The Singapore-based firm was founded in July 2019 by Hann Chia, a former investment banker and a Formula Botanica graduate.
The company was initially developed to focus on cosmetic research and development but has since focused on beauty education through its Fawn Labs subsidiary.
Fawn Labs conducts the Clean Beauty with Fawn Labs workshop, a two-hour session that takes on topics such as ingredient and formulation safety as well as teaches consumers about their skin and what is most suitable for their skin type.
After going through the workshop, participants are given a chance to create their very own bespoke skin care products and are welcome to return to the open lab to remake the product.
“We are Singapore's first sustainable beauty lab where people can craft their own skin care [products], and these are actual skin care, not like crude DIY products made at home. They are made with ingredients, techniques, and formulations that are equivalent to exactly what you find in shops out there.”
Chia told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that she focused on education because she observed widespread misunderstandings among consumers, such as the belief that natural ingredients are safer than synthetics.
“There's too much fear-mongering in this industry. People have to realise that synthetic ingredients are actually produced in labs with a lot of stringent process safety processes in place.”
She believes that such misconceptions must be tackled with education but added that there are many challenges involved, especially in the information age where people have all sorts of information at their fingertips.
“We've interacted with a lot of people who persistently believe in something that is probably something they learnt on the Internet. We used to think people are ignorant because there's a lack of knowledge. With today's social media sharing… you realise [oversharing] of information is what has led to ignorance.”
To find out more about Hann and Fawn & Co, check out our podcast above or on Apple Podcasts.
