Introducing DermaQuest

The launch: Yesterday I attended the launch of DermaQuest's Stem Cell 3D Complex. The launch was held in the Penthouse at The Ivy in Sydney. I had never been to The Ivy before and let me tell you, it is one swish venue. I spent the first 30 minutes of the launch formulating a plan on how I was going to hide in one of the personal coat lockers so that I could live in there forever. Then I started to learn more about DermaQuest and my plan was all but forgotten. I became so involved with discussing the science behind the brand that I became a little manic with excitement about the prospect of writing another scientific review.

About the company: DermaQuest was founded in 1999 by Sam Dhatt, one of the world's most successful cosmetic chemists. Sam has been responsible for the formulation of products from over 700 different companies, some of them the biggest names in the industry. In fact, one of the products he formulated for a company has now sold over one billion units. So, there is an excellent chance that you will have already tried a Sam Dhatt formulated product.

The DermaQuest difference: You are probably wondering, then, how the DermaQuest range is different from other products if Sam is formulating for what seems like every company on the market. Well, firstly, DermaQuest is Sam's baby and the formulations for the brand are proprietary - he reserves them specifically for DermaQuest. Secondly, when companies come to him to formulate a product they come with a budget. So Sam includes only the quantities of active ingredients that can fit within the budget. I suspect that this may be one of the major differences between more expensive and budget brands - the quantities of active ingredients versus fillers in their products. Yes, premium brands will have larger advertising budgets and the cost of these is recouped in the product price but it is also likely that they will have a higher concentration of the active ingredient*. DermaQuest formulations only contain pure, concentrated active ingredients. There are no fillers in their products.

DermaQuest have 3 main philosophies (from their website) –

1. to work with the highest percentage of an active ingredient;
2. to prescribe as many different active ingredients simultaneously to achieve a desired result (they call this their DQRS - the DermaQuest Result Strategy).
3. to make you fall in love! We achieve this by formulating each product to make the texture truly gorgeous and the smell – irresistible.

I especially appreciate the third philosophy. The first two I would expect from such a scientifically advanced brand, but I love that they also keep the joy in skincare. For me, skincare needs to be a pleasurable experience. I want it to feel lovely when I apply it and to smell amazing. If it doesn't, then skincare becomes a chore - like brushing my teeth, and I find myself getting lazy and skipping steps. So I love that pleasure is as an important philosophy to the brand as efficacy is. In addition, their products are paraben-free and they do not test their products on animals.

The DermaQuest range: DermaQuest has a variety of both salon and home care products to treat a range of skincare concerns. Their Masters range is the creme de la creme of their products, and the Stem Cell 3D Complex falls within this range. The also have age management, acne management and therapeutic ranges as well as a professional treatment line and a range of makeup. The therapeutic range is for people without specific skincare concerns who want to maintain the condition of their skin.

The event was held to launch the DermaQuest Stem Cell 3D Complex. I will be writing a follow up article explaining the research that has been conducted on the cream and the science behind the active ingredients. We were also provided with a jar of this cream so, in the coming months once I have had a chance to trial it sufficiently, I will review the product.

Acknowledgements: I would like to credit two people for the information in this article. Firstly, Karen Bowen. Karen is a Dermal Therapist and is Australia's leading supplier of DermaQuest. I spent over an hour talking to Karen, trying to extract as much information out of her brilliant mind as I could. The second person whom I'd like to credit is Colleen Shimamoto. Colleen is the head US educator for DermaQuest and gave us the most informative presentation. She said that she was going to go light on the science but I thought she packed a tonne of information into her 15 minute presentation. I now wish I could hear what going heavy on the science would be like. I think I would be in total nerd heaven! Unfortunately, I can't remember which pieces of information came from which brilliant lady. I have walked away from this launch with a head full of info but it is a blur where it came from. So, thank you ladies got teaching me so much at the launch.

Had you heard of DermaQuest prior to today?

All opinions stated in this blog are my own. I have no affiliation with DermaQuest and received no remuneration for my comments. I was provided with a jar of the DermaQuest Stem Cell 3D Complex at the launch.

*To find out how much active ingredient your product contains, have a look where it is listed on the product label. Ingredients ate listed in order of concentration so if the active ingredient is listed near the end, there is likely to be very little of it in the product at all.