Meet Stas Chirkov of Blunt Skincare in West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stas Chirkov.

Stas, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today? 
Ten years ago, I landed at JFK airport with a bag and a few hundred dollars. Ever since I made the decision to move to the U.S., I’ve worked at pursuing my dreams. I was able to use my Masters degree in Chemistry to become a chemist at a major beauty company. I went on to work as an engineer and a product developer, getting a look into the beauty industry as a whole.

Having worked in the beauty industry for the past 10 years (L’Oreal, Johnson & Johnson and contract labs, partnering with a lot of brands), I still felt like something was missing.
My approach was different: as a cosmetic scientist I wanted to research every ingredient, how its sourced and what skincare benefit it provides — I picked the most effective ones and the highest quality, clean + sustainable.

Blunt skincare launched last April with the cannabis face oil collection — three potent facial oils formulated to address specific skin concerns (hydration, balancing and renewal) and each featuring a different cannabis-derived active: Cannabis seed extract, Cannabidiol and Full-spectrum cannabis extract. 

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you? 
It hasn’t been a smooth road because of regulations on cannabis and CBD. In the beginning our main struggle was to find partners and business services — most companies like banks, credit card processors, e-commerce platforms weren’t open to be working with cannabis or hemp companies.
Fortunately, the regulations have been changing and we’re growing — you can find our products online at Urban Outfitters, Dolls Kill and Amazon. 

So, as you know, we’re impressed with BLUNT Skincare – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others. 
BLUNT Skincare combines innovative cosmetic chemistry with cannabis and we specialize in researching cannabinoids for skincare purposes. Blunt skincare is the only beauty brand that offers three different cannabis-derived extract: seed oil, purified CBD and Full-spectrum cannabis oil.

Ethics of the brand were important to me as much as aesthetics — we love cannabis in many forms and won’t judge anyone using cannabis/hemp. In fact, any topic we’re interested in — skincare, science or cannabis, we’ll always be as blunt as possible.

Blunt skincare is a cultural reset — 100% transparent and honest, next level green beauty (non-toxic and sustainable), ethical brand that stands for more than just a trendy ingredient, instead Blunt skincare recognizes the cannabis history, complications of war on drugs and focuses on research, education and fighting the stigma. 

So, what’s next? Any big plans? 
We’re turning one this month and I have big plans to lead the cannabis beauty industry – we’ll be focusing on research of new cannabinoids and launching new products that address real skin concerns. We postponed some of the plans due the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and focused on what Blunt skincare can do to help during this time. We are donating 50% of sales to Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund. We’ve also partnered with KUSSHI bags and Donate Beauty to get free products to the first responders and the healthcare workers.

Pricing:

• SEED Hydrating Face Oil, $50
• ISOLATE, Pure CBD Balancing Face Oil, $70
• MOONROCK Full Spectrum Renewal Face Oil, $80

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bluntskincare.com
• Email: info@bluntskincare.com

Image Credit:
Extra Hours (extrahours.co)

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