Skin Pair
Q&A: Husband-wife team Richard and Joanne Purvis have made skin care their business through Newport Beach-based Skin Nutrition. Read our quick interview with Richard and some Web extras.
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| Find Skin Nutrition products at skinnutrition.com. |
They say workplace romances are a bad idea. But whoever “they” are, they haven’t met Richard Purvis, owner and founder of Newport Beach-based Skin Nutrition, and his wife, Joanne, who is the vice president of sales and marketing for their company, which launched February 13, 2002.
Because despite some challenges that have come from being a husband-wife business team and the current economic climate, the pair has forged ahead and turned an idea they had in the late ’90s into an anti-aging skin care company available for men and women online and internationally in spas, medi-clinics, dermatologists’ offices, and specialty cosmetics retailers.
“We try to have fun with the business, and so much of what we do is really rewarding because we both are doing what we are most passionate about and we get to see the results of our visions and efforts in the end products and hearing from our customers,” Purvis says. “The challenges are leaving work at work and trying to have a home life that doesn’t revolve around work.”
Purvis took some time from his busy schedule to talk about anti-aging products and what separates Skin Nutrition from other anti-aging companies.
What sets your skin care lines apart?
For starters, our main point of difference is to use ingredients that are biocompatible with our bodies to ensure optimal utilization of the ingredients and optimal efficacy. We use a lot of biotechnologically-derived ingredients such as growth factors and peptides, many of which are proprietary, and we also use forms of plant-derived ingredients and vitamins and minerals that are stable and can penetrate the epidermis.
Are anti-aging products more gimmick than anything else?
Without question there are a lot of gimmicky products out there, but as a whole, anti-aging products should not be gimmicky and they can deliver fantastic results. The science is out there; there are biotech houses that have the materials and the clinical data to validate their efficacy. The problem lies with the manufacturer and their choices to put profits over delivering the goods.
What are the biggest trends you foresee in the anti-aging market?
Biotechnology is very, very big right now and will continue to be so for years. One of the other big things is going back to nature for things like superfood extracts… The idea of using superfood extracts in cosmetics is not new. What is, is finding or creating forms of them that are compatible with skin – as most currently are not, and the end result of this is these ingredients do nothing but sit on the surface with no efficacy.
Do a lot of men out there neglect their skin?
Yes, many do. I use my products every day and have been doing so for a long time. I keep it fairly simple by cleansing morning and night and then applying Cell CPR and the Eye Reconditioning Serum.
WEB EXTRAS
Do you and your wife actually develop the products yourselves?
I do get very involved at the chemical level and many times I come up with the concept or the idea and challenge our scientists to find ways to create what I want. Joanne is very involved with the packaging and design side and personally oversees most of that side.
Any quick and easy tips so men can keep their skin youthful looking?
Cleansing, then using a good eye cream and moisturizer is a must. Using supplements like astaxanthin and omega 3 are great too, as [they] help the skin retain moisture from the inside in addition to many other benefits.
What ingredients do you suggest people avoid in anti-aging products?
There are so many nasties out there and most companies use them because they are so cheap and the better replacements are expensive, so companies stay away from them. The definites to stay away from are: synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, sulfate detergents, synthetic colors, animal ingredients, parabens, glycols and diglycols (such as propylene glycol), PEGs, PPGs, urea, DEA, TEA, aliphatic alcohols/hydrocarbons, phthalates, fumarates, amines, alkanolamines, polyacrylamide, methacrylates, elastomers, poloxamer, styrene, poly quaternaries, synthetic chelating agents, nylon, nitriles, nitrates, nitrosamine releasers, bromates, aluminum, and alumina. We obviously do not use these ingredients.
