Having been the longtime face of several beauty brands in the past, Scarlett Johansson was pretty well-versed in the ways of the industry by the time that she launched her own skin care brand, The Outset, last March. Even still, she shares in an interview with Shop TODAY, she was surprised by the warm welcome she got.

“[The beauty industry] really has been so welcoming. People are very supportive, especially other female founders have been so supportive of our place in the community, we all share a lot of information,” Johansson says.

When she launched The Outset along with co-founder Kate Foster, Johansson joined an already long (and rapidly growing) list of celebrities with beauty companies. But she says that what sets the brand apart from the rest is its “gentle” approach to skin care.

“It’s really connected with people,” Johansson says. “Our products, we make them as user friendly as possible and try to eliminate as many harmful ingredients, so that as many people can use them. And I think that kind of universal approach to skin care and gentle approach to skin care has really allowed a lot of people to play with the product and have success with it.”

The Outset’s lineup consists of eight core products all of which can be used alone or incorporated into your existing regimen, according to the brand. And the emphasis on simple, yet effective everyday essentials is reflective of Johansson’s own personal — and complicated — journey with her skin.

“I had acne for such a long time that I remember my makeup artist on a film was like, ‘Oh, well, just wait until you have acne and wrinkles, that’s your next step,” she says.

She said the process to figure out what worked for her skin was “arduous” and involved “a lot of tears.” Ultimately, she realized that the harsh scrubs that she was using to target breakouts, were doing more harm for her than good.

“What actually got me out of that decade cycle, was [saying] OK, I’m just gonna stop everything, I’m going to stop all the actives and I’m just going to gently exfoliate my skin and moisturize every day,” Johansson said. “And I realized actually putting moisture back into my skin was what it needed, because my skin barrier was so imbalanced.”

Now, Johansson sticks to her minimal yet effective routine, courtesy of The Outset (yes, she really does use the products). She even credits it with helping her through some of the skin care woes that often come with pregnancy. (She was in the process of creating the brand while she was pregnant, and was testing the products at the time.)

“I’m not going to be like, that was the cure-all, but I think just taking care of my skin over that time, I didn’t have a crazy hormonal skin reaction.”

However, she says that she did experience another common postpartum symptom when she was pregnant with her second child, Cosmo: “I did lose a lot of hair.”

“It was a bummer … you’re also just recovering and starting to feel more like yourself again,” she added.

Thankfully, she found something that helped. “What worked for me, my friend recommended it, was liquid collagen,” she said. She added that she found a vegan version on Amazon. “Immediately, I started getting the little baby hair growth back.”