ILIA is a clean, ‘skin-centric’ beauty company—and they’re doing Very Cool things in *the space*. To quote them directly, “We believe in skin that looks like skin—and radiance that comes naturally.” Their thoughtful ethos sees them leveraging natural and synthetic ingredients to create hardworking products (in outrageously nice colors, with super satisfying textures) that impart the lowest environmental impact. We grabbed ILIA CEO Sasha Plavsic to talk breakouts, the representation of skin in the beauty industry and more.
Hi Sasha! As a founder, what does clean, conscious beauty mean to you?
Sasha: Clean beauty is where natural and synthetic collide. There is a conscious effort to ensure ingredients are carefully selected to create safe, efficacious products that really work. It’s important to note that not every natural ingredient is good for the skin, nor is every synthetic ingredient bad—It's which ingredients you choose, at what percentage and how they are used is what matters. Packaging will also play a role, with efforts towards beginning and end of life-cycle. Meaning, what the packaging is made from, and where will it end up when finished, in other words: How does this not end up in a landfill? 
ILIA believes in skin that looks like skin. Similarly, ZitSticka likes to represent skin of all types, without sidestepping the existence of acne, hyperpigmentation, lines, rosacea or whatever unique things you have going on! We like to think we're contributing to positive change in the beauty industry, in some small way. Where do you think beauty's collective consciousness is heading?
The consumer today is looking for raw, authentic content. They want to see blemishes, wrinkles, pores—real skin. I have always suffered from acne and used to try and cover my face with products to 'hide' the issue. So many of those products made me look anything but myself, and I felt even more self conscious. At ILIA, our goal is to protect and revive the skin with active skincare ingredients that benefit the skin over time. Skin that looks and feels alive, like it can breathe, is where we all want to be.
Have you any lifestyle tips for minimizing breakouts?
Increase water intake, minimize stress and get quality sleep. Sometimes you need to cut out certain food groups, or even coffee to get a gauge on what might be triggering a breakout. At other times, you just have to accept that it could be hormone related.
What about products? Any favorite ingredients or products for fighting acne?
I avoid products with fragrance for my complexion, and look for products that contain skin regenerating ingredients like Niacinamide. Not to plug you, but ZitSticka’s KILLA does what it says it’s going to do. For any hormonal acne, the sore ones that last a while, KILLA gets in there and usually wins!
June was Acne Awareness Month. What kind of responsibilities do you think brands have during this month?
I think it’s important to know that acne is temperamental and you can’t always win. Finding products that bring your skin more into balance and make you feel good about your complexion is what counts.
Want to read more Founder interviews? Here's a really great one.
Elsewhere, is your period breaking you out? Better read this...
