Gallinée’s Cleansing Bar May Be The Most In-Demand Soap On The Planet From An Indie Beauty Brand

While Gallinée founder Marie Drago was riding a bus during an otherwise unspectacular February evening, she checked her young brand’s website on her phone and noticed it had received 6,000 hits. The catalyst for the traffic spike was London-based beauty influencer Estée Lalonde, whose mention of Gallinée’s Cleansing Bar in a monthly favorites video caused a rush on the product.

“It was quite a happy moment. We hadn’t really had anything like this before. We sold out that night, and we now have 500 people on waiting list,” recounts Drago. “Estée heard of the soap though our PR agency. She was one of the few to get one before the proper launch. It is both super exciting and a bit sad. I would love to be able to supply all these nice customers.”

In her favorites video, Lalonde talked about how she gently washes her face with the Cleansing Bar before bedtime. She praised its benefits for sensitive skin. The solid Cleansing Bar is formulated with a pH level of 5.8 that’s around the average pH level of skin. It features Gallinée’s signature complex of lactic acid and prebiotics from fibers and sugars.

Gallinée cleansing bar
Gallinée cleansing bar has amassed a waiting list with 500 people.

“I’ve been reading a lot about this brand. It’s a very interesting brand,” Lalonde told her fans. “They use all these probiotics, and there is a lot of interesting science behind it that’s way over my head, but definitely check out this brand if you have sensitive skin.”

Drago developed the Cleansing Bar as an alternative to shower gel, a product she dislikes because it’s generally harsh on the skin and consists in large part of water that’s not effective for soothing irritation. Gallinée is seeking a patent for the Cleansing Bar’s manufacturing process that generates the mild soap designed for both face and body.

“The product is really different, and everyone who tried it says it’s the best cleanser ever. We have journalists and customers raving about it to a scale we didn’t have before as the brand [is] still super new,” says Drago. “I think the out-of-stock is a classical growth issue, so a bit of a rich people problem, but I still never want that to happen again.”

“I’ve been reading a lot about this brand. It’s a very interesting brand. They use all these probiotics, and there is a lot of interesting science behind it that’s way over my head, but definitely check out this brand if you have sensitive skin.”

Gallinée’s Cleansing Bar is expected to be available for purchase next week. Drago is busy finalizing a batch of 5,000 units, an amount she believes will be good for a month. She’s already planning the next production run to keep up with demand.

At 9.90 pounds, the Cleansing Bar is Gallinée’s cheapest product and serves as an introduction to its concept. “The cleansing bar is a perfect entry into the Gallinée range,” says Drago. “All our products are very innovative and super gentle and efficient, so hopefully that will entice people to try the other products in the range.”

Gallinée cleansing bar
Gallinée founder Marie Drago

Outside of its website, two-year-old Gallinée’s products are found at roughly 20 retailers and e-commerce destinations, including Harvey Nichols, Amazon, Feelunique, Lookfantastic, Birchbox and Whole Foods in the U.K., where the brand is headquartered. Unilever Ventures recently acquired a minority stake in Gallinée. The brand’s newest product is Youthful Serum, a concentrated hydrator and radiance enhancer.