GROOMING, skincare and aesthetic treatments for men is becoming a multi-billion global market, which is only predicted to grow. A leading proponent in the field is the gently spoken, bright-eyed and very youthful looking Dr David Jack, a rising star in medical aesthetics who has his own eponymous gender-neutral skincare and supplements brand. Glass met the Scotland-born Dr Jack to talk all things supplements and skincare.
Dr David Jack
You are a leading aesthetic doctor who trained in anatomy and embryology. Can you tell me something about your journey to becoming a plastic surgeon and practising aesthetic medicine? Why did you become interested in these areas?
During medical school I always had an interest in anatomy – plastic and reconstructive surgery is a particular speciality that blends problem solving with a strong anatomical basis so I always had a particular interest in this from an early stage. I tried to tailor my clinical experience to be suited for plastics and alongside this I trained in aesthetics, which is a field linked to plastics to supplement my NHS income when I was training.
I’ve always had an interest in aesthetics generally (I’m currently undertaking a degree in Interior Design) so the more creative aspect of aspect of this field has always been something I liked and have been drawn to. Over the years, what was a sideline eventually became much bigger and I decided to give up my NHS job (I was getting very tired of the stress and lifestyle associated with a surgical career) and set up my own full time clinic.
What motivated you to establishing your own skincare brand? How is it different to other doctor-led ranges? Do you have any plans to develop it and introduce more products?
Skincare again has always been an interest of mine, as well as supplements and holistic, integrative medicine. When I was initially developing my brand, I found that very few brands (and certainly not any doctor led brands) really did the whole inside-out approach very well so I wanted to address this.
For many years I’ve been a bit of a supplements junkie and have an interest in nutrition and the gut-skin axis, which I wanted to integrate into my product range, so I worked on creating a brand that gives equal weighting to both internal health and topical skincare products, to really give you the best skin health possible – more than just skincare! I also feel that there is a lot of waste in skincare and people tend to use too much when it comes to topical products (i.e. products put on the surface of the skin) and on a daily basis, overuse of harsh products can actually have inflammatory effects on the skin, so I wanted to create a simple line of just a few core, essential daily products that would provide the core ingredients with a strong evidence base without creating irritation, for all skin types and all genders.
Dr David Jack All Day Long SPF
Can you tell Glass Man something about your unique integrative skincare approach and your philosophy of skincare?
As I mentioned, the integrative medicine approach, whereby the person is considered as a whole and every aspect of lifestyle and diet is considered in relation to skin health is of particular interest to me. Education and awareness is also particularly important so I wanted to create a brand that brings awareness to the importance of internal health on the skin.
I also wanted my brand to bring clinical relevance to home skincare but in a simple way that would fit with the more holistic approach I have to treatments in skin health in the clinic, to really optimise the skin from every angle.
Dr David Jack’s Face Paint set
What led you to develop your supplement range of teas. How has the range been received? Are you going to add to it?
Supplements have been a really core focus for us and are really popular. We find that people sometimes don’t buy into both skincare and supplements (usually one or the other) so the key for us will be to educate consumers on the importance of both the outside (topical) and inside (supplements) approach. We recently launched a new supplement called relax, which again is a more holistic take on skin and general health.
This supplement blends a number of adaptogenic herbs (which help balance hormones) with nootropics (which are chemical messengers that help boost mood, aid sleep and relaxation) – this supplement was designed to address the psychological and hormonal imbalances that sometimes are associated with skin issues. We also are working on a few other skin and general health supplements to address all of the key issues that people experience during general life.
Dr David Jack Face Paint Yellow Peel for pigmentation
Tweakments and skincare for men are becoming more popular. Is men’s skin care different to women’s? Have you noticed that men have different skincare concerns?
The main difference between men’s and women’s skincare is marketing. Both men and women benefit from the same things (antioxidants, SPF to protect the skin and other molecules for DNA repair), and the requirements aren’t necessarily different – using stronger levels for men’s skincare just risks more irritation and there isn’t often any proven benefit for this.
When it comes to the skin itself, although men’s skin tends to be slightly thicker and more oily, the issues we tend to see are similar when it comes to ageing and also things like adult acne, although men are far less likely to seek professional help for this than women. For my skincare brand, I wanted to make it gender neutral to reiterate this point – the core essentials from both inside and outside for skin health are pretty much the same, regardless of gender.
How are you dealing with Covid19, professionally and personally? How was lockdown for you?
If I’m honest, I actually quite enjoyed having some time off to focus on aspects of life that I’d let slip in recent years, I managed to restructure my skincare brand, get a brilliant new brand manager and recruit several new employees, not to mention working on marketing and brand awareness. I also managed to get a lot of interior design assignments done!
What do you see as the future of aesthetic medicine?
I think (and hope) the sector will move more towards general wellness and away from the trashy botox and lip filler clinics that we are starting to see pop up everywhere and focus more on skin health, anti-ageing and healthy living, with treatments that improve the health of the skin in general.
I think we will see more and more alternatives to botox and fillers coming on the market you only need to look at the exponential rise of profhilo and other skin boosters to realise this. I also hope it will become an officially recognised and fully regulated subspecialty, to cut down on the major issues we see from poorly trained non-medical practitioners.
Can you share with Glass any future plans?
For me personally, I am keen to grow my brand, both in the UK and internationally – there is a lot of work to be done but I have a great team now in place for this. With my clinic I have introduced another doctor to help me, and plan to expand this as we grow. I have a few other ideas up my sleeve, which are as yet not fully developed but keep your eyes peeled.
by Caroline Simpson
For more information about Dr David Jack, please visit this link