Scarlett Johansson Says Dealing With Acne, Dry Skin Was ‘Emotionally Debilitating’

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Scarlett Johansson wears a lot of hats: She's an actress, mother of two—and the strongest Avenger. And last year, she became a skincare brand co-founder, launching The Outset with beauty and fashion executive Kate Foster.

The reason she created the brand is simple: “I had a problem and was looking for a solution,” the 38-year-old actress exclusively tells Women’s Health. Scarlett struggled with sensitive, breakout-prone skin for the majority of her life, dealing with cycles of acne followed by dryness. She says it was “emotionally debilitating."

So, Scarlett went though a lot of trial and error with her skincare products before quitting moisture-stripping products altogether. She craved something that felt simple and accessible, with clean ingredients. And The Outset was born.

“To have this set of products make such a difference in people's skin and therefore make a difference in their life, is humongous,” she says.

The brand prides itself on its ability to make consumers feeling like they're part of an actual community, involved in something larger than just a skincare product purchase. In fact, The Outset recently partnered with TYB, a community engagement-based platform that rewards customers for interacting with their favorite brands online. There, The Outset "Skinsiders" can connect with each other and share favorite products while earning discounts.

Ahead, read up on Scarlett’s current skincare routine, as well as her brand's new TYB partnership, and the exciting product launch that's coming down the pipeline.

Scarlett keeps her skincare routine simple.

Scarlett's daily skin prep is easy and efficient.

When she wakes up in the morning, she washes her face, then uses The Outset’s Firming & Plumping Vegan Collagen Prep Serum. Then, she uses the Nourishing Squalane Daily Moisturizer and the Smoothing Vitamin C Eye + Expression Lines Cream, and she’s ready to go.

Around the middle of the day, she usually reapplies the serum. “My skin is addicted,” she says.

If she has time, Scarlett will apply the Purifying Blue Clay Mask in the shower while she’s conditioning her hair. “That, to me, is an efficient way to use it,” she says.

She adjusts her nighttime skincare routine based on what her skin needs.

“I just like to see kind of where I'm at,” Scarlett says.

At night, she washes her face again, then uses the serum, as well as The Outset's Restorative Niacinamide Night Cream.

And sometimes, she'll mix things up, maybe adding the Ultralight Moisture-Boosting Botanical Oil into the night cream that she applies that to her face. Other times, Scarlett only uses the oil.

Occasionally, she even washes her face and just leaves it bare. "That's a good way to kind of reset," she says.

One of Scarlett’s all-time favorite products from The Outset is the cleanser.

“I can't imagine using any other cleanser,” she says of the line’s Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser. (Her husband Colin Jost also uses it, she says.) “It's something that I use every day, several times, and it doesn't leave my skin feeling dry,” Scarlett adds. It’s gentle and can even remove eye makeup.

Firming & Plumping Vegan Collagen Prep Serum

Nourishing Squalane Daily Moisturizer

Smoothing Vitamin C Eye + Expression Lines Cream

Purifying Blue Clay Mask

Restorative Niacinamide Night Cream

Ultralight Moisture-Boosting Botanical Oil

Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser

Hair Perfector No. 3 Repairing Treatment

Himalayan Salt Scalp Scrub

She’s also into haircare right now.

Over the past few months, Scarlett has been dealing with some hair breakage. To treat it, she has been using the Olaplex Hair Perfector No. 3 Repairing Treatment and leaving that on her hair’s ends.

Her scalp has also been dry recently, so she’s been using Act+Acre products, as well as the Goop Himalayan Salt Scalp Scrub. “It's phenomenal,” she says of the scrub, which exfoliates and cleanses the scalp to prevent product buildup. “That's one product that I've been started to circulate into my routine that I really love.”

Scarlett’s one non-negotiable self-care routine might surprise you.

"I am a religious flosser,” she says. “I will floss after three margaritas. I will floss after if I'm jet-lagged."

Overall, though, Scarlett keeps her beauty rituals pretty bare bones.

“I'll go get my nails done every couple of weeks and that's my kind of me-time,” she says. “Or maybe at some point, I would get a massage or something like that.”

Scarlett loves how TYB helps build a skincare community.

TYB's platform serves as a way for The Outset fans to gather and find like-minded "Skinsiders" who are eager for the next product drop or skincare insights. The platform consists of chat rooms and channels where members can message one another and even ask the brand questions. Users receive "coins" for completing certain actions (like posting on Instagram), which they can apply towards product discounts.

The brand’s TYB community has only been opened once before, for 24 hours. And the community is opening again, today, October, 10th, for another 24 hours—you can access it here.

“That was always one of the most exciting parts about starting this brand, was the community-building aspect of it,” Scarlett says.

When members join, they receive a membership collectible, which serves as their key to the community. From there, they can complete engagement challenges, like posting about their favorite products on their social media and writing product reviews.

It's a way for The Outset to allow their customers to give feedback on products, retail experiences, and future launches, while also incentivizing them to create content around the brand. That way, they can create products their audience is actually excited about.

“We definitely look to our consumer to guide us,” Scarlett says. “That's research and development literally we can't even pay for.”

The Outset's newest product, their Botanical Rescue Barrier Balm is launching on October 17th, and has “been in the works for a long time,” Scarlett says. It's super versatile, and you can use it on multiple skin areas, including your lips, cuticles, hair, eyelids, and more. “I love it so much,” she adds.

We can't wait to see what the Skinsiders think!

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