On golden Pond's

I hope by now most of you are very good chemists already!” exclaims Dr. Pushker Sona. A roomful of journalists burst into laughter. Yes, we momentarily set aside our pens and papers that day and indulged in a fantasy no beauty writer would say no to — we played chemists for a day at the Pond’s Institute.

Recently, Pond’s invited media from all over Asia to welcome us to their newest home — the Pond’s Institute in Shanghai, China. There we got to meet the brains behind the leading beauty brand, engage in discussions with their elite team of award-winning scientists, tour their world-class facilities, and lastly, witness in their laboratories the making of the formulation of Pond’s Flawless White. But it was so secret that we weren’t allowed to take videos nor photos. But as chemists for a day, we did get to mix our own jar of Pond’s Flawless White, which we got to take home.

Open to the public for rare special occasions and only by invitation for leading beauty professionals, the Pond’s Institute in Shanghai is supported by over 700 scientists who contribute to 200 patents. “Pond’s has relocated leading scientists from across the globe to work on top secret projects at the Pond’s Institute Shanghai,” says Dr. Pushker Sona, head of research at the Pond’s Institute. “It’s a dream job for any forward-thinking scientist; the brand-new facilities are second to none.”

With Pond’s Institutes also located in key cities across the world — namely Tokyo, New York and Madrid — the new arm of the Pond’s Institute global research network in Shanghai is dedicated to studying and servicing the beauty concerns of Asian women.

“The Pond’s Institute has two roles, and the brand has two roles as well,” explains David Steele, global vice president for face care at Unilever. “The first role of the Pond’s Institute is these guys on the side (pointing to the scientists). Their role is to understand skin and the biology of skin so deeply that they can create technical solutions that really work.” He continues, “The second role of the Pond’s Institute is to understand consumers, in two respects. First of all to understand what their skin problems are so that we can actually deal with them. But the second thing is very important because we like to believe that what makes Pond’s different from other brands is that it’s a brand with a heart. And so we go to enormous trouble to understand not only what those skin problems are but how they make people feel.”

“The Pond’s Institute is all about connecting consumer insights and working with our scientists to deliver outstanding innovations that meet the ever-changing needs of the consumers,” Global Pond’s Institute’s senior claims manager for face care Elizabeth Kim expounds. “It is our mission here to deliver superb products that deliver what is promised.”

Pond’s has been at the forefront of beauty for 150 years now. So good at understanding consumers’ needs and what they want in skincare, Unilever and Pond’s have patented hundreds of technology that have changed the lives of millions of women across the globe.

It was in 1975 that Pond’s became the first company to patent vitamin B3 for skin lightening. In 1996, Pond’s was the first brand to provide a full skin-lightening regimen to the market. Several years ago, they conducted the largest and most comprehensive study to understand preference changes in facial skin pigmentation by consumers in different countries in Asia. This allowed them to further understand women’s needs towards testing color and pigmentation. Unilever presented all its work and results to the Asian Society for Pigment Cell Research. This is the first study of its kind.

In 2007, Pond’s launched the Flawless White and introduced the new VAO-B3 skin lightening technology. Apart from VAO-B3, the powerful CLA4 complex of the Pond’s Age Miracle Cream is on Unilever’s voluminous list of patents.

Continually determined to help Asian women uncover their most beautiful skin, Pond’s now introduces its best-ever product for spot reduction — the Flawless White Spot Blocking Serum.

Developed by the Pond’s Institute, Pond’s Flawless White Spot Blocking Serum is their latest skin-lightening product that delivers visibly lighter skin and reduction in dark spots and blemishes in as little as seven days. Specifically developed for Asian skin, this unique formulation actually works harder even on the most stubborn dark spots and blemishes so that you end up with that perfect even-toned radiant glow.

“You do get darker with age. That’s a fact. Every day you’re exposed to sun exposure. Any kind of irritation on the skin leaves you with a little bit of darkening. And these are the things we are trying to correct and make it more even. That has a dramatic effect on how you can appear,” explains Kumar Subramanyan from the research and development team.

