Launch Date: December 2012
Geography: Carlsbad, CA, US
Founder: Diane Ranger
Executive Team:
Board Members:
2026 Full Year Projected Revenue: $100M - $125M
Primary Category: Skincare
Other Category: Sun Protection
Funding: Private Equity
Colorescience was acquired in 2012 by SkinMedica, then the fastest-growing professional brand, and was in turn scooped-up by Allergan in 2012.
After Allergan entered the equation, Colorescience’s executive team, with the help of early SkinMedica investors, spun the brand back off.
Primary Distribution Channel: DTC
Other Distribution Channels:
Key Retail Partners:
Key Markets:
2026 Projected Offline Distribution Points: 4,000
Originally crafted for vulnerable post-procedure skin, Colorescience designs health-forward skincare solutions for people of all ages and skin types, so they feel reassured and confident. Our multifunctional products do more—treat, repair, strengthen, and protect—which is what makes our formulation approach so novel and unique. We’ve spun gold using therapeutic minerals and select specialty ingredients, so our products are clinically proven to show visible results and feel great on the skin. When it wears this well, it works even better.
Insights: Mary Fisher, CEO
Why now and why you?
Colorescience has fundamentally changed how a professional skincare brand operates in today’s environment. The digital strength of the brand combines with a reimagined sales force strategy (specialist team model versus traditional rep by region) and exceptional social that engages both the professional partners and consumers alike. Our multifunctional, patented products and dedication to all-mineral active sun protection as an integral part of skin health continues to resonate with consumers. Multifunctional is in our mission with suncare, skincare and a bit of iron oxide, not just for color but for further protection from HEV visible light.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
We are known for our science-based innovation backed by clinical evidence. We lead in mineral actives, peptide formulations, and now in barrier health with our latest UV-free vitamin D activation. We innovate in product development and also in business model. Consumers are seeking professional recommendations driven by science and evidence. Further, as the aesthetician channel is growing at a fast pace, ours is the brand that already has an omnichannel model in place to fully support their growth. Last year, 36% of professional retail leads were driven by social media. And 40% of DTC consumers first learned about Colorescience in the doctor’s office. Our net promoter score is consistently very high.
What’s your proudest accomplishment to date?
Transforming the way consumers use sun protection—every day as part of a routine—while becoming the brand that bridges the consumer experience across professional and digital e-commerce in a unique omnichannel way that truly connects and maintains the engagement of all stakeholders.
What is the one thing you wish someone had told you?
Have the courage to follow your instincts.
What would you tell your past self before starting this journey?
Every overnight sensation is the result of smarts and hard work. Move forward and have the courage to follow your instincts.
What does success look like in the next 3-5 years?
We have an enormous growth opportunity expanding upon our current successes. One of our corporate goals is lives protected. This year we will have protected well more than 3 million. It would be incredible to scale that above 10 million people. More people feeling good in their own skin, with products that make skin protection a part of their everyday.
What's one industry trend that is overhyped, and what's being overlooked?
Overhyped? brands. Often the overhype is how much any one product or service can do for you without a daily commitment to SPF.
Overlooked? the consumer. How are people supposed to know what the cumulative exposure to artificial light is doing to our skin? Consumers want real education and we need to provide it.
How do you think the industry needs to evolve?
In healthcare, we used to speak about consumerization, which simply acknowledges that engaged patients are more likely to follow treatment plans, which improves health outcomes. The same is true in our industry, especially in dermatology and aesthetics medicine. Providing access, knowledge, and tools elevates patient engagement. The vocabulary may differ and include consumer or client. The best practice is the same. Elevated engagement.
If you could wave a magic wand, what one wish would you make for your business?
To be a household name, but more important, a household understanding of how our products can be beneficial to the health of the entire family.