ONLY Group is a medical aesthetics company founded in 2005 and operates four medical aesthetic clinic brands, a cryotherapy centre and develops a range of products including its own skin care line.
The firm has recently launched the Afterglow Anti-Bacterial Hydrating Mist after receiving requests for a product to prevent maskne – acne caused by use of protective masks – from clients and customers.
“We had a lot of customers contacting us and asking for a product that could prevent the outbreak of acne and angry bumps caused by frequent mask use. We take the feedback and concerns of our customers very seriously, which is why we decided to develop Afterglow,” said Eliza Yuen, head of marketing, ONLY Group.
She continued: “So, we set out to develop a product with our partners in Japan to eradicate the problem of maskne and offer an extra layer of protection on the skin.”
The formulation is 100% plant-based and contains nine plant extracts including cedar extract, which prevents bacterial growth, and pine extract, which has antiseptic and antimicrobial properties.
Additionally, the company claims that Afterglow also helps to provide intense hydration to moisturise and nourish skin, giving its user the ‘dewy skin’ look.
The mist can be used directly on the skin or sprayed onto the face mask before wearing it. The firm claims it will help to keep bacteria and germs from ‘settling in’ and causing maskne as a result.
Natural choice
Yuen noted that the firm chose to formulate with plant extracts as it believes it makes the formulation gentler on the skin.
“A lot of the sanitising, anti-bacterial products in the market right now are very harsh on the skin and we didn’t want Afterglow to be like that. During development, we were able to achieve a good result in preventing blemish just using plant-extracts.”
Yuen told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that the company intended to utilise more natural ingredients in its skin care products in the future.
“We are moving towards taking a more holistic approach where we try to develop products that are more skin friendly. It’s a company effort to encourage our customers not to constantly use products that may be too harsh for their skin. At the end of the day, we are in the wellness business and having natural products is important to us.”
In addition to the anti-maskne mist, the company also rolled out several new products under its main skin care line ONLY Skin, which specialises in developing post-aesthetic treatment care.
“Even during the lockdown period, the team was very busy with product launches. A lot of product launches that were in the pipeline were scheduled to roll out over the course of one and a half years, instead we pushed them up earlier,” said Yuen.
Among the products were launched two anti-acne products to help combat the maskne issue as well.
According to Yuen, the company does not intend to extend the Afterglow line in the future.
“In the past year, we've seen a lot of products launched to battle maskne because of the circumstances with COVID-19. However, it’s not an evergreen thing. Once this is over, we expect this concern to die down.”
Instead, the company prefers to focus on ‘long-term concerns’ of its consumer and concentrate on the ONLY Skin brand as well as its medical aesthetics business.