Though Wink Brow Bar founder Umbreen Sheikh didn’t find her calling as a brow guru until taking time off from her career as a public relations director to raise two children, she was practically born into the beauty business. Sheikh’s mother was known as a master facialist with a chain of hair and beauty salons across London that introduced trendy Londoners to threading. Sheikh gained experience helping out at the salons where clients who would come from all over the country.
 
After moving to New York, Sheikh began searching for a clean, upscale threading salon but to her surprise, it was near impossible to find. This realization sparked the birth of Wink Brow Bar, a top NYC-based threading bar, in 2012. She is also head of the skin care line Isabelle Lancray Paris, USA.
 
Sheikh took time to correspond with Happi about the latest trends in skin care.
 
Happi: What ingredients are hot right now in skin care and why? 
 
US:  The hottest ingredients right now focus on hydration of the skin at deep levels that in effect can keep at bay skin reactions, wrinkles and sensitivity. There are a couple of biggies. Argan oils and hyaluronic acid, which is not an acid like it suggests and is actually produced naturally in our bodies but gets depleted very easily with usage of products such as retinol and anything that dries out your skin … pretty much everything can do that to our skin nowadays—even environmental influences deplete skin's moisture and HA acts as a plumper and filler of fine lines, making you look younger as well as cushioning your skin. It’s a great one because it is fabulous for everyone and there is hardly any known reaction, the more the better and our bodies recognize this product as non-foreign. The only thing is, it is not really an anti-aging product per se. For that you need to have additional active products that help to boost collagen production! 

Consumers have also realized that the products that are great active ingredients are botanicals, stem-related products and cosmeceuticals— these are cosmetic products with biologically active ingredients that have medical or drug-like benefits. These are amazing if you can get the right brands—like our brand, Isabelle Lancray Paris, which I personally have worked with for 25 years where we have a formulation of pure hyaluronic filler in a gel form—as these products work very well alongside dermatological treatments and can also at times replace them in achieving soft plump skin.
 
Happi: What do you think shoppers are looking for lately in their skin care?
 
US:  Our consumers want the best in skin care products and while realizing the benefits of great quality active healthy ingredients with little or no side effects, they also want results! Skin care that not only slows down the aging process but also reverses it, while dealing with other skin issues too; it’s pretty demanding stuff! My opinion is that there are actually very few skin care lines out there that can give you all this. My thought is that the older and more researched a product line is, assuming the manufacturer is very conscious of where it sources its active raw ingredients from, no matter what the price point, the likelihood is it will be good for you.

Consumer’s skin nowadays is much more sensitized and reactive in my experience as they use a lot of products with little or no knowledge of what’s inside the bottle, what the active ingredient is or where it comes from! 

You have to realize that even if you put two products with the same active ingredients in both, on the same person, one may make you react while the other doesn't. This is down to the sourcing of the active raw ingredients and its concentration level. I think consumers are looking for or should look to putting the onus on these companies to provide them with quality ingredients that are sourced properly and are botanical or technologically based, not necessarily heavily advertised. There will be attention towards more in-treatment room bespoke brands where consumers want more customizable skincare. This sense of responsibility and knowledge makes me very proud, which is why I carry only lines that I truly believe in called Isabelle Lancray and Dr. Rimpler.

Nowadays, there is way too much emphasis on marketing and advertising, which, in my opinion, is where a ton of the money goes. I think consumers would be happier with a less marketed product that works and has ethically sourced highly expensive and natural raw ingredients than those you see on TV that cause a reaction and further ruin skin.
 
Happi: What are some trends to look out for in skin care for 2015 and beyond?
 
US: I think we will be looking for those products that are effective, potent and healthy all rolled into one. Cosmeceuticals, which have been around, will continue to interest consumers where we combine the world of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. For example the company I work with, Isabelle Lancray Paris and Dr. Rimpler, a pharmaceutically graded and certified company in Europe which has been on the forefront of this for years. Consumers will begin to understand the idea of balancing dermatological treatments and healing from deeper layers of the skin with great skin care as you cannot use medicines alone forever!

I think great toners for the skin, that help to close pores after cleansing, balance your skin’s pH and also lock in key product will gain popularity in the US.

Our company is also working on products using the active ingredient moringa oil, which I think is a product one should look out for in 2015. Pure moringa oil is an ideal all-natural moisturizer for dry skin. This healing oil offers relief from sunburn and makes a perfect non-sticky massage oil. Moringa oil is extracted from the seeds of the Moringa oleifera tree and has been used in skin preparations and ointments since Egyptian times and is among the cosmetic industry’s most desired oils in the formulation of skin care products and cosmetics, chosen for its many antioxidants and documented skin-rejuvenating properties. We believe this oil is pretty much the secret to healthy and radiant skincare in Asia and Africa and I think we will be seeing more of this natural healing product in our skin care.

Lastly, bio intelligent active ingredients, high tech peptides and pearl essences like those in our L'Age D'Or range will take the lead, increasing collagen production in the skin.