How Dot & Key Used Influencers to Grow Their Skincare Brand

In the fast-paced world of skincare, Dot & Key has carved out a unique spot for itself through savvy influencer marketing. From being relatively unknown to becoming a well-loved D2C brand, Dot & Key’s journey is a textbook example of how pairing the right creators with a consistent strategy can lead to a major brand breakthrough.

Logo Dot

The Brand at a Glance

Dot & Key is an Indian skincare brand that focuses on clean, dermatologist-tested products designed for today’s skincare needs think vitamin C serums, hydrating gels, sunscreens, and more. Their mid-range price point resonates strongly with Gen Z and millennials, making influencer marketing a perfect fit for their audience.

Influencer Marketing for Skincare Brands

Instead of chasing big-name celebrities, Dot & Key built their growth by teaming up with micro and mid-tier influencers (10K–500K followers) in niches like:

  • Skincare & beauty
  • Lifestyle
  • College creators
  • Dermatologists & skincare experts

This targeted approach allowed them to connect authentically with their audience.

Real Influencer Moments

Here are some standout posts from their Cica Sunscreen launch, pulled straight from our tracking dashboard. These genuine, everyday moments really got people talking:

Khushi (@_clicks_and_vibes)

Her Instagram Reel shows her gently applying Cica Sunscreen to calm redness. Viewers praised her relatable narration—“It glides on, feels weightless, and doesn’t leave a mask.” That reel hit 1,064 views, 92 likes, and 64 comments, driving a flood of questions about where to buy.

Theglowgirlofficial (@theglowgirlofficial) In a quick 30-second Reel, she integrated the sunscreen into her morning routine—jogging under the sun, then cooling off with a face mist. Over 1,119 plays and dozens of saves, her followers noted, “This actually doesn’t break me out. Tell me more!” Dot & Key saw a 12% spike in swipe-ups from her affiliate link.
Aliya (@content_creator_aliya_naaz) Aliya posted a “week in my skin” reel using the Cica Sunscreen, documenting how her skin responded over several days. She added overlays like “no new breakouts!” and “still no white cast 😍.” With 2,962 views, 28 likes, and 26 comments, her audience engaged deeply, sharing their own sensitive-skin routines in the comments.
Parul (@ugcwithsisters6) In a fun sister-themed reel, Parul tested the sunscreen alongside her sibling, showing side-by-side results and ending with a playful “Glow Off!” challenge. The content felt warm and genuine. The reel pulled in 803 plays, 29 comments, and helped surface Dot & Key in teen skincare conversations across Stories.
Lifewithme__07 (@lifewithme__07) A minimal “GRWM for college” reel where she used Dot & Key’s sunscreen as her final step. Her followers—mostly students—connected with her line: “Finally found one that doesn’t feel like I’m wearing glue in Delhi heat.” The reel had 877 views, 3 likes, and sparked lots of follow-up replies via Story Q&As.

Tracking ROI with Influencer Posts

One of the most valuable aspects of Dot & Key’s influencer strategy is their monthly content tracking workflow, made seamless with the help of vHub.ai. At the start of every campaign cycle, the brand collects posted content links from their creators—each link mapped to a specific influencer and product Stock Keeping Unit (SKU). These links are then uploaded directly into vHub.ai’s performance dashboard, which transforms them into real-time engagement insights.

This process enables the Dot & Key team to instantly access and analyze:

  • Posted Date
  • Instagram Username
  • Full Name
  • Views
  • Likes
  • Comments

And more all without needing to chase down screenshots or manual reports.

ROI 1
ROI 3

These insights help Dot & Key understand not just what was posted but what truly resonated. Whether it’s identifying their top creators for re-engagement or surfacing high-performing content for paid amplification, vHub.ai’s dashboard makes it all actionable and trackable.

It’s this kind of structured, data-led loop that empowers Dot & Key to run smarter influencer campaigns every single month.

Dot & Key’s Creator Campaign Performance

Behind these reels and shorts was a deeply analytical campaign. Dot & Key mapped every influencer post to a specific product line, allowing them to track not just engagement but also how individual SKUs performed.

In total, over 4,100 influencer posts were tracked across Instagram and YouTube in 2025 alone. These covered 12 key product categories, from sunscreen to serums to lip balms. By aggregating data across creators and content types, some fascinating patterns emerged.

For instance, the Vitamin C Serum was the most widely featured product, with 449 influencer posts generating a total engagement of 34,472. The Cica DC Cream followed closely with 436 posts and 30,880 total engagement. Other high performers included the Brightening Cream, Watermelon Sunscreen, and Blueberry Barrier Boost Serum, each generating upwards of 30,000 in total engagement.

But raw numbers were only part of the story. Dot & Key paid close attention to average engagement per post, which painted a more accurate picture of how content resonated. The Brightening Cream, for example, delivered an average engagement of 123.8 per post on Instagram, while the Vitamin C Moisturizer excelled on YouTube with 97.7 average engagement per post. These insights shaped their future influencer selection and platform strategy, helping the team double down where content truly clicked.

By making data central to their creator campaigns, Dot & Key turned influencer marketing from a one-off tactic into a repeatable, scalable performance channel.

From Skin Stories to Skincare Success

What made Dot & Key’s influencer strategy so impactful wasn’t just the number of creators they worked with, it was the strategic intent behind every collaboration. By mapping content to product lines, blending micro and mid-tier creators, and letting influencers tell their stories authentically, the brand transformed ordinary skincare moments into powerful marketing touchpoints.

Each reel, review, or GRWM post didn’t just generate views, it built trust. And in a category as personal as skincare, trust is what converts.

Dot & Key’s journey proves that when you combine the right creators, a well-defined product story, and a sharp eye on performance, influencer marketing becomes more than a tactic it becomes a growth engine.

As the creator economy continues to evolve, this kind of thoughtful, product-led storytelling will only become more essential for brands looking to connect with digital-native audiences. And for Dot & Key, the results are already written across thousands of posts, comments, and glowing skin stories.