Live Vivant
This month we had the opportunity to visit Vivant Pharmaceuticals and retrace the steps of dermatologist, biochemist, and skincare genius, Dr. James Fulton. We are passionate (and even obsessive) over the discoveries he made and the products he formulated. If you haven’t discovered the Vivant way of life (or you just need a little reminder) here you can read our recap of the trip and why Vivant puts the care in skincare.
Usually, a client’s first question after a few weeks of using Vivant — “Why hasn’t everyone heard of this?”
We get it, and we ask ourselves the same question! After touring their 30,000 square foot headquarters and getting close with the owners and operators, it’s clear to us why this line (despite its famous creator) has remained exclusive.
Most skincare lines are owned by giant pharmaceutical companies, venture capitalists, or famous names like L'Oreal. Vivant is family-owned and operated. Typically, skincare lines like SkinCeuticals, Drunk Elephant, SkinMedica, and countless others start small and then are acquired by large corporations. While this gives the brand an opportunity to reach more people (and the previous owners a big paycheck), it often comes with ingredient and formula changes in order to maximize profits. Even though the originator behind Vivant, Dr. Fulton, is no longer living, the integrity of his formulations remains strong. (As for listing all the discoveries attributed to Dr. Fulton, that would be a whole other blog in itself.)
So why do Vivant products work so well?
Imagine building a house. Most skincare lines will focus solely on the ingredients in their products. Ingredients would be like the building materials of the house. While those materials will ultimately be what you see when you look at the house, they do no good unless you have designers and builders to actually create the house. The builders, or what we call delivery systems, are what sets Vivant apart. Most lines fall short when it comes to actually getting the products to penetrate the skin. Other skincare brands can be like the contractors that start a job and never finish while using Vivant will be a smooth architect with workers that build you your dream house. This is because Dr. Fulton was obsessive about changing skin and never stopped pushing for how to make better, faster, stronger, and more effective products.
It’s not only the raw materials (that are all USP quality), but also the science behind getting them into the skin that sets Vivant products apart. Those results-driven products are not created in a giant warehouse somewhere by machines, but instead in a carefully hand-created lab. And, their lab is FDA approved, meaning they take extra steps just to give you medical-grade products. They produce in small batches and their chemist, Vanessa, checks every batch for accuracy and quality control. This is a company driven by passion, not profits. Every step of the production is made in the United States from the chemicals to the packaging. Unlike other companies that will purchase ingredients and materials from other countries (which can be inconsistent, but also cheaper), Vivant orders the same raw materials for years despite opportunities to cut costs.
Who should use Vivant?
Another reason Vivant sets itself apart from the others is that everyone can benefit from the line. This is because Dr. Fulton believed strongly in skincare results for every person. When he patented Retin-A in 1969 and then later stabilized Benzoyl Peroxide, he started to realize that successful acne treatments could only be tolerated by those with lighter skin tones. Due to the strength of ingredients, more pigmented skin could struggle with these formulations and get hyperpigmentation. He then went on to create the gentle and effective skincare hero ingredient, Mandelic Acid, and develop more usable formulas of Vitamin A that all skin ethnicities could benefit from. This is still unparalleled because most active skincare is still targeted only for lighter skin tones. While on our trip, we had the pleasure of meeting with a doctor from Jamaica that uses Vivant because the results she gets with darker skin tones (or what we refer to as a higher Fitzpatricks) are not possible from any line she has seen.
Not only can all skin tones use Vivant, but all skin concerns as well. You see, while Dr. Fulton was fueled by a passion to control acneic skin, he found the products to also reverse the signs of aging. This is from a belief that exfoliating the skin is the key to clearing the dead cells that lead to acne. Dead skin cells also lead to fine lines, wrinkles, and dull skin. Exfoliation will bring youthful skin and Vitamin A is scientifically proven to reverse the signs of aging.
Dr. Fulton was born with neonatal acne that left him scarred both emotionally and physically. So, his passion was deeper than just clear skin — he wanted everyone to have healthy skin that they were confident in. His family and friends tell stories of him. He was humble and kind, but would walk right up to you and tell you what you needed to fix about your skin. Conditions that can seem impossible like cystic acne, hyperpigmentation, or scarring, Dr. Fulton tirelessly strived to correct. We all have pores, we all get pimples, and we all will age so even though no skin is perfect — at Skin MPLS we can’t help but be perfectionists though. And, maybe that’s what draws us to a line made by the ultimate perfectionist and carried on by a family unwilling to sacrifice on the dreams of their visionary founder. While nothing may ever be perfect, by living Vivant you can get pretty darn close.