A prominent figure in the substance abuse treatment industry, Cheree Ashley opened three recovery and treatment centers—Bright Future Recovery, Avila Heights Recovery and Robles Ranch—shortly after becoming sober in 2015. “I used to be intravenously addicted to heroin,” she says. “When I got better, I wanted to give back.”
Although the transition from the recovery business to skincare may not seem obvious, Ashley views it as a natural step.“Something I often saw in my clients and experienced myself was the deep emotional toll that addiction takes on one’s physical appearance and self-worth,” she says. “The rosacea, puffiness and dehydration, skin picking and nutritional neglect—the journey to recovery can also be a journey back to self-love.”
On Jan. 7 last year, the anniversary of her sobriety and the day she opened her recovery centers, Ashley launched the brand Osier with two products: $52 Recovery Ceramide Cream and $54 Brighter Days Vitamin C Serum. Named after a willow tree and positioned at the intersection of skincare and mental health or, according to Ashley, where “healing meets luxury,” Osier is meant to symbolize new beginnings and resilience.
She says, “It’s more than just a brand; it’s a place where people in recovery or on the road to recovery can find solace and learn about better skincare habits and products.” She expounds, “I often went days without removing my makeup or washing my face. I’d just keep layering new makeup over the old, which clogged my pores and took a serious toll on my skin.”
Ashley initially invested $442,000 from her own savings and private loans to cover the brand’s legal, product inventory, formulation, marketing and events. To expand its impact, Osier hopes to raise an additional $2 million this year for research and development, marketing, youth education initiatives, sponsorship programs and team members to strengthen operations.
“I come from a background of solely and independently owning my facilities,” says Ashley. “Fundraising is very common in beauty and that is not something that’s common in the substance abuse behavioral health field. So, learning about that has been a lot.”
Osier’s formulas are made in South Korea and billed as clean, vegan and cruelty-free. Ashley chose South Korean manufacturing because of its skill at producing gentle, effective skincare for sensitive skin. Osier’s serum combines 3% vitamin C and 10% phytosqualane derived from sugarcane to naturally brighten and create a moisturizing barrier. The ceramide cream is packed with essential lipids and amino acids to hydrate and leave the skin soft.
“The journey to recovery can also be a journey back to self-love.”
Along with South Korean manufacturing, Osier uses skincare packaging from China and printed boxes from the United Arab Emirates. Ashley had to synchronize production schedules, shipping to California and warehouse stocking, all while tracking inventory to bring the brand to market. Ashley says, “There are a lot of moving pieces that you have to do quickly.”
Osier is taking a multi-channel approach to marketing, investing in paid and organic media, including Meta advertising, and email marketing with the goal of increasing direct-to-consumer sales. In an effort to scale, the brand joined Amazon in July, and its Amazon sales exceeded its DTC sales in the third quarter last year.
With influencers, the brand’s objective is to ignite supportive, stigma-free conversations around recovery and treatment. That focus has translated to tangible results. In 11 months, Osier’s Instagram community has skyrocketed by 7,733%. The brand predicts it will hit $1 million in 2026 sales.
There have been some surprises along the way for Ashley, a beauty industry neophyte. “Nobody prepares you for the amount of gifting that you’re going to do in year one,” she says, recalling that she expected to seed 100 influencers, but that number has ballooned into the thousands. “When we went live, I was excited to get so many sales. You work so hard on the backend, you expect everyone to feel the same. This was not the case. So, we had to network, gift and get people to try it out. We sent to retailers, editors, influencers and held events to get the word out.”
During the holiday season, half the proceeds from Osier’s Holiday Bundle, priced at $187, were dedicated to treatment for individuals seeking rehabilitation. This month, the brand is launching two new products: Comeback Cleanser and Balanced Toner. Comeback Cleanser features willow bark, a nod to the brand’s DNA, which is an ingredient known to address irritation, inflammation and redness.
Also this year, Osier aims to sponsor one recovering individual per quarter at an investment of roughly $40,000 each directly funded through brand proceeds. “As we work to grow our e-commerce and retail partnerships, the mission and the biggest goal is to be able to put people into treatment and get them the help they need,” says Ashley. “I spent the last decade building recovery programs that have helped thousands reclaim their lives, and Osier really is an extension of that.”
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