Skin O2 Q&A With Beauty Directory

Everything you need to know about the breakthrough brand created by doctors

Ticking all the boxes when it comes to skincare, makeup and body care, SKIN O2 is the vegan, ethical, cruelty-free and dermatologically tested brand you should keep on your radar.

Taking the best of nature and science-backed technology to produce products that are clinically proven and actually work, Skin O2 formulas are at the forefront of best clinical practices and efficacy.

To learn more about the brand, what it has to offer and how it stands out from others on the market, BD recently caught up with Skin O2 co-founder and CEO, Alison Atia, who revealed everything you need to know.

Can you tell us a bit about the background of SKIN O2?

Passionate about the environment, animals, and skin health, Dr. Aaron Atia and Alison Atia founded the Australian clean beauty revolution in 2005 to care for their own patients' skin concerns.

Skin O2 has been committed to creating a healthier, cruelty free, vegan, environmentally friendly and professional cosmeceutical range that can be purchased through skin professionals, online and in salon. We believe beauty is a mindset and we want to be part of creating a happier world for all by being kinder to your skin and the planet.

The brand is created by medical doctors and backed by science - why was this angle important to the brand?

There was never a marketing angle or plan to build a product brand. Being from a medical clinical background, Skin O2 was built on genuine trust and word of mouth from our patients' results. We were and still are 100% health focused on providing the highest level of patient care, along with the best scientific, clinically proven results. Patient care still is our number one priority.

What does being an Australian brand mean to you and why was it important to have your products made locally?

The harsh Australian environment allowed our Doctors to formulate the best products to combat the ageing effects of the sun. We are so thankful and feel blessed to be able to offer our high-quality standard of Australian products to medical and aesthetic companies across the globe.

Even during COVID-19 we have been excited to attract new international clients from Asia and the MENA region, seeking high quality natural and science backed Australian Products. Brand Australia is well respected across the globe and provides some of the world’s best green and clean produce that is both ethically and sustainably produced.

We also feel it is important to support the local economy to provide local jobs as well as to help reduce our carbon footprint by buying and supporting businesses in our local community.

What results have your consumers seen so far?

We have helped treat over a million happy patients to date and even received thank you notes from the likes of Victoria Beckham. We pride ourselves in achieving trusted results for people who can't use standard cosmetics filled with irritating fragrances. Our clients choose Skin O2 because they are more educated on using the safe and correct scientific form of quality cosmeceutical ingredients that will benefit their skin health.

Skin O2 naturally attracts people who are concerned with ageing or who have acne prone rosacea, sensitive or delicate post-surgical skins. These clients have tried standard cosmetics with disappointing results so they really appreciate our medically formulated cosmeceuticals, created by our Doctors that truly help to protect, renew and regenerate the skin as well as to combat the effects of the harsh Australian climate.

Can you tell us about the new Skin O2 Mineral-based Sunscreen SPF 30?

What is so unique about the SKIN O2 SUNSCREEN is that it was specially developed by our Doctors as a high protection daily sunscreen but with added skincare benefits to help restore and protect the skin. It’s an amazing daily skincare treatment cream, not just your everyday sunscreen.

Our special Doctors formula is an anti-ageing, fast-absorbing, zinc-based mattifying, non-greasy sunscreen that can be applied under makeup or worn alone. Best of all it doesn't feel heavy or clog your pores and adapts to all skin shades without leaving a white cast. It is vegan, eco-friendly, reef safe and natural, made to Australian standards with UVA/UVB Broad-spectrum high level sun protection. It has no toxic chemicals, preservatives, dyes or fragrances.

The key ingredients are zinc minerals, infused with silica, grape seed oil, rosehip oil and avocado. This Doctor's formula, synergistic-ally works to aid scar repair, and reduce redness, and pigmentation while protecting and plumping the skin.

We first created this sun cream to help our patients recover from skin cancer, cosmetic and laser surgery to help treat and protect their delicate skin and noticed amazing results. We recommend it be used after all our professional facial treatments, skin needling, peels etc to calm, treat and protect the skin.

What was the formulation process like?

Well, it took us quite a few years to be satisfied to bring out our New Mineral Sunscreen formulation as we wanted to provide something really special and unique. We tried so many standard drug store zinc creams that were heavy and not suitable to wear every day or under makeup.

We wanted our Mineral Sunscreen to be a full everyday skincare treatment, not just another standard basic zinc sunscreen formulation, so we are very happy that we have finally achieved that.

