Case Study · Health & Beauty
What does clean beauty look like?
DERMA E has been doing clean beauty since 1984 - a full generation before the category existed. But clean-beauty shelves are crowded, and every bottle claims the same virtues. DERMA E needed real people with real skin showing real results. ApexDrop activated 1,620 creators who picked the products themselves, used them in their actual routines, and posted to their own audiences. The work reached 25 million people and drove a 4.55% engagement rate.
@mackenziewaroe
Organic · Creator-Owned
The Challenge
DERMA E is a clean-beauty pioneer - 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and formulated without 2,700+ ingredients on their "Refuse to Use" list. But the clean-beauty shelf is crowded, and every bottle makes similar claims. The team needed authentic, real-life proof that the products actually work, delivered by eco-conscious creators who live the values the brand was built on.
The Approach
ApexDrop activated 1,620 vetted micro-influencers across beauty, wellness, and lifestyle verticals. Creators self-selected the DERMA E products that matched their real skincare routines, received them as gifts, and posted organically to their own audiences. No scripts. No paid endorsements. Our air-gap model keeps creators independent, keeps content credible, and keeps DERMA E FTC-safe.
The Result
2,208 lifetime-licensed assets spanning everything from face oil flat-lays to family skincare routines. A 4.55% engagement rate, well above beauty-industry benchmarks. 1.1 million total engagements and 25 million people reached through creator audiences the brand could never have bought outright. DERMA E continues repurposing the content across paid social, email, and product pages to this day.
We appreciate the campaign team at ApexDrop and all enjoy the collaboration together.
About the Brand
DERMA E. Clean beauty, since 1984.
DERMA E started in 1984 when Dr. Linda Miles and David Stearn placed their first product - the now-cult Vitamin E 12,000 IU Moisturizing Cream - on the shelf of a small Southern California health food store. Word of mouth built the brand before "clean beauty" was a category.
Today DERMA E is one of the leading natural facial care brands in the U.S., 100% vegan and cruelty-free, formulated without 2,700+ ingredients on their "Refuse to Use" list. Headquartered in Simi Valley, California, the brand remains committed to the original idea: clean formulas that actually work.
About ApexDrop
We make #art, not #ads.
ApexDrop is a micro-influencer platform built on a single premise: the most human brand wins. For over a decade we have connected category-leading CPG, beauty, and fashion brands to a vetted network of 20,000+ creators who post because they genuinely love the product, not because they were paid to.
Our air-gap model gives brands FTC protection, lifetime content licenses, and engagement rates that outperform paid alternatives. DERMA E is one of 1,000+ brands we have partnered with. Others include Fresh Express, StarKist, Johnsonville, Moose Toys, and Constellation.