Why Danielle Gronich and Kayleigh Christina chose subtraction over more actives

I was clear in under two months, Kayleigh Christina says of meeting Danielle Gronich, and that small span explains a whole shelf.

Gronich had lived with cystic breakouts for over a decade. Antibiotics, birth control, laser sessions and three courses of Accutane had all failed to hold. She stepped away from a path toward medical school, trained in cellular biology and genetics and then as a licensed clinical esthetician, and opened San Diego Acne Clinic in La Jolla in 2014, a space that treats acne only. Christina, a nutritionist, arrived as a patient after years with doctors and dermatologists brought no change. Gronich helped clear her skin in less than eight weeks. The pair brought CLEARSTEM to life in 2017.

The line calls itself an acne range that joins inner and outer care, with capsules and topicals that contain zero pore clogging ingredients at any time. The promise on the homepage speaks to people dealing with breakouts plus visible aging together. The company stays self funded. In 2025 BeautyMatter noted that 95 percent of sales came direct to consumer, while the store finder now shows 611 Target doors in 46 states. Two hero products share a price and approach skin from different directions: a moisturizer built on bakuchiol and a once daily capsule.

Second Skin cares less about the origin story than about the object in the hand. The Standards page lists twenty ingredient groups the brand will not touch, from parabens and petrochemicals through benzoyl peroxide, a drying staple in many blemish ranges. Under that sits a screen of more than 200 comedogenic materials kept out of every formula. For readers who keep jars out where they can see them, the reminder is useful. Botanical and non clogging are separate ideas, and clean reveals little about how a pore will respond. What matters here is slip, finish and weight, and whether a cream sinks or sits.

What does get in is picked for feel as well as function: bakuchiol in place of retinol with its flaking, mandelic acid in place of sharper acids with their sting, sulfur in place of benzoyl peroxide. Each texture is meant to layer cleanly in a small morning ritual and leave a soft matte finish rather than tack. Gronich talks like the clinician and formulator, Christina like the nutritionist and former patient. Each returns to removal as the first routine step. Clearer looking skin, in their account, begins by taking things away.

Kayleigh, you walked into the clinic in your mid twenties, and Danielle transformed your skin in less than two months. What did she understand that nobody else had grasped?

Thanks for having us. I had tried all the clean options, all the home mixes, all the office advice. Nothing held. I felt untouched and unseen until I met Danielle. I was dealing with several health concerns then, and as a nutritionist I sensed a lot was happening below the surface. No one had treated my face and my body as one picture. Danielle reviewed everything: my meals, my topicals, my hormones. Within eight weeks my skin looked clear.

As she started to build her own line, I joined right away. I carried the nutrition lens and a fixation on quality sourcing. She carried the clinic and the outcomes. It fit. Very few people can get to La Jolla for care, and we hoped to help more of them reach skin they had quit expecting.

Thank you both for taking the time to talk. Danielle, you were 28 when your third course of Accutane failed. What did that course show you that the first two had not shown?

Thanks for having us too. It showed me the drug would never touch why I kept breaking out, and no one was searching for that why. The side effects felt severe, my eyesight was worsening, and the blemishes returned right away, like the earlier times. That period gave me a line I still use: acne care is broken in both skincare and pharma.

So I left corporate work and studied cellular biology and genetics. Medical school had been the plan, and I trained as an esthetician instead, because the role I needed was missing: a dedicated acne specialist who works on inner and outer triggers. So I stepped into it.

In 2014 I opened San Diego Acne Clinic, and acne is all we see. That narrow focus makes you investigate. You review what a person applies and what is unfolding internally, and you lift triggers one by one. And we never ask someone to drop a staple unless we can hand them another option.

HYDRAGLOW, the labels best selling skincare product, blends bakuchiol with an argan plant stem cell culture and squalane. Danielle, why choose bakuchiol over retinol, in a line meant to soften aging too?

Because my own skin remembers the other route. A hyped category is the white cream form of Retin-A. It is prescribed often, yet it contains isopropyl myristate, one of the harshest pore clogging fillers. That base ruined my skin on every attempt. No matter what the active offered, the vehicle fought it.

