There was loads of speculation on social media across the skincare brand, Urban Skin Rx — known to acknowledge, represent and advocate for accessible clinical skincare for diverse skin tones.
Questions surrounding the ownership of the brand have been circulating on the web with some questioning whether or not the brand is Black-owned and if it was actually stolen from a Black woman. There have also been rumors that a black female chemist was forced out of her position inside the company.
Adding to the drama, in January 2022, Urban Skin Rx was called out by social media influencer @longlegzk for leaving a comment which undermined cultural appropriation, based on Blavity. The brand immediately denied having anything to do with the comment, emphasizing that an outdoor agency was liable for the insensitive response.
“To begin with honey we ain’t attempting to steal nothing from you OK is that an issue that we could have braids,” commented the brand’s TikTok account under a user’s post. The influencer was quick to indicate the discrepancy between the comment and the brand’s principal target market being people of color.
“Why would a brand that markets and caters and targets the urban population not understand the magnitude and impact of cultural appropriation,” the digital creator said in a TikTok video. The influencer identified that Urban Skin Rx was certainly one of the primary brands to collaborate along with her on TikTok. She also expressed her disappointment as she appreciated their products. “I work with Urban Skin Rx, and I’m very confused straight away,” she added.
To bring clarity to the tumultuous stories floating around on the web, Founder and CEO, Rachel Roff, desires to debunk among the myths behind the Urban Skin Rx brand and desires to bring clarity to what the brand is all about.
Is Urban Skin RX Black-owned?
Rachel Roff: As over 51% of the corporate is just not Black-owned, we never communicate or position the corporate as Black-owned. Nonetheless, we do have significant Black ownership with several members of our board, our Founding Medical Director, Dr. David Henderson, and our employees, all of who’ve an equity stake in the corporate.
Was it founded with a Black derm?
RR: Urban Skin Rx was not founded by a dermatologist. Nonetheless, it’s partially owned by Dr. David Henderson, an completed African-American MD who has been with the corporate since 2007, a yr after I began our Medical Spa Urban Skin Solutions, and has also been with the corporate for the reason that starting of the Urban Skin Rx brand of clinical skincare solutions when it was founded in 2010.
Is there a reason we haven’t heard from him?
RR: Dr. Henderson is an internist, and his background was necessary for the 14 years that we grew the medical spa. His involvement allowed us to supply laser treatments, develop a medical weight reduction program, and have an onsite pharmacy. His background and experience are less relevant as the corporate has transitioned into skincare only and now he’s a silent partner.
Is it true that the Black woman chemist, who played an integral part within the formulations, was forced out?
RR: Unfortunately, that rumor has no truth to it, and we’re unsure where it originated. Like all skincare corporations, we work with outside corporations and labs to assist finalize our formulations.
People have said that you just stole the business from a black woman who began the corporate with you. Are you able to speak to that?
RR: I even have also heard and seen these rumors online and would like to set the record straight and discuss the history of the corporate because it is something of which I’m really proud. I founded Urban Skin Solutions Medspa in 2006.
In response to NC law, all medspas that provide medical services will need to have partial ownership by a physician. So in 2007, I used to be thrilled when Dr. Henderson became my partner and received a minority stake within the brand. In 2010, I launched Urban Skin Rx and Dr. Henderson also had a minority stake on this brand as we had a pharmacy on the medspa that made prescription versions of the product line.
In 2013, I began personally treating a female client, who proposed to me that she could help take my brand to a different level with the celebrity and PR relationships she had. I had already seen the impact that celebrity clients had on growing my brand, so I made a decision to maneuver forward. We were partners for a bit of lower than 24 months from 2014 to 2016. She breached her contract severely and didn’t deliver on her contractually obligated deliverables. We parted ways and, under the recommendation of her attorney and the evidence brought forward, she signed an agreement to finish the partnership and I used to be given back her minority share stake within the brand.
I continued to work hard, and the brand grew significantly after that. Two years later, in 2018, I launched at Goal. For the reason that brand’s growth and success, now we have seen false negative narratives shared about each me and my brand because it pertains to the treatment of Black women. Nonetheless, this is solely NOT true and NOT in any respect what I represent and who I’m.
It goes against my core beliefs and values, as my mission has all the time been to contribute to an inclusive and equitable world, especially for the Black community and Black women. Creating an equitable and inclusive corporate team is some of the necessary missions of Urban Skin Rx. Assuring that every one team members are paid equally no matter representation in senior-level positions inside the business, because the communities we serve are equally necessary in ensuring that every one team members are paid equally no matter race, age, or sex.
