Saving Face

By: Katharine Griffiths
Created on 18th June 2010

Lorna Bowes is UK Brand Manager for the NeoStrata cosmeceutical line - a brand she first came across several years ago when working for a large dermal filler company. Here, she explains why she is so passionate about NeoStrata products, and what sets them apart

Having joined the medical aesthetics industry early in the 1990s, working for The Collagen Corporation, the original dermal filler company, I then went on to run my own successful clinic chain.

Over the years I have come into contact with a lot of different skincare lines, both as a clinician - so I can see how they work to affect the structure of my patients' skin - and as a businesswoman, where my interest is in value for money and in the science behind the product line.

A meeting of minds
I first became aware of the NeoStrata brand in around 2005, when I was working as a senior training manager for Q-Med - manufacturer of Restylane. I was working with their international task force, which involved Q-Med representatives from each country where the products are distributed, working together at international conferences and meetings.

The Italian Q-Med team were also distributors of NeoStrata, and that's how I first came into contact with the products. I was incredibly impressed with the brand from a technical, scientific perspective - it's completely science-led, giving it a great synergy with Q-Med, which was also set up by a scientist, based on science he had developed.

A eureka moment
NeoStrata as a brand was born in 1988, but the technology behind it dates back to the late 1960s when Dr Eugene Van Scott and Dr Ruey Yu discovered the benefits that Alpha Hydroxyacids (AHAs) can have on the skin.

They made the discovery as part of some research they were doing into ichthyosis - a particularly unpleasant, genetic skin disease - and were looking for something naturally occurring, that was gentle on the skin but also effective at clearing away plaques.

Being scientists and not businessmen, they decided that the most likely way forward for AHA technology was to license it. They licensed the clinical application to Bristol Myers Squibb. They licensed the cosmetic application out to Avon, who used it to produce Anew.

Over the years, many of the big names in cosmeceuticals have used AHAs and in 1988, having witnessed the cosmetic benefits of their discovery, Drs Van Scott and Yu decided to utilise the technology themselves, launching their own pharmaceutical grade skincare line: NeoStrata.

A cut above
The thing that sets NeoStrata apart, in my eyes, is not just the fact that it is run by the scientists who originally discovered AHAs, but that those scientists are continuing a pipeline of developments.

Things they have brought to market so far include polyhydroxy acids (PHAs) - a much gentler hydroxy acid, which is suitable for sensitive skins, and bionic acids, which have healing benefits and are ideal for use post-treatment, or on patients with eczema or rosacea. But that's just two examples, and the NeoStrata pipeline is full of fascinating ingredients that are coming soon.

A growing concern
The brand grew quickly - to the point where, by 2008, it had become a top ten cosmeceutical brand in America. But it's not just doing well in the States, it sells well in 75 countries around the globe. NeoStrata is especially popular in Canada, Australia, South Africa, Italy and Spain - there is definitely a link between the climate of a country and how seriously the populace take their skincare.

In those countries where sun exposure is a major issue there is a much higher awareness of the need to use an SPF and healing products, to reverse some of the damage already done.

With the success of the NeoStrata brand in the aesthetic market, the NeoStrata company have also developed a line specifically for the beauty market under the name Exuviance.

A very British attitude
There is a tendency in this country to base skincare choices on recommendations from glossy magazines - consumers don't realise that the companies behind those ‘recommended' products have often spent vast sums of money on PR and marketing in order to get that coverage.

Facing the future
My aim is not just to make NeoStrata huge in the UK, but to educate people about skincare - there is a lot of marketing led science around, and people don't know what to believe.

The difference between cosmeceuticals and high street skincare brands is frequently that the quantity of active ingredient used in a cosmeceutical is clinically proven to have an effect on the skin - just because an ingredient is listed in a line does not mean there is sufficient quantity or quality to match the research.

With cosmeceuticals there are sufficient quantities of high grade ingredients to get the result that you want, and that's the message I want to get across. However with cosmeceuticals you're often looking at a price tag of £50 to £100, and that's not something everyone can afford.

The really great thing about NeoStrata, and why I feel so passionately that the brand will be a success over here, is that the most expensive product in the range is £27.50 RRP. This is a product range with high street prices, but with dermatology led science and clinically proven results.

Lorna recommends...
These are my must-have NeoStrata products:
Facial Cleanser - A very gentle, effective cleanser based on polyhydroxy acids at £17.50
Bionic Eye Cream - A product to banish dark circles, which gives phenomenal results at £17.50
Daytime Protection Cream - With SPF 15, this is perfect post treatment, as it also heals the skin at £27.50
Problem Dry Skin Cream - a pedicure in a jar at £27.50 - just see the amazing results below