Talking to… CAROLINE HIRONS

The brand founder, consultant, author, blogger and skincare pro tells Eve Oxberry how she intends to shake up the industry with the launch of Skin Rocks Pro

When Professional Beauty collaborated on the launch announcement of Skin Rocks Pro a month ago, it’s fair to say the industry sat up and took notice. With a strong consumer profile, including a reach of over three quarters of a million on Instagram alone, the brand’s founder Caroline Hirons brings a fresh approach to the professional skincare market.

“The key difference for Skin Rocks entering pro is we have a face. There aren’t that many brand founder faces out there in the industry,” says Hirons. “That means we also have accountability. We can’t hide behind anything because the first thing people are going to do, if they have a bad experience, is DM me.”

Known for her no-nonsense approach to skincare and respect for beauty professionals, Caroline Hirons’s career has spanned retail counters and treatment rooms, consulting for global brands, becoming an author and social media star and launching her own consumer brand, Skin Rocks. Going back to her roots, Hirons has now set her sights on the professional market. But, as with everything she does, she’s doing it differently.

For many brands, the usual route is to launch in the professional sector before expanding into retail. Hirons, however, flipped the script. “To be honest, it was always the plan. I made every product with pro in mind down the road. It just wasn’t something we could do straight away,” she explains. “A lot of brands start in the UK, land a big retail deal, expand internationally, and go to the US and Australia. But we’ve done it backwards, which has kind of been the natural way of doing things for us, because I was a shopfloor girl before I was a facialist, then became a facialist because I loved talking about skin on the shopfloor so much, so it’s following a natural progression for me.

“I had long-term relationships with the retail sector because of my previous work so we walked into those doors; they wanted us. I always felt like pro deserved to be treated with more respect, making sure we had the team in place rather than doing it haphazardly.”

Instead of chasing global retailers, Hirons strategically positioned Skin Rocks within Space NK and Liberty, with an emphasis on maintaining the brand’s exclusivity. Now, after strengthening its retail presence, she’s ready to move into the professional world.

“My heart has always been in the pro world, so it just seemed like the right time to move across,” she says.

Working behind the scenes on the launch, she collaborated with ex-Dermalogica UK GM Mark Hermann as a strategic consultant and is now building a team of industry professionals to deliver training.

“We’re launching big style at Professional Beauty in March, which we’re thrilled about. The show is like our industry’s Comic Con. Everyone goes,” she says. “But we’ll be rolling out officially towards the end of this year – end of Q3 to beginning of Q4 is the plan.”

Therapists first

One of the biggest frustrations Hirons has observed in the industry is how suppliers sometimes treat therapists as an afterthought: “There’s this attitude from some brands like, ‘You’re lucky we’re letting you have our product’. That’s so patronising and disrespectful. I’m lucky that therapists want to work with my brand,” she says. As part of the Skin Rocks Pro launch, Hirons will ensure salons and therapists benefit from the existing formulations while also promising some newness that’s pro-only.

“We’re offering exclusives to the professional market, but not in a gimmicky way,” she says. “The formulations for retail and pro are the same because they’ve all been clinically tested and trialled. But we’re introducing professional-only products for use in treatments – things like stronger peels and masks that aren’t available for retail.”

Hirons is fiercely against misleading marketing claims, adding, “I’ve always called out the ‘medical grade’ and ‘clinical grade’ B.S. It’s all marketing. Anyone can slap those words on a product. What matters is clinical trials and third-party testing. We’ve done everything you can do as far as regulations and compliance goes.”

Everyday beauty

One of Hirons’s long-standing frustrations is the perception that facials are a luxury rather than a regular part of self-care. “When I ask people if they do their own hair colour, they say, ‘Of course not, I go to a professional’. When I ask if they do their own nails, most say they go to a salon. But when I ask about facials? Hardly anyone gets them regularly,” she says.

She hopes that Skin Rocks Pro will help change that by using her own consumer profile to drive more clients into salons. “When people see Skin Rocks in a salon, they’ll know it can be trusted. They’ll know the therapist has been trained by us and they won’t be given a vague ‘red carpet’ treatment with no real explanation,” she says.

