For a busy woman on the go and on a budget, stocking the medicine cabinet with a slew of expensive skincare products isn’t an option when she barely has time to brush her teeth at night—let alone perform a complex nightly skincare regime. Keeping this business-savvy lady in mind as their quintessential customer, husband-and-wife duo Amos and Jodi Lavian founded Dermelect Cosmeceuticals to trim excessive time and money from a great beauty routine.
Serving as the company’s cofounder and chief inspiration officer, Jodi explains, “If I were traveling from New York to Florida, does my skin care have to change because I’m going from dry to oily? It doesn’t have to. Dermelect’s treatments are all formulated to provide her with a universal solution.” In order to limit the need for numerous products, Dermelect’s treatments aim to be multifunctional. “Let’s face it; the beauty industry loves to sell her a lot of products,” chief executive officer and president Amos adds. “We have a different vision that disrupts that notion. I want my client to buy individual items that will provide her with multiple benefits, saving time, money and effort.”
Refreshingly, the Lavians aren’t worried that clients buying fewer items will harm the business in the long run. They’re so confident in Dermelect’s high quality solutions that they strive to target a key segment of the market: repeat, lifelong customers.
“We respect our client. She’s in tune with everything she’s putting on and the ingredients that go into it. She’s coming to us with a problem; we want to provide her with the best solutions—not just make a sale,” Jodi says. “Dermelect will never claim to be ‘better than Botox’; let’s be real. What we will provide is a luxurious topical treatment that will give her true results with realistic expectations.” This practical, straightforward approach has served Dermelect well. As a testament to their growth, the company has formulated and developed three to four innovative skincare treatments per year and two new ‘ME’ peptide-infused nail lacquer collections annually, on average.
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
Amos Lavian’s exposure to the world of skin care started at the ripe age of 12, when his older sister was studying to be an esthetician at the world-renowned Christine Valmy International School for Esthetics, Skin Care and Makeup. Amos says he was the “perfect guinea pig” for his sister to experiment on because he was an acne-prone adolescent.
Later in life, Amos worked in the beauty industry at a boutique nailcare manufacturer, where he grew increasingly uninspired by the lack of new and innovative products on the market. Tired of seeing the same old glycerin-based formulas used in the majority of nail, hand and foot creams on the market, Amos resolved to make a change. “There was no creativity, innovation or excitement,” he recalls.
Combining his background in importing and exporting cosmetic ingredients with wife Jodi’s passion for makeup as a “self-proclaimed beauty junkie,” they founded Dermelect Cosmeceuticals in 2007.
“Jodi was constantly urging me to take the initiative and use my knowledge, experience and especially my passion and go out and create something special. So I literally did just that, the very day after our wedding. I left my day job and started working on creating Dermelect,” Amos recounts.
“My passion has always been skin care,” he says. “I developed Dermelect with the sole focus on providing incredible treatments with an honest approach. First, it had to be universal. I had to take the guesswork out of determining the ever-elusive skin type question: oily, combination, sensitive, etc. Women constantly claim they have sensitive skin because they’re unsuccessful in identifying their skin type.”
Dermelect’s solution to the skincare dilemma was to create universal, multifunctional formulas that eliminate the need for multiple products. For example, Dermelect’s Detoxifying Oxygen Facial Cleanser functions as a three-in-one toner, cleanser and facial mask that works on all skin types. “What does that mean to the beauty business, salon or spa owner? Other skincare lines have up to 24 product offerings that fill up these three steps. With Dermelect, you only need to commit to one,” Amos says. The result is an easier, faster and uncomplicated beauty routine.
Dermelect debuted with eight individual skincare treatments that are still available today, including the Self-Esteem Neck Firming Lift, which Amos calls a sleeper hit. After a successful launch, five more skincare treatments were introduced, including their bestseller and hero product, The Smooth Upper Lip & Perioral Anti-Aging Treatment used to combat vertical lip lines. With products that are high-performance, antiaging and affordable, Dermelect formulated all-in-one systems that appeal to a wide range of consumers.
SEAL OF APPROVAL
If you ask the Lavians their secret to starting a successful company, they’ll tell you it all comes down to perfecting the formulas and hiring the right team. Naturally, creating topnotch formulas takes time and lots of effort.
