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There are so many lovely things about fall, from the leaves changing colors to the weather finally cooling down enough to snuggle up in cozy cardigans — but one thing that’s not so great is the dry skin that often accompanies the change in weather.
While it’s nice not to sweat off all our skincare the moment we step outside from the blazing summer sun, the layering of thick moisturizers to combat dry patches of skin isn’t ideal either. I mean who likes the feeling of a heavy cream physically clogging each pore one by one? Not me, for sure. The solution: a hydrating skincare routine that both moisturizes and protects without being too heavy on our skin. Lucky for you, Credo Beauty, one of our favorite clean beauty retailers, has just launched its first-ever skincare line sold exclusively at the retailer, a collection of two cleansers (priced at $44 each) and four moisturizers (priced at $64 each) with a secret hydration ingredient: vetiver root that has been years in the making. Like many of you, I had heard of the usual hydrating ingredients such as niacinamide and hyaluronic acid, but not vetiver root. According to Credo Beauty, “Vetiver root is an antioxidant-loaded, potent wonder grass that supports the protection of the skin’s barrier for a vibrant skin tone and a nourished complexion while improving skin texture and reducing the appearance of pores and wrinkles.” Each product in the line is designed to target different skin needs including dry skin, sensitive skin, redness, aging, and dullness.
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Credo Beauty has been making waves in the beauty industry since its first store opened in 2015 — today it stands as the largest clean and sustainable beauty retailer in North America selling over 120 brands such as Tower28, OSEA, and Kosas, that all meet the rigorous “Credo Clean Standard” guidelines, ensuring that the products sold are the best of the best for consumers and the planet in terms of the ingredients used, the processes to make products and packaging, and much more. I am personally very impressed with the company’s commitment to clean beauty and encourage everyone to do a deeper dive on the website about how Credo Beauty is advocating for better beauty.
The release of their first-ever in-house brand is a testament to that commitment. This benefits-driven skincare line has been 10 years in the making after years of customer feedback, experience, and data collection and is an impressive show of brand transparency and a drive for more sustainable practices in the beauty industry. Each pump and cap in the skincare line is made of NewMatter material, a first-of-its-kind mixture of hard-to-recycle beauty waste packaging that was collected through Pact Collective in beauty stores nationwide — this is a landmark for implementing sustainable processes in beauty packaging. Fun fact: every 38 pumps eliminated one pound of material ending up in landfills or the ocean. So basically, both the product and the packaging are thoughtfully designed to be better and set a standard for how brands can create a great product while still prioritizing sustainability.
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Ahead, Refinery29 spoke with Credo Beauty Co-Founder and CEO Annie Jackson to understand more about why Credo Beauty made the jump into its first in-house skincare line, clean beauty and fall skincare.
The following interview was told to Becca Sax and edited for length and clarity.
Credo Beauty is home to a lot of great skincare. What was the inspiration behind creating an in-house range?
We had 10 years of data, 15 brick-and-mortar stores and a very close relationship with our customers, and with all of that information, we felt compelled to create a skincare brand addressing our customer's concerns. Hydration or lack of hydration was the top skincare concern across the board so we launched two cleansers and four moisturizers addressing different aspects of that.
We had 10 years of data, 15 brick-and-mortar stores and a very close relationship with our customers, and with all of that information, we felt compelled to create a skincare brand addressing our customer's concerns. Hydration or lack of hydration was the top skincare concern across the board so we launched two cleansers and four moisturizers addressing different aspects of that.
What are your favorite products from Credo Beauty’s new skincare line?
This is so difficult, but probably Rewinder, an anti-aging moisturizer with three forms of Vitamin C! I’m getting a little bit more mature, and Rewinder is great for freshening the complexion and addressing dullness. Deep Thirst is also a necessity — it’s like a hug for my skin, providing immediate hydration. I probably go through one bottle a month!
This is so difficult, but probably Rewinder, an anti-aging moisturizer with three forms of Vitamin C! I’m getting a little bit more mature, and Rewinder is great for freshening the complexion and addressing dullness. Deep Thirst is also a necessity — it’s like a hug for my skin, providing immediate hydration. I probably go through one bottle a month!
How do you define clean beauty and skincare in 2024?
For me, clean beauty is about conscientiously formulating products. Currently, innovation is meeting the demands of consumers who are seeking more transparency about the ingredients in their products. Embodying clean beauty is really about the safety — from the sources to the sustainability aspect of every ingredient that is used — not just talking about if it's efficacious, which is definitely important in skincare, but each ingredient has to have a reason to be in there. For Credo Beauty, the ingredients used in the products we sell have to be ones that we feel we can stand behind in terms of claims and safety.
For me, clean beauty is about conscientiously formulating products. Currently, innovation is meeting the demands of consumers who are seeking more transparency about the ingredients in their products. Embodying clean beauty is really about the safety — from the sources to the sustainability aspect of every ingredient that is used — not just talking about if it's efficacious, which is definitely important in skincare, but each ingredient has to have a reason to be in there. For Credo Beauty, the ingredients used in the products we sell have to be ones that we feel we can stand behind in terms of claims and safety.
