Behind the Brand: Urban Skin Rx Offers Clinical Skin Care for Diverse Skin Tones
Urban Skin Rx Resurfacing Vitamin C Cleansing Bar ($32) smooths, resurfaces, and brightens a dull complexion.
Rachel Roff struggled with her skin while growing up, which ultimately led her to become passionate about the skin care industry and pursue a career as an aesthetician. After opening Urban Skin Solutions (now Urban Medspa and Weight Loss Center®) in 2006, a med spa and weight loss center in North Carolina that specializes in skin care and laser treatments for diverse skin tones, Roff spent many years working with various product lines and learning all about the different ingredients in them. Eventually, she created Urban Skin Rx, a line of clinical skin care products for diverse skin tones and women of color.
#BeautyBoss: Rachel Roff, Founder of Urban Skin Rx
“I know what it's like not to feel confident in your appearance, specifically your skin,” says Roff. “I have a lot of friends and family members with skin of color, and when it became apparent to me that they didn’t have access to effective treatments and products for their skin, it was appalling. Specializing in diverse skin care feeds my spirit in so many ways, as I'm able to improve people's self-esteem with their appearance while improving social and racial injustices in the industry. It truly makes me feel like I am making a difference in the world and I'm not just another skin care line.”
Recently, Urban Skin Rx also celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Over the last decade, Roff and her team have created a best-selling line of clinical skin care products that has attracted a loyal following by offering innovative, high-quality formulas and exceptional customer service.
“We launched a 10-year anniversary campaign where we worked with Fantasia who has been a fan of the brand since inception,” shares Roff. “Additionally, because doing good is just as important as looking good, we made generous donations to a variety of organizations supporting racial equality and fighting for injustice. This allowed us to show thanks and give back to our loyal customers during a monumental movement.”
We chatted with Roff, who shared the inspiration behind the brand, favorite products, future plans, and more.
When was Urban Skin Rx founded and what’s the meaning behind the name?
It was founded in 2010, we just celebrated our 10-year anniversary in October! I wanted a word that represented diversity and inclusion. I grew up in San Francisco and felt that cities represent populations inclusive of all cultures and ethnicities, as opposed to rural smaller towns that are less diverse. The definition of “urban” is a city.
What inspired the creation of Urban Skin Rx?
My inspiration came from my own trials and tribulations with my skin problems. I had severe acne growing up and a nevus mole on the side of my face. That’s what led me to want to dedicate my life to helping others, become an aesthetician, as well as open my med spa. It wasn’t until I was about a year into being an aesthetician that I discovered the inequality and lack of offerings of services and products for tan and darker skin tones.
I come from a diverse family and have friends with deeper skin tones, so this appalled me. Regardless of not having darker skin and receiving some hesitation and pushback from others, I knew that my life calling was to serve a neglected demographic that was dealing with the same skin problems I had growing up (lack of solutions).
Rachel Roff.
Tell us more about your products and what makes them special.
We are experts in hyperpigmentation and uneven skin tone, which are most common in melanin-rich skin tones. While in aesthetics school, I noticed a lack of safe and effective treatments for tan and deeper skin tones, which led me to open Urban Medspa and Weight Loss Center® in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2006. I wanted to help people outside of Charlotte. So in 2010, I created Urban Skin Rx, which are formulas that are effective for treating hyperpigmentation in melanin-rich skin.
Do you have a hero product?
The top-selling product is our Urban Skin Rx Even Tone Cleansing Bar. It’s so popular because it really works. This 3-in-1 cleansing bar is unique in its ingredients, application, and packaging—which I think consumers love. It’s a hard cleansing bar melted in a jar and it comes with really cool sponges that you use to apply the product with. It’s so beloved that it actually went viral earlier this year in an organic Tik Tok video, which only increased this product’s popularity. We recently expanded the line further with a PRO Strength Vitamin C Resurfacing Cleansing Bar—I think our customers will love this launch.
What’s your favorite product from the line?
I have a few, but overall I think it's the Clear Complexion Acne Serum. I hate pimples (who doesn’t?) and I can always rely on this product to drastically reduce a breakout overnight and sometimes even make it completely disappear.
Urban Skin Rx Clear Complexion Acne Serum + Spot Treatment ($19) delivers 5% Benzoyl Peroxide to reduce and prevent future breakouts.
Where are your products sold?
Our website, Ulta, Target, Walmart, CVS, Dermstore, Amazon, HSN, and QVC.
What's next for the brand?
From a business perspective, I’d love to see our Pro Strength Collection expand its reach to more retail shelves like our mass line, which is currently in Ulta, Target, Walmart, and CVS. Currently our Pro Strength Collection is only sold on urbanskinrx.com, QVC, HSN, and Dermstore.com. From a consumer perspective, it’s incredibly important to me that we work as allies to the black community and aid in amplifying melanated voices. We have some exciting programming in the works that supports this cause—stay tuned, I can’t wait to share more!
For more information and to purchase, visit the website and follow on Instagram: @urbanskinrx
[Images courtesy of Urban Skin Rx]
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