Kaity Smith (BBA ’24) has spent years sharing her acne journey online, building a following with nearly 300,000 followers and 25 million likes on TikTok and more than 90,000 followers on Instagram. 在她的护肤之旅中，她意识到大多数护肤品的设计都没有考虑到容易长痘的皮肤。 现在，随着她的品牌痤疮的女孩的推出，这位威尼斯人娱乐城的校友旨在通过使痤疮正常化和重新定义护肤来赋予人们力量。 我们和史密斯聊了聊她的创业历程以及痤疮的女孩背后的愿景。
是什么让你决定创办Acne girl ？
我已经厌倦了通过羞耻来推销痤疮。 Why is every product ad zooming in on someone’s breakout or talking about ‘fixing’ your face? I wanted to create something that didn’t make people feel like they had to hide behind their acne. 痤疮的女孩 is for people who’ve felt overlooked by the beauty industry and just want products that meet them where they are.
你在威尼斯人娱乐城学习了什么，这对你创造痤疮女孩有什么帮助？
我主修工商管理，重点是市场营销和创业，辅修化学。 I was also part of the E-Scholars程序, which helped me build confidence when it came to representing my brand and staying true to it. 我的商业背景给了我将Acne girl带入生活的结构，而化学背景帮助我了解配方是如何工作的，特别是当它涉及到容易长痘的皮肤时。
什么产品可以从痤疮女孩购买？ 你是如何决定购买这些产品的？
We’ve launched one product so far. 多蒂是一种水胶体痘痘贴片，它有一个可重复填充的盒子。 I’ve personally tried almost every patch on the market, and my community already trusts my thoughts on what works. Patches have been a part of my routine forever as they’re effective, satisfying and low-effort. Dottie is my take on them— patches made for breakouts packaged in a way that feels intentional and elevated.
你是如何开始成为痤疮和护肤行业的影响者的？
I started by posting college vlogs on YouTube, but when I moved to TikTok, that’s when things took off. 老实说，很多早期的评论都是负面的。 People would point out my acne, ask what treatments I’d tried and comment what I was doing ‘wrong.’ It could’ve made me stop posting, but instead I chose to show up anyway. I started answering questions, sharing what I’d been through and representing the acne girls who didn’t see themselves in skincare ads. From there, my platform grew naturally. 我坚持每天发10次，并且坚持用视频回复几乎所有的评论。 I’m mainly on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
你自己创业的过程是怎样的？ 这是否类似于作为影响者建立你的品牌？
说实话，那是一头完全不同的野兽。 With influencer content, it’s mostly you and your camera. But launching a product means working with labs, designers, manufacturers and legal teams—it involves constant communication and decision-making. 作为一个有影响力的人，我建立了一个基于我自己的品牌。 对于痤疮的女孩，我必须考虑更大的问题：它如何为他人服务？ 没有我的脸，这个品牌代表什么？ The stakes are higher, the to-do list is longer and you’re responsible for way more than just engagement. 但归根结底，两者都是关于建立信任和始终如一的表现。
你希望人们在使用痤疮的女孩产品后有什么体验？
I want people to use our products and feel like they’re not alone in this—that their acne doesn’t make them less clean, less confident or less deserving of good skincare. 我还想让这种体验有一点奢华和女人味。 我们品牌的包装、纹理和色调都是有意为之，让人们觉得使用我们的产品本身就是一种体验。 人们应该得到保养皮肤的护肤品，在保养皮肤的同时看起来很漂亮。
什么是你未来的目标和愿望与痤疮女孩？
I’d love to expand into makeup with products that don’t just cover acne but also actually respect it. 我想痤疮女孩是一个一站式，可靠的地方任何痤疮女孩可以去，知道产品与他们的思想。 护肤品，化妆品，甚至社区空间。 我的梦想是改变痤疮患者体验美的方式。