Behind the Brand: Banish Offers Natural Solutions for Breakouts and Acne Scars
Banish Kit 2.0 ($99) helps improve the appearance of acne scars, hyperpigmentation and fine lines, while safely promoting collagen and skin renewal.
Growing up with stubborn and persistent acne, Daisy Jing wanted to be a dermatologist so that she could help others dealing with similar skin issues. While attending Duke University for pre-med, she started making YouTube videos in her dorm room about her skin and people admired Jing for her authenticity and ability to talk about her skin issues. Watch one of her first videos here.
10 Ways to Treat and Prevent Body Acne
“Through my pre-med courses and reading skincare ingredients, I realized a lot of products made my skin worse than better,” says Jing. “There were a lot of unnecessary ingredients in the current skincare products I was using at that time. I would concoct my own skin care and buy only pure ingredients from health food stores. A few months later, my audience noticed my skin had cleared up. I still have screenshots of my followers asking, ‘What happened to your acne scars?’
From there, Jing shipped a few of the products she made and the rest is history. While she had no intention of wanting to start a business and was planning on continuing her education to become a dermatologist, Jing ended up helping others with their skincare problems as a result of wanting to solve her own.
In 2013 Jing created Banish, a line of small batch skincare products that provide natural and effective solutions for treating and improving breakouts and acne scars. All of their products are in sustainable glass jars and bottles, and a portion of sales are given back to various charities that help animals, reforestation and homeless children.
“We are a completely bootstrapped female-founded business and after eight years in the most competitive space, we're still growing and thriving,” adds Jing. “Our goal has never been to launch as many products as possible and chase trends, but rather have a core lineup of products and focus on the integrity of production and their ingredients.
We chatted with Jing, who shared the inspiration behind the line, what’s next for the brand, and more.
When was Banish founded and what’s the meaning behind the name?
Banish was founded in September 2013. Originally the first product we launched was the Banish Kit and its sole purpose was to treat acne scars. I chose banishacnescars.com for my URL then converted it to Banish. During my 15 year struggle with acne, I realized I wasn't just 'banishing' skin problems—I was also banishing all the negative self-confidence issues I had when having acne.
Some days I would struggle to get out of bed because of the new breakouts in my skin. I realized it was so important to banish negative self-talk and I wanted a skincare brand that would first and foremost address the mental health issues with having a skin condition like acne, so we broadened it to Banish. Check out this video.
Daisy Jing.
Tell us more about your products and what makes them special.
Since I've struggled with nearly every skin condition out there; I cannot use many traditional skincare products because they would all cause my skin to break out. Therefore, our products have no added fragrance, colors, dyes, mineral oil, silicones—basically anything that is absolutely not essential for your skin. We also make many of our products fresh; for example, our Banish Oil - Vitamin C Serum is clear upon arrival. However, it turns orange if you leave it out for a year. Many brands color their vitamin C serums orange so customers won't know the freshness of the product. Our formulations are as minimal as possible and treat the root cause of the problem instead of temporarily covering it up.
Do you have a hero product? What’s your favorite?
The Banish Starter Kit is our best seller. We have so few products because every product is my favorite, and to keep our ingredients and products fresh and operations streamlined, we focus on the internal quality of our products instead of trying to keep a wide inventory of products. Our All Clear Mint Cleanser has been great during quarantine, because it gives me a spa-like experience just by washing my face. I wanted a cleanser that made your skin feel clean and fresh and would energize you, without feeling too soapy and living film on your face.
Where are your products sold?
Since we make our products fresh, we only sell online on our website. Once the customer orders our product, we make/ship it out the next day. We've had offers to go into retail, but we've found shipping directly to our customer can give them the freshest product with fewest preservatives.
Banish Pumpkin Enzyme Masque ($39) is formulated with natural pumpkin enzymes and AHA glycolic acid to reveal your best skin.
What's next for the brand?
Our customers have asked for sunscreen so we've been testing and experimenting with sunscreens for a few years now. My goal is to create a mineral sunscreen that is non-greasy and gentle on the skin. A plus if it's based in organic aloe vera leaf juice, as most of our products are. I've been testing so many and there's one I like in particular—I even use it on my 1-year-old daughter, it's that gentle! I'm a perfectionist so I want it to be as good as we can make it!
Also staying true to our roots and building our community to change the way people view themselves. I know the rates of depression, anxiety, suidice, etc. have all increased for Gen Z mainly due to the pressures of social media. Our mission at Banish is to advocate for confidence in a world that is constantly pitting you against unrealistic standards.
For more information, visit banish.com and follow on Instagram: @banishacnescars
[Photos by Banish]
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