In the ever-evolving landscape of skincare, where finding effective solutions for acne and aging often feels like navigating conflicting paths, meet Danielle Gronich and Kayleigh Christina, the visionaries behind CLEARSTEM Skincare. Founded in 2017, CLEARSTEM challenges the status quo, offering a refreshing approach that addresses both acne and aging simultaneously. With over a decade of experience in holistic skincare, Danielle and Kayleigh have not only crafted an award-winning skincare line but have also introduced the groundbreaking CLEARSTEM Acne Lab Test. Their journey, stemming from personal skin challenges to the triumph of CLEARSTEM, showcases a commitment to reshaping skincare norms and empowering individuals to achieve comfort in their own skin.
We recently met them and dove deeper into the strategies and approaches that keep them going strong – here’s how it went!
- Can you share the story of how CLEARSTEM Skincare came to be and what inspired you to create a brand that targets both acne and aging?
We each struggled for 10+ years with debilitating cystic acne, including three failed rounds of Accutane, multiple overpriced laser treatments, and every ineffective ‘miracle’ product under the sun. Danielle’s extensive skin struggle inspired her to become a Licensed Clinical Esthetician and to build the renowned San Diego Acne Clinic, where she earned her reputation as The Acne Guru™ and achieved a 98% success rate working with patients of all ages, ethnicities and skin types. On her own acne journey in her late-twenties, Kayleigh discovered San Diego Acne Clinic and was able to clear her skin from within in a matter of months through Danielle’s proprietary whole-body approach.
Throughout our client / practitioner relationship, we connected over our mutual passion for holistic health and decided to combine our complementary skill sets in clinical skincare and integrative nutrition to launch and build CLEARSTEM, effectively creating the all-in-one category of toxin-free skincare for acne and aging in 2017.
2. What sets CLEARSTEM apart from traditional skincare products, especially those designed for acne or anti-aging individually, and how did your collaboration lead to the formulation of skincare products that are both toxin-free and effective in addressing acne and aging concerns?
Danielle: We both started having acne well into our twenties – the time at which you start thinking about using products for anti-aging. We noticed a gap in the market, as the typical acne products that my clients at San Diego Acne Clinic were using would dry out their skin and lead to premature aging, while your run-of-the-mill anti-aging products actually created more acne. Kayleigh and I are also both deeply interested in health & wellness, and we couldn’t find any skincare products that were not only non-toxic, but also effective solutions for acne and aging. Most ‘clean’ skincare at the time was actually full of ‘natural’ but pore-clogging filler ingredients. So we decided to partner with a world-renowned cosmetic chemist to create the products that we couldn’t find in the market.
3. Could you elaborate on the CLEARSTEM Acne Lab Test and how it empowers individuals to address the root cause of their acne through comprehensive blood testing?
At CLEARSTEM, we believe that skin health is so much deeper than the products you apply and the tools you use (although we do love a good ice roller!) It even goes deeper than nutrition – sometimes people will eliminate dairy, gluten and eggs and still break out because they don’t truly know what’s going on within.
That’s why we launched the revolutionary Acne Lab Test. Getting your labs drawn and having them read by a qualified functional medicine practitioner can be transformational, helping you see the connections between your food, movement, relationships, stress levels, and beyond and how these factors reflect in your skin.
Example: The way that we prioritize sleeping and waking directly impacts our cortisol, which in turn affects our adrenals, which can impact our digestion, etc. We’ve seen people’s lives change when they simply begin to appreciate how our body’s complex systems talk to each other. They operate more intentionally—stressing less about specific products and foods—and focus more on peace and balance, which is what we ALL need more of!
4. You guys have achieved remarkable success without external investment. Can you share insights into your growth strategy and how you scaled the business to where it is today?
We’re going to answer this question in two parts! In short – we’ve allocated our resources toward educating our community and developing our internal team, as individuals and as we relate to one another.
1) From a marketing perspective, we’ve prioritized community education above all else. We’ve invested our resources in podcast interviews and any other opportunity for us to relate to consumers by sharing our own candid experiences with acne and providing the research-backed information that has helped our clients and customers clear their own skin from within. It has nothing to do with pushing products and everything to do with empowering people with the clinically-effective tools they need on their journey to clear skin (this is information that they likely won’t get at the dermatologist’s office!)
2) Foundational to the growth of our organization is our entire team’s commitment to personal development. Having wonderful mentors and operating well as co-founders have been two keys to the success of CLEARSTEM. Always being curious, seeking out our own blindspots, asking for feedback, and not taking things personally are also huge factors! We keep an extraordinarily talented company therapist on retainer to infuse our culture with empathy and acknowledgment for each other. Employees can book with him one-on-one and then we also have him on certain team meetings, it has been instrumental in developing our happy culture. Because we run lean, we also have individuals running their own department so every single person’s voice is incredibly valuable to everyone else. We also pay for our staff to go to personal development workshops like the Landmark forum!
5. What exciting developments can we expect from CLEARSTEM in the future, and how do you envision the brand evolving in the ever-evolving skincare landscape?
A key aspect that sets us apart from other skincare brands is our assertion that beauty starts within. We developed our viral MINDBODYSKIN hormonal acne supplement as a toxin-free alternative to Accutane, and we’re currently expanding our nutraceutical offerings because we’ve noticed incredible results in our customers’ skin by combining topicals with a more internal approach. With the rising interest in integrative health, we’re paving the way for an innovative, inside-out approach to skincare.
6. Your commitment to inner work and ongoing therapy as co-founders is intriguing. How has this commitment contributed to the success and resilience of CLEARSTEM?
We knew we needed to start diving deeper into therapy as co-founders when all the business decisions were getting a lot bigger, more money was at stake, and when Kayleigh made the move to LA and we wouldn’t be working together as closely anymore. Before she moved, we were able to work together every single day and have a close line of communication and understanding. Taking that relationship remote completely changed things, so we wanted to get ahead of any issues, especially at a juncture when everything for the business was getting more intense. We started by going to therapy weekly and now we have our therapist / executive coach on retainer for the whole team to use as needed.
Therapy helps us with everything, primarily communication, understanding each other’s triggers, knowing how to clean things up if there is any stickiness or confusion, and knowing how to ask the right questions to gain better clarity and understanding about what the other is trying to communicate.
It’s a game changer for the entire business, for us as individuals, and for our team dynamic. Knowing that we have a safe and fun way to communicate with each other and get to know each other as people just makes the work environment so much healthier and happier. It also helps us as founders to give that resource to our team because everyone is growing together and we all deserve this type of support.
7. Lastly, if you had a chance to change one thing in your industry, what would that be?
The legacy we want to leave with CLEARSTEM is a paradigm shift about how we approach beauty from within. As it stands today, the skincare industry is quite lopsided, with product first and education last (if at all). With this in mind, we launched our revolutionary Acne Lab Test in October that specifically analyzes blood work in the context of digestion, gut health, vitamins, and all of the other important areas that get overlooked in traditional Western medicine but that directly impact skin. We are making blood work analysis an integral part of anyone’s skin care routine, and we’re committed to making it accessible and affordable for our community.
