Two women, Danielle Gronich (owner of San Diego Acne Clinic) and Kayleigh Christina (a holistic nutritionist) founded the brand CLEARSTEM in San Diego, CA. CLEARSTEM Skincare is a ground-breaking skincare brand that offers both anti-aging and anti-acne solutions, free from any hormone disruptors or toxins. Danielle and Kayleigh’s mutual passion for holistic skin health and whole-body wellness brought them together after Kayleigh visited San Diego Acne Clinic seeking help for her severe cystic acne. They noticed that existing skincare products contained ingredients that clogged pores or disrupted hormones, so they partnered with a renowned cosmetic chemist to create CELLRENEW, a serum that reverses acne scars, regulates oil production, reduces inflammation and redness, and increases collagen and elasticity in the skin.
In 2017, Danielle and Kayleigh partnered to dedicate their lives and careers to creating CLEARSTEM Skincare, ensuring that their products provide positive change without compromising health. They pioneered the anti-aging and anti-acne skincare category and also developed the Ditch Your Acne Protocol, which has trained thousands of estheticians and helped people eliminate acne permanently. CLEARSTEM Skincare has won multiple beauty awards, including Women’s Health Magazine’s Best Exfoliator For Acne-Prone Skin, and has been featured in various media outlets such as Forbes, Poosh, Entrepreneur, Buzzfeed, The Zoe Report, and Refinery 29.
Danielle Gronich
Growing up in a family of scientists, Danielle Gronich always found the human body fascinating. During college, she dove into the intricacies of cellular biology, genetics, and immunology with the intention of pursuing a career in medicine. However, struggling with acne made her realize that the medical system primarily focuses on prescribing medication rather than promoting healing. As a result, she decided to forgo medical school and enter the corporate world. After working in business consulting for several years, she gained valuable insights into running a business. Despite this shift in career, her love for science persisted, and she continued to expand her knowledge of biology through research, biohacking, and reading scientific papers on topics that interested her.
Danielle Gronich’s first company is San Diego Acne Clinic, which she started after a decade of unsuccessful treatments for her own acne, including antibiotics, birth control pills, and multiple rounds of Accutane. When she was 28 and the last round of Accutane did not work, she realized that the only way to solve her problem was to become an acne specialist herself. After studying under some mentors, she founded the San Diego Acne Clinic, which fulfilled her dream of working in the medical profession.
While treating her co-founder, Kayleigh Christina, as a patient, Danielle was developing a stem cell serum to heal scars in her ethnic clients. She shared the lab samples with Kayleigh, and the serum proved to be highly effective, restoring Kayleigh’s skin to perfection in just a few months. Inspired by this success, Danielle and Kayleigh joined forces to bring education and high-quality products to the stagnant acne industry, and CLEARSTEM was born.
Danielle’s role as CEO is to hire great people, to make sure my team is thriving and has the autonomy to do their best work, to innovate amazing formulas that help people, & to educate the masses through our customer value journey. The values are: being obsessed with wellness, being action- and solution-oriented, and being one with the customer at all times. This creates a strong north star that helps us resonate with our purpose and do our best work.
Kayleigh Christina
Since she was young, Kayleigh Christina has been passionate about health and has been mindful of the impact of food, stress, and skincare on her energy, mood, focus, and bodily reactions. Her family background in mathematics and science encouraged her to explore the underlying reasons behind these observations. Prior to her involvement with CLEARSTEM, Kayleigh worked as a holistic nutritionist, providing consultations to both individuals and brands. She also wrote for her blog, as well as for other publications in the health industry, and hosted a podcast. In addition to her work in nutrition, she was intrigued by branding and the community-building strategies employed by cult-like brands. To further her knowledge on the topic, she attended trade shows such as Expo West to observe and learn from successful brand-building practices.
At the age of 24, Kayleigh Christina experienced a severe outbreak of bright red, inflamed cystic acne that persisted for months. Despite consulting numerous doctors, dermatologists, and estheticians, the only treatment options offered to her were birth control pills, antibiotics, or Accutane, none of which appealed to her as a holistic nutritionist due to their potential long-term consequences. Kayleigh sought to understand the root cause of her condition, but her inquiries were met with a lack of clarity or insight. Frustrated, she decided to explore alternative approaches, experimenting with skincare and special diets. Just as she was considering taking a more temporary and superficial approach, she discovered the San Diego Acne Clinic, owned by Danielle Gronich, who would later become her co-founder.
When Kayleigh met Danielle, she finally found someone who listened to her concerns and recognized the underlying cause of her acne. Together, they identified 12 different acne triggers, including the use of pore-clogging ingredients in her skincare products, which had gone unnoticed by other medical professionals. Kayleigh eliminated all 12 acne triggers and began using the skincare products that Danielle had formulated with a chemist and that would later become known as CLEARSTEM. Within two months, Kayleigh’s skin was completely clear, with no scarring, thanks to Danielle’s expertise and the effectiveness of CLEARSTEM’s original formula.
