Changing people’s lives by developing skincare products
Looking at Sherrie Berry today you’d never know she was the victim of an accidental backyard explosion that burned her face, chest and arm less than a decade ago.
The aforementioned experience, combined with her passion for creativity and an experimental cream given to her by an acquaintance provided the formula for her California-based company SkinAgain, which now manufactures more than 20 all-natural products for various aspects of skincare.
“I wanted to create a product that changed peoples lives,” Berry said. “SkinAgain was started in 2006 with one single simple cream for burns but what happened was people were using it and decided to use it for eczema or under-makeup moisturizer. Then we decided to take that chemical base and create new formulas from it by adding new anti-aging compounds and at the end of 2013 we had all these fantastic formulas.”
The innovation has never ceased at SkinAgain for this mother, grandmother, and CEO/director of Product Development for Visage Pro USA LLC, a private label skincare company. Berry noted that SkinAgain upped the ante in July 2014 with the introduction of DermaVibe, positive energy skincare.
Raised in a fundamental Christian religion until the age of 24, Berry said she began to explore the realms of Eastern philosophy as well as kinesiology, the study of human movement, and their impacts on wellness. Such ideals are the basis for DermaVibe, a hologram infused with positive energy that is put on four of SkinAgain’s products: Youth, Vanish, Rescue and Relief.
According to information released by SkinAgain, “Based on the Eastern philosophy of ‘Chi’, many well-known practices like applied kinesiology, yoga, acupuncture and Feng Shui are believed to affect our energy. DermaVibe, based on the same ideologies, takes this methodology a step further, integrating positive energy into everyday skin care routines. Throughout the entire process of 3-dimensional imaging, each hologram is manufactured (or infused) with positive intention, and then strategically placed on each skin care product. The ancient medical cross symbol has carried the power of rejuvenation and restoration for centuries.”
Berry further explained, “I have always believed in energy. I knew that intention could make a difference, especially collective intention … What I wanted was for these products to carry my good intentions to all clients who use it. That’s when DermaVibe was created, which is affixed to every product. This is a spiritual belief and we infuse these holograms with our intentions. We have a spiritual guru who does this as well. These products carry with them our intentions for healing skin, beautiful skin or that they can clear out all the negative things in their lives.
You can take the word ‘love’, which basically has the same meaning in every culture and language and the meaning of love has a frequency of 528 hertz and ‘compassion’ is 935 hertz. Everything has a frequency and you can take these frequencies and infuse them into products,” she continued.
When asked how she has been able to convince any skeptics of the validity of her products as well as the Eastern philosophies, which are sometimes balked at in the West, Berry replied, “We’ve been applying the DermaVibe holograms since 2008 but never marketed it because I didn’t think the public was able to grasp the energy philosophy.”
She added that with more acceptance for alternative medicines and wellness philosophies throughout various industries it became evident that now was the time to market DermaVibe.
Speaking to how she was able to obtain the financial backing for SkinAgain, Berry said, “I was lucky because I had a friend who was willing to invest. Even more so when you have an investor from an angel group or Kickstarter it’s more impersonal. When you have a friend’s investment it makes it that much more important to make it work.
“It takes knowing that you’ll be working 16-hour days, seven days a week for three to five years or seven years to break even. You have to know that you’re fully committed to this. The buck stops with you and you’re responsible for everything. I love what I do. Even now, I still work very long hours to make sure that we remain on the cutting edge of trends, ingredients all the time,” she continued.
Berry noted her commitment to vegan products, which are also fragrance-, paraben-, gluten- and cruelty-free, and contain active ingredients above industry standards. “It’s not just a marketing hype when I put an active ingredient. Most companies do .02 percent. It has to be 1 to 2 percent; if not, I just won’t do it,” she added.
When asked about her future plans for SkinAgain and Visage Pro, Berry said there’s still much work to be done.
“In early summer 2015 we have a new product with a brand new ingredient that will take the market by storm – new sun block not just for UV [ultraviolet] rays but also for infrared rays. It will be all-natural,” she said. “I have four grandkids with a fifth on the way and I know that these chemical sunscreen ingredients are toxic. [The general public is] using these ingredients and collectively we’re building up these toxins in our body and yes, we’re protecting ourselves from UV damage but at what expense?
“Also, UVB rays are there for a purpose to give us a sunburn to tell us that you’ve been in all the sun’s rays too long. The problem is that sunscreen blocks us from getting a sunburn, which means that we’re staying out longer and getting even more exposed to infrared rays. I wanted to create a sunscreen that addressed that but also was free of toxins and was all-natural,” Berry continued.
Regardless of her vast knowledge of the skincare industry and her undeniable passion for her profession, Berry was quick to admit with a laugh, “I’m not a chemist, I’m a product developer.” Chemist or not, she has no intention of slowing her drive to revitalize the skincare industry, even if that means she’s still working when she’s a great-grandmother!
Article Courtesy of Lioness Magazine.
