Drunk Elephant Kids: How a Millennial Skincare Brand Went Viral with Gen Alpha

Recently one of Rose’s friends went to Sephora with her mom to buy Drunk Elephant moisturiser, which only fuelled the obsession. “This friend has super-sensitive skin and gets rashes on her face,” Natasha says. “She put it on the rash, and it never came back. Her mom’s like, ‘It cost me $69 (£54), but it’s the first cream that’s helped her face.’”

Both Natasha’s and Morgan’s daughters are not allowed on TikTok or Instagram. However, they both go on YouTube, which has become harder to regulate since the launch of its TikTok competitor, YouTube Shorts.

“I tried to ban adult YouTube, but I am certain she finds it on YouTube Shorts,” Natasha says. “There’s all these influencers that do makeup videos, but for children. It’s not just normal makeup videos. It’s starter makeup and it’s how to do makeup for 10-year-olds, basically.” Some of her daughter’s favourite kid creators include Your.fav.preppy2023, Prepsduo, and Preppybycalls, who use the hashtag #preppyskincare to share their routines featuring brands like Drunk Elephant, Tower28, and Summer Fridays.

It’s also important to acknowledge that despite parents’ best efforts, apps like TikTok and Instagram will always be accessible, a challenge Morgan tries to navigate daily. “There’s older kids in her school with phones and Apple Watches, but there’s also play dates, older siblings, and things like that,” she says. “You may have set restrictions on what your kid can see, but when they’re out of your house, it’s a little bit out of your control.”

According to a December 2023 report from the Pew Research Center, 58% of teens use TikTok daily, while 17% are on the app “almost constantly.” Some of the most followed beauty influencers on the platform include Alix Earle, Meredith Duxbury, and Emira D’Spain, who have all participated in paid Drunk Elephant campaigns. TikTok’s minimum sign-up age is 13 years old, but it’s fair to say there’s a trickle-down effect from influencers that reaches tweens and kids.

The debate around kids using Drunk Elephant has intensified in recent weeks. In December, Tiffany assured customers on Instagram that most of her products are “designed for all skin, including kids and tweens,” which she reiterated in an email to Glamour US.

“I designed Drunk Elephant for all skin, including that of my own children, and the majority of our skin, hair, and body products are appropriate for and compatible with skin of all ages,” Tiffany writes. “This is backed by clinical data. Based on the number of questions we’ve received on this topic, we created an Instagram post with recommendations of what is safe for prepubescent skin 13 and under.”