We’re all familiar with its iconic orange droplet logo. We’ve all seen it on the shelves of just about every pharmacy or drug store we’ve ever been to. We’ve all seen it in our mom’s drawer or dresser–together with all the other moisturizers, lotions, creams, and makeups. Yes, I am talking about the ever so ubiquitous Bio-Oil Skincare Oil. First released in 1987 by Bio-Oil, a South African company, this product has become famous for reducing the appearance of stretch marks especially among new moms, and was even cited by the Kardashians as their favorite face oil (yes, it’s that good!).
Effective as it may seem though, the company has not added a single product to its portfolio in 30 years.
But all of that is about to change, as it prepares to launch what brothers Justin and David Letschert, the head of the company’s research team, say is an even better formulation–Bio-Oil Dry Skin Gel, a gel-to-oil formula designed explicitly for intensely dry skin.
Let me just emphasize that. It’s a product for people with really dry skin.
“We’re not a company with a marketing department telling our laboratory what to make. We don’t go looking for products, but this product found us,” Justin Letschert tells Allure.
Bio-Oil Dry Skin Gel was developed with the idea of creating a formula that effectively moisturizes skin minus the greasy or goopy feeling. According to Justin Letschert, the company’s “oil-based research department” (which apparently has been around for 10 years now) has been working extra hard to develop a product that has the highest concentration of oil possible, which according to him is really the key to moisturization.
“It’s madness that the most common products on the market for treating dry skin [is cream], which is made up of water, which is repelled by the skin. How can one ignore that?”
Bio-Oil Dry Skin Gel is said to have 84 percent oil concentration. The remaining 16 percent is composed of moisturizing humectants glycerin and urea.
“We had Bio-Oil Skincare Oil on the market for 30 years, then only came our second product. We’re definitely not in a rush. It had to be a better product in that category. If it’s not going to be a better product, we’re not launching it. It’s as simple as that,” explains David Letschert.
The category that David is referring to is the wax- and oil-based product category where Vaseline, Aquaphor, and several other brands are currently present.
Following the much-anticipated launch of Bio-Oil Dry Skin Gel this fall, the brand is also slated to release a couple more products by early next year, including: a daily moisturizer, fragrance, sunscreen, and gentle body wash. You can find more information about them on Bio-Oil’s website.
