Sarah Mirsini on Building a Clean Beauty Brand: MĀSK Skincare

About Sarah Mirsini:  Sarah is the founder of MĀSK Skincare, a clean non-toxic skincare brand that uses CBD and other cannabinoids in their creations.

How did you get started in the beauty industry?

The way that I got started in the industry, I think a lot of people can relate to- I suffered from cystic acne from a very young age and started having cystic acne when I was 13. My formulations and all of my products are based on my personal skincare journey. As many of you know it is not easy to combat and to figure out what is wrong with your skin when you have cystic acne.

I went through so many different things, I went on medication, I changed my diet, I tried so many different skincare products and nothing seemed to work for me. When I was in my late 20’s I was so depressed and very confused about why this was still happening, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I signed up for and completed my holistic wellness course certification, and in that 18 month course I was introduced to hemp and decided to try it myself despite all of the stigmas and the reputation that CBD had back then, this was back in 2017 - and it just completely changed my life.

Back then there was really no CBD skincare, so I took the tinctures and padded them on my skin, either as serum or as a topical solution for when I had inflammation and acne, or I would mix them in with my moisturizer and the results for me, were just beyond incredible.

I started noticing less redness, less inflammation and my acne wasn’t as swollen, inflamed or painful anymore, and it just completely changed how I thought about how to treat skin both from an internal, and external solution, and that’s when I just thought - what do I have to lose I have to try to create something and that is when MĀSK Skincare was born.

A lot of people think we are called MĀSK Skincare because we carry sheet masks, but it’s much deeper message than that. It’s all about the masks that we carry throughout the day. We have one that we wear with our colleagues, one with our friends, one with our family, one with our significant others - but for me it was the mask that I revealed to myself at the end of the day, when I took all of my makeup off, when my blemishes and my uneven skin was reflecting back at me. That was the reflection that I did not like, that was the mask that I did not approve of.  So our goal here at MĀSK Skincare is to make you feel more comfortable in your own skin, be proud of your own skin and know that we are in this skin journey together.

What is some advice you would give to your younger self, or anyone wanting to break into the beauty industry?

Advice that I would give to young entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs that want to go into the beauty industry is - do you research. One of the lessons that I learned is that it takes a lot of money, especially to create a skincare brand, so you need to figure out if you are going to have a full time job, or are you going to use your savings, are you going to take up a small business loan, or are you going to have your friends & family help you in the beginning and give them a share in your company. These are things that you have to think about, and also the amount of product skus that you want to put it out.

I have to honestly admit that I was very new in the product development side of the beauty industry, I had worked in marketing in social media for several beauty companies before entering into this venture, but I never knew what it actually took to create a skincare brand from the very beginning to the finished result.

Planning & Mentorship:

Having a plan and especially finding a mentor is very important. Don’t be scared to reach out to people because if someone reaches out to me with questions, or wants to have a conversation - first of all, I am so honored that someone is watching my work and wants to learn from me. So don’t think you are bothering or disturbing anyone, because I think they will appreciate that you are reaching out to them, and see that you are where they were when they first started, and finding a mentor and finding someone that can give you advice and help you on your skincare or business journey is very helpful.

Other Important lessons: 

Figuring out early on who your audience is, is also very important. I know from my personal experience, it’s easy to get wrapped up with trends, the beauty industry is very big and it is difficult to break into - so early figure out who your audience is, who your primary audience is and who your secondary audience is, and then figure out who you want to cater to - because trust me, it is impossible to cater to everyone and you need to have thick skin as an entrepreneur.

What were your first wins and challenges?

I am 4 years in and still to this day, whenever I get an email about “I don’t like your formulation”, or “your product that doesn’t work for me” or “I want my money back” - you are going to get people that your product and your formulations are not a suitable fit for, but it took me a while to not take that personally, and not get upset when I would get this feedback.

I would always try to tweak my formulations and call my lab and see what we could do better, but as you go through this process you learn that all skin is different and that everyone is different - so focus on your core audience and your core message, and when you stick to that, that is what's going to help your brand grow.

What we figured out pretty early, is that we wanted to break into the spa and Medspa industry because of the effectiveness of our formulations. So that is where we are now, and that industry is what we want to focus on in the next 2-3 years. We also want to develop a full backbar of skus. We want to focus on our main formulations and help people that go to an aesthetician or dermatologist figure out their skin problems, just like I did.

If there’s one thing I want to say is, don’t get discouraged. If you’re really passionate about the beauty industry, and you have a great idea  - go for it. There is room for everyone, and there are so many things that haven’t been developed yet, or can be tweaked or built upon, or new things that can come out on the market. Even on days when I am tired, I would rather work 24/7 for myself, then work 9-5 for someone else where I'm not happy.

Where can we continue to follow your journey?

I wish you guys all the best, and if you’d like to reach out and ask me anything, you can reach out on our website or social channels at https://maskskincare.com or https://www.instagram.com/maskskincarecom/.