Shop Small is a monthly series highlighting small business owners from diverse backgrounds. This series aims to go deeper than your typical product roundup, diving into the inspirational stories behind some of our favorite brands. By taking a behind-the-scenes look at how their shops came to be and highlighting the products they (and their shoppers!) love, we hope to put a deserving spotlight on these marginalized business owners.
With the popularity of Instagram and TikTok, tweens and teens are obsessed with skincare — but not all products are safe for their sensitive skin. Blume creates products specifically for young people, whether they're experiencing acne or simply want to experiment with skincare for the first time. The key? "Gentle products that boosts the skin's natural barrier," says Taran Ghatrora, co-founder of Blume.
Taran and her sister, Bunny, started Blume in 2018 while they were students. What once was a period subscription brand quickly transformed into a successful skincare business that caters to Gen Zers. From its best-selling acne oil, scar fade serum and power patches meant to zap zits within hours to period patches and an essential oil to soothe PMS cramps, Blume creates products with the goal of making puberty feel less daunting.
We took a deeper dive into Blume and spoke with Taran about her journey starting the business with her sister, the ingredients in their acne-fighting products and goals for the growing brand.
What has been your biggest aspiration with Blume?
When we first started Blume, we learned that 60% of girls and women could pinpoint that their self esteem plummets during puberty. A huge part of our mission is changing that statistic, by showing real skin and diverse people in our marketing — and never photoshopping. Overall, we want to promote healthy skin over perfect skin.
What's unique about Blume's products?
The biggest thing is our approach to sensitive and acne-prone skin. Most acne treatments aren't formulated for sensitive skin and can be really harsh. They have ingredients like benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid and retinol.
There's this myth that if you have acne, you need to use ingredients that are going to strip the oils and dry out your skin. Instead, Blume focuses on adding in that hydration to nourish and build your skin barrier, because often when we have acne, it's because the skin barrier is compromised. Then, we're layering on more acids and more harsh ingredients when your skin really needs gentle, soothing ingredients. Think chamomile, hyaluronic acid and aloe that are going to promote that long-term skin health.
Who is Blume for?
All of our products are formulated for Gen Z, which means we really focus on creating gentle formulas and building a brand that's relatable to young people. Gen Zers really resonate with the brand, because they love the packaging and the products. Their parents love it too, because they can trust the ingredients.
As a brand, we want to be there as tweens and teens navigate this life stage. When you go through puberty, you're using your first-ever deodorant, likely your first face wash and acne treatment — so, we want that experience to make them feel happy and not ashamed in any way.
Blume caters to a younger audience. How do you feel about the obsession among tweens and their skincare routines?
There are young people that have acne, around 11 or 12 years old. What they're using is so important in two ways — one: the ingredients are gentle enough for young skin and two: the messages they're receiving. We're hearing that young customers are concerned about aging as young as 12 years old. At that young of an age, no one should be inundated with messages about anti-aging.
With Blume, we hope to create a shift in the beauty industry, where that's not the narrative and the messaging young people are receiving. It's really more about long-term skin health and just self care, feeling good and taking care of yourself. Most tweens and teens don't need a 10-step skincare routine, they need a gentle face wash and a moisturizer.
What are your best-selling products?
Right now, our SPF. It's a mineral SPF 50 that feels hydrating and goes on sheer — and it's just absolutely taken off. It wears really well under makeup and also helps fade dark spots.
A portion of your profits go to Days for Girls. Why has this been important to you?
Girls overseas often miss up to 25% of their education and schooling, because of their period and lack of access to menstrual products. Ever since we launched the brand, we've partnered with Days for Girls, a non-profit that helps send girls back to school after experiencing menstrual health challenges.
We actually started in the period space, selling organic period products, a cramp oil and an acne oil. Completely unplanned, the acne oil took off and the word of mouth became so strong. Our customers started to slowly refer to us as a skincare brand and trusted us so much with their face, they started to request other skincare products. It just snowballed from there.
Alyssa Gautieri (she/her) is the associate lifestyle editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers all things home and interior design. Prior to joining GH in 2022, she wrote for publications including ELLE Decor, Chairish, BobVila.com, Unique Homes Magazine and LODGING Magazine, in addition to crafting product copy for home brands like BrylaneHome and VIGO Industries.
