SkinKick, a skin care startup that launched in 2019 at places like Target, recently inked a distribution deal with Ulta Beauty that will put its products inside some 500 stores and on the retailer’s robust website. The fast-expanding range was born out of the founder’s experience in a field that seems miles away from the beauty business: the semiconductor industry.
 
What’s the connection? There’s plenty, according to SkinKick CEO and Founder Matthew Schirle, who started his career as chemical engineer in semiconductor processing and now heads the skin care company that’s headquartered in Southlake, TX.
 
“Semiconductor manufacturing deals with thin films, particle dynamics and chemical processes to build circuits from geometries with dimension at or near the wavelength of light.  It turns out that a memory circuit uses trench technology and the features and relative dimensions of the trench technology can be similar to a skin pore,” Schirle said.
 
According to Schirle, a skin pore is basically a trench.  
 
“For skin care, we need to manage the skin pore. We need to clear it of debris, such as sebum, cholesterol and triglycerides, without compromising, tearing up or destroying the natural microbiome,” he said.
 
Schirle asserts that “once the natural microbiome, mainly sebum oil, is compromised then your body detects that fact and your body will go into auto-protect mode and try to fix the microbiome by creating more oil.  In 2-4 weeks, you will have max oil on your skin causing the vicious cycle of blocking the pore and causing the blemish/acne to develop.”
 
Semiconductor particle dynamics also influences how SkinKick formulates. 
 
“We know if you put particles on a surface you can never remove 100% of the particles without undercutting the film that is on the surface. Never. For the skin, we have learned that you never want to compromise the natural microbiome so the lesson is that you never add molecular particles like charcoal which is basically elemental carbon.  The only way to get 100% of the charcoal off your skin is to undercut the microbiome which is problematic as I’ve described.   Charcoal is a non-starter for SkinKick,” insisted Schirle.
 
Other ingredients have also been kicked to the curb, so to speak.
 
“The No. 1 issue to protect the microbiome is to eliminate the harsh acids that strip off and compromise the natural microbiome. We have eliminated harsh acids from all our formulations.   We are going to eliminate the whole business of ‘chemical peels.’ To me, that is 100% marketing. Keep the acids in your pool and off your face!” Schirle said.
 
SkinKick relies on enzyme exfoliation rather than chemical exfoliation. 
 
“Enzymes use a process called solvation to release the “weak bond” the exists between the dead skin cell and the live skin cell.  No need for harsh acids,” he explained.
 
With a watchful eye on ingredients, it’s no wonder why the range is part of the Conscious Beauty platform at Ulta Beauty and aligns to Ulta Beauty's Clean Ingredient standards.
 
Schirle says SkinKick’s goal is to accomplish more with less and narrow a consumer’s skin care regimen from eight steps to just two or three.  
 

“I realized that marketing people have been leading around the skin care customer with a lot of myths, and are simply selling product based on the false narrative they create,” said Schirle, citing toner as an example. “What is the purpose of a toner?  If you ask 10 different customers what a toner is for you will get 10 different answers,” he said. 
 
The main SkinKick products include Daily Exfoliant Cleanser, Blemish Relief Lotion, Glow Renewal Serum (which contains ingredients like licorice root extract) and Dope Kick Lotion (which contains CBD).
 
The brand has several products in the pipeline, too.
 
“We have no issue with product development. The next five products are already designed and ready,” Schirle said.  
 
Soon to launch are an SPF and an eye cream, according to Schirle.
 
The brand’s website contains full ingredient information for all of its products.
 
“We intend to bring transparency to skin care and re-establish credibility for natural skin care,” Schirle concluded. 
 
Even with the pandemic impacting the beauty business’s overall health, SkinKick has been able to expand its reach; in its first year, the brand shipped to more 850 retail stores. Still, the company expects online operations to account for the bulk of its business.   
 
“Our long-term strategy is to be 80% D2C (online) and 20% retail,” he told Happi. “We will set our strategies to drive the company to have that ratio between online and retail.”