Fact-based skin care: Newly launched Kansoskin determined to win over consumers with ethical marketing

Launched in the beginning of October, Kansoskin is aimed at those with sensitive skin conditions like atopic dermatitis by repairing and strengthening the skin barrier.

The brand launched with one product, Simply Better Barrier, a face and body moisturiser containing Asian botanical ingredients combined with a pre- and probiotic complex.

Co-founder Joanne Ang, a graduate of Formula Botanica, revealed that the company is in the midst of developing its second product.

She added that the company would only develop products it believed its consumers required as the skin care market was already extremely saturated.

However, the company believes there is a crucial need in the market for a brand with transparent and ethical marketing.

“The skin care industry is already very cluttered with so many different brands to choose from, but I don't really believe in what other companies are doing. We need to allow consumers to make their own decisions, not by creating fear but educating them on the facts,” ​said Ang.

Ang told CosmeticsDesign-Asia ​that this issue “hits close to home”​ as these misbeliefs cause most harm to people like her brother and co-founder Abel Ang, who has suffered from chronic eczema since childhood.

“There are too many misconceptions about ingredients out there. Like with essential oils for instance; people think they can consume essential oils because its natural. They think there are no side effects because its natural, but that simply is not true. Certain essential oils under the sun can cause contact dermatitis.”​

Transparency is top priority

The firm strongly believes it is not ethical for brands to market their products with terms like ‘chemical-free’ or imply that natural ingredients are safer than synthetic ingredients.

“Instead of saying your products are paraben-free and chemical-free, why not talk about the good things that are actually in your product? I believe we should emphasise on what is in the formulation instead of creating fear,” ​said Ang.

She acknowledged that educating the consumer would be an enormous hurdle for the company to overcome as they are going against what most consumers have accepted as the truth.

“People like to think everything is a conspiracy. So, no matter how many facts you throw at them, if they are not interested now, they will never be interested.”​

She added that the only way to make people listen and understand was to touch on their emotions.

“We hope to spread the message and educate by sharing our story. Humans are emotional creatures; if they can relate to our story, from there they can try to understand our what we are doing and why we do it. Hopefully, this will be a good way to approach this topic.”​

Ang is hopeful that in time, more consumers will become receptive to their message, noting that there are more influencers who are independently trying to correct the misconceptions about “toxic beauty”.​

“I think it’s moving in that direction, just look at how EU regulators are picking up on this. It's an eventuality and bound to happen – so why not be upfront about your products from the start?”​