Founder-Led Turned Global Brands - How They Did It

Some brands don’t just sit on your shelf—they live in your clinic. They show up in your consults, your protocols, your team meetings, and your before-and-afters. What’s the common thread? A founder with a story, a standard, and a stubborn kind of love for great skin and great service.

Today, these names are global. But once upon a time, they were a spark, a kitchen bench, a late-night lab session, a single clinic placing a first order. This is a gentle celebration of the founder-led voices that shaped our industry—and still do.

INSKIN Cosmedics — Maria Enna-Cocciolone

Maria is the definition of salon-first. Her leadership has always felt like a hand on your shoulder - steady, practical, and deeply respectful of the professional channel. You can feel her industry-obsessive energy in the way education lands, the way campaigns consider real treatment rooms, and the way partners isn’t a buzzword; it’s the brief. Starting with a dream in her garage, landing in a multi-market global skincare distribution brand.

Synergie Skin — Terri Vinson

Terri brings scientist-meets-storyteller energy: equal parts lab coat and luminous glow. You can hear her voice in every “why” behind an ingredient and every promise kept by a protocol. It’s clean science with a heartbeat - products that feel clever without being complicated, and education that makes you want to grab a whiteboard pen and explain skin to everyone you know. A brand you can both trust and talk about.

Murad Skincare — Dr Howard Murad

Long before “inside-out” became a hashtag, Dr Murad was gently reminding us that skin is a reflection of the life we live. There’s a kindness to the Murad legacy: credible, clinical, and beautifully optimistic about what’s possible when topical care meets daily habits. It’s that rare mix of authority and warmth—like the favourite lecturer you never forget, bottled for your backbar.

Dermalogica — Jane Wurwand

Ask a room full of therapists where their love for skin began, and you’ll hear Dermalogica stories. Jane’s imprint is everywhere: in the reverence for consultation, in the choreography of a great service, in the belief that education is the industry’s love language. Dermalogica doesn’t just train therapists; it helps create them. A founder’s vision that turned standards into second nature.

Bella Bronze — Jasmine Scarr

Born from the tanning room, Bella Bronze carries the confidence of a specialist who knows exactly what “that post-tan glow” should look like - and how to make it effortless for busy salons. Jasmine’s touch shows up in the details: the tones, the timing, the campaign moments that make clients say “book me in.” It’s doing it while building it thats both inspirational and aspirational to the tanning segment of the industry.

Bestow Beauty — Janine Tait

Janine brought ritual back to skin health. Bestow is gentle but resolute: a daily nudge toward nourishment that supports everything we do in clinic. There’s poetry in the way this brand bridges results and self-care - education that feels like encouragement, and products that make consistency feel achievable. A founder who made “healthy skin from within” feel both elegant and everyday.

Founder-led brands tend to have a pulse you can feel. Decisions are closer to real clients. Education is lived experience. Values don’t need sign-off—they’re already signed into the DNA. And when a founder’s conviction meets a therapist’s craft, magic happens: clearer consults, happier clients, stronger teams, and a sense that we’re all building something bigger than ourselves.