Vegan, medical-strength and endorsed by experts.
This November, we are proud to be launching our collaboration with Australian skin care brand, O Cosmedics.
Ensuring our clients have the best quality experience and results each time they visit our salon is at the core of our business. With thousands of beauty brands on the market, it’s hard to find the one which is perfect for a wide variety of skin tones and types.
O Cosmedics have made our job easier by creating high quality and scientifically proven skincare products, applicable to all skin types. Products which we will now be using in many of our services.
We spoke with Maria Enna-Cocciolone, CEO & Creator of O Cosmedics to find out more about the amazing Australian brand we love so much.
What are the 3 words that first come to mind when you think "O Cosmedics"?
Health. Youth. Confidence.
What is Corneotherapy?
The skin is the body’s largest organ and it needs to be treated with respect. Corneotherapy ensures we use the cleanest of ingredients, we respect the skin’s PH, skin barrier and cell integrity, we don’t over exfoliate or induce harm. Our O Cosmedics Founder Maria Enna-Cocciolone says, “treat the skin with care because it will ultimately have the last word”.
We know (and LOVE) that O Cosmedics is 100% Cruelty-Free, Gluten and Vegan-Friendly. In terms of the beauty industry, how much ‘cruelty’ still exists in other brands practices?
From our inception, we have made a commitment to only test on party animals. In the early days those ‘party animals’ were our family, friends and laboratories, today we work closely with a larger test panel that also includes O expert clinics and long-term fans. We never saw a need to test on animals and have declined at every opportunity including missing out on expanding into some huge markets like China who still enforce a policy where in order to sell you MUST test on animals. As a company who has ‘Cooper Fridays’, where Maria our CEO’s dog comes into the office, we couldn’t let that happen regardless of the business sacrifice.
The website mentions the 3-step process that might happen when you start using O Cosmedics? Can you explain it to us and why we shouldn’t worry?
O Cosmedics is formulated with ‘functional actives’ which means we use each ingredient in its recommended dose. For example, if Niacinamide needs to be used at 10% to help treat hyperpigmentation an O Cosmedics product will contain at least 10% Niacinamide. The ugly side of the industry, and where other brands can be really cheeky and trick the customer, is that there is no legislation that holds brands accountable to formulating with functional actives meaning a brand could use 0.01% of Niacinamide and make the same claims as a brand using the necessary dose to get results. It’s this commitment to using ingredients that actually WORK that can be a rude shock to the skin in the early stages – though all a part of our master plan!
When you start using O Cosmedics, three things can happen:
The best and most likely scenario is your skin loves it immediately!
O Cosmedics talks to the cells via biomimetic technology that mimics cellular function and optimises its activity – in other words, O forces cells out of early retirement and puts them back to work! If your skin fights against this it may flush, tingle and/or flake. Don’t panic, this is normal and part of the process, introduce the products slowly allowing your skin time to adapt and get over being annoyed with your for making them get back to work!
Your skin may look older – perfect! This means the underlying redundant cells have moved to the surface and are ready to be sloughed off. The experts at The Parlour Room can perform an enzyme peel that will reveal your new and amazing skin! The best part? 2 and 3 will ultimately bring you back to 1.
O Cosmedics has No Nasties! How bad are these nasties for your skin?
There is a lot of controversy around ingredients such as parabens, nanoparticles and mineral oils and whilst not all the information we are told is factual some ingredients have been found to disrupt hormones, are present in breast tumours, may cause allergic reactions, contact dermatitis, headaches, dizziness and immune dysfunction. O Cosmedics steers clear of all harmful ingredients and any ingredients that have any questions around them. Skin safety is a top priority!
If your someone who has never invested in their skin, what would a good O Cosmedics product be to start their skincare regime?
Without a doubt, Gentle Antioxidant Cleanser! Our philosophy is that a cleanser is the starting point (the canvas) on any skin health journey. Gentle Antioxidant Cleanser is a super antioxidant formulated with O’s exclusive V8 Peptide Complex to fight the five causes of aging. It’s also hydrating, contains Snap-8 to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, Venuceane to protect against glycation and UV radiation and Zeolite which binds dirt, excess oil (without stripping the skin) and toxins for a deep and effective cleanse. If that’s not enough it’s got added Shea Butter for long lasting moisture AND it smells delicious too!
Based on your experience with O, what are your 3 top tips on how to protect skin from ageing?
Good skin relies on active skincare. At minimum make sure you use your Vitamins A, B3 and C daily in their functional dose and never, ever go to bed without cleansing and moisturising.
Take care of your gut. Eat a healthy, balanced diet, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, steering clear of sugar, wheat and dairy.
Sleep! As you sleep your body repairs, blood flow increases, blood is oxygenated so that toxins can be expelled, collagen and elastin rebuild, so skin care is better absorbed and you wake looking fresher and more youthful.
Skin is a major component of beauty. We love that O Cosmedics encourages beauty, confidence and healthy skin at whatever age and stage of life. What tips would you give people, particularly young women, who are struggling with body image?
The heart and soul of the O Cosmedics mission is skin health, skin youth and skin confidence. We believe in skin happiness no matter what age or stage of your life you’re in. We are part of an industry that has a really big impact on the way people see themselves and, maybe more importantly, the way people speak to themselves. It’s the voice in our heads that decides whether we’re confident in our skin or our bodies that is particularly important to us and, in an industry that sells solutions for ‘negatives’ (wrinkles, fat, breakout), we at O Cosmedics are incredibly passionate about changing the conversation. Instead of making empty promises about making you ‘20 years younger’ or telling you how you should look and creating an unachievable, unrealistic after photo we prefer to focus on helping you get the absolute healthiest skin you can possibly have and the confidence to match.
The greatest lesson we’ve learned about body image is that whilst all bodies are different the one thing we all have in common is a struggle to love and accept ourselves as we are. The girl you follow on Instagram with the perfect body? She is struggling with her body image too. The struggle may be different, but it exists all the same.
That’s why we launched the official O Cosmedics Casting Group on Facebook. It’s a collection of O Cosmedics fans across the country who we offer opportunities to join us in creating genuine content with real people who love what our brand stands for. No professional models, no heavy editing or filters, just real people, real results and real O Cosmedics skin transformations. We believe there is no better face for our brand than YOU and we hope it’s a catalyst for change not just in the industry but for the voices in our heads too.
The Parlour Room is so excited to partner with O Cosmedics. Why is O Cosmedics so great for facials?
The O Cosmedics Professional line; Pro Dermal Planning (AKA PDP) is a serious, corrective skin treatment that targets specific skin concerns using a series of enzyme, peptide and acid peels. Under the qualified guidance of a dermal therapist, skin treatments or power peels as we call them work to achieve cell optimisation, skin health and ultimately skin youth.
We would like to thank Cassandra and the team at O Cosmedics for participating in our Q+A. We are so excited to begin using these amazing products in our facial services. To find out more about O Cosmedics head to their website.
Want to try them out for yourself? We recommend booking The Signature Facial, for those who are eager to start looking after skin.
From our team here at The Parlour Room, we wish you a wonderful November. xx
