Klara Skincare – Biomimetic Technology
Back to Journal + Musings
Klara Skincare is a luxury skincare range that combines naturally sourced botanicals with advanced biomimetic delivery technology to enhance the performance of active ingredients within the skin. Founded by Dr Klara Valko, a fellow member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and an Honorary Professor at University College London’s School of Pharmacy. I caught up with Dr Klara to find out more about how her long scientific career led her to launch Klara Skincare in 2019 and how cosmetic science has evolved over the last few decades.
‘I originally trained and worked as a pharmaceutical scientist in the 1970s,’ Dr Klara begins. ‘At that time, most formulations relied heavily on synthetic ingredients. What always interested me was how active materials interact with biological systems — particularly how compounds behave at biological barriers such as skin.’
‘Since I came to the UK to teach in the 90’s I have been working on chromatography, using chromatographic techniques to measure biomimetic physicochemical properties such as lipophilicity and protein or phospholipid binding,’ she explains.
‘Chromatography does not directly predict skin absorption, but it allows us to model how molecules interact with biological components in a way that avoids animal testing and provides mechanistic insight into delivery and distribution.’
Later, this research led to a collaboration with a Californian company developing therapeutic peptides for motor neurone disease. The challenge was to deliver fragile peptide molecules through the skin without degradation. This was Dr Klara’s ‘aha’ moment. She realised that phospholipid-based micelles — tiny, naturally inspired carrier structures — could be used to transport water-soluble peptides through the lipid-rich layers of the skin, and the Klara Skincare range was born.
‘Using my more than 30 years of experience in the industry – thinking back to the synthetic creams I had formulated in the 70’s during my early pharmacist years – I realised I wanted to make something fully naturally derived.’ So Dr Klara went to study at the internationally recognised organic formulation school, Formula Botanica, before launching the science-led Klara Skincare range in 2019.
Collagen is at the core of the extensive product range including targeted products such as the Anti-Wrinkle Peptide Day Cream, Pep-Stem Yellow Serum, and Coconut Cream Cleanser. With so much misinformation around collagen, Dr Klara explains, ‘Collagen is a very large protein. If you drink it, you digest it, and it is broken down during digestion. So, I used hydrolysed collagen, which is made up of smaller peptide fragments, but these are water soluble and won’t go through the skin, so I had to find a delivery system to deliver it into the skin layers.’ She continues, ‘I used the biomimetic technology based on phospholipid micelles – we optimise the conditions under which peptides associate with the micelles, allowing them to move through the skin’s lipid matrix.’
This unique technology is used in products such as the Anti-Wrinkle Peptide Day Cream, in which over 3% hydrolysed collagen peptides are incorporated into a carefully balanced emulsion, as the micelle system itself must be stabilised within a cream suitable for daily skincare use.
Dr Klara has heightened the efficacy of the products by fusing them with natural botanicals – cucumber extract, cold-pressed organic plant oils, and vitamins A, B5, and E in the anti-wrinkle creams, for instance.
As a sensitive skin sufferer with a simple skincare routine who understands the importance of a thorough cleanser as the first step, I am delighted with the Cream Cleanser, formulated with nourishing coconut oil, soothing cucumber and aloe vera; working both as a foaming cleanser and hydrator. I also have been using the Ageless Facial Oil, which uniquely combines retinol with its natural alternative, bakuchiol.
The hard-to-source bakuchiol is one of my favourite ingredients as I have had problems with the stripping effects of retinol when used in mainstream products. Dr Klara agrees ‘Retinol can be very effective, but it is also a known irritant,’ she continues, ‘Under UK regulations, retinol levels are strictly controlled so the Ageless Facial Oil only has a low, compliant level of retinol combined with a higher proportion of plant-derived bakuchiol. They work in synergy and increase the effect.’
Dr Klara is currently working on a new eye cream she’s excited about, using the biomimetic peptide delivery technology alongside botanicals such as carrot seed oil and watermelon extract.
Having worked in the industry so long and being in a rare position coming from a pharmacist background into skincare, I ask how she foresees this merging of science with cosmetics. ‘It’s true the landscape has changed a lot,’ she says. ‘When my students learned I was working in cosmetic science, many of them wanted to follow the same path. The underlying technology is often the same — only the application changes. I think they will continue to merge.’
I look forward to following Dr Klara’s continued innovation and future product launches.