Why MĀSK Skincare Is Still Committed to Using CBD
It’s been a challenging year for CBD skincare and beauty brands. While the past several years have seen a surge in CBD products of all kinds, the beauty and skincare space has seen a proliferation of CBD-infused formulas that have landed in major retailers across the U.S.
In the last year, however, many consumers have been shocked to learn that some of their favorite CBD brands aren’t just missing from the brick and mortar shelves, but they’ve gone out of business in the U.S. completely, seemingly with no warning.
MĀSK Skincare Founder, Sarah Mirsini discusses why we're is still committed to using CBD in our vegan skincare products, the challenges she’s faced as a CBD skincare brand, and what success looks like in the face of these challenges.
Many of the CBD skincare brands that have recently gone out of business have cited missed messaging opportunities and the convoluted advertising and e-commerce restrictions as some of the reasons they shuttered their operations. Have you found it challenging to navigate restrictions around CBD in different retail locations?
Yes. Certain locations have stricter rules, or some businesses are scared of taking CBD products into their doors. While we of course want our products to reach as many consumers as possible, it’s a frustrating realization to learn that it’s usually larger corporations that are the hardest for CBD skincare brands to deal with.
One business avenue that I think is an unsung hero, and that I have found to be successful for MĀSK Skincare, is the spa industry. Overall, spas tend to be open to CBD skincare, genuinely interested in it, and results-driven. They are 85% of our B2B clientele, and we have seen proven results repeatedly with our products in the treatment rooms.
I learn again and again that being sold in a retail juggernaut like Sephora may be a goal for many brands, but this is not a guarantee for success. What makes you successful is having a product that speaks its truth, that delivers what it's supposed to, and has the data to back it up. That's what MĀSK Skincare has. We would not be in all the medical spas that we are, with recurring orders, vetted by doctors, if we did not have a great product.
With all of these challenges surrounding CBD in beauty products, why are you still committed to using CBD in MĀSK Skincare?
If I had a dollar for every time someone said to me, "Just take the CBD out of the formulation and your life will be easier," I’d be a very, very wealthy woman. But I am not in this for the short term, I am in it for the long haul. CBD was THE compound that healed my skin, and not having it in my formulations would be selling myself short.
MĀSK Skincare isn't just a CBD skincare product, it's a natural and healing line with CBD. You mentioned previously that some recently-shuttered brands have cited missed messaging opportunities around CBD in skincare, and I agree that it’s a major issue in this space.
People get so hung up on this one thing and the misconceptions behind using a cannabis-derived product that they don't see the tremendous healing and effective results this plant can bring them. That's why we are so heavily focused on providing the right education on the subject, and also teaching both our spa clients and direct-to-consumers the difference between CBD and THC. Because the difference is significant.
I like to call CBD the "Wellness Cannabinoid" because it has no toxic or psychoactive components to it, all it does is heal and prevent. As soon as we speak about it in a manner that people can understand and relate to, they are immediately interested and less on the offense. This exact reason is why I am so committed. And I love educating consumers not just about CBD, but about the power of plant-based ingredients, overall.
How has scaling MĀSK Skincare so deliberately contributed to its success?
Again, this brings us back to being in it for the long term. In the beginning, due to regulations and stigma, we couldn't even advertise, post, or market ourselves as a CBD skincare brand. We had to get creative!
This is why we chose a minimalistic and elegant packaging design that would stand the test of time and not just play to a trend, why we focused not solely on CBD but also the highest quality clean and non-toxic beauty ingredients. I wanted to show that this industry that was predominantly male driven could be feminine and soft. Because let's face it, cannabis is a female plant!
I have been persistent in my goals and in our values, and I did not do certain things only to make a "quick buck." I believe strongly in ethics and transparency, and I believe the future of CBD is only getting started.
How does sourcing CBD the way you do ensure that MĀSK can continue to be formulated with CBD?
The beauty of scaling slowly and intentionally is that we've worked with the same lab and the same extractor since pretty much the beginning. I know every in and out of our process, I know where every single ingredient is sourced from, and I always personally test MĀSK CBD Skincare products before we release them.
Of course, skin allergies are out of my control, but the protocols and the safety we do beforehand are strict and according to industry rules and regulations. We also follow EU standards on non-toxic ingredients.
The EU has stringent regulations in place for personal care and beauty products, whereas the U.S. does not; adhering to EU standards means we’re upping the ante and providing the best natural products possible to our customers.
While the challenges surrounding CBD in skincare are real, I remain committed to making MĀSK Skincare the premiere clean beauty brand with CBD. I’ve seen too many powerful and positive results to give up on CBD in our formulas. No matter how long it takes, I want everyone to benefit from the power of plant-based ingredients–especially from CBD.
