Clean Beauty: Christin Powell Of Kinship Skincare On 5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Clean Beauty Brand
An Interview With Wanda Malhotra
Educate. The clean beauty landscape is confusing; educate people about the data — what’s real and what’s not. Creating short-form content that explains the data in easy-to-understand nuggets has worked well for us.
The clean beauty movement is transforming the beauty industry by emphasizing the importance of safe, non-toxic ingredients. Consumers are increasingly concerned about what they put on their skin, leading to a demand for transparency and high standards in beauty products. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Christin Powell.
Christin is a beauty entrepreneur, CEO and formulation chemist with two decades of experience developing award-winning clean & clinical skincare formulations. She co-founded Juice Beauty and Kinship, as well as held executive roles with prestige beauty brands such as PerriconeMD, Stella&Dot, and Plexus Worldwide. She holds three global skincare patents and has significant expertise regarding the skin’s microbiome.
Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
When I was a teenager, I had terrible acne and sensitive skin which lasted well into my 20s. I tried so many antibiotics, steroid medications, Accutane, retinoids and none of it worked. I started to make my own plant-based products in an attempt to heal my sensitive skin — and it worked! I taught myself basic chemistry and learned how to create skincare on my kitchen stove, which sparked my love for formulation. I’ve spent the last two decades as a formulation chemist and have co-founded two clean beauty brands!
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
My very first large retail order was with Bath and Body Works. At the time, I was living with my mom in an effort to save money to fuel my business so her (very) small garage became our warehouse. When I received this order, I was both elated and terrified because I knew I had to pack up 52 cases perfectly, and I needed to do it quickly because they were going to be picked up in a matter of days!
I recruited my sister to help — we worked night and day to unpack and repack 52 boxes until they were absolutely perfect. I had to find a pallet, pack, shrink wrap, and label it so that it was ready for a semi-truck pick up. We finished an hour before the truck arrived!
The lesson I learned was that when given an opportunity, anything is possible if you believe you can do it.
You are a successful individual. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Persistence: The ability to keep going when the going gets tough. One example of persistence happened with my first business, Juice Beauty. I needed to raise money but didn’t have the experience or understanding on how to do this. After many failed attempts, I reached out to the local SBA (Small Business Association) where I met an amazing person who helped me get an SBA loan for $100,000 that launched my business and career in the beauty industry.
- Self-Awareness: Knowing my superpower and leaning into that, while allowing others to shine in their areas of expertise. A recent example of this is promoting people who are better than I am in certain areas–like finance, operations and marketing.
- Growth Mindset: Always being a student and open to learning from others. One example of this is to study people and businesses who are successful and learn from their actions.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?
Yes! We realized last year that so many of our customers are buying Kinship because it’s the brand that works for their sensitive skin. We believe those with sensitive skin deserve more out of their skincare and so we decided to lean in and focus on sensitive skincare. Unlike most sensitive skin products on the market, Kinship offers products that are clinically-proven to strengthen the skin barrier (a compromised skin barrier = sensitive skin) AND brings them an unparalleled experience. Our goal is to bring joy to sensitive skin, through efficacious formulas, mood-boosting scents (synthetic fragrance-free always), luscious textures and beautiful, vibrant packaging.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. What inspired your brand to focus on clean beauty, and how do you define ‘clean’ in the context of your products?
Kinship defines clean beauty as the use of consciously effective, safe ingredients that are kind-to-skin AND kind-to-planet. We ban barrier disruptive ingredients like Parabens, sulfates + SLS, phthalates, benzoyl peroxide, silicones, alcohols (denatured), hydroquinone, ethoxylates, synthetic dyes + fragrances, chemical sunscreens and PEGs / petroleum-based ingredients.
It’s also important for us to prioritize the circularity of our packaging components to minimize environmental impact. The beauty industry heavily relies on petrochemicals, microplastics, and other hormone-disrupting chemicals, which eventually contaminate our water, soil, air, oceans, and sea life, re-entering the food chain. Addressing this lifecycle is a critical responsibility for our industry. Kinship is positively impacting this lifecycle by reducing our use of petrochemicals in both formulas and packaging, and limiting the production of virgin plastic. I am personally very passionate about sustainability and operate from these values daily!
