For many years, aging was viewed largely as a consequence of genetics. Today, scientists understand that our genes are only part of the story.

The field of epigenetics studies how environmental and biological factors influence the way genes are expressed without altering the underlying DNA sequence itself. While our genes provide the blueprint, the environment surrounding our cells influences how that blueprint is read.

This understanding has fundamentally changed the way scientists think about aging and long-term health.

As the science of epigenetics has gained visibility, a growing number of skincare brands have begun describing their products as “epigenetic skincare”.

In many cases, this claim is based on a single ingredient that has demonstrated epigenetic activity in laboratory research. An extract, peptide or ferment may influence a biological pathway associated with gene expression, and the finished product is then marketed as epigenetic.

While these discoveries are often scientifically interesting, they raise an important question.

Consumers do not apply isolated ingredients to their skin. They apply finished formulations.

A finished skincare product is a complex biological system. In addition to active ingredients, it contains preservatives, emulsifiers, stabilisers, solvents, texture agents and many other components. Every ingredient contributes to the environment experienced by skin cells.

At Skin Diligent, we believe it is scientifically incomplete to evaluate only a single active ingredient while ignoring the rest of the formulation. A product cannot be considered truly epigenetic if only one ingredient is evaluated while the remaining ingredients are excluded from consideration.

For this reason, our approach focuses on the biological impact of the entire formulation rather than individual ingredients in isolation.

Skin Diligent was founded in 2016 to explore how emerging discoveries in epigenetics, microbiome science, environmental health and longevity biology could be applied to skincare.

From the beginning, our objective was not to create products built around fashionable ingredients. Our objective was to create formulations designed from the perspective of the skin cell.

This means considering not only which ingredients are added to a product, but also how the complete formulation interacts with the biological systems of the skin.

Our formulations are developed through collaboration between molecular biologists, dermatologists, green chemists and ethnobotanists. We combine modern biological research with traditional botanical knowledge, recognising that innovation can come from both advanced science and centuries of accumulated experience.

Across the range, formulations are a minimum of 97% natural origin and are developed according to strict formulation standards, including proprietary preservation systems and the exclusion of ingredients such as parabens and phenoxyethanol.

One of the most significant developments in modern biology has been the growing understanding of endocrine disrupting chemicals and their potential influence on cellular signalling.

Endocrine disruptors do not necessarily damage DNA directly. Instead, they may interfere with hormonal communication systems that help regulate cellular behaviour throughout the body. Because hormones influence numerous biological processes, including many that occur within the skin, researchers increasingly recognise endocrine disruptors as important environmental factors capable of influencing gene expression and epigenetic regulation.

This understanding led Skin Diligent to take a unique approach.

Since 2021, every finished Skin Diligent formulation has been systematically tested for estrogenic and androgenic endocrine disruption using living cells. To our knowledge, Skin Diligent was the first skincare laboratory in the world to implement this testing systematically across all finished formulations.

Importantly, we do not test individual ingredients. We test the final product exactly as it will be applied to the skin.

We believe this distinction matters. From a biological perspective, the skin is exposed to the complete formulation, not to isolated ingredients evaluated independently.

Epigenetics remains one of the fastest-evolving areas of biological research. Scientists continue to uncover new relationships between environmental exposures, cellular signalling, aging processes and gene regulation.

No company can claim to possess all the answers.

What Skin Diligent can claim is a commitment to following the science as it develops and applying that knowledge responsibly to skincare formulation.

For us, epigenetic skincare is not a trend, a marketing claim or a single ingredient.

It is an ongoing effort to formulate according to the best biological understanding available today, while recognising that scientific knowledge will continue to evolve tomorrow.

Ultimately, we believe that healthy skin depends not only on what we add to a formulation, but on the total biological environment we create for the skin cell. That belief continues to guide every product we develop.