10.31.07
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Borba Nutraceuticals explores how fabrics can benefit the skin.
By Joanna Cosgrove
Online Editor
Borba Nutraceuticals isn’t a typical beauty company. Founder, Scott-Vincent Borba, took a novel approach to beauty with the idea of nurturing it from both the inside and the outside. In addition to his drinkable Skin Balance Waters and Skin Balance Confections, Mr. Borba’s topical skincare products benefit from the synergy of “Fiber Knit Technology” - how certain fabrics can imbue benefits to the skin. To compliment the existing topical line, the Woodland Hills, CA-based company just launched a linen, face and body Atomizer mist that infuses skin and sheets with skin care ingredients.
Mr. Borba has a knack for taking ordinary products and adding his own special skin-benefiting twist. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his new Atomizer Spray. “I was using Febreeze and looked at the ingredients and thought ‘there has to be something more,’” He recalled. “I also knew that skin challenges could occur if I slept without a shirt or simply slept on a pillow if I’d kept my sheets on longer than expected. I thought there had to be a way to obtain skin care through a topical treatment to linens, and wondered if that same linen spray could replace a toner that would be applied to the face, and can that toner could set makeup for flawless skin.” Thus the company’s latest new product - Borba Atomizer Mangosteen Linen, Face and Body Reviving Mist - was created.
Formulated to revitalize skin and surroundings with cosmeceutical-grade antioxidants for “anti-aging skincare benefits,” the linen-safe Mist “deposits antioxidants from mangosteen fruit, known to help fight free radicals that can compromise skin’s natural elasticity.”
“The idea is that the skin is touching fabrics and if you can help cut down on the microbials that are on the sheets while layering an antioxidant and vitamin mixture and infuse it with extracts that are known to be good for the skin, why wouldn’t you, if it’s also going to mask odors?” he said. “While some people change their sheets and flip their pillows weekly, most people, on average, change their sheets twice a month. For those people this will help them get through to the next change while benefiting their skin.”
The product’s marquis ingredient, mangosteen, is a South American tropical fruit renowned not just for its long lasting aroma and sweet flesh, but also for its high content of an essential B vitamin which, as Mr. Borba pointed out, is beneficial to epidermal cells. The Mist also contains pomegranate and grape seed extracts for additional free radical defense, cucumber extract to impart a cool, calming effect on the skin, and vitamin E to replenish moisture and “renew skin’s natural glow.”
Mr. Borba said the Mist is safe enough to mist directly on facial skin and on all forms of fabric such as clothing, yoga mats, shoes and sneakers, gym towels and cloth car seats.
The suggested price for the four ounce atomizer is $21.00.
Clever Combos
The skin and linen Atomizer Mist is just the latest fiber/skin connection from Borba Nutraceuticals. The company’s four topical skin care lines employ “Fiber Knit Technology” which imbues cleansers, concentrates and lotions with “cosmeceutical grade” fabrics that are matched to skin types based on the qualities they exhibit.
The topical line is comprised of Clarifying Cotton Fibers, Age Defying Elastin Fibers, Replenishing Silk Fibers, and Firming Spandex Fibers product families. “During the development phase, we found silk to be the best for comforting dry, sensitive skin; cashmere was the best for lips from a softness and cushiony perspective; a natural spandex fiber imparts a similar effect on the skin as a work out outfit; and elastin fiber acts like a rubber band for wrinkle reduction.”
Mr. Borba explained that the fabrics are first hydrolyzed then rendered into a powder format for incorporation into his topical skin preparations. “We shear down the fabric until it’s frothy and then mill it down into a micronized powder,” he said. “When these particles are suspended in a topical formula, at 98 degrees Fahrenheit, they will move closer to each other, acting like a shield for the skin. But that shield contains pockets of air since the fabric isn’t fully bound together. These air pockets allow for the oxygenization of the top layers of skin to promote rejuvenation. The fabric shield on the top layer of the skin is the barrier that pushes the product’s active ingredients into the epidermis.”
Pointing to the company motto “Healthy Skin From Within™,” Mr. Borba is a firm believer that skin quality can be enriched when its cared for both topically and internally. To that end, Borba Nutraceuticals offers both Drinkable and Ingestible products in the form of Skin Balance Waters and Aqua-less Crystalline drink mix powder packets, as well as Skin Balance Confection Gummies – all of which contain many of the same ingredients such as Acai extract and antioxidant vitamins. “Most people formulate topically and they don’t think about how the body internally processes ingredients. You want to synergize the communication between all of the layers in the skin by using the same ingredient through all of the layers in the skin for the best holistic benefit.”
The company’s drinkable approach to skincare caught the eye of Anheuser Busch which, this past August, struck an agreement with Borba to distribute its skin-friendly beverages in the U.S. and globally, with the exception of Japan, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and Dubai. The terms of the deal were undisclosed.
“Adding the Borba Skin Balance Waters and Aqua-Less Crystallines to our portfolio allows us to participate in the emerging nutraceutical beverage category,” commented Dave Peacock, vice president of business operations, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “The Borba line of beverages provides innovative and highly profitable products for our wholesalers and retail customers, while expanding our business into high-growth beverages beyond beer.”
Borba Nutraceutical products are sold on QVC, Sephora, Ulta and Equinox Gyms.