Beauty Boss: Hind Sebti, Founder of whind
Hind Sebti.
Our latest Beauty Boss is Hind Sebti, Founder of whind—a skincare and fragrance line that is inspired by Moroccan rituals. She is also the Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Waldencast PLC, a NASDAQ listed company and multi-brand beauty and wellness platform that creates, nurtures, and acquires the next generation of purpose-driven brands.
Rooted in rich Arab heritage, whind’s vegan and cruelty-free products are born out of science and rituals, infusing high-performance actives in sensorial textures and evocative scents for healthy, glowing skin. The brand debuted in the U.S. in Bluemercury in May 2023 and recently launched Marrakech Sun Instant Glow Tinting Water, which hydrates and tints skin to give it a naturally-bronzed glow. It is universally flattering on all skin tones and powered by plant-based alternatives to DHA for a buildable, natural tan. It’s also infused with naturally hydrating ingredients such as apricot waters, marshmallow extract, and prickly pear to hydrate and protect skin.
We chatted with Sebti who shared the inspiration behind the brand, secrets for success, beauty tips, and much more.
When was whind founded and what does the name mean?
whind is a dream that was with me since I first fell in love in my native Morocco with beauty and its rituals, how it makes us look, but most importantly how it makes us feel. Because to me beauty is first and foremost an emotion.
The dream was first made a reality in April 2021 with the launch of our two very first skin care products and we have been building ever since. The name is inspired by the emotion felt when the soft Sahara air caresses the sand dunes or the late afternoon breeze flirts with Marrakech palm tree leaves and translucent Medina patio curtains.
We decided to call the brand whind, inspired by the elegant dance of the Moroccan wind with an h so it’s also a play on my name Hind. Also, in Arabic “w” means “with” so whind becomes “with Hind” and I love the sense of togetherness and community it implies.
What inspired the creation of the brand?
I first dreamed of a brand that would shake up the mono-dimensional world of beauty where our consumer seems to always face a trade-off between high-performance products, but with a relatively unimaginative experience or a sensorial experience—but without effective visible results.
What I and many consumers like me wanted is skin care that does not compromise on performance nor experience. So, we made products that are as efficacious as they are enjoyable, powered with what we called the “chemistry of glow” that fuses high-performance actives in divinely sensorial textures and evocative scents.
In doing so, we are bringing the best of the science I learned in my 20 years as a beauty executive and the essence of indulgent rituals and natural ingredients inspired by my home of Morocco. Skin care was the first step to building our new beauty destination and the house pillar in the House of whind, closely followed by our Elixir Fragrance collection, coming to shake up the fragrance world.
whind’s most recent product launch is Marrakech Sun Tinting Water ($40), serum-like bronzing drops that moisturize skin while giving it a sun-kissed glow.
Does whind have a hero product?
Whind is all about glow. And our two hero franchises are at the heart of it:
Oasis, which is all about the brightening power of vitamin C and the refreshing boost of orange blossom water.
Marrakech, which is about instant visible glow powered by our unique blend of oils and the indulgent scent of amber.
What are your favorite products from your brand?
I can’t live without my three steps to healthy happy glow:
whind Oasis Fresh Cleanser (I always have two tubes at any given time at home because I fear running out). Its super decadent orange blossom-infused jelly deeply yet gently cleanses the skin without drying it, leaving it with a fresh, bright, and bouncy glow. It’s literally the cleanser I ran back home to in the evening and can’t wait to wake up to.
whind Marrakech Rich Ultimate Day Cream—we called it “ultimate” for a reason. Light whipped texture, supercharged with ceramides, peptides and oils; it’s like the softest, most nourishing hug for the skin that also leave it visibly radiant and glowing. To me the best skin care product I have ever used.
whind Elixir Fragrance Oud Davana, the scent of confident magnetism. A soft, sensual oud with a touch of gourmand that stops people in their tracks. I have been stopped and asked more than a hundred times about my fragrance whilst wearing it.
Where are your products sold?
Whind was first launched globally on our direct-to-consumer e-commerce site, a key driver in building a direct relationship with our consumers with the biggest communities in the Middle East, U.K., and U.S. Given the super sensorial and transportive nature of our brand, in 2023 we have started bringing whind to physical locations through various outlets—department stores and spa experience pop-ups in the Gulf Countries and leading luxury skin care retailer Bluemercury in the U.S.
Future plans for the brand?
It’s always our goal to answer what our community has been asking us for—new category expansion and new physical immersive experiences.
whind Oasis Fresh Dissolving Jelly Cleanser ($30) is powered by a blend of pH-balanced, moisture-binding cleansing actives and brightening vitamin C to cleanse, hydrate, and brighten skin.
Who inspires you?
People and stories.
Secret to success?
Success is very personal. To me it means freedom— to work and build something I am passionate about with people I love in the set-up I need to be most effective and happy.
Beauty secrets?
Beauty is an inside and out job. Use skin care that makes you happy and take the time to enjoy it. Beauty is a treat. Let it do its job.
Wellness tips?
I swear by the relaxing, toning, and grounding virtues of reformer Pilates.
Best advice?
You look how you feel. Hence why rituals have existed for thousands of years in various civilizations—because we need them to anchor us and connect us.
I love skin care because there is “care” in there and is the moment I look forward in the day to take care of my skin and myself. Like many women before me and I hope many after me, it anchors me in who I am.
For every day, find yourself skin care products that you love using so you would look forward to using every day. At the very minimum a great cleanser that deeply cleanses without stripping the skin; a day and night cream that replenishes what your skin needs most—nourishment and hydration—and feels like a hug to your skin; and an SPF. I am biased obviously, but my three steps to a healthy happy glow are whind Oasis Fresh Cleanser, Marrakech Rich Ultimate Day Cream, and Kasbah Moonlight Night Cream.
It's also important to regularly take the time to go to for a professional treatment for a more in-depth cleanse and glow up. And most importantly for a treat.
Favorite way to relax?
A lifelong obsession with massages (at least every three weeks), which means that I have the best guide to the best spas and therapists (and am always happy to discover more). And walks—either a short one on the way back from work or a long one ideally by the water over the weekend.
For more information about whind, visit the website and follow on Instagram: @whind
[Images courtesy of whind]
Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk