Spot removal for uniquely Asian skin

Sophie, a good friend of mine, is what you would call a professional jet-setter. She chases the sun from Hawaii to Rio, from Bangkok to Cartagena, and has tanning down to a science. She can always be found sporting a perfectly bronzed glow no matter what month of the year. That’s why we reacted with utter shock when we saw her purchase a small bottle of whitening fluid at a pharmacy during a holiday in Bali. “What?” she said. “It’s for the spots.”

Many people will have some hyperpigmentation issues of some kind, especially if they have spent a lot of time in the sun and maybe skimped on the sunscreen back in those more innocent days. Clinique’s new Derma White line is intended for small bits of discoloration like this or other non-hereditary causes such as irritation, infection and scarring — which means you should leave your natural freckles alone. Paul Slavin, vice president and general manager for Clinique Asia Pacific, was in Manila recently to bust some myths about skin care and introduce the new product to the public.

The Philippine STAR: Tell us about Derma White. What’s the big deal with whitening?

Paul Slavin: We just launched Derma White in Korea and Japan, where it was hugely successful. We have a Caucasian version called Even Better Clinical. Even people as pale as I have got some hyperpigmentation, accumulated over a number of years. For Caucasians, it’s more of a redness. I’ve had this red ridge on my cheek, and I’ve been using Derma White for eight weeks and the results are fantastic. It’s a different issue for Caucasians, but it’s an issue as well.

How is this one different from everything else out there?

The breakthrough technology in the form of a complex called CL-3O2. On its own it doesn’t make a difference, but combined with one or two other ingredients in a watery format. It would not work in a cream, that’s the key. We were able to prove it’s as effective as four percent hydroquinone, which is the best prescription available. It works by breaking up the melanin that causes brown spots, and is unique as it works at the melanocyte level, so it dissolves brown spots and stops it from coming back with prolonged use.

Does it contain SPF?

This particular product has no SPF. It’s very watery and light, which is what people want in a brightening essence. SPF would make it a lot thicker. We don’t use chemical sunscreens, because they can cause irritation.

Clinique is allergy-tested and 100 percent fragrance free. Whenever we introduce a new product, we take 600 volunteers and we stress test it 12 times. If we get one reaction once out of 7,200 tests, we scrap everything and we start again. Because of that we can claim to be allergy tested. No other brand can claim that. Physical sunscreen is a very safe way to protect the skin, chemical sunscreen would not pass the test.

What about the organic trend? Does Clinique have any plans in that direction?

Clinique is not an organic brand and we have no intentions of doing so, that’s not what we are about, it would struggle to be authentic. We have a very strong organic brand in our portfolio, Origins. There is a place for those brands. One of the things about organic brands, people see the word and assume natural means safe. Natural doesn’t always mean safe.

If we did organic, we would use components which we don’t use now. Some brands use ginger or cinnamon in the lipsticks. Cinnamon causes the blood vessels to very subtly dilate, making lips look plump. But that’s actually an irritant and wouldn’t pass the test.

Tell us about your history with the brand.

I’m a qualified pharmacist by trade. I worked for Boots in the UK for a long time, for about 18 years. I loved retail and interacting with consumers, and I’ve worked from a tiny little pharmacy no bigger than this room to a huge department store with a staff of 600. Clinique was one of the top 10 brands we had and I worked closely with them. I was offered a job, and I ended up in the Middle East. I lived in Dubai for three years. After a month into the job they added India, and so I opened Clinique in India in 2007. The demand was so high and the brand awareness there was fantastic. Two years ago, I started in Hong Kong, where I am based now.

What’s it like in countries where home skin therapies are very popular?

India does a lot of natural skincare treatments at home. We were doing focus groups and the women claimed that they didn’t do anything of the sort. Until one woman said that yes, she did, and gave a recipe of yoghurt, honey, etc, and the rest of the women started writing it down. In the Middle East they don’t do that, they want to go buy stuff at a department store.

You’ve worked in Europe, the Middle East, and around Asia. What have you learned about the different concerns among women?

We conducted an attitudes study across Asia with 10,000 women, and combined the results with findings from European and USA studies. The report was very interesting — in Europe and USA, lines and wrinkles are the number one concern. In South East Asia, the eyes by far are the biggest problem. In Asia, there is more concern about sagging than lines and wrinkles.

This helps us determine which products we should focus on and bring to market. It also helps us understand product regimen. In the UK women on average use 3.1 products a day. In Korea, they use 7.6 products. Caucasians want a simple regimen with combination products, but in Asia they want to do it separately. There’s a logic to it and they follow the “thinnest to thickest” rule. It’s a very different product regimen, and much more sophisticated.