‘The Outset’ founder shares with us her own journey and struggles that she faced during her life.
If there’s one thing many of us share with multi award-winning Hollywood superstar Scarlett Johansson – the highest-grossing box office star of all time – it’s the experience of skin struggles.
“I started having acne as a teenager,” she tells us, though in her unique situation, Johansson was working at the time. Since making her movie debut around age 10, the now 38-year-old gained early recognition for various roles before her big breakthrough in Lost in Translation, filmed when she was 17. “I was going through puberty and experiencing that first kind of problem breakout, which I thought would go away with time, but I continued to have acne into my adulthood.” Johansson couldn’t get her head around it. “I just never thought I would struggle; I had so many resources like great dermatologists and beauty experts and make-up artists.” But, in many ways, this privilege complicates matters. “At the time so much of the messaging was like if you have acne or ‘problem skin’, you can make it disappear by stripping it away, and so I was in a cycle of drying out my skin and then having these breakouts and drying out my skin and getting irritation. I would get rid of some spots and then others would turn up in another part of my face – I couldn’t figure out how to heal it for decades.”
Besides having access to professionals on tap, turbulent teenage skin feels particularly relatable. But so, too, does the adult experience of employing harsh active ingredients in a bid for impossible complexion perfection, all the while further unbalancing the microbiome.
“Terrified” of putting any kind of moisturiser on her face, Johansson shares that she did so, as what she perceived as a desperate measure. “I was like ‘maybe I’ll just stop using everything and try to heal my skin by putting this moisture back in’, and my skin immediately responded to it and started healing itself.” She didn’t realise at the time, “but I was now nourishing and protecting my skin barrier” – a term penetrating collective consciousness as the pendulum has swung back to simplicity in skincare, following years of complicated, multi-step routines touted as the only way to refine texture and welcome radiance. “I started just using very gentle products, a lot of moisture, and being consistent with my routine. If I veered from it, I would have an issue, and if not, it would stay calm – and that was a huge revelation for me.”
When she launched The Outset along with co-founder Kate Foster, Johansson joined an already long (and rapidly growing) list of celebrities with beauty companies. But she says that what sets the brand apart from the rest is its “gentle” approach to skin care.
“I had acne for such a long time that I remember my makeup artist on a film was like, ‘Oh, well, just wait until you have acne and wrinkles, that’s your next step,” she says.
She said the process to figure out what worked for her skin was “arduous” and involved “a lot of tears.” Ultimately, she realised that the harsh scrubs that she was using to target breakouts, were doing more harm for her than good.
“I definitely want the brand to stand on its own – it’s not a celebrity brand”
“It was a later decision, because I definitely want the brand to stand on its own – it’s not a celebrity brand, it’s a brand that’s universally approachable,” operating like any other indie. “But I have ownership over it in a way that feels very rewarding for me, and so for me to participate in our campaigns is a pleasure – because it is personal, there’s no getting away from that.” However, Johansson never wanted to have her name in the brand. “Then there would be some preconceived idea of what it is,” she feels. “I understand that desire, but I just felt it might be limiting for people.”
