Nutrafol Launches Women’s Acne- fighting Skin Supplement
This marks the brand's first category expansion outside of hair.
Nutrafol is entering the skin care game.
On Monday, the brand, previously known for its hair growth supplements and topical products, is launching Nutrafol Skin, $88, a nutraceutical for women that aims to address the six root causes of acne, including stress, hormones, lifestyle, immune function, metabolism and microbiome. The product will be available on Nutrafol.com, Sephora.com and in select Sephora stores.
According to Nutrafol director of product education Dr. Brianna Diorio, skin was a surprisingly natural extension for the brand, which was acquired by Unilever in 2022.
"What we saw from an anecdotal evidence standpoint was that there were people who were taking some of our hair growth nutraceuticals and they were seeing some side benefits like clear skin," she said. "What we also heard from the dermatological partners that we had is that some of them were off-labeling some of our hair growth nutraceuticals for patients with acne."
After learning this in 2022, the team began doing market research to find what acne solutions were available. According to Diorio, they found that "acne [is] the number-one skin care concern for women 18 to 59" and "it's one of the top three complaints that patients are going into the derm offices for." Concurrently, the team discovered that only 14 percent of women felt their acne treatment was working.
"There were all these different options, but at the same time, it seemed like there was a dearth of things that were going to be working," said Diorio.
Using 355 ingredient research papers and 140 root cause research papers, the team was able to create a formula that, like the hair nutraceuticals, aims to address the root causes of acne. The formula includes ingredients like curcumin and vitamin D to support a healthy immune system, pre-, pro- and postbiotics for gut health and berberine, thought to boost metabolism (berberine has recently become a hot ingredient, as companies and users are referring to it as "nature's Ozempic").
As with Nutrafol's other supplements, the skin protocol is four capsules a day taken ideally with meals. Users will likely see faster results with the skin version than the hair one, according to Diorio.
"People started seeing results in four to 12 weeks," she said. "In the first four weeks, we're seeing balanced oil production and reduced acne breakouts. Five to eight, we're seeing improved skin clarity, texture, hydration, then reduced redness. Nine to 12 weeks and beyond, we were seeing visibly clear skin and improved post-acne dark spots."
While the team was tight-lipped to share specific future skin care launches, Diorio was optimistic more is to come. Since Nutrafol's launch, it has expanded its hair offerings to include nutraceuticals for specific use cases — men's, women's, vegan, postpartum — as well as topical formats like shampoo, conditioner and hair serums.
“This is so much more than simply an expansion into a new product category — it's an opportunity for us to make a tremendous impact and help more people," said Nutrafol cofounder and chief executive officer Giorgos Tsetis. "I founded Nutrafol because of my own experience and the emotional toll hair thinning can take. We know skin and hair concerns mirror our inner health, and our mission is to extend our impact to as many individuals as possible.”