Rare Beauty Brands Buys Dr. Dana Beauty, a Nail Care Company

Rare Beauty Brands has acquired Dr. Dana Beauty, a nail care company, from Nu Skin Enterprises. A purchase price was not disclosed. Nu Skin ranks No. 17 in Happi's The Top 50.

Other Rare Beauty brands include skin care brands Patchology and Plant Apothecary. Dr. Dana Beauty, named for founder Dr. Dana Stern, is known for its nail renewal system, which retails for $33. Stern’s private practice specializes in nail health, which she said is one-of-a-kind in the US. Stern will join Rare Beauty Brands’ board of directors.

According to Rare Beauty President and CEO Chris Hobson, Dr. Dana Beauty meets the company's three criteria to make an acquisition:
• Is it pushing the limits of efficacy and conscious beauty,
• Is it based on an unmet need, and
• Is it really strongly differentiated.

“Nail health has historically been an afterthought for color brands,” said Hobson. “But here, it’s bringing the sophistication of skin care into nail care.”

Nail care isn't an afterthought at Dr. Dana Beauty, which is named for founder Dr. Dana Stern. The brand is known for its nail renewal system, which retails for $33. Stern’s private practice specializes in nail health, which she said is one-of-a-kind in the US.

“I’m apparently the only dermatologist in the country whose entire practice is devoted to nails,” she said, adding that she created the brand because “my patients were coming to me with issues that weren’t being solved with the products available to them in brick-and-mortar retail, or even prescription-wise.”

Rare Beauty Brands has big plans for Dr. Dana Beauty. The company has 6,000 doors of prestige and specialty distribution with 200 retails in 50 countries. The acquisition comes at a time when nail care sales are booming. During the pandemic, women had time to care for their nails. As restrictions eased in 2021, and masks came off, color cosmetics sales took off.