Maya Crothers, Circ-Cell Skincare

Independent personal care brands come in all shapes and sizes. The professional-style anti-aging brand Circ-Cell is shaping up to be a sought-after performance skin care collection that devotees can discover online, in exclusive retail spaces, and at their favorite spa.

Here, beauty entrepreneur Maya Crothers shares a profile of herself and the brand.

Name:​ Maya Crothers, Founder

Indie Beauty Company:​ Circ-Cell Skincare

Launched:​ 2011

Headquarters:​ Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Cash flow:  ​Our sales and revenue figures are proprietary. But I can say that becoming cash flow positive was a huge milestone. Going beyond this, having enough capital to up our game digitally through a more professionally designed website (under construction now) and more sophisticated digital marketing initiatives (also in the early stages) will take us to an entirely new level. 

Team work:​ Circ-Cell Skincare is a virtual company with partners – full and part time – across major cities in the US.

Distribution: ​We have customers in all 50 states and distribution through national and local channels. We distribute domestically through e-commerce sites, boutiques, luxury day spas, celebrity estheticians and luxury affiliates. We also have distribution in Europe and Australia through skinstore.com.

Years in beauty:​ 6 years. I am a founding member of Circ-Cell; and I have been running the company since mid-2014.

Entrepreneurial experience:​ This is my first company. 

The business:​ We are a luxury, performance based line with an emphasis on clean technologies.

The wow-factor: ​Brands tend to fall into one of three categories: performance (dermatologist brands, etc), green (whole foods, organic boutiques) or luxury (department stores). My customer appreciates all three of these elements. It can be confusing trying to create a meaningful regimen that really works, is good for our bodies and feels elegant. Circ-Cell provides all three of these elements and puts an end to the hodge podge of mixed brands that never seems to quite fit the bill. 

The customer: ​They tend to be affluent, sophisticated and think about their skincare intelligently. They have enough experience to be exacting about what they want in their lives. They have high expectations.      

Milestone moment:​ In the early days I would go to industry events and people would ask, “Who are you? How do you pronounce your company name?”

Now I go to events and occasionally hear “Circ-Cell! I love you guys.” When this first began happening it took me by surprise and even flustered me a bit. 

Advice for fellow indie beauty entrepreneurs: ​Be extremely selective choosing your partners. Be well capitalized. Fiercely protect your brand.  

Just one: ​From our line? It’s impossible to pick just one!