Clearstem, a “clean,” science-backed skin-care brand founded in 2017, is foraying into a new category: acne-safe hair care.
“Almost all [hair-care] products contain pore-clogging ingredients or acnegenic irritants, which cause people to break out,” said Danielle Gronich, a licensed clinical esthetician who co-founded the brand with holistic nutritionist and investor Kayleigh Christina. “Formulating a conditioner and a hair-care line without the poor cloggers is difficult. That’s why it hasn’t been done that much before and hasn’t been done well until now.”
Gronich said that it took two years to formulate the line, due to the nuances involved with creating a hair product that is acne-safe while also clean and non-toxic. Among ingredients Gronich steered clear of were shea butter, isopropyl myristate and coconut oil, all of which are both common and pore-clogging. The products were also developed without hormone disruptors like phthalates and parabens which can contribute to acne and signs of aging, the brand states. Gronich asked her clients to try the products and listened to their feedback about their efficacy before releasing them.
On March 28, Clearstem launched the first two SKUs in the hair-care collection: the Restorative Shampoo and Repair Conditioner, which retail for $28 and $38, respectively. Along with being non-pore-clogging, according to the founders, they’re also dermatologist-tested and safe for everyday use on all hair types and sensitive skin. Among the included ingredients are rosemary, spearmint, chamomile, kokum butter, hydrolyzed castor oil and almond seedcake. The products are being sold on Clearstem’s e-commerce site and will eventually be sold at all 10 Erewhon locations.
Ten-year-old hair-care brand Seen also has an acne-safe collection, but Gronich considers Clearstem’s line revolutionary as it was developed to target acne and aging simultaneously. “Most skin-care companies have no reason to be in hair care — it wouldn’t seem like a natural fit. Because [acne-causing hair care] is part of the problem for our community, so we stepped in to solve it for them. [Our products] are going to be part of people’s day-to-day life in the same way their skin care is,” said Gronich. Clearstem is best known for its products that were made to clear acne-prone skin. In October 2023, the brand launched an at-home acne lab test to help consumers identify the root cause of their acne through blood work and provide customized treatments.
This week, the Clearsteam is kicking its marketing of the line into high gear. The brand has wrapped its distribution trucks with imagery from the launch campaign, and it will host a pop-up dedicated to the line on Los Angeles’s popular Abbot Kinney Boulevard on Friday. “The whole building will be wrapped, and the front of it will say, ‘Sexy people get acne.’ The theme of the pop-up is ‘Alice in Wonderland goes to chemistry school,'” said Gronich, describing the decor as whimsical yet focused on the science behind the products. It will also feature stations where consumers can make their own acne-safe products or receive 45-minute acne treatments and consultations.
Also to promote the line, the brand will gift the line to its ambassadors and provide custom discount codes for them to share with their audiences.
Especially because Clearstem is completely self-funded, Gronich said the brand has been strategic about its expansion. Its next ance-safe hair-care launches include a detangling spray and a split-ends bond repair serum, both of which will roll out later this year.
Additionally, Clearstem will be building out its team. In July, COO Marc Smookler was converted to a full-time employee to streamline the brand’s operations and support its growth goals. To date, Clearstem has quadrupled its sales every year, though its growth goal this year is just 15% as it expands into hair care. In 2025, establishing retail partnerships, ideally with Ulta or Sephora, will be a priority.