Bakuchiol is a botanical retinol alternative. It offers the retinol look people seek, smoother feeling texture and softer appearing lines, free from sun sensitivity, redness or flaking. Argan stem cells support a plumper appearance, and squalane echoes natural skin oils, so it guards the barrier without a heavy sit.

I see it as our Goldilocks jar: rich enough to comfort, light enough to stay clear. The cream has cushion on the fingertip, then melts down to a dewy but breathable finish. Smooth a generous layer over clean face, neck and chest, morning and evening, and allow it to settle before SPF or base.

Kayleigh, you told BeautyMatter that skincare is about more than the bottle. MINDBODYSKIN, which the brand calls its number one bestselling daily capsule, has more than 1,300 reviews on your site. What is a supplement doing inside an acne routine, and where does it end?

Skincare is about more than the bottle alone. It involves habits, meals, stress, even training time. Many breakouts tie inward: tension, blood sugar swings, digestion, gaps, hormones. As a nutritionist I could not set that aside, and Danielle never did in the clinic.

MINDBODYSKIN holds that inner part in capsule form: DIM for hormonal shifts, vitamin A, B5 for hydration, plus turmeric, milk thistle and dandelion root to support normal body processes. It suits oily or blemish prone skin seeking steadier balance.

It has edges, and we state them. It will not fix blemishes driven by comedogenic topicals, so checking the shelf remains required. It is not for pregnancy or nursing. Since 5-HTP may clash with certain drugs, including SSRIs, we offer MINDBODYSKIN 2 made without it. And we suggest three months. Skin did not arrive here in seven days.

Danielle, your Standards page starts with a simple sentence: Your skincare should love your skin, not clog it. You have said many pore clogging ingredients are still common in clean beauty. For a reader who believes plant based means gentle, where does that belief fail?

It comes down to omission as much as inclusion. We keep out more than 200 pore clogging inputs, plenty of them still widespread in clean beauty. Organic can still block a pore. Botanical names an origin. It says zero about follicle behavior.

That gap faced us at launch. Adult breakouts persist through the 20s, 30s and 40s, yet typical blemish care strips and ages the look, while typical age care leans on rich fillers that trigger spots. No one should have to pick.

So screening leads, and plants earn no exemption. When a botanical sits on our list, it stays out, however pretty it reads on glass. We also made the Pore-Clogging Checker so shoppers can paste any ingredient list and read the result themselves.

CLEARITY, the serum the brand calls the Blackhead Dissolver, pairs 8 percent mandelic acid with pyruvic acid and turmeric, and the directions ask you to leave it resting on the skin for at least ten minutes. Danielle, why mandelic, and why the pause before the next step?

Mandelic is my top acid pick for blemish prone skin. It lifts buildup without the burn many link with acids, so it fits a barrier already under strain. Pyruvic acid smooths, and turmeric visibly brightens and settles. As a trio they address the look of clogged pores and rough texture. The fluid itself is thin and watery, with quick glide and no sticky after feel.

Ten minutes counts. Press three pumps onto clean dry skin at night, work over face, neck and chest, then pause. Do not rinse. That solo time lets it sink in. Layer CELLRENEW or BOUNCEBACK after.

I stay frank about the ramp. When skin runs sensitive, or the barrier is worn from strong products, start on alternate nights. Some users begin nightly, feel worse early on, and cannot separate purge from irritation. A slower entry prevents most of that. And keep the serum clear of the eyes themselves.

Benzoyl peroxide is on CLEARSTEMS never use list, beside coal tar, triclosan and formaldehyde releasing preservatives. For an acne brand that decision feels deliberate. Kayleigh, what did you hope to offer instead?

Older spot care was often just harshly drying. Formulas leaned on benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, often with alcohol denat, which may bring more irritation. You got a flaky crust over a bump that stayed put, and with time that dryness reads like age. So we aimed at that pair of issues. Our answer combined sulfur, zinc and glycolic acid, which feel far calmer. Our SULFUR SPOT&MASK centers on 5 percent sulfur. It goes on with a soft mineral slip and dries to a light film that rinses clean.

The hidden part is duration. Each launch has slipped, usually by six more weeks, while something was reworked. From a marketing chair that hurts. Yet I prefer shifting a date to shipping something that clogs our community. They hand us their skin, and that confidence is the company.