By controlling distribution, she also promises salons won’t have to compete with online discounting. “Legally you can’t control discounting but that’s why I’ve only gone with retailers that do it in a controlled and structured way. I didn’t want people getting a treatment and then going on Amazon to find the product 20% cheaper. You’re not going to get that with us,” she adds.

Key Dates

1997
Begins working weekends for Aveda in Harvey Nichols, later going on to work with Space NK and Chantecaille

2000
Trains at Steiner School of Beauty Therapy, London

2009
Sets up brand consultancy business

2010
Launches skincare blog beautymouth.com, later rebranding to carolinehirons.com

2019
Becomes skincare presenter on This Morning. Wins CEW Achiever of the Year

2020
Releases Skincare, The Ultimate No-Nonsense Guide. Launches Beauty Backed Trust, raising money to support the industry

2021
Launches skincare brand Skin Rocks

2025
Official launch of Skin Rocks Pro

Training and accessibility

With over 6,000 people having already signed up to register their interest for the Skin Rocks Pro launch, Hirons is prioritising training and inclusivity.

Unlike some brands that impose rigid protocols, Skin Rocks Pro will allow therapists to integrate products into their existing treatments. “We’ll obviously have protocols, but whatever machinery you already use, we can tell you how to implement our products using the device,” she explains. “People don’t have to buy something new.”

Training will be open to therapists qualified from Level 2 and up. “There will be some treatments that will be exclusive for Level 3, and 4 and 5. If people already work with laser, for example, we will just incorporate our product into what they already do. We’ll have digital and hands-on training, depending on what they need, where they are and what kind of account they have,” she says.

Beyond launching her brand, Hirons is focused on levelling the playing field across the sector. “I don’t like the hierarchy in the industry where big accounts get preferential treatment. We’re giving the same level of support to a mobile therapist as we are to a large clinic. Whether you spend £10 or £10,000, you’ll get the same service,” she explains.

This focus on accessibility extends to the end consumer too, with Hirons prioritising inclusivity in product and treatment development. “In the same way there’s massive gaps in hairdressing, I know a lot of people of colour who won’t go for a facial if it isn’t a Black person doing the treatment,” says Hirons. “So, we’re working carefully to make sure every product we have is suitable for all skins.”

"If you are annoyed about me JOINING THE INDUSTRY , then you’re in it for the WRONG REASONS . If you are annoyed that I’m bringing attention, people, money, footfall, press into our industry, then YOU ARE THE PROBLEM , not me"

She continues, “There’s still a huge gap when it comes to inclusivity. We will be fully inclusive across gender and sexuality too – it has to be an open space where if someone is going through hormone treatment, for example, whether that’s menopause or trans, they feel welcome and safe. I want therapists to not be afraid to treat people who are going through issues.”

However, Hirons is realistic about the challenges beauty professionals face today. “The biggest challenge right now is trust,” she says, acknowledging that clients are bombarded with conflicting advice from unqualified “experts” online. “Consistency is key,” she advises. “Don’t jump on clickbait or trends. Be consistent across your social media, your branding and how you talk to people.”

She also believes that pricing pressures and online discounting have created difficulties for professional therapists. “The more retailers you are in, the less attractive you are to the pro market,” she says. “If a client can go online and get a product at 25% off, why would they buy it in a salon? I will be driving my customer into a high street salon to buy product. And every single person that signs up to us will get linked on my Instagram to a page where clients can book directly.”

Looking to the future

With a packed launch year, including five Skin Rocks product releases, one of which will be exclusive to professionals, Skin Rocks is set to make an impact in the pro market.

“The big brands know we’re coming for them,” says Hirons. “We’ve already had competitors signing up for info to see what we’re doing. But if you are annoyed about me joining the industry, then you’re not really in the industry. You’re in it for the wrong reasons. If you are annoyed that I’m bringing attention, people, money, footfall, press into our industry, then you are the problem, not me.”

Hirons is also confident about the longer-term future for Skin Rocks Pro, adding, “Between the team we’ve got, the product we’ve got, all the therapists that are out there gagging for someone who understands them and treats them with respect, why would we not be successful?”