Before we created The Humane Company, I enjoyed a long career as a writer and editor specializing in health and beauty for such publications and websites as Self, Health, Marie Claire, Real Simple, EveryDay With Rachael Ray, Prevention and refinery29. From my first job as a copy editor for Glamourmagazine to my years as executive editor of Shape, one thing remained consistent—I am, unapologetically, a skincare nerd.
Those positions afforded me the opportunity to meet, interview and befriend many of the top dermatologists in New York and around the country, which fueled my fascination with the science behind skincare. I had a front-row seat to the emergence of the clean beauty movement, and was able to sample and learn about a wide range of products from companies big and small.
But while the concept of nontoxic skincare gained momentum, I couldn’t help but notice that acne treatments were being left behind. A handful of household names continued to dominate, focusing more on celebrity endorsements, complicated systems and big-budget ad campaigns than on the potentially harmful ingredients hiding in their products.
The Humane Company was created to bring a clean, minimal-ingredient philosophy to the treatment of acne.