The secret behind Pond’s Flawless White Spot Blocking Serum is its revolutionary VAO-B3 complex — an exclusive combination of the new vitamin E, allantoin, optics and powdered B3 complex.

Vitamin E is a well-known antioxidant that is effective against UV induced pigmentation and blocks free radicals from UV rays.

Derived from comfrey root, allantoin is a well-known soothing agent that prevents the skin from further inflammation and boosts skin renewal for optimal skin radiance.

The breakthrough optics system used in the Pond’s Flawless White range of products delivers brightening and instantly improves the skin tone to give a natural radiant look.

Also known as nacinamide, the most powerful ingredient is vitamin B3. This key ingredient in Pond’s skin lightening technology is a well-known, safe powerful skin-lightening ingredient. It can stop the melanin migration from the deep layer to the upper layer thus really visibly lightening the skin.

For optimal skin lightening performance, it also contains a broad spectrum of sun protection to guard Asian skin from both UVA and UVB rays.

Every day, this cocktail of ingredients works hard on all the layers of your skin for a level of spot reduction and skin lightening that has never been achieved before.

In an exclusive interview, The Philippine STAR sat down with David Steele, the passionate leader behind Pond’s successful evolution into a 21st-century technology-led beauty brand. He and his Unilever’s Global Face Care team have made Pond’s a number-one seller in many global markets. With a master’s in psychology, David, a self-proclaimed romantic, has spent decades listening to women’s beauty aspirations and developing products that deliver the promise of beauty. David’s Unilever career spans 35 years in almost every type of personal care product.

PHILIPPINE STAR: What is the biggest misconception that women have about skin?

DAVID STEELE: I think its not so much a misconception. How I would describe it is that most women don’t know, because no one’s ever told them, that most of the damage to your skin is caused by the sun before you’re 15 years old. So starting early using these products, particularly using protection, is the biggest single thing you can do. How much time you spend in the sun in those 15 years is the biggest single determinant of how you’re going to look when you’re older.

Do most women think it costs a lot or they need to spend a lot to attain beautiful skin?

They may but they don’t have to. They absolutely don’t have to. One of the reasons that Pond’s is so big is because the technology is the best in the world but sensibly priced.

What can you say about the Filipino notion that white is beautiful?

It’s not just Filipino. It’s all though Asia. It’s also Latin America, generally. And the interesting thing is if you go back in history, it was also in Europe. The queens of England used to use mercury to color their face white. The reason is, again, if you go to the fairy tale Snow White, what does the mirror say? “Who is the fairest of them all?” And that was a European fairy tale. So I think the truth is, it’s a universal standard of beauty.

What about for women of different nationalities whose natural skin color is brown or dark?

Let me turn that on its head. If what you’re really asking is whether wanting to be whiter is kind of racial — no, it’s not. It’s actually a social thing. The reason that Europeans in the old days wanted fair skin was to show that they didn’t (have to) work outside, that they were well off. And the reason Europeans 20 years ago started wanting to have suntans was to show they had the money to go overseas and have a holiday in winter. And so they could stay browner.

What is the state of the beauty industry today?

I think the beauty industry is obviously under a little pressure at the moment because of the recession. But the interesting thing is, in a lot of countries, actually, it’s as good or better than it ever has been. I think it was Estée Lauder that originally said, when times are tough, buying a lipstick makes you feel better. And so even if you can’t afford to buy a new car, you can always afford a new lipstick. It kind of makes you feel good. So I think that’s the first point, it’s in a good state. But also given the state of development of the market particularly in this part of the world (Asia), there’s so much room for growth as well.

How has the beauty routine for Asians evolved?

If I look back at it historically, I think there are two key trends. First is moving away from using soap on the face to using facial foam. The arrival of alternatives to soap for face care has been a major change in the market. And I think the other major change is after developing the skin-lightening market, the anti-aging sector has developed. And that’s really a quite recent phenomenon. And there’s probably quite a lot of way to go still for that.

