Her World Singapore – September 2019

Herlineofcustomised

serumstailoredtoindividual

skinneedsisputting

Singaporeontheglobal

beautymap.SkinIncisnowa

game-changingbrandfound

in 78 citiesaroundtheworld

atretailgiantslikeSephora

andNordstrom.Customers

fromasfarawayasBrazil

andRussiaareplacing

ordersonline,thanksto

glowingsupportfromleading

influencerslikeChiara

FerragniandAimeeSong.

“WhenIstartedSkin

Incin2008,Iwasjuggling

THESKINCARE

TECHNOPRENEUR

SABRINATAN

FOUNDEROFSKININC

Thesedays,there’sno

shortageofdoctors

offeringaesthetic

treatments.Butwhen

DrTansetupDRxClinicin

1998 tofocusonaesthetic

servicessuchaslasers,

chemicalpeels,fillersand

botulinumtoxintreatments,

hispeersthoughtitwascrazy.

“Mostofmyfriends

feltthatitwasahigh-risk

venture,”saysthe72-year-

oldwho’softendescribed

as‘thegrandfatherof

aesthetics’inSingapore.

“However,Ihadalready

builtupapoolofpatients

whowereinterestedsolely

insuchofferings,andI

wasconvincedtherewasa

marketforit.”

Hewasright,anda

fewyearsafterthatbold

step,theindustrybegan

toboom.Tocomplementhis

practice,helaunchedhisown

skincareline,Derma-Rx–

anothermovethatwasway

aheadofthecurve.

Thebusinessdidsowell

thatin2010,hewasable

tosellitforanundisclosed

eight-figuresum.Thenin

THE

AESTHETICS

INNOVATOR

DR S.K. TAN

MEDICAL DIRECTOR

OF IDS CLINIC

frequent travel for work

with two young kids and an

eczema problem. I wondered

why I didn’t have skincare

that evolved with my lifestyle

and changing needs,”

says Tan.

So she quit a well-paying

job in IT marketing to start

the company. Applying a

well-honed “tech mindset” –

reading big trends, projecting

into the future – she came up

with skincare that customers

could personalise any time,

anywhere, through a fuss-

free online skin analysis.

The result: bespoke products

with advanced formulations

that have the exact active

ingredients your skin needs.

The 45-year-old says:

“When you look at all the

major trends – people buying

premium skincare, everything

going digital, the desire for

self-expression and the

personalisation of products –

you’ll see this is the only way

to do skincare now.”

Using solid data on

lifestyles and habits gathered

via customers’ online Skin

Identity Checks, she says

the brand will continue to

come up with timely (and

timesaving) products in line

with the demands of modern

life, whether it’s a portable

device that lets you have a

light therapy facial at home or

an eye cream that addresses

issues resulting from rising

screen time.

2014, spurred by the desire

to build an internationally

recognised and respected

brand, he established a new

clinic called IDS (Innovative

Dermatological Solutions),

which also has a skincare

range with the same name.

Dr Tan says IDS is an

improved offering compared

with DRx Clinic. “We’re

probably the only clinic here

with its own skincare R&D

facilities and GMP-certified

manufacturing facilities,”

he says. “In addition, we’re a

major stakeholder in an R&D

facility in Palo Alto in the US,

where our research partners,

formerly from Stanford

University, have come up

with a novel skin delivery

system that’s incorporated

in a number of our current

products. These put us ahead

of the game in all aspects.”

“When you look

at major trends

• premium
  skincare, going
  digital, the
  personalisation
  of products –
  you’ll see this
  is the only way
  to do skincare
  now.”

“Most of my

friends felt

that starting

an aesthetic

clinic in 1998

was a high-

risk venture,

but I was

convinced

there was a

PHOTOGRAPHY market for it.”

VEE CHIN

&
FRENCHESCAR LIM

ON SABRINA TAN: CLOTHES

H&M STUDIO COLLECTION

BOOTS

ROGER VIVIER

85