Every beauty nerd I know can remember the first big skincare product they ever purchased. For some, it was a tube of La Roche-Posay Anthelios SPF 50 at their local CVS store. Others clicked "add to cart" on a Kiehl's Since 1851's Powerful-Strength Vitamin C Serum. (For the record, I eventually purchased both of these products with money I had painstakingly saved as a 16-year-old delivering Chinese food in the Midwest—chic). But for those who frequented the "natural foods" section at Whole Foods during the early 2000s, REN Clean Skincare may have been the brand to catch your eye. If so, I'm afraid I have some bad news.
On May 1, 2025, parent company Unilever—which also owns beauty heavyweights such as Dove, TREsemmé, Pond's, Axe, Vaseline, and more—announced that it would be shutting down REN Clean Skincare after purchasing the brand in 2015. A representative for Unilever said in a statement, "We are proud of the REN team for all they have accomplished during 25 years of business, putting ‘clean’ skin care on the agenda and creating positive change for both people and planet and thank them as they continue to support us through this closure."
