If you’ve had access to the internet this past week, you’ve probably heard that Alix Earle launched an acne brand called Reale Actives. The 25-year-old influencer first entered the spotlight as a student at the University of Miami by posting “get ready with me” videos, party vlogs, and venting about her hormonal acne on TikTok. She’s turned the latter into a full-fledged skin-care line with the help of her dermatologist, Dr. Kiran Mian, and on March 31, released four products for acne-prone skin: a cleansing balm, gel cleanser, moisturizer, and mandelic acid serum, all ranging from $28 to $39 and housed in mint green and silver packaging. On the brand’s launch day, Earle’s 14 million followers cleaned house—according to Puck, Reale Actives hit $1 million in sales in less than five minutes and the company sold out of their inventory by 4 p.m. Sounds like something to celebrate, right? Well, not quite.
Like many influencer brands, the launch incited quite a bit of controversy online. We went ahead and chatted with six dermatologists to get their expert opinions. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Why are people mad about Alix Earle’s skin-care line?
On social media, people appear to be confused by the brand’s marketing approach—the photoshoot for the launch features a mostly nude, very wet Earle with clear, smooth skin, which people say is counterintuitive for an acne brand. Fair. Still, we should’ve seen this coming. Last December, Earle told Allure that she was on a mission to make acne “sexy and hot.” Apparently, that didn’t translate well for some consumers. “For me, this campaign is extra confusing because she doesn’t have acne in it,” Charlotte Palermino, esthetician and founder of Dieux Skin, wrote on Instagram. “Are you making acne hot, or are you just hot?”
Online critics also claim that the messaging makes it seem like Earle’s products alone cured her acne. They’ve pointed out that she’s completed three rounds of Accutane and is currently taking spironolactone, a drug that can treat hormonal acne in women. Although Earle has been open over the years about taking these medications, the TikTok skin-care police seem to think it disqualifies her from selling any kind of acne products.
Visuals aside, some are upset about a couple ingredients in her products—specifically about the presence of shea butter, a rich, plant-based emollient in her Dew More moisturizer. Some TikTokkers claim the ingredient is comedogenic and pore-clogging. Another question consumers seem to have is regarding her mandelic acid serum, Go Deep. “The only oil soluble acid is salicylic acid and it’s so good for acne that it’s an FDA-approved drug,” esthetician and skin-care brand founder, Renee Rouleau, said on Instagram. “If mandelic was so good for acne, surely somebody would have put it on the monograph and made it FDA-approved for acne and no one has.”
Okay… so what are dermatologists saying about the Reale Actives range?
The dermatologists Allure spoke with do not have the products in their possession and have not physically tried the brand. So far, though, they seem to be on board with Get Bare, Earle’s cleansing balm that lists squalane, green tea extract, and vitamin E as key ingredients. “Oil-based cleansers, like this one, are very effective at dissolving and removing sunscreen and makeup, especially when used as part of a double-cleanse routine,” says Dr. Sandra Oska, a board-certified dermatologist based in Los Angeles. “As long as you are using a cleanser afterwards to wash off the balm residue well, the ingredients in this should be safe for some acne-prone patients.”
