LONDON — Iris Ventures is pushing further into the space where beauty and wellness meet, leading a $15 million investment in Innerskin, which specializes in noninvasive skin care treatments at its clinics across France.
Founded three years ago by Chrystelle Eid, Innerskin has opened 19 centers in France, with a focus on skin health and personalized, preventive treatments. The brand has also launched a medical-grade product line with signature formulas that are able to mimic hands-on skin care treatments, such as microneedling.
Iris, a growth equity firm that backs next-generation consumer brands in lifestyle, beauty and well-being, has joined existing investors including Label Capital.
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Eid, whose title is chief executive officer, believes the era of “undetectable beauty” treatments is dawning, and said her clients want to “soften, rather than transform” their features.
She described the investment as pivotal and said Iris “brings deep category expertise and the strategic backing we need to accelerate expansion across France and Europe. The demand for accessible, high-quality aesthetic care is booming,” she said, adding that her brand is ready to lead.
In an interview, Eid said she likes the fact that Iris is a focused, rather than a generalist, fund and that it has expertise in beauty and wellness. Iris’ portfolio includes the wellness platform Healf and Superlativa, a plant-based, drug- and hormone-free supplement that aims to regulate women’s levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
It also has stakes in Biomel, which makes plant-based drinks, snack bars and powders that promote gut health, and in Olistic, a science-backed, nutraceutical brand that treats hair loss and the lifestyle factors that contribute to it.
Montse Suarez, founder and managing partner at Iris Ventures, called Eid “an exceptional founder — combining vision, consumer insight and operational excellence. Innerskin is setting a new standard in aesthetics, delivering care and sophistication at scale like no one else.”
Celia Bosch, partner at Iris Ventures, believes consumers “are demanding science-backed, transparent and holistic self-care experiences. Innerskin stands out as the first to truly merge premium beauty, medical-grade performance and wellness under one elevated brand.”
Eid said the fresh funding will go toward expanding the clinic network beyond France, adding that she’s already looking for a London site in places such as Chelsea, Notting Hill and Marylebone.
The plan is to open eight to 12 clinics every year for the next five years in the U.K., the Republic of Ireland, the Benelux countries and a range of European capital cities.
At the Innerskin clinics, she said the focus is on customer service — and empowerment.
Although Eid’s background is in finance, she is the daughter of two plastic surgeons. When it came time to set up her own business, she wanted to take a different route from her parents.
“I wanted to offer services that really answered people’s needs to preserve what they already had,” she said, adding that traditional aesthetic clinics tend to be “very judgmental,” with staff adhering to classic beauty standards, and aiming to recreate the “perfect” nose, eyes or skin on each client.
“I love the fact my nose is not perfect, and that I have wrinkles. The wrinkles remind me of happy moments,” she said. “As a client, I would always feel at ease going into an aesthetic clinic in France or in Europe because I felt judged.”
She said Innerskin takes a different approach, and aims to “maintain, and refine” a client’s features in a highly personalized environment.
Eid also wants to make the experience of having the treatments more comfortable — and personal. “What shocked me as a consumer going into these clinics was the experience. It was horrible. For us, it’s super-important that people love the experience,” she said.
Eid has developed the skin care in the same spirit of quality and self-improvement. She describes the products as “highly concentrated” and a combination of “clean and technical.”
Their key point of difference is absorption. The products contain a signature complex called Mesotides, which is made from active ingredients such as marine collagen, oligopeptide-1 and red algae extract. The formula is micro-encapsulated in liposomes, allowing it to penetrate deep into the skin.
Eid said it’s rare to hear brands talk about a product’s ability to penetrate the skin, but at Innerskin, “we are obsessed with it.”
The products, which range in price from 35 euros for a single cleansing balm to 165 euros for the Age Defy kit, are available at the Innerskin clinics, and on the brand’s website.
Eid said the plan is to sell the skin care in the clinics and online and continue with activations and pop-ups, such as the one that’s currently open at Galeries Lafayette in Paris. There are no plans for widespread distribution. Eid said that the relationship between Innerskin and its clients is so personal it would be difficult to bring a third party or distributor on board.
