products,” Victoria mentions in her post. She was speaking about the Glycolic Night Serum that goes for $134. She continues to explain the consequences of using unnecessary skincare. Using products made for older people will cause young skin cells to speed up, resulting in super dry skin and sensitivity to the sun. This causes Premature aging when the typical effects of growing older happen much earlier. This is when your body looks older than your actual age. The most common signs of premature aging include skin changes like wrinkles, age spots, dryness, loss of skin tone, and hyperpigmentation. This can all happen by using products that aren’t meant for you. Everything it’s made to get rid of will give your children just that. By the time they reach 15, their skin will look 35.

It is disheartening to see how these influencers, driven by their financial gain, capitalize on the vulnerability of impressionable young minds. By projecting an image of perfection and popularity, they create a false narrative in children, making them believe that these products hold the key to their acceptance among their peers. Their parents are oblivious and assume they know what their kids buy, so they don’t bother looking twice. Little do they know they’re the ones who should be using them, not their kids. Ultimately, misusing these products could result in premature aging and compromised skin health for the younger generation.

Therefore, parents must exercise caution and ensure that their children use age-appropriate skincare products that are gentle and suited to their developing skin. So the next time you go out, be aware of the brightly packaged skincare because you can fall for their trap just as quickly.