Ole Henriksen preaches skin-care gospel
At 64, Ole Henriksen, the man behind his eponymous skin care brand, is clearly a walking advertisement for the line.
His skin is glowing but there are no telltale signs of a face frozen or plumped from injections. Henriksen, in both face and body, is in a constant state of animation as he chats and laughs through a recent interview.
Laughing, embracing life and everything surrounding him is almost religion-like. His bear hug greeting evokes a benediction. Spend some time with him, and one can’t help but be affected by his seemingly boundless energy and optimism.
Henriksen, who references his father for his buoyant energy (“the original Energizer bunny,” he says of him), immigrated to Los Angeles from Denmark in the mid-1970s. He opened a skin-care spa which continues today as a magnet for film industry A-listers desiring luminous skin.
And it was this work with clients at the spa that inspired the birth of the brand.
He says the Ultimate Lift eye gel originated from the treatment room when he was grating cucumbers, putting them into gauze, and applying it to his clients’ skin.
“Grated: you get all the caffeic acid in motion, you get all the enzymes and the vitamins to work. And you press it firmly against the eyes and you get this cooling,” Henriksen explains.
“And I thought, ‘Why don’t I take these cucumbers and put them on ‘steroids’ and create a gel that works around the entire eye region?’
“Eyelids, brow bone and under the eye to really firm and hydrate. It is the kind of product you apply and feel it go to work and you look in the mirror and you can see the difference.”
Henriksen sees his products as a wellness brand, which evolved from the treatments he created for clients with acne, rosacea and sun-damaged skin. With a background in cosmetic chemistry from Europe, creating his own products was a natural progression.
“I started developing products over the years because I felt there was a need for products that were truly effectual,” he says.
Henriksen believes that no matter your age, one’s skin can always benefit from good skin care.
“I think what’s amazing about skin is that you can literally regenerate skin that is damaged: maybe from the environment or from sun or maybe just from the aging process.
“I can just use the analogy that skin’s regenerative powers are proven anytime you cut your skin: you bruise, it heals, it regenerates.”
Key ingredients, he says, for regenerating skin are alpha hydroxy acids because they’re clinically proven to strengthen the collagen which produces firmer skin.
“They help to slough off those dead skin cells. That means a better surface texture. At the same time they help to even out the skin tone.”
The other big star ingredient is vitamin C, which Henriksen says is one of the most researched antioxidants. It’s credited with improving discoloured skin, strengthening collagen, and fighting free radical damage.
The key to seeing improvement — real results, he says — is in doing things faithfully.
“You brush your teeth faithfully, you exercise, you can tone and firm your body. The skin is a very receptive organ. So great skin care will just put that into motion.”
So what are the important steps to faithfully follow for good skin?
First is maintaining clean skin. “Clean skin paves the way for healthy skin” Henriksen says.
Then a serum, a moisturizer with at least a broad-spectrum SPF 15 and a rich eye cream for day. “Five minutes done faithfully.”
For nighttime, he says that’s when you should treat a little deeper, below the skin’s surface. “That’s where the high concentrations of the alpha hydroxy acids work beautifully”
After a hydroxy treatment, follow with an oil. “I love oils because they’re loaded with nutrients.” Finish with an eye treatment.
Though a religiously maintained skin regimen is key to a great epidermis, Henriksen insists that mental well-being and personal confidence are just as vital.
“Beauty and good skin cannot shine and be its best unless you feel good about the person you are. If you don’t feel proud. If you don’t walk tall,” he says.
He cites the obsession with cosmetic surgery, specifically in Los Angeles, as something unattractive that produces “a lot of unique looking people.” In the pursuit of eternal youth their faces become mummified.
“They forget that there is a body language that goes along with being youthful. Youthfulness is about body energy. It is about the tonality in your voice. It’s about the gleam in your eyes. If you just focused on this (he frames his face) that becomes a mummification.”
Looking at Henriksen, one can see there’s a lot of truth in that philosophy. And it’s not just coming from his bottle of Truth serum.
Henriksen genuinely wants everyone to feel good about who they are and celebrate their own life. “That’s the joy in being a wellness brand.”
Ole Henriksen is available exclusively at Sephora.