Sales for This Popular Moisturizer Were So High, the Brand Was Able to Cancel $1 Million of Student Loan Debt
If you came up with a Venn diagram of popular beauty brands and those doing good things for society, the overlap wouldn’t be huge. The number’s growing, but it’s tough to find a brand that commits to donating more than, say, one percent of profits to a cause — and when they do, it’s often from a single specialized product or sale, not their overall bottom line. This year, skincare brand First Aid Beauty effectively said screw that, and made good on its burgeoning popularity by saving 24 people from crushing student loan debt.
If you’re not familiar with the brand, you’ve been missing out on one of Amazon, Sephora, and Ulta’s perennial best-sellers. According to First Aid Beauty, more than 1,575,000 jars of the brand’s Ultra Repair Cream are sold each year, which equals one every 20 seconds — and if you take a look at the moisturizer’s reviews and its ranking as one of Amazon’s best-selling body creams, it’s easy to see why.
One Amazon shopper wrote that the cream saved their skin after a move to Colorado, where the lack of humidity left them “breaking out like a teenager.” After incorporating the Ultra Repair Cream into their routine, they say their skin is the healthiest and clearest it’s ever been. Others agree that the cream is “by far one of the best moisturizers” they’ve ever used, and more call it a “miracle cream” that soothes spots expensive creams, serums, exfoliants, and steroid creams can’t touch. It’s incredibly effective for eczema in particular, 158 reviewers say, and for allergic reactions like those from face masks.
Shop now: $14; amazon.com
We’d never begrudge a brand from raking in profits for a wonderful product, but seeing First Aid Beauty reinvest money in its customers is the best kind of payback. This past February (which feels like 18 years ago), the brand announced its commitment to paying off $1 million of student loan debts through its FAB AID initiative, with 10 percent of proceeds from a special edition FAB AID Ultra Repair Cream added on top of that million dollar contribution. Last week, the brand announced its 24 winners, and that it’d be wiping out almost $1.3 million in student loans.
The reactions alone are enough to make your skin glow. One recipient with $91,765 paid off said, “You have no idea how much this means to me. I feel like I just lost this weight that I've been carrying for so long,” while another person with $17,680 paid off said the freedom is going to launch her further on her “calling” to become a nurse and advocate for the Hispanic community.
The combination of an excellent product with a fantastic cause is unbeatable — it feels like the skincare equivalent of peanut butter and chocolate. First Aid Beauty is continuing the program into 2021, and expanding eligibility to include residents of the US and Canada who have or will graduate from an undergraduate program from January 2011 to August 2021. There’s no purchase necessary to enter, but if you’re looking for a winter “miracle balm” that leaves aggravated skin silky and baby soft, on top of funding a good cause — look no further.