When a new Dermelect product is being developed in their U.S.-based, FDA-registered lab, it endures a battery of tests to ensure it functions as desired. The formula is then tested in-house and receives feedback, followed by another round of formulations.
“The products go through so much thought and analysis before launching that it would make your head spin. In the long run, it helps assure a successful product launch and a long product life cycle,” Jodi says. Their team takes the Lavians’ wild and inventive product ideas and turns them into a reality.
“Together, and as a team, magic happens,” explain the Lavians. They also rely on their Board of Advisors—two dermatologists, one a top aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon and the other a specialist who focuses on fingernail disorders—to convene with Dermelect’s estheticians to test and reformulate the products. They also count on additional input from a bridal skincare specialist, nailcare division and celebrity manicurist.
“In the beginning, everyone in our company had to be flexible with their job responsibilities and had to be able to wear many hats to get what had to be done completed. ‘That’s not my job’ was never uttered,” Amos says.
NAILCARE INNOVATION
Although Amos’ passion has always been skin care, his experience in the beauty industry also includes the field of nail care. So, when he came up with an idea for a unique formula to cure problem nails, the transition into creating a nailcare product was seamless, he says. “It is tremendously exciting and satisfying to bring a solution to a pent-up problem. The testimonials we receive put it over the top for us,” Amos says.
Working with her husband, says Jodi, provides their business with an edge over the competition. “We are on the same page; we don’t necessarily agree on everything, but we’re a great support system for each other. We work very closely together and we feed off of each other’s ideas and energy. It’s a very good synergy that we’ve perfected,” she says.
This creative collaboration paired with their shared passion for innovation has positioned Dermelect’s nail category as the most cutting edge on the market. The first to formulate a peptide-infused nail treatment, made from a protein peptide extracted from sheep’s wool imported from New Zealand, Dermelect founded a new segment in the beauty market: antiaging nail care. Specially designed for those with brittle, damaged nails, their groundbreaking extraction technique allows the protein peptide to remain intact.
“The biotech company initially used this ingredient in noncosmetic applications, such as bone and skin grafts. We approached them with the concept of utilizing it for damaged fingernails and they agreed that it would prove effective. Once greenlighted, we imported the ingredient and began formulating our nail cream, hand cream and treatment lacquers with it,” Amos says.
Using the same antiaging methods used to solve skincare problems, the team ingeniously created one-of-a-kind nailcare solutions. “We saw ridges on the nails and addressed it like wrinkles on the face. Our nail cream has ingredients in it that would challenge any antiaging facial cream,” Jodi says.
THE PERFECT POUT
With such innovative skincare and nailcare treatments, it’s no surprise that their lipsticks are just as all-purpose. Combining the benefits of four lip products into one, the 4-in-1 Smooth Lip Solution was created to provide rich pigments that stay put all day, the hydration of a lip balm, the high shine of a lip gloss and the long wear of a stain. “I’m a lipstick girl and this is something that I put my passion behind when we created it,” Jodi explains. “Formulated with peptides, hyaluronic acid, shea butter, vitamins and amazing extracts of key actives—what’s not to love?” w
THE NEXT CHAPTER
With many successful product launches under its belt during the past decade, Dermelect Cosmeceuticals’ future is bright. Next year, Amos and Jodi plan to improve upon a cult favorite, the hydrating Rapid Repair Facial Moisturizer for sensitive skin, by debuting it in a large yet travel-friendly tube. They also plan on widening their eye category with two new launches: the Revitalite Brow Transformer for thinning eyebrows and the Revitalite Brow Lift to highlight above and below the brow.
“Our approach at the retail level has also progressed. This year we’ve introduced all new permanent and semi-permanent displays to beautifully house and showcase the range,” says Amos. “With an aggressive sampling, spiff and GWP program in place, we anticipate making significant strides at the retail level.”
Long term, the couple hopes to continue to evolve the brand, expanding their skin and nail categories in addition to conquering other segments of the beauty industry. Though Dermelect products are currently only distributed in the U.S., Amos says the company’s next chapter will be expansion overseas with distributors that share their brand’s message.
He says, “The key is to constantly innovate, develop new product ideas and formulate exciting new treatments—all with the common goal to provide a luxurious solution to her beauty routine.”
For more information on Dermelect Cosmeceuticals, visit Dermelect. Find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @Dermelect.