Orveon is the new company behind BareMinerals, Buxom and Laura Mercier—well-known brands in the beauty space acquired by Orveon parent company Advent International in a deal with Shiseido last year. Industry veteran Mike Wong was tapped by Advent International to serve as Orveon’s chief science offer. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing strategy, development and execution of a multi-year global portfolio innovation master plan encompassing product/services/experiences from the technical side.

Wong has broad R&D experience in various consumer products categories, spanning more than a quarter century. He has worked for Colgate-Palmolive, L’Oréal, Henkel, Scotts Miracle-Gro and EOS. Wong received his B.S. from University of Tulsa (Chemistry & Mathematics), and a Ph.D. from University of Illinois.

We asked Wong about cellular beauty and what’s happening inside Orveon right now.

Happi: How do you define cellular beauty?

Wong: The skin is an ecosystem perfectly designed to be the interface between the outside and the inside of our body. To this end, ensuring we give it just what it needs to be healthy and play this role is very important—cellular beauty plays a critical role in this. Cellular beauty is maintaining both the health and beauty of skin at a cellular level—a “healthy from within” approach. Healthy cells lead to healthy and beautiful skin.

Happi: Why is this concept important?

Wong: As our biggest organ, our skin is exposed to many stress factors (sun, pollution, aging, etc). Maintaining cellular health is key to alleviating, reducing and even reversing the stress on the skin.

Happi: Regarding cellular beauty, what are cosmetic chemists able to do right now in terms of benefitting skin from a more holistic point that weren’t possible even just a few years ago?

Wong: We know so much more about the skin today than we did a few years ago. We can affect the health of the skin on a cellular and subcellular level (RNA, nucleus, mitochondria, genome, etc). This deep level of understanding has resulted in breakthrough ingredients (including biomimetic) that can help slow-down and even stop cellular aging.

Happi: In general, what are the areas of skin science that intrigue you most?

Wong: Maintaining overall skin health especially as we are exposed to more environmental factors (such as free radicals and pollution) and the aging process (when cellular rejuvenation slows) are really important.

Happi: How large is the Orveon R&D team that you lead now and are there any plans to invest in this function?

Wong: We have a dedicated team of scientists and product developers that work with our strategic partners including universities, manufacturers and ingredient suppliers to scout and assess next generation technologies. We will continue to invest in innovations which can lead to consumer relevant products and experiences.