Why the interest in Black skin, specifically?
RR: My initial interest in clinical skincare wasn’t focused on any particular skin tone. My journey began with my very own trials and tribulations with problem skin. I had severe pimples growing up and a nevus mole on the side of my face, which led to extreme bullying growing up. These experiences are what led to my desire to assist others with their skin concerns. I’ll do my best to make as large of an impact as possible to assist people feel less self-conscious about their skin.
Nonetheless, during my time as an aesthetic student in addition to my first job as an aesthetician and laser tech, I discovered that there have been huge disparities in my area people (Charlotte, NC) inside the aesthetics and dermatology fields, starting with a scarcity of offerings of services and products for tan and darker skin. So I made a decision to open Urban Skin Solutions Medical Spa and Laser Center in 2006 with the mission to supply secure and effective treatments that were inclusive of all skin tones. Nonetheless, we did something very different than our competitors within the Charlotte area.
We made it clear that we offered secure and effective skin and laser treatments that included tanned and deeper skin tones and, as a consequence of the proven fact that nobody else was promoting this, inside 6-12 months, our customer base consisted of mostly Black women.
As a founder with limited resources focused on growing this business, I used to be ecstatic. One, because I actually had a busy, booming business, which is every entrepreneur’s dream, but I used to be also helping to enhance a horrific disparity regarding treating skin of color within the skin and aesthetics industry of Charlotte.
Lots of my closest friends and members of the family have skin of color, and with the ability to help them with their lifelong struggles was gold to me. I never once planned on making a skincare line. My long-term goal was to franchise my medical spa, but after I did finally create Urban Skin Rx, it was never with the hope of being an enormous retail brand.
The Urban Skin Rx product line got here about strictly to further provide solutions for the clients I used to be seeing in my medical spa being treated by myself and my team of aestheticians. One of the best results come not only from skilled treatments but additionally from using the precise ingredients in your skin day by day.
Owning a worldwide public retail distributed brand, where I’m now somewhat of a public figure, is far more complicated than simply running a medical spa where each client gets to know me personally, see our diverse team, and experience our company’s mission and values in an individual. I do know that. Whatever the amazing work we do to support inclusivity or the Black community, it’s unimaginable for all clients to see the authenticity and genuineness of our mission, and I even have to simply accept that not everyone will agree with or support a majority non-Black owned company specializing in skin take care of deeper skin tones whose customers are mostly Black women. But my stance is and can all the time be that I refuse to disregard injustice or disparity in society simply because it doesn’t directly affect me.
I opened this business at 24 years old, never considering it might grow to be what it’s today, and although the financial stability and opportunities the success of the brand has brought me usually are not to be minimized, I promise you that wasn’t for one moment what made me start this company nor what keeps me showing as much as work every single day. What keeps me showing up is the hundreds of truly amazing reviews and testimonies about how life-changing our formulas really are.
Are you able to explain the TikTok comment mishap?
On the time, we were using an agency to administer all points of our TikTok account, from creating content, postings on TikTok, community management, in addition to promoting. While we could never prove it, we imagine someone on their team made the comment while on our account. The influencer that the offensive comment was made to is definitely an influencer now we have worked with for over a yr prior to working with the third party agency.
Are you continue to using that outside agency?
RR: No. They were let go immediately.
One other critique is the tone with which the brand page responds to its critics—do you see anything fallacious with the confrontational approach often taken?
RR: Transparently, the defensive comments come from me. I’m energetic on our social media account and at times I do every thing from answering comments and inquiries to doing social listening. That is how I keep a detailed eye on our brand and what’s and isn’t necessary or resonating with our consumers and followers. Although a lot of the comments and reviews on social media are very positive, those which might be negative, especially those which might be targeted at me, are very hurtful and I take them very personally.
Many of the accusations are completely false rumors which have ignited loads of emotions in me. It is extremely hard to read these comments without wanting to clear my name and set the record straight. But I agree that, unfortunately, these comments have come across in a defensive or confrontational tone.
On a private level, it’s so frustrating to see these rumors spread and folks imagine them with none proof. Nonetheless, I fully understand that my defensive or confrontational approach isn’t skilled, especially from our business page.
What percentage of USRX employees are Black?
RR: 53% of Urban Skin Rx employees are Black, of whom 46% are managers, 33% are C-Suite, and 40% are board of directors.
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