Hailey Bieber Says Rhode's New Cleanser Removes Everything—Even Red Carpet Makeup

She tells Byrdie all about the new launch, her winter skincare essentials, and her beauty resolutions.

There is no question—Hailey Bieber's Rhode is that girl. In just over a year of business, the simple, hydration-focused skincare line has become a favorite of TikTok and cool girls everywhere. The products constantly sell out with waitlists in the thousands. The Peptide Lip Treatment (and the new tinted version) is basically the Juicy Tube of the 2020s, and the brand has even managed to turn celebrity brand skeptics (like myself) into fans.

The brand's motto is "one of everything really good," and it launched with the hydrating Peptide Glazing Fluid, soothing Barrier Restore Cream, and the now iconic lip treatment. Since then, it's expanded to include a Glazing Milk toner, but there was always something missing for a full glowy routine—until now. On January 25, the brand is dropping the Rhode Pineapple Refresh cleanser, a balmy gel formula with gentle exfoliation‚ a first for the brand.

In honor of the launch, Byrdie sat down with Hailey Bieber for all the details on the cleanser and her winter beauty essentials.

You have such a curated lineup of products. Why was it time to add a cleanser to the Rhode universe?

"A cleanser was meant to be part of the lineup since the launch of Rhode. When we started developing everything four years ago, it was always a part of the original lineup. The reason that it's not coming until now is...I started realizing that it's very hard to make a cleanser special. There are so many great cleansers out there on the market that are good because they're just simple, and they do what they're meant to do.

"It needs to do what it says it does. It's meant for cleansing, taking off the makeup, keeping the skin nourished and clean. But how do I do that and then also have it stand out? And feel different and feel interesting? For me, that would be the ingredient story and the texture. And it's just taken this long to nail every element."

"I wanted something really hydrating and amazing, but also that had something to help with skin cell turnover that was very, very gentle. That's where the pineapple enzyme ingredient comes in. It had just taken us so much trial and error finding the right ingredients story, finding the right texture."

The texture is like nothing I've ever tried, almost like a balmy jelly. What was your dream texture when formulating?

"I was really convinced that I wanted a balmy, interesting texture from the beginning, and that was hard to find. That was hard to nail down...I hope that when people hear me talk about it then get to try it, they feel the the effort that's being put into it. Because to me, it's not just any other old cleanser. This is the cleanser. This is the one that replaces all of my other ones or anything else that I've tried. I want to keep going back to it. I want my skin to miss it if it doesn't have it. And that was how I really got to the final [formula]. Once I ran out of my samples, I was like, 'No, I need it.' I can't live without it.

"I've never been the biggest fan of a cleanser that gets too soapy, but I like a lather. So I wanted to have a balm texture but then be able to go into a lather that wasn't too overpowering, that didn't make the skin feel tight. So that's where chemistry comes in, and that's not my job. But that's where the amazing chemists were able to put their heads together, 'Okay, how do we get this really beautiful texture when it comes out of the bottle that's the first thing you feel?' And then how does it break into a lather that is not too overpowering?

"It was a very fine dance of how we got there. I remember sampling a few of them and then going back and saying, 'It feels too soapy,' or 'It feels like the surfactant level is too high,' or 'Now it's low. It's not foaming enough.' So, it was a really delicate space of trial and error."

In three words, how does Pineapple Refresh make your skin feel?

"Hydrated, refreshed, and bouncy. I think it's interesting that a cleanser can make your skin feel bouncy. I've not really experienced that many times."

What was the biggest thing you didn't want from the cleanser?

"I don't enjoy it when you use a cleanser, and it gives you the feeling that your skin is tight. Because to me, tight feels dry. Some people like that feeling. It feels clean. It does the opposite for me; it makes my skin feel tight and scratchy. And then another big no for me was also not being stripping or not being too powerful with the exfoliation. I'm very sensitive. I have perioral dermatitis, I have to be very careful when it comes to any skincare products but especially cleansers and SPF."

What are some of your favorite ingredients in the formula?

"I love the polyglutamic acid. It's just such a good, hydrating, interesting ingredient that I've come to love and know so much more about when we were really nailing down the development. Then, you get the calming green tea extract, which is just nice for keeping the skin calm, and it's a great antioxidant. There's sea buckthorn oil in there, which is how it gets its color naturally.