How do you ensure the ingredients in your products meet clean beauty standards, and what criteria do you use to select them?
We use data platforms like NOVI to research ingredient safety, and I review clinical literature before deciding to use specific actives, ensuring efficacy testing is completed before incorporating them into our products. We adhere to EU formulation standards and Credo Beauty guidelines in the US, and we deliberately exclude ingredients that are unsuitable for sensitive skin
What steps do you take to educate consumers about the importance of clean ingredients and how they can make informed choices when purchasing beauty products?
We educate consumers about our “no-no” list of ingredients through our website, through social media, in press interviews and on our packaging. For example, we follow the EU formulation guidelines which are the strictest in the industry for safety of people and planet.
What innovative or unconventional ingredients are you most excited about in the clean beauty space, and why?
I’m most proud of our Brightwave 10% Vitamin C + Peptide Serum. I’ve been using and testing Vitamin C Serums my entire career and saw a big opportunity to innovate on the performance and aesthetic of Vitamin C. We use a unique form of Vitamin C called THD Ascorbate that allows the Vitamin C to be delivered into skin cells without irritation and with 50x more antioxidant power than traditional Ascorbic Acid Vitamin C. This makes our Vitamin C Serum ideal for sensitive skin.
Can you share a story where switching to clean beauty ingredients led to a significant and unexpected benefit for your customers?
Kinship has ALWAYS formulated our products with high-quality, clean ingredients. At the heart of our products is a proprietary microbiome technology — a plant-based pre-probiotic — derived from the fermentation of lactobacillus that supports a strong, healthy skin barrier. Originally, we thought this would most benefit people with acne-prone skin, but what we quickly discovered was that this super ingredient works wonders to strengthen sensitive skin as a whole. Kinship is for the strong sensitive types!
Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Clean Beauty Brand”?
- You need to understand the ingredient landscape and define what “clean” means for your brand. If you don’t have a formulation or regulatory background, hire someone who does. For example, if you are selling into a retailer like Credo Beauty, they have thousands of ingredients that aren’t allowed in brands’ products; it’s important to have someone on your team who can vet each ingredient prior to formulation.
- Think about not just the formulation, but the package and the circularity of that package. Where will it end up at the end of its life? Most plastic doesn’t get recycled. The most recycled materials in the US are either #1 or #2; if you choose to use plastic, it’s your responsibility to use PCR (post-consumer recycled plastic) whenever possible, and/or #1 or #2 materials.
- Be Transparent. Know what’s in your products and be transparent about it. People want to know where your product comes from; transparency helps build trust and loyalty.
- Educate. The clean beauty landscape is confusing; educate people about the data — what’s real and what’s not. Creating short-form content that explains the data in easy-to-understand nuggets has worked well for us.
- Be Humble. The industry is changing daily, so it’s important to keep an open mind and be flexible and willing to change your strategy if needed. For example, upon learning that our target customer is looking for products that work for sensitive skin, we decided to lean into that messaging and explain why Kinship is perfect for someone who wants efficacy for their sensitive skin
How do you foresee the clean beauty movement evolving in the next decade, and what role do you see your brand playing in that future?
I see beauty and wellness merging. Clean ingredients will become non-negotiable in all categories of beauty
(makeup, skincare, fragrance), but the definition of “clean” will continue to be defined. It’s my hope that all brands will continue to do the work necessary to become more sustainable — we only have one planet and we need to protect it! Over the next few years, Kinship will continue to bring clean, innovative products to market for the sensitive skin community — disrupting the category with transformative AND sensorial products that are a joy to use.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
Follow me on LinkedIn (Christin Powell) and Instagram (@christinmpowell). You can also check Kinship’s website (lovekinship.com) and Instagram (@lovekinship) since we have some exciting things happening this year!
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com.
