From reviewing skincare products on YouTube and mixing up her own formulas in her dorm room at Duke University to becoming the founder of a skincare brand that’s revered across social media, Daisy Jing has come a long way. She founded Banish in 2013 with zero outside investors. “I’ve never taken a dime from no one,” she says. “When I tried to raise money, it was a bunch of older men and they were just like, ‘Oh, you know, I don’t know too much about fashion. Let me ask my wife about it [laughs].” But Jing knew her products worked well on her own sensitive, acne-prone skin. She also understood the toll that having acne can take on a person’s self-confidence, which is what propelled her to bring Banish to market.Keep reading to find out more about Jing’s acne story, what it’s like sharing her skin struggles with such a large audience on Banish’s social media and why she likens practicing self-confidence to exercise. And if you’re on the lookout for a new SPF, we’ve been loving the brand’s latest launch, The Defender SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen.Can you talk about your journey with acne?Probably starting at nine years old up until 24, I struggled with severe cystic acne. It was a huge part of my life — going to different dermatologists, trying out different products. Every day, I would wake up and it would either be: is today a good skin day or is today where I get a cystic pimple in the middle of my face kind of day? It really affected my self-confidence, my mental health. Back then, having acne was considered dirty, and classmates would say, ‘Why don’t you take care of yourself, your face?’ All these unsolicited, negative comments. I basically lost out on that huge chunk of my life because I hid myself from the world.How did that motivate you to start Banish?I wanted to become a dermatologist, so I went to Duke University to study pre-med. I took all those courses there, and then I just decided to record [YouTube] videos. I started reviewing different skincare products in my dorm room, and by reviewing them and going through every single ingredient, I realized the hundred ingredients that are in skincare do not need to be there. And when you have very acne-prone skin like me, you’re basically treating sensitive skin. Through that, I realized, ‘Oh my goodness, maybe all these products that I'm using are actually causing me to get cystic acne!’I took matters into my own hands, and I started just making some products on my own —really focusing on the ingredient list. Not only getting the best ingredients, but sourcing them from the best manufacturers that produce those ingredients. I started using them, and then people on my YouTube channel asked me what I was using because they noticed a difference. I didn’t really think too much of it, but it was actually people in real life that started commenting on my skin, including my mom —who, you know, she does bullshit me. I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, it might actually be the things that I’m doing to my skin,’ and I sold a few products out.One of those was the Banish Oil [now called Banish Serum]. It was one of our first products, which is our topseller today. So it was purely by accident. I still have all my old YouTube videos out there if you want to go back like 10 to 12 years and watch them.