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The “clean beauty” trend started in late 2021 and has been huge in today’s culture with everyone from celebrities to consumers taking part, as the founder and CEO of a clean beauty pioneering retailer, how do you implement it in your life?
This company really loves the “clean beauty” trend, the “no-makeup makeup” trend and using products that just bring out your natural beauty is what Credo is all about. We have really talented makeup artists on our team who love to create these “clean girl” beauty looks that are really just using skincare-infused makeup products that people love to bring out people’s natural beauty — we’re all for it!
This company really loves the “clean beauty” trend, the “no-makeup makeup” trend and using products that just bring out your natural beauty is what Credo is all about. We have really talented makeup artists on our team who love to create these “clean girl” beauty looks that are really just using skincare-infused makeup products that people love to bring out people’s natural beauty — we’re all for it!
What makeup or skincare products are most likely to include harmful ingredients?
The one classification of ingredients that is seen across conventional beauty products is Polyethylene glycols (PEGs, read more under the “Glycols” section on the Credo Beauty website). PEGs are a class of synthetic ingredients that that go through a certain manufacturing process that produces a carcinogenic byproduct called 1,4-dioxane. I think it tends to be a controversial ingredient classification because many brands that manufacture and are using PEGs strip out the 1,4-dioxane when the finished product is done. But as a carcinogen, the problem is that it was created in the first place. So, when it’s stripped out of the product, it's then discarded somewhere and usually ends up in waterways, being transported in vehicles, in fenceline communities — it’s something that doesn't need to be in beauty products. I think Credo Beauty has proven that you can make efficacious skincare and makeup products without them, so I’d love to see people consciously selecting ingredients with these kinds of things in mind.
The one classification of ingredients that is seen across conventional beauty products is Polyethylene glycols (PEGs, read more under the “Glycols” section on the Credo Beauty website). PEGs are a class of synthetic ingredients that that go through a certain manufacturing process that produces a carcinogenic byproduct called 1,4-dioxane. I think it tends to be a controversial ingredient classification because many brands that manufacture and are using PEGs strip out the 1,4-dioxane when the finished product is done. But as a carcinogen, the problem is that it was created in the first place. So, when it’s stripped out of the product, it's then discarded somewhere and usually ends up in waterways, being transported in vehicles, in fenceline communities — it’s something that doesn't need to be in beauty products. I think Credo Beauty has proven that you can make efficacious skincare and makeup products without them, so I’d love to see people consciously selecting ingredients with these kinds of things in mind.
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What products do you recommend that people use for fall?
Deep Thirst, for sure. We expect it to be our hero product from the line because it offers intense hydration with vetiver root and hyaluronic acid. Vetiver extract comes from the vetiver root, an ingredient typically used in fragrance. It’s not something you normally see in skincare, so we are pretty proud to be using this ingredient that’s typically discarded (but has really strong clinicals supporting microbiome protection and hydration) in our skincare line.
Deep Thirst, for sure. We expect it to be our hero product from the line because it offers intense hydration with vetiver root and hyaluronic acid. Vetiver extract comes from the vetiver root, an ingredient typically used in fragrance. It’s not something you normally see in skincare, so we are pretty proud to be using this ingredient that’s typically discarded (but has really strong clinicals supporting microbiome protection and hydration) in our skincare line.
What are some of your favorite clean beauty and skincare products as we head into the second half of the year? What should be on people’s radar?
This is such a hard question, I think the LolaVie Glossing Detangler for my hair and Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator Mist are on my list, for sure. Josh Rosebrook makes a mini Hydrating Accelerator, and it’s my ride-or-die — he knows that I take it everywhere I go. I always give myself a little spritz of the mist after cleansing or putting on makeup! The Iris & Romeo Weekend Skin is also one of my go-tos; it’s got SPF 50 and a slight tint, so it gives your skin a little luminosity.
This is such a hard question, I think the LolaVie Glossing Detangler for my hair and Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator Mist are on my list, for sure. Josh Rosebrook makes a mini Hydrating Accelerator, and it’s my ride-or-die — he knows that I take it everywhere I go. I always give myself a little spritz of the mist after cleansing or putting on makeup! The Iris & Romeo Weekend Skin is also one of my go-tos; it’s got SPF 50 and a slight tint, so it gives your skin a little luminosity.
What beauty myth do you love debunking?
This is such a boring answer, but the best anti-aging beauty product in the whole world that you can use is sunscreen. It’s the one thing that I won’t even stand on a soapbox telling you to use clean sunscreen — because the best sunscreen in the world that you can use is the one that you will wear. As evidenced by my lovely melanoma scar here. If you have to buy one beauty product, buy sunscreen.
This is such a boring answer, but the best anti-aging beauty product in the whole world that you can use is sunscreen. It’s the one thing that I won’t even stand on a soapbox telling you to use clean sunscreen — because the best sunscreen in the world that you can use is the one that you will wear. As evidenced by my lovely melanoma scar here. If you have to buy one beauty product, buy sunscreen.
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