GQ South Africa – September 2019

September 2019 / 107

AsthemastermindbehindOptiphiexplains,it’s

theactiveingredientsthatmakeallthedifference

Taking aTourof SouThern

group’S campuS inireneiS aS

impoSing aS iT iS impreSSive.Iarrived

expectingtogainsomeinsightintoaproudlySouthAfrican

skincarebrand,delvingintohowitaimstostandoutinavery

crowdedenvironment.Iwasn’texpectingtofindagroupof

companiesthat’sleadingandinnovatingineverycorner–and

agroupwhosecollectiveexpertiseiswelcomedandsolicited

fromallovertheglobe.

• TheAmOunT
  OfbIOmedIcAl
  engIneerIngThAT
  TAkeSplAcehereIS
  STAggerIng.Formedin
  1987,thegrouphaditsstart
  developingandmanufacturing
  dentalimplantsata timewhen
  theunderlyingsciencewasstillin
  itsinfancy.Sincethen,thegroup’s
  implantsdivisionhaspioneered
  implantintegration,surgical
  techniques,patienteducation
  andtreatmentoptions,andhas
  becomea significantroleplayerin
  thisfieldglobally.Understanding
  howtodesignandmanufacture
  dentalimplants,andestablishing
  andmaintainingthestandards,
  ledthegrouptoestablish
  SouthernMedical,whichdevelops
  orthopaedicandneurosurgical
  implants– foreverything
  includingspinalsurgery,foot
  surgeryandfacialsurgery– along
  withtheequipmentneededto
  carryouttheseprocedures,right
  downtothevery(complex)
  operatingtables.

Thegroup’sbiomedicalquality

standardsallowedforexploration

intootherfields,alongwith

creatingartificialheartvalves,

andwoundcare,witheverything

fromhoney-basedointmentsto

temporaryskinsubstitutesto

allowpatientstorecoverfrom

severeskintraumaslikeburns.

Atthebeatingheartofthis

operationis DrMalandeVilliers,

thegroupMDandvisionary

behindthemulti-armedgroup

andfounderofSkinRejuvenation

Technologies.SaysDrDeVilliers,

‘I spoketoa plasticsurgeon

whosaid,“You’vegotwonderful

scientists,they’refocusedonthe

skin.Whydon’tyoudevelopthe

bestskincareproduct?”’

Thatproductis Skin

Rejuvenation’sflagshipbrand,

Optiphi,createdspecificallyto

targetthefactorsthatcontribute

toaging.Liketherestofthe

group’sproducts,it wasdeveloped

withscienceinmindfrom

thebeginning.‘Optiphiis at

theforefrontofwhatskincare

corporationscanofferyou,’

DrDeVilliersexplains.‘Wehave

anintimateknowledge,dueinpart

toourexperiencewithmedical

devicedesign,wealsohave

expertisenotonlyincellbiology

andgeneticsbutalsoincoating

design,forinstance,sowedesign

themosteffectivecarriertogetthat

activeingredientintoyourskin.’

Marketing,packagingor

brandperceptionaside,thereal

successfactorinanyskincare

brandis thequalityofitsactive

ingredients.‘Mostskincare

brandsbuypre-developedactives

frombigactive[producers].We

particularlypossessthecapability

ofdevelopingourownactives,and

ourowndeliverymechanisms.We

collaboratewithacademicplastic

surgeonsallovertheworld,and

ourteamcross-pollinates[their

knowledge]withourwoundcare

team,’saysDrDeVilliers.

Researchanddevelopment

guidethewayforwardhere,

asDrDeVilliersexplains

Optiphi’sapproachtocreating

newformulations.‘We’ve

patenteda wayofindividualising

skincaretreatments,becausenot

everyonehasthesameskin.The

moisturiserthatworksforme

maynotworkforyou.Welook

atyourskin,welookatyour

DNAandwelookatalltheaging

factors– whatyourskinhasthe

propensitytodo,alongwiththe

thingsyou’vedonetoyourskin

intermsofsundamage.From

thatwedeterminea score,and

thescorehighlightsmajorareas

ofconcernuniquetoyou.We

thenlookattheproductsthatyou

shouldbeusing.Thenwelookat

theactivesintheproduct,andwe

scoretheproductsaccordingto

theactiveswithinit.’

Howdoesthistranslatetothe

actualproduct– andhowdoyou

knowwhichrangeis rightforyou?

‘Manybrands[continuously]bring

outnewranges.If weimprovethe

originalproduct,wedon’tneed

tocreatesomethingnew.If the

product’sefficacyagainstwrinkling

goesfrom 12 to14,forexample,

wedon’twanttoexpandtherange

totheextentthatit becomes

unmanageable– wewouldrather

justreformulatetheexisting

product,’saysDrDeVilliers.

Andit’sanapproachhehopes

willfurtherimpacttherest

oftheindustry.‘Withinour

group,wehaveeachdiscipline

focusedonitsownareaof

expertise,butthey’reallmedical

devicecompanies,sothere’s

a naturalcross-pollination

thatoccurs.Manufacturing

machiningproductsis different

tomakingheartvalves,but

theybothhavetocomplywith

thesame[kindsof ]quality.

There’salwaysa differentway

ofdoingsomething,andyou

seeit muchmoreclearlywhen

you’reinvolvedinallthedifferent

aspectsofthebiggerpicture.’

• Nkosiyati khumalo

The science

of skincare

Styling by Robyn-

lee P

Reto

Riu

S; Photog

R a P

hy by Ka

Rl Roge

RS

gq. co. za

Optiphi intense Retinol infinity

serum R1 445; Optiphi Moisture

Control Ultra R2 010; Optiphi

ageless active Gel R1 745