Evereden is a Gen Alpha skincare brand co-founded by Stanford alum Kimberley Ho and a team of dermatologist mothers (including Dr. Joyce Teng, head of pediatric dermatology at Stanford). The company recently launched at Sephora US with a lineup of products designed specifically for young skin.
But does Evereden's sunscreen contain research-backed ingredients? Are the inactive ingredients safe for young skin? And is Evereden better or worse than other popular skincare brands marketed to children and adolescents like Drunk Elephant?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Evereden's popular mineral sunscreen to give our take on whether or not it's likely to be effective, and whether or not it's healthy.
We'll also compare Evereden to other popular skincare brands for adolescents to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Clean mineral-SPF formulation with no flagged ingredients
- SPF 20 is below the SPF 30+ dermatologist daily-use minimum
- We currently recommend Evereden's sunscreen
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Evereden Kids Protective Mineral Face Cream are shown below:
image source: https://evereden.com/
Zinc oxide is the only active ingredient, included at an 11.5% concentration as non-nano zinc oxide.
It's clinically shown to provide broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection, and it's the only sunscreen filter that the FDA has formally classified as Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective for over-the-counter use.
The mineral approach to sunscreen is generally considered gentler and more appropriate for young or sensitive skin than chemical-active sunscreens like avobenzone or oxybenzone, as we discussed in our Blue Lizard sunscreen review article.
This product is SPF 20, but the brand also sells an SPF 50 version that may be a better option for children frequently in the sun, because it will provide substantially more skin protection.
The inactive ingredients in this formulation should be safe and non-toxic.
This product contains no fragrance, no synthetic dyes, no retinoids, no chemical exfoliating acids, and no chemical sunscreen filters, the five classes of ingredients most often flagged in pediatric and adolescent skincare.
Overall, we consider Evereden's sunscreen likely to be effective for protecting the skin of children and adolescents from the sun, and we currently recommend this product.
Evereden vs. Popular Children's Skincare
Here's how Evereden's sunscreen compares to other popular skincare brands marketed to younger consumers, in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
Tula Skincare
Tula is a mainstream skincare brand. Several of its formulations contain chemical sunscreen actives like avobenzone, which is clinically shown to disrupt thyroid hormone signaling in animal models, raising endocrine-disruption concerns.
Tula's products also include phenoxyethanol, artificial dyes, and fragrance components, none of which appear in the Evereden product we reviewed. Tula also settled a $5M false-advertising suit in 2021 over its probiotic-skincare marketing.
Evereden is the winner from both a potential efficacy and a health perspective.
Winner: Evereden
Drunk Elephant Bronzing Drops
Drunk Elephant Bronzing Drops became a focal point of the recent Gen Alpha skincare debate after tween consumers began using the product at Sephora. As we documented in our Drunk Elephant Bronzing Drops reviews article, the product contains phenoxyethanol and sodium benzoate, two synthetic preservatives we flag.
Evereden's formulation contains neither of those preservatives, relying instead on a cleaner combination of 1,2-hexanediol and hydroxyacetophenone.
Evereden is the winner from a health perspective.
Winner: Evereden
Aveeno Baby Sunscreen
Aveeno Baby Sunscreen is a mainstream pediatric sunscreen brand. While many of its formulations are well-tolerated, several variants include chemical sunscreen actives and added fragrance, both of which we consider less appropriate for sensitive young skin.
Evereden's mineral-only SPF and fragrance-free formulation gives it a cleaner profile for this use case.
Evereden is the winner from a health perspective.
Winner: Evereden
Evereden Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Non-nano zinc oxide as the only active
- Broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection
- No unhealthy inactive ingredients
- Co-founded by Stanford and Harvard dermatologists
- Healthier than competitors
Cons:
- SPF 20 is below the SPF 30+ daily-use dermatologist minimum
- We can't identify clinical studies
- Not water-resistant for extended outdoor use