What does today’s modern woman look for in a product?

First is that it works. And that depends on what her problem is, whether she wants to get fairer, whether she wants to get rid of blemishes, or whether she wants to get rid of wrinkles. And the next most important thing is that she looks good as well, so it’s not sticky or oily or whatever.

As a leader in the beauty industry, what makes Pond’s different from others? What sets it apart?

Pond’s in Asia, and actually China, is the number one brand. It’s the single biggest brand. And I think what discriminates Pond’s from other brands is again two things — there is no doubt that we have the best technology in the world. And that’s on the retinol boosters, on anti-aging, and our skin lightning technology. Unilever skin lightening business is the biggest in the world bar none. We were first with that technology. It’s very important to us to be at the forefront of that technology. The second would be that we try very hard to connect emotionally with our consumers. It’s very important to us to touch Pond’s women’s hearts as well as their brains.

As the big boss of Unilever and Pond’s, what’s the best beauty-related advice you’ve ever heard of?

I guess it’s not so much advice, it’s in terms of understanding. I launched Pond’s skin lightening. I was the guy who did it first. That was quite a long time ago. And I think, honestly, if you’re a Caucasian and most of the beauty companies have been western, just understanding that Asian women want to look fairer was a major breakthrough. The American companies, they just didn’t know that. And I think they found it slightly politically incorrect so they found it difficult to do. But because Unilever has always been very locally attuned, we’ve always had a much closer relationship to consumers in local countries. And so that’s how we’ve come to understand quite early that Asian women had a different ideal of beauty from western women.

How long ago did you discover that Asians had a different standard of beauty?

It must have been about between 10 and 15 years ago. And I think the reason was that Unilever actually didn’t have a face beauty brand until we bought Pond’s in America. And then we took it over and those days it was kind of a bit old fashioned — it had vanishing cream and it had cold cream — products that weren’t really right for Asian consumers. They were more designed for American consumers. And once we bought them and we said okay, we want to get serious with our face care in Asia, then obviously we talked to Asian women about face care and beauty and that’s when we certainly understood them and that allowed us to do what we do. So skin lightening is by far the biggest part of the business.

There are products for pimples, whitening, and anti-aging. What else would you like to see in the world of skin care? Describe your dream cream or product.

In a sense you’d probably expect me to answer a cream that does everything. But actually most women don’t want a cream that does everything — they want a cream that either does this incredibly well, or that incredibly well, whether it’s anti-aging or skin lightening. In that sense, my dream cream is just more and more effective. And all of our researched products are designed to make what we do even better and better and better — whether it’s anti-aging, skin lightening, or oil control.

As one who grew up with ponds, I wonder, what can we next expect from Pond’s? Products for men, perhaps?

I personally am open-minded about doing (products for) men. I’m not going to tell you we’re going to because truth is, we haven’t decided whether we want to do it or not. But personally I would because I think it’s a great market… (He drops his voice to a whisper:) And men already buy Pond’s.

That’s true, even in Manila.

There will be something very exciting coming along.

Is it still a secret?

Yup. (Laughs.)

No clues for me?

Nope. (Laughs.)

Is it somewhere in the near future?

Yes. And I promise you, you’ll find it very exciting.

What message does Pond’s want to convey to women of all ages?

We try very hard to understand you and to use that understanding to put together absolutely the best and the right products for you, and you, and you — because you’re all different. And we try very hard also to talk to you in a human way, because we understand not just your skin, but how you feel as well.

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The Pond’s Institute embarks on a new experience that will connect its experts with even more women around the world — The Pond’s Institute online at www.pondsinstitute.com. This virtual Pond’s Institute will give everyday women access to world-renowned Pond’s Institute skin experts, so they can realize their most important skin dreams. On the site there will be access to expert advice, links to the world’s view on skin care and beauty, conversations about beauty, information about the newest products and, of course, some romantic inspiration.