Seen Secures $9 million Series A Funding

Seen, the award-winning haircare brand founded by Harvard-trained dermatologist Dr. Iris Rubin, has secured $9 million in a Series A funding round. This round was fully subscribed, attracting significant interest from both existing and new strategic investors. Among them were Sator Grove Holdings, a permanent capital investor; Mitch Rales, co-founder of Danaher Corporation; Feroz Dewan of Somerville SPV; and George Mrkonic, a Board Director at Ulta Beauty, Inc. Early funding support also came from a number of esteemed Harvard dermatologists and scientists.

“This marks another transformative milestone for Seen,” said Dr. Iris Rubin, Co-Founder of Seen. “A majority of adults in the U.S. have self-described sensitive skin and over 100 million people in the U.S. suffer from acne, eczema, dry scalp, and hair shedding, which can be exacerbated by irritating, allergenic, and/or pore-clogging ingredients in hair products. Our mission is to help people feel confident being seen by providing them salon-quality hair formulations clinically proven to also be skin friendly.”

The innovative haircare approach at Seen is rooted in Dr. Rubin’s pioneering research into the relationship between hair products and skin health. After years of struggling with breakouts, Dr. Rubin identified her haircare products as the cause. She understood that these products could clog pores and irritate the skin, leading to acne, eczema, and other skin issues. From this discovery, Dr. Rubin was inspired to create formulations that would not only nourish hair but also be gentle on the skin. Following four years of development, Seen was launched in 2019 with a core range of products designed to bridge the gap between luxurious haircare and skincare.

“I am delighted to become an investor in Seen and believe they are setting a new standard for performance hair care,” said investor George Mrkonic, who currently serves on the Board of Ulta Beauty, Inc. “Seen is applying skin science to haircare, which is exactly the kind of category-defining innovation that gets Ulta excited.”

Seen’s growth has been driven by its commitment to the ‘skinification’ of haircare—the concept of utilising hero skincare ingredients such as collagen, peptides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide in haircare products to maximise their effectiveness. The brand’s proprietary Epidermal Rebalancing Technology combines hero ingredients, such as squalane, bisabolol, and ethylhexyl olivate, to not only enhance hair but maintain healthy skin, reducing the risk of skin issues.

Since its debut, Seen has expanded its offerings to include a full line of haircare and styling products, as well as a small edit of skincare and body care essentials. All products are clean, vegan, cruelty-free, and free from oils, silicones, phthalates, parabens, dyes, gluten, and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives. Products are priced between £14 and £30 ($18 and $38) and can be purchased at helloseen.com.