"There's also a very cool hyaluronic acid in there that still works on your skin even after you've rinsed it. And I thought that was pretty standout and different, because you know, with cleansers, it doesn't stay on, you rinse it off and don't think about it. I thought it was cool that we were able to have an ingredient that's still doing something for the skin even when it's rinsed off."

The campaign is sick. What was your inspiration?

"Because it's our first launch in the new year, and it's pineapple refreshed: newness. I wanted to do something that was in nature. Outside, refreshing sky and water. We shot in the Bahamas, which was super fun. And then I had been having this idea for a really long time that I wanted to do a calendar. I've always loved the Pirelli Calendar and was very inspired by calendar girls. I want this to be the cleanser that's your every day, every week, every month, every year cleanser.

"That's how we came to do this cleanser calendar, which has come out really cute. The images are insane. We've used some of the most beautiful girls ever, and it was such a pleasure getting to see them shoot. [I'm] so honored that they would be a part of this campaign. So it's very fun. It's stunning. Everything looks amazing. And, you know, obviously, the cleanser is the focus, but it's imagery that kind of just lives beyond because it's for every month of the year, so I think people will be really excited."

Do you have a special cleansing method or routine?

"Typically, I'm a double cleanser. What this cleanser has done for me is that on a day, it's not super intense makeup—but by the way, even super intense makeup... I've come home from a red carpet and just used this to break down my makeup, and it has taken everything off. And that was part of the testing process for me as well. I'm typically a double cleanser. But this has made me not be as much of a double cleanser every day because there are some nights when I'm dragging my feet, and I'm so tired. And I'll never go to bed without cleansing my skin. Usually, I would not feel like any cleanser I use was significant enough to just use one time, but this has done that for me. So it really depends on the day, but I'm a big believer in double cleansing.

"And then, you can totally apply this on dry skin for like five minutes and let it sit, and you will activate that enzyme a little bit more if you want a little bit of a deeper exfoliation. I've done it, sat with it in my bathroom as I'm just doing things, get in the shower and let it rinse off, and it feels great."

Are you a team cleanser in the morning? Or just a splash of water.

"It really depends on how my skin feels. I'm more of a splash of water, just a little warm water in the morning kind of a person because I like everything having soaked in the night before, letting it live, letting it sit. Sometimes, I'll use certain products that I feel maybe might cause me a little buildup if I don't cleanse them off in the morning. I listen to my skin. I take a look in the morning and see if I feel it's more oily."

What are you applying right after cleanser?

"Right after cleanser on damp skin, I'm always going in with the Glazing Milk ($30) without fail. Glazing Milk, to me, is my best friend. I reach for that stuff non-stop, and even when my skin is sensitized—which for me would be if I'm having a perioral dermatitis flare-up, which I just recently was having. All I was doing was cleansing at night, putting on a little bit of medicine for it, and then using Glazing Milk—nothing else. And it fully brought down the inflammation. It was really a good little routine for that."

Do you have any other winter skincare tips or essentials?

"I usually go for a much more occlusive, thicker, balmy kind of moisturizer at nighttime when it's cold in the winter just because I find that I missed that feeling. l seal everything in at night. You get those pesky stubborn areas that get super dry, under the eyes, and all that kind of stuff. So yeah, a balmy kind of sleeping mask-feeling situation."

In the spirit of kicking off the year. Are there any beauty trends you want to try this year?

"Oh man, have they already started? Is there a food makeup trend that I haven't seen yet? [laughs]. What's nice about the beauty community and beauty TikTok and stuff is that there's always something fun to try. I just saw a video the other day where it was more of a grungy '90s [look] with no skin makeup and a little slept-in eyeliner. I love that. Let's do that all year; let's try it out. I'm open.

"My motto for beauty in 2024 is not being closed off from trying anything, taking more risks, and trying different things. I know what works for the Hailey formula, right? We all know what it is at this point...things for me are always going to be very skin-forward. Because I'm so committed to my skincare, why wouldn't I want that to be the center? I just don't like covering up my skin too much. That's why [I love] minimal concealer minimal [makeup]. I can always be committed to that, and I am, but I really would like to step outside of that comfort zone as well.

"I think I'm always going to be very skin-focused, but maybe [there's an] exploration of the eyes. Maybe it's a lip color. Maybe it's, you know, more glam. I don't know what it is, but I'm open to going there."

You can shop the Rhode Pineapple Refresh cleanser on January 25 for $28 on rhodeskin.com.

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