Spoiled Child is an anti-aging skincare brand that claims to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help consumers determine what products are right for them. The brand claims that “Age Is An Old Idea,” and describes their products as “intelligent hair and skin products that refuse to take aging seriously.”
But are Spoiled Child products actually more effective than the average skincare brand, or are they just great at marketing? Do Spoiled Child products contain ingredients proven in clinical studies to have an anti-aging effect? Can AI really improve skincare outcomes? And how do real users describe the effects and benefits of Spoiled Child skincare products?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we review every ingredient in two of Spoiled Child’s most popular products based on medical research to give our take on whether they’re likely to have an anti-aging effect. We’ll review Spoiled Child collagen and the brand’s anti-aging serum called Night Rewind Serum.
We’ll also share our thoughts about whether AI for skincare recommendations is a marketing gimmick, and highlight real, unsponsored user reviews of Spoiled Child products.
Spoiled Child Collagen Review
Spoiled Child’s most popular product category is their collagen supplements.
Collagen is arguably the most well-studied supplement for improving skin quality and reducing wrinkles. A medical review published in the Dermatology Practical & Conceptual journal analyzed data from 12 clinical trials and concluded that collagen reduces wrinkles and roughness in skin, and that “Both oral and topical collagen can contribute to reducing or delaying skin aging.”
Spoiled Child’s liquid collagen is both more expensive per-serving than the brand’s powdered collagen product and contains questionable additive ingredients. Sucralose is an artificial sweetener in Spoiled Child’s liquid collagen that’s been shown in a clinical trial to have negative effects on insulin function in healthy adults.
Spoiled Child’s powdered collagen product, called S25 Extra Strength Collagen Peptides, contains a clean formulation free of any questionable additive ingredients. The only ingredients are collagen peptides, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid.
The collagen peptides dose is effective at 10 grams (g). We haven’t come across any medical research suggesting that supplemental vitamin C at as low a dose as 45 milligrams (mg) improves skin quality. Vitamin C is easily obtainable from diet at this level.
Hyaluronic acid is clinically proven to have an anti-aging effect, but may be underdosed in Spoiled Child’s collagen at only 40 mg. As we documented in our Vital Proteins review article, the effective dose of oral hyaluronic acid for anti-aging appears to be over 100 mg.
The collagen supplement we recommend is Bulletproof Collagen Powder. It’s sourced entirely from grass-fed animals while Spoiled Child does not specify whether their collagen is sourced from conventionally-raised animals.
Both products should be similarly effective for anti-aging, and are free of questionable additives, but Bulletproof’s collagen is significantly cheaper.
The cost per gram of Bulletproof collagen is $0.09, while the cost per gram of Spoiled Child collagen is $0.18, making Spoiled Child collagen twice as expensive.
Interested consumers can check out Bulletproof Collagen at this link to the product page on the brand’s website.
Below is a real, unsponsored user review of Spoiled Child’s liquid collagen from TikTok creator Raissa Silva. She explains whether or not the supplement has improved her skin and hair:
@her.highness.raissa Day 20 update using @spoiledchild’s liquid collagen!! #liquidgold #liquidcollagen #spoiledchild #beautytips #fyp #beautyseries ♬ original sound - Raissa Silva
Spoiled Child Skincare Review
Spoiled Child also sells topical skincare creams. The ingredients list above is from one of the brand’s most popular anti-aging creams called Night Rewind Serum.
This cream does contain a number of research-backed ingredients.
Retinol is a type of vitamin A that’s been shown in a meta-study published in the Advances in Dermatology and Allergology journal to have anti-wrinkle and skin-hydrating effects. This is one of the most well-studied anti-aging ingredients.
Bakuchiol is another effective ingredient, and we documented in our review of CeraVe retinol serum that this ingredient is clinically proven to have anti-aging effects.
Sodium hyaluronate is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid, which was described as a “skin rejuvenating biomedicine” in a 2018 medical review, due to its “remarkable anti-wrinkle..anti-aging, space-filling, and face rejuvenating properties.” Sodium hyaluronate has a lower molecular weight and can penetrate deeper into skin than hyaluronic acid.
Salix alba bark extract has an active chemical compound called salicin which is clinically proven to reduce visible signs of skin aging.
This serum does contain one ingredient we recommend avoiding.
Phenoxyethanol is a synthetic preservative shown to be toxic to human cells in a 2020 clinical trial.
Overall we consider Spoiled Child Night Rewind Serum to be a very well-formulated product from an efficacy perspective. We do believe it’s likely to reduce visible signs of skin aging, but we don’t recommend the product overall due to the inclusion of phenoxyethanol.
Some cosmetic formulations require preservatives to maintain the integrity of the ingredients, but in our opinion it’s illogical to use serums with questionable synthetic preservatives when there are skincare products on the market with effective ingredients and no preservatives.
The anti-aging serum we recommend is Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum because of its clean and effective formulation. It contains hyaluronic acid which we already determined to be effective, as well as vitamin C which has been shown in a clinical trial to be effective for treating aging skin when applied topically.
Most importantly, this serum is entirely free of questionable additives like preservatives or fragrance. Interested consumers can check out Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum at this link to the product page on the brand’s website.
Real, Unsponsored Spoiled Child Skincare Review
One of the most popular YouTube reviews of Spoiled Child skincare comes from a creator named Lavinia Rusanda. She shares her experience using Spoiled Child skincare products on skin with acne after one month, highlights some of the ingredients and explains if the product benefitted her:
Are AI Skincare Recommendations Legit?
Part of Spoiled Child’s marketing is their claim that their AI software, called SpoiledBrain, can help users find the perfect skincare products for them.
In our opinion, this is more of a marketing claim than a research-backed claim. We don’t understand the benefit of or need for AI skincare recommendations, because there are already well-established, effective ingredients for different skincare outcomes.
For example, a consumer seeking an anti-aging skincare product should use a brand that contains research-backed anti-aging ingredients like hyaluronic acid.
A consumer seeking a skincare product to treat a specific medical condition like rosacea can see a dermatologist and get prescribed a treatment that’s clinically proven to treat rosacea.
How does AI provide any benefit beyond choosing products with effective formulations for the desired skincare outcome? We can’t think of one.
In the future, AI may be able to help brands create personalized formulations for consumers based on their genetics and epigenetics, but AI just recommending off-the-shelf products does not provide any value to consumers in our opinion.
Do Spoiled Child’s Hair Products Work?
Spoiled Child also sells hair supplements and personal care products. One of the only unsponsored user reviews of Spoiled Child hair products comes from a YouTube creator named Nicole Hopkins.
She does an unboxing of Spoiled Child Hair Mask, uses the product and shares her thoughts on whether it’s worth it or not:
