In a $20B Indian beauty industry dominated by marketing theatrics, airbrushed before-and-afters, and “clean beauty” buzzwords, Piyush Jain, ex-Procter & Gamble Director, is building something that feels almost radical: a skincare brand that’s obsessed with science, not spin. After more than a decade managing billion-rupee brands across skincare, personal care, and home care at P&G, Jain walked away—not to ride a D2C funding wave, but to solve what he calls “a broken contract between beauty brands and the consumer.”“The biggest luxury in skincare today isn’t packaging. It’s trust. And we chose to earn it, not buy it,” he says. That philosophy birthed SkinInspired in 2022—a clinical, dermatology-forward skincare brand that’s quietly winning consumer loyalty and industry recognition by doing the one thing most brands avoid: telling the whole truth.
No Filters, No Jargon, No suss
While most skincare startups chase virality with influencer blitzes and vague “natural” claims, SkinInspired went the other way. No retouched before-and-after photos. No ambiguous “chemical-free” fluff. No hiding behind INCI jargon. Instead, the brand publishes complete ingredient lists, active concentrations, and backs its products with real-world clinical evidence, not just hope. From day one, formulations have been tested by panels of 100s of dermatologists—a move that has helped SkinInspired win early trust and credibility among both consumers and the medical community. Their recent product, Kidscreen—India’s first truly 100% mineral-based, SPF 50+ PA++++ sunscreen for children—was launched as a response to a glaring market gap. Jain observed the rising UV levels and pollution in urban India, noticed that most sunscreens were untested on young skin, and decided to create something safer—no fragrance, no harsh chemicals, and fully recyclable packaging. “We didn’t make a kids’ sunscreen because it sells. We made it because it didn’t exist—and it should have,” Jain explains.
Scaling Without the Noise
In the first two years, SkinInspired has quietly achieved what many brands with louder megaphones haven’t. It built a loyal community of 10,000+ customers, generated thousands of pieces of unpaid UGC, and was recently awarded the Beauty & You Award 2024 by The Estée Lauder Companies and Nykaa—a nod from industry giants to a brand doing the hard work right. Jain’s strategy is refreshingly unglamorous: conversion-first landing pages, functional packaging (including refill cartridges), science education through PR kits, and direct conversations with users. SkinInspired is one of the few Indian brands to offer refillable face serums, thereby reducing waste and increasing repeat purchases. “We don’t optimize for impressions. We optimize for impact,” Jain says.
The Long Game: Integrity as Infrastructure
SkinInspired’s biggest differentiator might not be its ingredients, but its operating system. There’s no founder glorification, no paid review farms, and no shortcut SEO spam. Instead, Jain is building a system of credibility: dermatologist access, transparent labeling, and science-first storytelling. This isn’t just about skincare—it’s about shifting an industry culture. “When we choose to educate instead of manipulate, we create informed consumers. That’s when brand love becomes brand trust,” he adds.
What’s Next
Jain’s vision is to make India a global leader in ethical, effective skincare, where brands are held accountable not just for what they sell, but how they sell it. With SkinInspired, he’s betting on a slower, smarter growth path: one rooted in clinical performance, user literacy, and operational sustainability. “We want to be the reason a child doesn’t get sunburned. The reason a parent feels safe. And the reason a bottle doesn’t end up in the landfill,” he says. In an industry full of noise, SkinInspired is quietly becoming the signal. And Jain? He’s proving that trust can scale—but only if you build it from the ground up.