Reportedly created by a 20-year-old Norwegian college student named Matthew (who did not respond to a request for an interview), Afffirmations is catching on beyond Gen-Z social media stars. Celebrity followers of the account include Barbie Ferreira, Ella Emhoff and Dixie D’Amelio, as well as millennials like Tessa Thompson. Keep it moving. Progress and experimentation will always come with mistakes, and that’s especially true with fast-paced start-ups. No matter how hard you try, it’s never possible to be perfect or know everything. When something doesn’t work, don’t dwell—learn from it and keep inching your way towards the goal. A SINGLE INGREDIENT: Hydro-Stars are made with 1 ingredient only: Hydrocolloid. Hydrocolloid is a substance borrowed from surgical dressing that's clinically proven to help flatten pimples by absorbing bacteria and fluid. Accessibility and meeting customers where they are has never been more important. As an industry, we are moving further away from the mentality that exclusivity—especially when it comes to where your products are sold—is essential to preserving brand integrity. Every brand is different, but as consumers continue to look for ways to engage online and offline, it’s important to create new methods to expand your reach. In a recent customer survey, 71% of Starface consumers said the brand helps them feel less stressed about having a breakout or acne.

Starface aims to meet their community where they are and launched an industry-first campaign inside select DMV locations, targeted toward young adults waiting to get their license. The campaign brought a fresh and playful spirit to an environment thought of as serious or unpleasant. Taking cues from the streetwear and sneaker worlds, Starface has become one of the first and only brands to bring "drop culture" to the skincare category—as a result, many of the brand’s limited-edition launches garner significant waitlists and sell out within days. Ingredients: 100% Hydrocolloid. Hydrocolloid is a moisture-retentive, compounded mixture of natural polymer particles. Hydrocolloid is clinically proven to improve the appearance of pimples overnight: It helps draw out pimple juice, improve redness, and calm inflammation.

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As customers find their way to emerging platforms, Starface continues to be one of the first brands to experiment with new apps before they’re proven. For their first launch activation on the BeReal app, Starface leaked early access to the relaunch of their Hello Kitty collaboration, gaining over 1K followers in 24 hours. Starface surpassed 1.4M followers on TikTok, accumulating over 160.7M views with 24.6M engagement. Across 1,165 videos, Starface's average engagement rate reached 15.11% with 76.8K shares. Following many customer requests, Starface will release its first-ever microdart patch in January—a new technology that combines powerful, efficacious ingredients with Starface’s signature, playful branding. The following month, Starface will drop the next iteration of its customer favorite Hydro-Heart patches (a limited edition offering that sold out in just five days when it was released in 2022). Starface’s mission has proven to be incredibly resonant across a wide range of audiences and inspired a totally new set of behaviors when it comes to acne care. The brand regularly hears from its community members that they’re actually looking forward to their next breakout, and are even wearing Starface when they don’t have a pimple out of pure excitement to be part of the experience. Starface customers are also extremely comfortable and proud to wear their Hydro-Stars in public and frequently share anecdotes about making new friends and connections through Starface. The “immediately recognizable” account “does a great job of referencing nostalgic characters and pop culture while still being relevant to what’s going on today,” said Kassler.

Starface receives hundreds of pieces of user-generated content every month, a testament to the brand's highly engaged community and their excitement to incorporate Hydro-Stars into their daily lives.She said this rejection of perfectionism works for a brand like Starface, which promotes the online acne positivity movement that has been embraced by Gen-Z influencers like Charli D’Amelio. With an authentic and on-the-pulse approach to marketing, collaborations, and social media, Starface has built a unique and immersive universe that fosters connection and community amongst their customers.