Send us Fan Mail Catherine D'Aragon, CEO of First Aid Beauty, joins Skin Anarchy to discuss how the brand built its barrier science foundation years before barrier repair became a trend, why it develops products around problems instead of buzzy ingredients, how it responds to dupes, what changed after the P&G acquisition, and the GLP-1 body care innovation coming next. Below are the biggest questions answered in this episode. Did First Aid Beauty focus on barrier repair before it was a trend? Yes. The brand was founded in 2009 around sensitive skin, and its hero product, Ultra Repair Cream, carries a clinical claim of strengthened skin barrier in seven days, long before barrier language dominated the market. D'Aragon is direct about the wave of newcomers: "There's a lot of brands that came in and said, oh, we invented barrier repair, and now we're the brand for barrier repair." First Aid Beauty simply talked about it as sensitive skin science, and every formula since has been built to strengthen the barrier. How does First Aid Beauty decide which skincare trends to follow? By evaluating the science behind the trend rather than chasing it. "We need to evaluate the science behind the trend... we don't develop product in three months. We develop product, it takes years to develop." The brand does listen to its community for new ways to use existing products: the KP Bump Eraser body scrub was developed for keratosis pilaris, but when consumers began using it to prep skin before tanning, the brand added that usage to its messaging. Trends can expand how a product is talked about, but they never start the development process. How do you build a skincare brand that lasts? Stay true to the brand DNA through every launch decision. First Aid Beauty was founded to deliver problem solving formulas for sensitive skin with a luxurious experience, filling the gap between effective but joyless drugstore products and sensorial prestige ones. D'Aragon admits the brand once drifted: "We kind of went off track and we launched product that was really not in that kind of problem solution sensitive skin, and we decided to discontinue those products." Anything that makes sensitive skin react in testing never launches, no matter how promising. Is retinol safe for sensitive skin? Conventional retinol often is not, which is why First Aid Beauty spent years solving the problem before entering the category. "We spent like three years researching and we found a very specific technology about encapsulated retinol with slower delivery, then it's less irritation." The encapsulation slows release into the skin, delivering the antiaging benefit without the stripping that disqualifies most retinol products for reactive skin. Can exfoliation work for sensitive skin? Yes, if the acids are chosen for gentleness rather than intensity. The Facial Radiance Pads pair glycolic acid with lactic acid, a gentler acid, to deliver what D'Aragon calls "real exfoliation, but without the irritation." The combination approach reflects the same principle as the retinol work: the category is not off limits for sensitive skin, but the formulation has to be rebuilt around it. Who is the First Aid Beauty customer? Not one person but several distinct tribes, which the brand studies through extended consumer research sessions. "We call it the simple girl, the person that just wants simple product that works and is tired of the trend and is tired of going to social media." Other tribes are actively problem solving specific skin concerns. The brand adapts its messaging to each tribe but never adapts the products themselves, which stay anchored to the science. How does First Aid Beauty respond to dupes? By testing them head to head rather than ignoring them or cutting prices. "We buy the product, we tried it, and we try to find why we have superiority claims. And every time we are superior versus the competition." Superiority shows up in ingredient selection, concentrations suited to sensitive skin, and even material choices like the fabric of the pads. The brand holds its accessible pricing rather than racing dupes to the bottom, and focuses on educating consumers about the differences. Are skincare dupes as good as the original? D'Aragon encourages consumers to investigate rather than assume. "Look at the concentration of the acid, of any ingredient that is important for that product. Look at the combination of ingredients and look it up and try it if you want." Her confidence comes from watching the pattern play out: many consumers try the dupe, then return to the original because it delivers on its promise. Did the P&G acquisition change First Aid Beauty? The brand gained resources without losing its identity. Access to P&G research and development means even more rigorous science, testing, and safety standards, though it can slow launches. "Sometimes we're a little bit slower to launch some products... but at the end of the day, for the consumers, I think it's a plus." The brand also kept its Boston offices and much of its original team rather than relocating to P&G headquarters, preserving the culture that built it. Are indie skincare brands tested as rigorously as big company brands? Not always, and D'Aragon says consumers rarely realize it. Speed to market can come at the cost of testing depth: "In three, four months, you have a new product coming out to life. But has it gone through all the testing? I'm not sure. The US market is not that regulated." She argues that big company ownership, often framed as diluting a brand, can actually mean a safer product because of the additional scientific rigor behind it. How does First Aid Beauty choose new ingredients? Problem first, never ingredient first. "We don't innovate by ingredient because something is buzzy. We innovate by what's the next problem to solve." Once the problem is defined, the team researches which ingredients can solve it safely for sensitive skin. D'Aragon's logic is durability: a buzzy ingredient fades within a year or two, but the problem a product solves remains, which is why Ultra Repair Cream still works across countless scenarios years later. Is First Aid Beauty launching a GLP-1 skincare product? Yes, in body care. D'Aragon revealed that the brand's next innovation targets skin changes from GLP-1 weight loss: "That's gonna be our next innovation next year, in that body GLP-1, to help people with the saggy skin." She frames it as a problem affecting every age and gender that few brands are addressing, consistent with the brand's approach of solving unsexy problems the fancy skincare world ignores. Why doesn't First Aid Beauty lead with fragrance in body care? Because the brand solves problems, and fragrance is not a problem. "There's a lot of brands that are leading with their fragrance. And we will never lead by fragrance... we're there to help you fix some problem." First Aid Beauty was in body care years before the current boom, anchored by the KP franchise, and its ingrown hair pads have become a fast growing product for men and women alike. A generic shower gel or body lotion will never launch because it solves nothing. What leadership advice does Catherine D'Aragon offer? "Agility, flexibility, adaptation, resilience are all qualities that are super important." With teams split across Boston, New York, and Cincinnati, she also insists on protecting time together in person, arguing that the human interaction lost during COVID never fully returned at brands that stayed remote, and that no amount of collaboration tooling replaces it. What career advice does she have for people entering the beauty industry? Rotate through as many functions as possible in the first decade: influencer work, PR, social media, brand marketing. Stay humble through industry cycles, because some years will be tough regardless of talent. Above all: "Be curious, try a lot of things, but also be curious outside of beauty and see what other categories are doing." She notes the industry has reinvented itself roughly 25 times during her career, and curiosity is what keeps a marketer relevant through every wave. Listen to the full episode with Catherine D'Aragon of First Aid Beauty on Skin Anarchy, available wherever you get your podcasts. Shop First Aid Beauty Don’t forget to subscribe to Skin Anarchy on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred platform. Reach out to us through email with any questions. Sign up for our newsletter! Shop all our episodes and products mentioned through our ShopMy Shelf! Support the show
