Light solution

A new range bent on tackling pigmentation right at its core is just what the doctor ordered.

M ELINDA Wells-derocher, president and CEO of Cosmetic Dermatology, Inc/dr Brandt skincare, shakes my hand at the Hong Kong for Cosmoprof Asia 2011.

“Oh, honey, your skin is a little dry,” she says with such gentle concern that instead of feeling self-conscious in front of her guests, I feel almost flattered that she would notice.

For someone who has been in the beauty business for over 30 years, Wells-derocher is presumably as different as night and day from me. However, I immediately warm up to the open and animated way in which she leans towards our group, like a friend keen to share secrets.

Stepping into the world of beauty right after college, WellsDerocher has been involved in every aspect of the skincare business with a number of top international brands as well as smaller lines.

Now, having earned the right to write her own ticket, she chooses to do what she loves best: product development and brand building. No wonder she has found it so fulfilling for the past three and a half years to devote her expertise and enthusiasm to the unique product line dr brandt.

Entering the market nine years ago, today dr brandt products are carried in 46 countries around the world, with a focus on “getting further into the Asian market with products for Asian akin”. It was launched in Malaysia in 2010.

It is impossible to talk about the products without talking about Dr Frederic Brandt, whom Wells-derocher calls “not just the name but the energy behind the product”.

She says that as an internationally renowned and still-practising dermatologist, Dr Brandt divides his time between his clinics in New York and Miami where he sees between 20 and 30 patients a day. He is on the Board of American Board of Dermatology and American Board of Internal Medicine. He works trials with the FDA (USA’S Federal Drug Administration). On his live, call-in show Ask Dr Brandt, he gives advice to everyone “from supermodels to stay-at-home mums” from all over the United States.

Wells-derocher answers all questions with both warmth and confidence, even the more personal ones.

She even shares her own skincare regimen which is surprisingly simple: “Clean, exfoliate, then collagen, collagen, collagen.”

But one thing Wells-derocher won’t share is the names of Dr Brandt’s exclusive clientele. Though asked several times by several people (“I’ve heard Madonna goes to him,” pipes up one hopeful journalist), she gracefully reminds us that as focused as they are on the wishes of their clients, this includes respecting their privacy.

What she can tell us is that because of the kind of clients he gets, from stars to New York beauty editors to socialites, clients of both genders and all ages, he gets first feedback on what the health and beauty world wants, which helps him predict upcoming beauty trends and needs.

“Gone are the days of ‘28 days to the results’ you are looking for. Today’s consumer is looking for instant gratification,” she says.

Even if the ultimate look is not achieved immediately, “when you use the product you need to see visible improvement within a few days”.

Understanding that not everyone has the time or money to see someone of Dr Brandt’s expertise, he created products that do what his clients want.

This includes the dr brandt “House Calls” line, which offers chemical peels and Botox treatments, emulating the results and safety standards of in-office procedures at a fraction of in-office costs.

“We do not profess to be a make-up line,” says Wells-derocher. “We are a doctor brand.” This means going deeper than just finding a solution. For example, the new Light Years Away line.

Most whitening products are merely bleaches, only affecting the skin’s surface. In creating Light Years Away, Dr Brandt examined the cause for more natural and permanent solutions. Once the cause of dark spots was identified, a specifically targeted product was created to treat the problem before, dduring and after it occurs.

The result, says Wells-derocher, is a lilighter, more even and younger-looking inlooking complexion that comes from skin bbeing nourished and healthy.

Formulating the “cure” to dermatological to dermatological problems is another way in wwhich dr brandt is a doctor’s brand.

“We are into botanicals and natural eextracts,” she adds.

“The products are made in high-end pharmaceutical labs, with high standards of hygiene and quality.” WellsDerocher gives a more subtle example of how carefully Dr Brandt listens to wwhat his clients want.

In their new brightening line Light Years Away, there are several products, all with the word “whitening” in ththeir names, safe for one.

Among the Whitening Cream Cleanser, the Whitening Renewal Solution, the Whitening Essence, there is the Brightening Eye Cream.

That’s because Dr Brandt knows ththat “women don’t want the area surrounding rosurrounding their eyes to be pale, they wwant a glow”.

Likewells-derocher, dr brandt pproducts are direct and plain-speaking.

The names themselves are selfexplanatory: e selfexplanatory: The lines Pores No More, Blemishes No More, Flaws No More, Time Arrest and Lineless do not act coy and make you guess.

Some of dr brandt’s product names even make you smile, such as the Tzone pore tightening memory gel “Pore Thing”. Obviously, humour is another part of Wells-derocher that goes into the products.

I start laughing again when she says, pokerfaced but with that same twinkle, “We’re a big pore company.”

Even Dr Brandt initially laughed at WellsDerocher’s suggestion for its new blackhead and oil extracting mask. She defended her suggestion saying, “but that’s what it does!”

Today, you can go up to any dr brandt counter and buy Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner, the result of a world-renowned dermatologist’s expertise, top quality ingredients, a sparklingly clean and high-end lab, and the savvy of the very accomplished, witty and down-to-earth Wells-derocher.