The beauty doctors

Medically based brands are changing the face of cosmetics

The skincare industry is experiencing an interesting shift. Whereas the best-known products used to be based on the personalities of beauty mavens such as Estee Lauder and Helena Rubenstein, today's brand stars come with more serious credentials: a medical degree.

Notice the recent proliferation of skincare brands developed by dermatologists and plastic surgeons. Once dispensed only in medical clinics, they are now found on department store shelves. Their labels herald their cutting-edge proprietary formulations, the result of hi-tech medical research, and list their pharmaceutical-grade ingredients - all under the banner of cosmeceuticals.

The trend shows no signs of abating.

'As customers become more educated and demanding of proof that ingredients work, there is an argument of who could be a better authority than a doctor,' says Dr Jessica Wu, a Harvard-trained, Los Angeles-based dermatologist whose products are scheduled to be launched in Hong Kong next month.

One of the frontrunners in the field is Dr Howard Murad, who launched his clinical range in the late 1980s. But the one who arguably tipped the trend and elevated dermatologists to rock-star status was Dr Nicholas Perricone, whose book The Wrinkle Cure was on the New York Times best-seller list and spawned a cult following.

He claimed to have unlocked the secrets of anti-ageing through a diet of 'life-changing' foods and the 'miracle' supplements of vitamin C ester and alpha-lipoic acid, two of the key ingredients in his product range.