Common Clouds is a company founded, owned and run by women. Meet Maria, Cajsa, and Helena, and read the story of how a small idea about rebranding acne with the help of fleeting clouds became a real company.

It all actually started a long time ago when Maria and Helena were teenagers in the small coastal town of Malmö in Southern Sweden. As best friends, they followed each other through the storms of adolescence, and most possibly popped their pimples together. 

The early days – beauty culture, books and art

Life's paths led Maria to writing and Helena to the world of art and design. Maria became a journalist, moved to Japan, and during her many years in Tokyo, fell in love with Japanese beauty culture where skincare goes way beyond the cream jar. Many years later, she returned to Sweden and became a beauty editor for titles like ELLE and Bon. Helena became an Art Director, working with design and form across the globe.

In 2017, they collaborated on their first book, Beautyfood – 85 Recipes for Beauty from Within, a book about the holistic approach to skincare that Maria had learned in Japan. Skin is not just a reflection of what we apply onto it, but also of the food we eat, the thoughts we think, and the emotions we feel. Our entire human essence is displayed in our skin.

In 2019, they created their next book, Destination Beautyfood, about skincare cultures across the world.

The skin and brain connection

During her years as a beauty editor, Maria experienced adult acne after going off birth control pills and was floored by the psychological impact of acne. As a journalist, she began exploring the connection between the skin and the brain, and how the mind and skin are in constant dialogue with each other. Understanding how skin conditions affects our mental wellbeing became and obsession.

Today, the gut/skin /brain-axis is a hot and ever growing research topic, and it is well known that acne is the skin condition with the most devestating effects on our mental wellbeing.

Dreaming of clouds

Throughout the years, Maria and Helena had dreamt about one day building their own brand and bring their creative ideas to life with physical products, but life and careers moved so fast that dreams remained just dreams.

Then the years passed, Helena moved to Amsterdam, and a pandemic hit. People around the world began reporting an increase in acne due to mask-wearing, while terms like "Zoom dysmorphia" – the negative fixation on one's appearance due to constant exposure to one's face in video meetings – emerged.

The thought of creating a universe that would change the perception of acne and give acne-care a well-overdue glow-up began to take shape. Maria, who has battled anxiety and a negative self-image her entire life, went on her usual runs around Djurgården in Stockholm to clear her mind of anxious clouds. As she ran back towards the city, she reflected on how there were always gaps in the clouds hanging over city, and found hope in the fact that beyond the clouds, there is ALWAYS light. It’s a law of nature. No cloud is forever.

The cloud as a metaphor

Could the cloud metaphor be used to reduce the stigma around acne? During her many travels back to Japan, Maria had found Korean and Japanese pimple patches – a genius product that reduces, protects, and conceals blemishes.

Talking about pimple patches and clouds, Helena’s artistic mind started spinning. Could we create little cloud-shaped patches and, with the help of clouds, disperse the stigma around acne?

Cajsa enters the chat...

Years earlier, Maria had worked with Cajsa – a skilled marketeer and savvy beauty brand builder with a Master of Science in Business and Economics – at a large, international beauty company in Stockholm. They stayed in touch over the years, and during a "fika" (the Swedish term for chatting over coffee) Maria mentioned the idea, and Cajsa’s beauty-obsessed business mind started spinning.

With Cajsa on board, the small idea slowly but surely morphed into a real business plan with a clear vision - to give both the skin condition acne and the rather sleepy acne-category a glow-up.

The search for a manufacturer that could create the world’s best and most invisible (yet cute!)  acne patches began. A manufacturer in Korea, specialising in medical wound care and hydrocolloid technology, was brought in, and the work on Cloud Patch began. 

Common Clouds is born

In February 2022, Cloud Patch and Common Clouds were launched. Word quickly spread about the invisible little clouds with big results, and "wearing clouds" became a phenomenon, not least on TikTok.

In the spring of 2023, the first liquid skincare products were launched, built on the philosophy of scientifically proven ingredients in barrier-friendly formulas that strengthen the skin over time, making it more resilient against acne-bacteria and less prone to inflammation.

Today, we are a team of five women working every day from our small office in Stockholm to give acne-prone skin (and its owners) the love it deserves. As a small startup, anxious clouds are part of our everyday life, but we also know that no cloud lasts forever. And every anxious cloud quickly drifts away when any of our Cloud Babes – our community – writes us that Common Clouds has helped their skin and self-image.

Thank you for reading, and welcome to our soft cloud world <3

xx
Cajsa, Maria, and Helena, founders of Common Clouds

Cajsa, Maria and Helena and the launch of Moon Balm January 2024.