By Grace Kim

Teen beauty spending grew 7 percent this year, reversing last fall's decline, according to Piper Sandler's annual survey of 9,000 teens across 47 states. Hair led every category, rising 10 percent, while cosmetics and skin care each grew 5 percent.

Hair now outpaces fragrance, the fastest-growing category in spring 2025, and the beauty industry overall. Wallet share for teen girls in hair reached an all-time high of 23 percent, up 2 points year-over-year. The survey attributes the growth to rising demand for at-home salon solutions and clinical hair care.

Which hair brands won teen girls?

Not Your Mother's ranked first with 12 percent share. Amika followed at 9 percent and L'Oréal at 8 percent. Dove took Ouai's fourth-place spot, beating Olaplex, Pantene and Redken as well.

The survey's fall 2026 ranking for teen girls:

• Not Your Mother's: 12 percent
• Amika: 9 percent
• L'Oréal: 8 percent
• Dove: 4 percent
• Olaplex: 4 percent
• Pantene: 4 percent
• Ouai: 3 percent
• Redken: 3 percent
• Moroccanoil: 3 percent
• Aussie: 3 percent

Kérastase, the L'Oréal-owned prestige brand, cracked the top 20 for the first time. The survey notes most of these brands sell at Ulta, which has posted high single-digit category growth for three straight quarters.

Where are teens actually shopping?

Sephora held the top retailer spot it has held since 2023, at 39 percent. Ulta stayed second at 25 percent. Target gained one share point after a 2024 decline, and the survey credits its new Beauty Studio buildout as a potential growth driver.

• Sephora: 39 percent
• Ulta: 25 percent
• Target: 8 percent
• Amazon: 7 percent
• Bath and Body Works: 6 percent
• Walmart: 4 percent
• Victoria's Secret: 2 percent
• Shein: 1 percent
• TikTok: 1 percent
• T.J. Maxx: 1 percent

Digital channels gained — TikTok now ranks ninth, just after Shein — yet 85 percent of female participants still prefer shopping in-store. That preference slipped 1 percent year-over-year, a caveat worth tracking before declaring brick-and-mortar safe.

What broke through in skin care?

Rhode, led by Hailey Bieber and backed by E.l.f. Beauty, entered the skin care leaderboard at number four for the first time. CeraVe, The Ordinary and La Roche-Posay held their existing ranks. Rhode also jumped in cosmetics from number 16 to number three, after launching its second complexion product, the Pocket Bronzer, in June.

• CeraVe: 30 percent
• The Ordinary: 7 percent
• La Roche-Posay: 6 percent
• Rhode: 6 percent
• Bubble: 4 percent
• Medicube: 3 percent
• Byoma: 3 percent
• E.l.f. Cosmetics: 3 percent
• Glow Recipe: 3 percent
• Cetaphil: 3 percent

Medicube became the first K-beauty brand ever to enter the survey, landing at number six behind Bubble. That momentum arrives roughly seven months after its nationwide Sephora launch. K-beauty demand is real but bounded: 75 percent of teen girls reported spending between $20 and $50 on fewer than two products.

Among teen boys, CeraVe dominated at 49 percent. TikTok-viral Based Bodyworks, founded by influencer-barber Lance Baker, took second at 10 percent, surpassing Dove, Cetaphil, La Roche-Posay, Neutrogena, Panoxyl and Old Spice. The survey links its rise to self-optimization trends such as "looksmaxxing."

Is fragrance still growing?

Daily fragrance wear is up: 77 percent of teen girls and 51 percent of teen boys reported wearing fragrance every day. The boys' figure is down from last year but up from fall 2024.

"There is continued momentum in the fragrance category, especially with the male consumer," said Anna Andreeva, managing director of footwear, beauty and brands at Piper Sandler. "The age of the male customer coming into this category starts younger. This has been the theme over the last couple years and is very much echoed by this as well."

Jean Paul Gaultier led teen boys' fragrance brands at 15 percent, followed by Yves Saint Laurent at 12 percent and Valentino at 10 percent.

Among teen girls, Bath and Body Works kept the top fragrance rank at 18 percent despite a 13-point drop over three years. Sol de Janeiro held number two at 13 percent, down six points over two years. Huda rose from the bottom of the top 20 to number six.

Social media outweighs retail in purchase influence. Eighty-seven percent of teen girls cited influencers and friends as factors in buying decisions; only 37 percent cited beauty retailers. With influencer-driven brands like Rhode, Medicube and Based Bodyworks all posting first-time or record rankings in a single cycle, the next survey will test whether legacy retail distribution or TikTok velocity better predicts share.