REN Clean Skincare, the Godmother of "Clean Beauty" Is Closing Down After 25 Years

Every beauty nerd I know can remember the first big skincare product they ever purchased. For some, it was a tube of La Roche-Posay Anthelios SPF 50 at their local CVS store. Others clicked "add to cart" on a Kiehl's Since 1851's Powerful-Strength Vitamin C Serum. (For the record, I eventually purchased both of these products with money I had painstakingly saved as a 16-year-old delivering Chinese food in the Midwest—chic). But for those who frequented the "natural foods" section at Whole Foods during the early 2000s, REN Clean Skincare may have been the brand to catch your eye. If so, I'm afraid I have some bad news.

On May 1, 2025, parent company Unilever—which also owns beauty heavyweights such as Dove, TREsemmé, Pond's, Axe, Vaseline, and more—announced that it would be shutting down REN Clean Skincare after purchasing the brand in 2015. A representative for Unilever said in a statement, "We are proud of the REN team for all they have accomplished during 25 years of business, putting ‘clean’ skin care on the agenda and creating positive change for both people and planet and thank them as they continue to support us through this closure."

Since the brand's founding in 2000 by Rob Calcraft and Antony Buck, it has set the standard for "clean" beauty by eliminating parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances or dyes, and petrochemicals from its formulas. Remember, this was well before the term became a trendy buzzword for emerging DTC brands to utilize in their marketing campaigns. Even after 25 years in the business, REN's tagline—Skincare For Sensitive Skin Made With Nature's Most Powerful & Kind Bioactive Ingredients—continues to resonate with beauty consumers, albeit apparently not enough to sustain operations. And while there's no exact date as to when the earth-friendly products will disappear from the shelves at Sephora and Amazon (its primary retailers) it's likely that options will dwindle throughout the summer.

As a beauty editor, it's always painful to watch a beloved brand shut down, especially one as pioneering as REN. I remember picking up the cult-favorite Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask after reading about it in Alessandra Codinha's skincare routine, well before I knew anything about the power of exfoliating acids. I eagerly slathered the bright orange goo over my 24-year-old complexion in the bathroom of my first NYC apartment, and marveled at how clear and soft my skin felt after rinsing it off. The entire process—from buying the bottle at the Columbus Circle Whole Foods on my measly salary to pampering my skin as a burgeoning beauty fanatic—felt significant, even if I didn't fully appreciate the beginnings of my eventual career in the industry.

So while I know that this is simply the way the industry works—evolution is inevitable—I'm grateful that a brand with such rigorous formulation standards lasted as long as it did, and influenced many "clean" and "green" beauty companies that followed. And until the day when the last of the products leave the shelves (both online and IRL) I'll be here, stocking up on a few more bottles of my favorite REN Clean Skincare products to bid the beauty pioneer farewell.

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