We treat a lot of Australia's top models so it needed to be a matte, not sticky or shiny sunscreen, so it could be comfortably worn well under everyday makeup and feel nice and light on the skin. We also wanted to make sure it was not greasy and 100% comfortable to wear in a hot and humid climate to suit our active outdoor Aussie lifestyles, like we do for all our skin O2 skincare and mineral makeup range.

How does mineral sunscreen compare to chemical sunscreen?

Chemical and mineral sunscreens shield your skin from the harmful effects of the sun’s UV rays in very different ways. We prefer natural mineral sunscreen ingredients like ours, with zinc oxide, which have small particles and even though they invisibly absorb, they still actually sit on the skin’s surface and physically prevent UV rays from penetrating and damaging the skin, so you don't have the potential risk of absorbing any toxic sunscreen chemicals.

Some professionals and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) believe these chemical sunscreen ingredients can cause hormone disruptions or other health concerns. Some of the current ingredients in standard chemical sunscreens are questionable.

There are also some studies and people who are concerned by the effects and use of chemical sunscreens ingredients flowing into our natural water supply and coral reefs. Dr. MacGregor also warns against using chemical sunscreens when swimming in the ocean.

A review published in January 2019 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that common chemical sunscreen ingredients such as oxybenzone may bleach and damage coral reefs.

For this reason, some tourist destinations, including Hawaii, have banned the use of chemical sunscreens that contain oxybenzone. The other main benefit is that you can apply mineral sunscreens on top of other skincare products and our natural mineral formula does not contain other irritating ingredients often found in chemical sunscreens that often tends to irritate the skin or eyes.

Who would mineral SPFs be most suited towards?

Mineral sunscreens like ours are much preferred by people with rosacea, acne prone or sensitive skin concerns, pregnant women, young children and everyday persons who are concerned with using safe and natural products that are both kind to your skin and kind to our planet.

They are also preferred to be used post-surgical and after facial, waxing, laser, or skin needling treatments to help soothe and protect the delicate skin without added chemical irritation.

What's a common misconception about mineral sunscreens?

The common misconception about mineral sunscreens is that they are all like your old-style heavy zinc cream formulas, like the types you find in the supermarket or pharmacy, which are thick and heavy on the skin. These types of old standard formulas tend to leave a horrible white cast and don't blend into the skin or allow makeup to be worn over the top.

What key product would you like the media to know about from both the skin and makeup ranges (apart from the SKIN O2 Mineral-based Sunscreen)?

Well, we just won Best of Beauty Award 2021 for our Skin O2 RADIANCE MINERAL PRIMER - which is a tinted skincare makeup that preps and primes the skin with hyaluronic acid that plumps and fills fine lines. This was a best of Prevention beauty award as voted by Australian top Dermatologist and Makeup Artists.

We also have our number one anti-ageing essential, Skin O2 MULTI VIT B, A , C, E encapsulated retinol daily moisturiser. SKIN O2 Multivit retinol cream is safe and suitable for all skin types including sensitive or problem skins and recommended by Doctors for both anti-ageing, acne prone skin, as well as for post-surgical scar repair to help improve cellular turnover and to renew the skin.

What excites you most about the future of SKIN O2?

Since 2005, we have been developing scientifically formulated vegan cosmeceuticals based on our own in-clinic experience, developed in collaboration with world leading Doctors, scientists and thousands of clinicians who all share our passion for optimum skin health and quality patient care.

Since then we’ve continued to create clean, cruelty-free, vegan makeup and skincare products that never compromise on performance. We look forward to an exciting future of further global expansion with our like minded partners who share our same passion and ethical values.

We are enthused to provide leading advances in skin health that are both kind to your skin and kind to our planet. We believe beauty is a mind set and we want to be part of creating a happier world for all.

We are proud of overcoming the pandemic challenges and adversities which have brought us wonderful growth opportunities. During this time our team has been able to more quickly adapt and develop skincare and technology that work smarter to continue our patient care journey and deliver even more outstanding clinical results at home.

Check out our newly relaunched website and you will see what we mean. I can't say much more at the moment but we have some other super exciting new breakthrough self care products on the way.

Everyday I am extra proud of our team who continuously strive to review and improve our sustainability in product developments and processes to continue to be more environmentally friendly to help reduce our carbon footprint in our industry.

We are really happy that our customers support our eco-friendly products. Our refill mineral makeups are one of our most popular products at the moment which is really awesome!