Founded in 1986, Dermalogica is an independently owned, Southern California based company that is the brainchild of visionary professional skin therapist Jane Wurwand, and her husband and partner, Raymond Wurwand.
Jane earned her certification as a professional skin therapist in her native United Kingdom, and was alarmed to observe a discrepancy in skill-level among her American counterparts when she and husband Raymond arrived in the United States. As a result, Jane originally founded The International Dermal Institute (IDI) in Los Angeles, driving her vision around the importance of human touch in the nurturing of holistic health, including the health of the skin.
Then as now, traveling the world to teach and speak to fellow members of what she christened the professional skin care “tribe”, she expressed her belief that touching the skin of a client with ungloved hands was not only a privilege, but also a life-enhancing and healing energetic art. In this way, Jane aligned Dermalogica with health practices, including massage and aromatherapy, versus the beauty and cosmetics industries.
The Dermalogica product line evolved as part of the Wurwands’ passion for providing ongoing education opportunities for skin care professionals and to meet the demands of her groundbreaking curriculum for skin therapists. Moreover, the products being used in America by skin care professionals were not congruent with contemporary information regarding skin health. Skin care products available in the 1980s were heavily perfumed and filled with irritants including artificial colors, artificial fragrances, petroleum-based ingredients, lanolin and D.C. alcohol. These products often relied upon glamorous packaging to deliver false promises, rather than results-driven, scientifically based formulation. So the Wurwands began the process of seeking a cosmetics laboratory in Los Angeles to create their new brand which would support skin health. One after another, chemists told Jane that her plan — to create skin care products which were free of fillers and common irritants — would be impossible to achieve. The Wurwands persisted and developed a groundbreaking core line which has since driven Dermalogica to become the number one professional skin care brand.
As a result of these efforts in education and product development, both Dermalogica and IDI have flourished in every major global market for over 25 years. In 2011, Jane expanded her quest to create economic opportunities for women by the founding of joinFITE (www.joinFITE.org), a non-profit global micro-lending initiative for women entrepreneurs. Through grassroots involvement of the Dermalogica “tribe” at every level, joinFITE quickly surpassed its stated goal of micro-funding 25,000 recipients within the program’s initial two years of operation. Jane often addresses this aspect of her work in frequent panels and speaking engagements, articles for The Huffington Post, and in her blog, “Under My Skin”, located at www.dermalogica.com.
Today Jane is recognized as a thought-leader far beyond the parameters of the skin care profession. She participates annually in the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), is a Luminary Member of the national non-profit for at-risk girls, Step Up Women’s Network (www.suwn.org), and coaches young entrepreneurs through the Anderson School of Business at UCLA.
Jane has also been honored in recent years by many organizations for both her entrepreneurial and philanthropic work, including accolades from the National Association of Women Business Owners (www.nawbo.org) and The Los Angeles Business Journal’s Women Making a Difference award.