Most people will never reach a treatment room in La Jolla, and we wanted to help more of them find the skin they had stopped hoping for.

Kayleigh Christina

WWD quoted you both as saying, Education is our first product, and it always will be. Kayleigh, your tagline came from customers too. How did it start?

Our community kept saying, You changed my life. We shaped that into our tagline: clear skin changes everything. It was not coined in a conference room. Our people gave it to us.

Teaching leads because Danielle taught me that way. She mapped what was happening, and with that map I could choose better alone. We hope all readers get that, buyer or not. So we keep sharing: digital and in person masterclasses across the country, our show, the Pore-Clogging Checker, the full never use roster.

We also teach no compromise. We want to hold both, blemishes and age signs. That dual lane is one we plan to keep and lead. As doors expand, the standard stays. Every retail moment should carry the care built online.

Danielle, you told BeautyMatter that you intentionally held off on outside funding to protect control of your formulas, and you have said those formulas pass clinical testing with a follicular biopsy. What does that control give you in return?

We intentionally held off on outside funding for the brand. We aimed to protect our formulas and our voice with the community. No partner can press us to trade for a cheaper emollient or push a release to meet a target.

That freedom shapes our testing. Each formula passes thorough clinical review with follicular biopsy to confirm non-comedogenic and non-acnegenic status. They answer separate items: does it plug the pore, and does it spark inflamed spots. Our audience requires both replies.

It also lets us be exact. Phenoxyethanol appears on our never use roster above 1 percent. Under that threshold, it backs our natural preservation, helps us skip parabens, and shows safe results for sensitive skin. Any water based item needs guarding, and I prefer to explain our method plainly. When a newcomer finds CLEARSTEM, we hope the reaction is, Finally, this brand was made for me. Because it truly was.

Your two most familiar formulas land at the same price, $58: HYDRAGLOW and MINDBODYSKIN, which together carry over 2,400 reviews on your site. Kayleigh, if a reader is breaking out and seeing fine lines at once, where should they begin?

Begin with the shelf you have. Paste everything through the Pore-Clogging Checker, with makeup, shampoo and conditioner included. It costs nothing, and for many it creates the largest shift. MINDBODYSKIN cannot counter spots caused by comedogenic care, so this audit goes first.

Then trade the moisturizer, since one already lives in the routine, which makes it a simple switch. HYDRAGLOW is the jar people name as their first moisturizer free from breakouts. When flares track cycle or stress, I would layer in MINDBODYSKIN, and allow some months.

And stay gentle with yourself through it. We aim to be the top inner and outer answer for clear skin. Beyond that, we hope people feel noticed, heard and safe.

Closing note from the desk

What remains after talking is how tactile the logic feels. Gronich edits like someone who tests slip and weight: a failed prescription course three times over, a chalky white base that undid its active, 200 textures that never made the jar. Christina adds what fingers cannot reach, from meals and strain to cycles. Together they argue that a formula should earn space through behavior in pores and pleasure in use, and a leaf gets no credit simply for being a leaf.

CLEARSTEM wanted one shelf for people who spot and line at once, free from dryness or plugs, matched with inner care a thoughtful clinic already gives. It pursues that with few chosen helpers, a wide refusal list and constant plain spoken teaching. The frosted jar and measured pump matter here too, since an object kept in view invites steady use. Put simply, that is the house.

Product spotlight

HYDRAGLOW Plant Stem Cell Moisturizer feels cushiony on fingertips at $58 for 2 oz, or $20 for a .5 oz mini. A morning to night cream for blemish prone skin showing early lines, made with bakuchiol, argan plant stem cells and squalane. Massage a generous veil across clean face, neck and chest twice daily, and give it a moment to sink before SPF or makeup.

MINDBODYSKIN Hormonal Acne Supplement, $58 for one bottle with 90 capsules, or $46.40 with subscription. A daily inner support capsule with DIM, vitamin A, B5, turmeric, milk thistle and dandelion. Swallow one to three capsules daily alongside food. Marked not for use in pregnancy or nursing, with MINDBODYSKIN 2 sold without 5-HTP.