Brands are making acne marketing fun again

After decades of shaming blemishes, marks and scars, here’s how the beauty industry got the hots for spots

“A long time ago in a galaxy far away, it was a period of war on acne,” proclaims a mysterious scroll from United States-based skincare brand, Starface. With the intergalactic visuals and ’90s-inspired typeface on its website, the sci-fi enthusiast in you can be justifiably forgiven for forgetting what the brand really wants to sell you: hydrocolloid patches for dealing with pesky, last-minute acne. As you peruse the brand’s other offerings, you might as well be interacting with an older, impossibly cooler cousin who has just returned from a summer abroad. In an online quiz to understand your skin type, the brand asks, “What was the most popular song when you were in seventh grade?” in lieu of the conventional questions about age. Another question wants to know how you’d describe your acne if it were a common household pet. I opted for dog (loyal, sometimes a little too energetic) while chuckling over the other options—fish, for instance (loves to stay hydrated)—even as another realisation sunk in: this was the first time I wasn’t seeing my acne as a demon to be vilified, but possibly a fickle friend who didn’t know when to flare up and when to pipe down.

The problem with conventional acne marketing

To understand what makes this approach truly radical, it is essential to flip the pages back on the history of acne marketing in the media. For the longest time, the anti-acne aisle was propped on the twin pillars of fear-mongering and shame. Advertisements showed pubescent girls agonising over blemishes and marks before the latest cream, potion or miracle formula du jour ushered in a renaissance. To my adolescent brain, the messaging was clear: acne was something to be embarrassed about and to be gotten rid of before the bell rang at school the next morning, leading to a slew of ill-advised home remedies and one particularly regrettable run-in with garlic cloves.

Shamika Haldipurkar, founder of d’you skincare, remains unfazed by my story as she has observed fear to be a persuasive tool in beauty marketing. “Blemishes, scars and marks—all signs of living, breathing skin—have been demonised through traditional marketing with brands peddling their products under the promise of ‘blemish-free and perfect skin’. The notion of scarless skin has been sold by cosmetic brands for years when in reality, OTC skincare can only help to a certain extent when dealing with skin conditions like acne vulgaris,” she says.

This sentiment is seconded by Siddharth Somaiya, founder of Organic Riot, who further expresses his doubts over the beauty industry’s credentials to dispense anti-acne treatments. “Acne is a complex issue and should be tackled by doctors and trained medical professionals—we often recommend our consumers to consult a doctor before purchasing our products to weed out any underlying hormonal fluctuations or dietary issues. ‘Acne’ is legally a medical term and not something to be used as rampantly as it is used today. Yes, the beauty industry can deal with your random breakouts, but acne is beyond what we should attempt to ‘cure’,” he observes.

Acne marketing 2.0: Funner flare-ups for everyone!

From the ashes of conventional marketing and gimmicky tactics, a new wave of skincare brands is making acne marketing informative and accessible to everyone. There are the products—fun, kitschy stickers that could have easily been stolen from your third-grade art class—and then there is the way in which they are being sold to you. The age-old marketing playbook has been swapped in favour of an inclusive, non-judgemental approach that wants you to enjoy those last-minute breakouts.

Further proof can be found in Gen Z-backed brand, Topicals, that promises ‘skincare for funner flare-ups’ so you can become the ‘spottie hottie’ that you deserve to be. Meanwhile, Starface founder Julie Schott recalls how she was prompted to launch her own offering after observing firsthand the negative terminology used for acne during her days as a beauty editor. In response, her sunshine-hued brand serves up star-faced pimple patches housed in a smiley-faced pod to normalise acne treatments.

For Haldipurkar, the long overdue change has been birthed due to a mindset shift in how we perceive acne. “Today, with the evolution of conscious marketing, brands are choosing to address the nuances of acne management through their marketing in a more responsible way. The change in focus on ingredient functions—such as controlling sebum production and oxidation with niacinamide and antioxidants—is a better way of marketing anti-acne products than promising ‘blemish-free’ skin,” she says.

Somaiya agrees that introducing an element of honesty in the process can go a long way toward dispelling the stigma around acne for consumers. “Brands need to be honest about the extent of their capabilities and refrain from using models with photoshopped faces and make-up, so that consumers don’t expect them to look at them after a few days of using the products. It is also necessary to refer customers to medical professionals so they can get real help for their issues when needed. The ultimate goal shouldn’t always be to sell a product, but to ensure that customers get the best help. Perhaps this is truly utopian but this is the future I would like to believe in for the skincare industry,” he concludes.

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