Can the beauty industry help unite people? It’s been tried before. Remember United Colors of Benetton? Or more recently, MAC Cosmetics? Now, a year-old CBD-based skin care startup is taking a similar tack. No, Thank You Co-Founders Graham Smith and Zain Pirani say they’re taking a stand against the negative aspects of the beauty industry: the false promises, unrealistic expectations, and unhealthy stereotypes. The company’s mantra is: “Our skin isn’t what makes us different; it’s what makes us all the same.”

Smith and Pirani are lifelong friends. They created a line of effective beauty products that, they insist, is designed to work for everyone.

CBD I&O: What is your background? Why get into the highly competitive skin care market?

Smith: Before my partner, Zain, and I founded NTY, we both worked in business. We’ve always had a keen interest in self-care and wellness.

Say whatever you want about Californians, but having been born and raised in Los Angeles, I’ve been exposed to alternative forms of wellness from an early age and those have always been a part of my life. Having undertaken my own personal journey with the therapeutic benefits of CBD inside the body, I wanted to bring to life a product line that uses CBD to nourish from the outside in.

More broadly, we wanted to take a stand against the negative aspects of the beauty industry: the false promises, unrealistic expectations and unhealthy stereotypes. No, thanks to that! We’ve created a line of effective beauty products designed to work for everyone.

CBD I&O: What are the benefits of NTY compared to other CBD-based formulas?

Smith: While I could talk about this for days, I’m going to distill into two primary factors. First, not all CBD is created equally. I cannot possibly stress this enough. In order to achieve the maximum benefit, it’s important to use an extraction process that keeps the hemp (i.e., Cannabis sativa) extract in as natural a form as possible. We liken this to cold-pressed juice. It’s common for this to be referred to as full-spectrum CBD extract, however this industry is rife with misleading titles and information. The only way to really know what you’re getting is to read the lab report, known as a certificate of analysis (or COA). The variety we use is full-spectrum CBD with a very high component of a cannabinoid called CBDA which is an even more potent anti-inflammatory. It’s rare to find in a skin care line because it’s difficult to source, and it’s not cheap! Check out our website for a full video series on our approach.

Second, CBD skin care is about much more than just the CBD. It’s an incredibly important ingredient, but it only works if it’s used alongside high quality ingredients. Our approach to formulation is simple. Use only the best version of a particular ingredient. Only include what’s absolutely necessary and nothing else. If we can’t justify an ingredient’s existence or efficacy, it doesn’t belong.

CBD I&O: What makes CBD such a good ingredient in skin care formulas? What ingredients does it replace?

Smith: CBD is an excellent skin care ingredient for two reasons—which are generally the same reasons it’s used as an ingestible: it’s a great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Find a credible skin care formulator who thinks those properties aren’t great in skin care and we’ll eat our words!

We don’t view CBD as an ingredient replacement. It’s a supplemental component that makes an already effective skin care formulation even better. A great example of this is our vitamin C oil which we call An Oil For All Day. Vitamin C gets a lot of press in the skin care world for good reasons. On its own, it’s a strong antioxidant. The real story is much more complex. There are different types of vitamin C—some better than others—and used in too high a dose, it can be an irritant. The CBD in our facial oil helps to make the vitamin C more effective and more gentle. There’s a similar story as it relates to CBD in each of our other products. We encourage you to check our website to learn more.

CBD I&O: Where is NTY available? What is the retail price?

Smith: NTY is available exclusively on our website (nty.co). Our retail prices range anywhere from $18 to $95 and we have special incentives for first time buyers to make the line
more accessible.

CBD I&O: When was it launched and how has reaction been since your debut?

Smith: We launched our website about a year ago and the reaction has been great! Just read through our customer reviews to see what we mean. We’re delighted that our products have had such a positive impact on our customers.

CBD I&O: I assume you outsource manufacturing. How did you find your contract manufacturer?

Smith: We do. It was incredibly important for us to work with a manufacturer that had extensive experience both in skin care formulation and working with CBD/cannabinoids. As it turns out, that’s a rare combination to find. It’s critical to our philosophy that we understand exactly how the CBD interacts with the other ingredients in our products.

CBD I&O: What has been your biggest surprise since launching the brand? Similarly, what has been the biggest success and obstacle to that success?

Smith: We’re not sure we’d call this a surprise, but we continue to be delighted by just how well our products work. Whether it’s customers finding relief from chronic pain with our relief cream, or discovering their best complexion through our facial products, each one in our line really works.

I can even back that up personally. Working in a startup is stressful! Long days, tough nights combined with the general stress of COVID—and the occasional drink!—can wreak havoc on your skin. Sometimes I’m shocked just how good my skin looks despite all of the stress I put on my skin.

No doubt the biggest obstacle we face right now is the challenge of marketing a line with CBD and navigating the constantly changing regulatory landscape. We’re often surprised where we can and can’t sell our products. Some big retailers stock CBD but we can’t even sell at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market! Go figure.

CBD I&O: Why, for heaven’s enter the CBD space? I just spoke with a skin care company that offers a CBD line and she was mentioning how difficult it is to market the products. QVC won’t take CBD formulas, Amazon and Target won’t take them either. She expected the brand to be a $10-15 million business, but it hasn’t come close due to legal hurdles.

Smith: We can sympathize. It can be tough. Here’s the good news. Every day things get a little bit easier. We’re marching steadily forward toward all cannabis products being legal on a federal level. Who knows when that actually happens, but we’re believers that it will. I’ve never been a subscriber to patience being a virtue, but in this case, it’s important!

CBD I&O: What’s next for NTY? Will you enter new categories? Research new active materials?

Smith: We continue to evaluate ways in which to expand and refine our product line. In addition to launching new products, we stay very close to the evolving work on cannabinoids and other skin care actives. As mentioned, we don’t use just any CBD—we use a specific blend with a high percentage of CBDA for its anti-inflammatory properties. There are more than 100 other cannabinoids on the forefront of scientific research. It’s our focus on finding the most effective blends of these ingredients that we feel will set us apart.