In February, Gregg Renfrew returned to the brand she founded in 2013 as Chief Executive Officer of Beautycounter. Now backed by private investors, she has secured the business from the Carlyle Group for an undisclosed sum.WHO: Founded by Gregg Renfrew, a former retail consultant, in 2011 and launched in 2013, Beautycounter is the leader in clean skincare and cosmetics whose mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone. The Santa Monica, CA–based brand has led the way for improved transparency and accountability in the beauty industry, including advocacy efforts that update federal regulations. The direct-retail model sells clean skincare, makeup, and personal care products through a network of 65,000 direct salespeople, brick-and-mortar stores, and online. Beautycounter was one of the first brands to develop a Never List, which has grown to more than 1,800 ingredients they choose to never use when creating their products.WHY: The holding company, Counter Brands LLC, is winding down, and Renfrew is creating a new entity and entered into a separate transaction to buy the business with private investors from the Carlyle Group.IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “Over the last three years, Beautycounter experienced significant market and channel headwinds,” a Carlyle spokesperson told NewBeauty. “We undertook every effort to support the brand, including by increasing marketing spend, driving innovation to broaden the product portfolio, and enhancing the omnichannel strategy—and investing additional capital into the business to support these initiatives along the way."However, the business continued to lose ground.