Recognizing the potential of their joint expertise, Danielle and Kayleigh decided to collaborate and create a brand that would combine both education and products to address the root causes of acne and related skin issues. Danielle brought her clinical experience and product formulation skills, while Kayleigh contributed her brand-building and marketing expertise. Together, they developed a brand that focused on educating people about the underlying causes of acne and providing effective products to minimize breakouts, fine lines, scar damage, melasma, and other related issues. Their goal was to provide a holistic approach to skincare that prioritized long-term solutions over temporary fixes.
Kayleigh’s position as Chief Growth Officer involves supervising various departments and aspects of the brand that focus on expanding the brand’s reach. This includes initiatives such as organizing brand events, creating podcasts, building a community, establishing ambassador programs, utilizing influencer marketing, implementing social media strategies, and introducing new educational programs. The goal is to take a comprehensive approach to growth and ensure that every decision made that interacts with customers is consistent with the brand’s values and central mission (as mentioned by Danielle). Additionally, Kayleigh ensures that customer needs are acknowledged, comprehended, and communicated back to them by CLEARSTEM. As co-founders and brand representatives, Danielle and Kayleigh work closely together, particularly in creating marketing material and educational content.
Addressing Major Skin Care Challenges
CLEARSTEM offers unique formulas that address both aging and acne with low toxicity profiles, blending the categories of acne, anti-aging, and clean beauty into a single skincare line that works for over 90% of people. The MINDBODYSKIN supplement is a revolutionary product designed for hormonal acne and is a highly effective alternative to toxic pharmaceuticals, showing results in less than a week. Unlike other skincare brands, CLEARSTEM has connected with customers on a deeper level, especially those who have been failed by traditional treatments and are looking for lasting solutions instead of quick fixes. By listening to their customers, teaching them about the root causes of acne, and offering effective products, CLEARSTEM has revolutionized the skincare industry.
Education to Relieving Suffering
Acne can severely diminish an individual’s self-confidence, leaving behind both physical and emotional scars that may persist for a long time. Unfortunately, Kayleigh and Danielle have found that the healthcare professionals they trust are constrained by the medical system and tend to focus solely on writing prescriptions without addressing the underlying causes of acne. The CLEARSTEM team aims to transform the industry by alleviating suffering and empowering people to take charge of their health in the long run, rather than resorting to temporary solutions that may exacerbate their frustration. Ultimately, the team is driven by the desire to make a positive impact and help people regain control of their health.
Following High Standard Work Ethics
CLEARSTEM follows a standard process for innovation, which involves creating formulas that can serve multiple functions simultaneously and deliver immediate results. The company maintains high standards when developing new products and only releases items that meet their obsession-level expectations. Since the team comprises its own customer base, they ensure that everything they produce is what they would want for themselves.
On the brand side, CLEARSTEM’s goal is to provide their customers with the most relevant information and education possible. They prioritize making a massive impact on a large scale, rather than promoting themselves. To achieve this, the company creates resources that are easy to understand and accessible, so people don’t feel overwhelmed. The team has a dedicated social media unit, a Skincare Learning Center, email flows, and podcasts, all aimed at providing support to those struggling with acne.
Spreading Awareness Among People towards their Health
Danielle and Kayleigh are passionate about encouraging people to rethink the way they approach their health and ask more meaningful questions. They believe that having influence comes with a responsibility to expand people’s perspectives. Their aim is to encourage individuals to consider the bigger picture and contemplate the main factors that impact their well-being and happiness, rather than living in fear.
Their ultimate goal is to empower people to take control of their own bodies and health. It saddens them to witness individuals grappling with various health problems, such as digestive issues, skin conditions, hair loss, sudden weight changes, and inflammation, and simply being given a prescription rather than identifying and addressing the root cause. They aim to motivate people to broaden their thinking, listen to their bodies, be more inquisitive, and adopt a curious mindset. They believe that being in sync with one’s body rather than feeling frustrated is a truly magical experience.
Focusing on Constant Expansion
According to Danielle and Kayleigh, in the next 5 years, CLEARSTEM Skincare will have significantly expanded its retail presence and increased its international presence. The brand will also introduce a telehealth wing to supplement or replace the traditional dermatologist experience and create a training arm for healthcare professionals to learn about holistic acne care. They are both enthusiastic about the brand’s growth and have several exciting projects in the pipeline, including new products, educational resources, support, telehealth services, clinics, and expanding into additional retail locations. With endless ideas for expansion, the possibilities for the company are limitless.
Advice for Young Leaders
Danielle’s advice for young leaders is to get as many mentors as they can who have done what they are trying to do. She says, “A mentor can be someone you know or someone you want to emulate, who you learn from. Also to be learning from various outlets so your mind is always being expanded. It’s also critical to understand your margins if you have physical products and to reinvest everything into marketing for the first 3+ years.”
Kayleigh always says, “don’t start something until you can’t not start it. Entrepreneurship is not easy, you have to truly believe in your mission, yourself, and your product or service. Learn to build your confidence, your resiliency muscle, and your ability not to take things personally. You are more powerful than you think. Know that and believe that no matter what you are building or what career you are in.”
Written by Steve Sanchez.
