Face Haus brings affordable, quirky facials to USC Village
Co-founded by friends Karey Burke, Dawn Olmstead and Jenn Worley, Face Haus was created based upon the co-owners’ realization that facials are generally expensive, especially for students. The boutique facial bar aims to bring the fun, affordable treatment to USC. (Emily Smith | Daily Trojan)
Forget frilly spas; Face Haus is here to make facials fast, affordable and fun. The self-proclaimed ‘Drybar of facials’ opened in USC Village on Aug. 22. Face Haus is a full-service facial bar co-founded by friends Karey Burke, Dawn Olmstead and Jenn Worley.
Its primary offerings include signature facials with quirky names like Spotless Reputation, Keep Glowing and Best Man, as well as upgrade options such as Eye Rise and Lip, Laugh, Love. Full-service facials are provided by licensed aestheticians at a reasonable price point.
The concept for Face Haus was inspired by the co-founders’ shared realization that facials, though popular beauty treatments, are generally unaffordable. When they treated their daughters to a spa day, they were shocked at the high cost of $150 per facial. Soon after, they set out to build a skin care company that provided “facials for the people,” as their tagline goes.
“Whether it’s teens or men or busy women or young professionals or college students,” said Worley, who is also the chief creative officer. “Our mission is to provide skin care to as many people as possible.”
The members of the founding trio each bring diverse backgrounds to Face Haus. Both Burke and Olmstead work in entertainment, heading Freeform and Universal Cable Productions, respectively. Burke brought in the initial investors while Olmstead spearheaded design for the company. Worley, an entrepreneur and writer, is in charge of the day-to-day operations. The founders are all mothers (they have 14 children between the three of them) making Face Haus a truly “mom and mom and mom shop” as coined by Burke.
The facial bar originated in Studio City and has additional stores in West Hollywood and Santa Monica. Another location is set to open in South Bay this fall. The company hopes to grow even more in the coming months.
“Our mission is ‘for the people’ and that means not just being in New York and LA,” Burke said. “It means being across the country and hopefully international.”
The USC location is the largest so far, with the space being built to host parties and events. The founders are working with Student Affairs to partner with and host events for different mixes of groups on campus. A soft opening this past week invited song girls, resident advisors, and other groups of students for complimentary eye and lip treatments. Nick Viall from “The Bachelor” also made an appearance, opting for the Best Man signature facial.
The menu is broken down by skin concern and type of client, but Worley explains, “that type of consultation really happens in the chair.” For brand new clients, she suggests a House Special with an add on such as Power to the Pores or Universal A-peel. Signature facials are set at $65, and range from 30 to 45 minutes to complete. The company’s consulting dermatologist, Harold Lancer, designed United We Smooth, which pairs his products with microdermabrasion, a procedure that gently sands away the outer layer of skin, for $95. Additionally, an affordable, student-friendly package series is set to launch this September.
“The goal is obviously to be in as many cities and to be as accessible to people as we can be,” Burke said. With new product development and nationwide openings are set for later this year, the founders are hopeful for the future of Face Haus, the only skin care company providing, according to Worley, “open concept, express, high efficacy, but no-fluff facials for all types of skin, not just aging women,” with Burke chiming in “with lots of money!”