Growus

Growus is a South Korean haircare and body-care brand built around thalassothérapie, the use of marine-derived ingredients for skin and scalp treatment. It was launched in late November 2020 by Eleven Corporation, a Seoul-based media-commerce company, and positions itself as a scalp-care and hair-loss specialist that treats the scalp as an extension of facial skin [18]. The brand name combines "grow" and "us", a reference to growing together with the ocean.

The brand's own pages do not state a founding year; Korean launch coverage records the brand's debut in November 2020, when Eleven Corporation introduced its first product, the Sea Salt Therapy Scalp Scaler [18]. Growus remains active, selling through Olive Young, Korean duty-free outlets and a network of international K-beauty retailers.

Growus is a sub-brand of Eleven Corporation (주식회사 일레븐코퍼레이션), a media-commerce company established in 2018 and led by chief executive Baek Chang-jun, with headquarters in the Myeongdong district of central Seoul [5][19]. The company describes itself as building and operating beauty brands for global markets, and Growus sits in its portfolio alongside skincare label Parnell, makeup line Lummir, fragrance brand a ddct and oral-care brand Ladens.

Named founders specific to Growus are not publicly recorded; the brand is attributed to its parent company rather than to an individual. The name fuses "grow" with "us" to signify, in the brand's framing, growing alongside the ocean.

A note on the parent company's name: the Korean corporate entity romanizes as Eleven Corporation, and this is the spelling used by the Korean brand site, the company registry and Korean press [5]. The brand's US store renders it as "Elven brand", which appears to be a stylized or misspelled romanization of the same company [3].

Eleven Corporation launched Growus in late November 2020, leading with the Sea Salt Therapy Scalp Scaler, a scalp-scaling product the company formulated with a high concentration of mineral-rich sea salt. In 2022 the brand gained wider visibility: Marie Claire Korea named it a "2022 Next K-Beauty" brand, and Growus opened its first standalone pop-up store at Seongsu-dong in Seoul that July [9][10].

Awards followed as the range expanded. The Sea Salt Therapy Scalp Scaler was recognized in 2023, and in 2024 the Damage Therapy Hair Oil placed first in the hair-oil category at the Allure Korea Best of Beauty Awards, while the Damage Therapy No-Wash Treatment won an Olive Young Award for damaged hair [4][13].

Growus is organized around thalassothérapie, which the company describes as healing and prevention using natural materials drawn from the ocean. Central to its approach is a "scalp-as-skin" idea: the brand argues that the scalp behaves like facial skin and should be matched to a scalp type, treating scalp health as the foundation for healthy hair. According to Growus, its formulas aim to restore the body's natural balance through marine nutrients, an outlook it sums up in the tagline "Beauty Found, In The Sea".

The brand is positioned as an affordable, professional-leaning haircare line within the K-beauty market, marketed toward people with damaged, dry or chemically treated hair. Its range is grouped into therapy lines, among them Sea Salt Therapy, Damage Therapy, Algae Therapy and Recover Therapy.

The marine theme runs through the ingredient list. Growus draws on seawater, seaweed, sea salt, kelp and coastal plants, alongside Himalayan pink salt, pearl extract and marine collagen. The brand markets a signature blend it calls the Marine Pearl Complex, combining pearl extract, Himalayan pink salt and several types of collagen.

Its first and best-known product, the Sea Salt Therapy Scalp Scaler, is built on a high concentration of mineral-rich sea salt and a self-heating effect; Marie Claire Korea's judges described its texture as reminiscent of beach sand [9]. The Damage Therapy Hair Oil and the Damage Therapy No-Wash Treatment have since become the range's award-winning anchors.

Growus links its ocean-derived sourcing to environmental commitments. According to Korean trade coverage, the brand uses post-consumer recycled (PCR) containers across its products and runs marine-conservation campaigns, framing this as a "virtuous cycle" with the marine ecosystems its ingredients come from [10]. The company states that its products are made in South Korea.

Growus has accumulated several Korean industry honours in a short period. The Sea Salt Therapy Scalp Scaler was named Best Allure & Affordable Scalp Haircare in 2023; the Damage Therapy Hair Oil topped the hair-oil category at the 2024 Allure Korea Best of Beauty Awards; and the Damage Therapy No-Wash Treatment took an Olive Young Award for damaged hair in 2024. Marie Claire Korea's 2022 "Next K-Beauty" selection remains its most prominent editorial recognition.

Growus is active. Its parent, Eleven Corporation, reported revenue of about 54.8 billion Korean won for 2025 and around 116 employees, and distributes its brands across dozens of countries [19]. Growus is sold in Korea through Olive Young and Shilla duty-free, direct to consumers through its own sites, and internationally via K-beauty retailers in markets including the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, with continued product launches recorded into 2025 [21].