Meet the R&D Team at NENA Skincare

Behind every NENA Skincare product is a small but mighty research and development (R&D) team who carefully formulates, tests, and refines each product to perfection.
Over the next few months, we’ll be sharing a series of blog posts about the research and development behind NENA’s six skincare products. How are our products decided on? What are the steps we take to create a new product? How does our team test for effectiveness? What are some mistakes we’ve made and learning opportunities we’ve had along the way?

 First, an introduction to NENA Skincare

At NENA Skincare, we specialize in natural skincare products made with pure and sustainably sourced Canadian Glacial Clay. For thirty years we’ve been harvesting natural glacial clay from Northern BC for its unique mineral composition and properties that are clinically proven to help tighten pores and reduce oil on the face.

• More on the NENA Blog: What is Glacial Oceanic Clay?

Unlike many other boutique natural beauty brands, we control our entire supply chain and manufacturing process, offering our customers a 100% Canadian, earth-to-skin experience.  With 30 years of targeted expertise in Canadian Glacial Clay, this is our one and only focus because it’s what we’re best at.

At NENA Skincare, we don’t believe in trendy ingredients, toxic chemicals, or complicated skincare routines. We’re here to create skincare products that protect both your skin and the planet.

 NENA Skincare’s All-Female R&D Team

Our all-female Research & Development team has experience that spans three continents, with experience from major cosmetic groups including L'Oréal, Coty and J&J just to name a few.
Currently, our all-female team includes:

• A lab assistant with over 18 years of experience in cosmetic industry
• A junior formulator graduated in biochemistry and specialized in cosmetic science with over 3 years of experience in the field
• An expert formulator graduated in chemical engineering specialized in cosmetic science with over 16 years of experience in cosmetic laboratory
• An R&D Director graduated in chemistry specialized in cosmetic science with over 20 years of experience in cosmetic industry

Not only do we employ a highly qualified team of chemists, but we specifically look for those who have niche expertise in the beauty and skincare industry, and can bring their experience to NENA.

How are skincare products created at NENA?

All our natural skincare products begin with a base of glacial oceanic clay or its derivative Glacial Mineral Water. From there, we add, layer, mix, and combine other natural ingredients and stabilizers to formulate our skincare products, ensuring effective results.
Different ingredients have different purposes. Some are chosen for its proven effectiveness, some are for scent, natural colour, or texture, while others are for stability. All ingredients are responsibly sourced to make sure they align with our values.

We might work with over a dozen formulations before going to market with our final formulation!

Our chemists are always busy meeting with ingredient suppliers and testing different skincare formulations. We have a library of product bases that we play around with, adapting for texture, effectiveness, consistency, and more. 

What’s in the NENA Skincare family of products?

We started off with our NENA Glacial Clay - a product that’s formulated with 99% natural clay – then soon added three more products (Cleansing Cream, Mineral Toner, Moisturizing Cream) to complete a 4 Step Skincare Routine. 

To us, a core collection of four products was just the right number. It was enough products to cover multiple skincare concerns, but few enough steps to support an easy, simple, and approachable skincare routine. 

Then, due to customer requests and demand, we added a Mineral Serum and Mineral Eye Cream to our product mix. To our R&D team, it was of utmost importance for our two newest products to be formulated to be used in tandem with the rest of the collection. 

• A First Look at Mineral Eye Cream
• Inspired by Canada: The NENA Mineral Serum

 Although most effective and designed to be used together (you’ll often hear us talking about the four steps of: Cleanse, Mask, Tone, and Moisturize), you can also use NENA Skincare products on their own. 

Over the next few months, we’ll be sharing a series of blog posts about the research and development behind NENA’s six skincare products. For now, you can browse our collection of natural skincare products here.