When magnificence business veteran Sandra Statz got here to main NYC dermatologist Dr. Sherwin Parikh in 2008, she had no thought that just about fifteen years later, the 2 would develop into enterprise companions and create their very own skincare line collectively. She additionally couldn’t have predicted that ketamine remedy, of all issues, would get them to make the bounce.After an autoimmune prognosis and a number of other excruciating rounds of IVF in 2018, Statz bid farewell to the company world — like her work with legacy magnificence manufacturers like La Mer, Clinique, Guerlain and extra — to go full Gwyneth Paltrow on her highway to restoration. Statz sought out Dr. Parikh, founding father of Tribeca Skin Center, with whom she had already been a buddy and affected person for greater than a decade. (Having a board-certified derm guru on pace dial? A Manhattanite’s dream.) Statz and Dr. Parikh each introduced one thing distinctive to the desk: Statz, with a sponge-like thoughts, keen to absorb any new data within the psychedelic medication house; and Dr. Parikh, the chemistry-whiz with an upbringing in Eastern medication, who may most likely checklist any given product’s elements in his sleep.Known for his holistic method, the most important difficulty Dr. Parikh faces with purchasers is sensitivity and irritation, describing it as “a response to each environmental and inner aggression.” When Statz first welcomed the concept that they create their very own line, the 2 went to the drafting board instantly. At that time, Statz had tried all the pieces underneath the solar: topical lotions, varied specialists, and each pattern the wellness market tried to push. But even in an over-saturated business, Statz couldn’t discover something that eased her inflammatory illness. Her final hope? Ketamine remedy.Dr. Parikh and Statz put their undertaking on pause, and at the beginning of 2020, Statz underwent six infusions of ketamine remedy. The psychedelic remedy was changing into much less taboo over time, particularly as extra research confirmed advantages on sufferers affected by continual ache, arthritis, melancholy, PTSD, and in Statz’s case, irritation within the joints. After essentially the most “mind-blowing” few months (no pun supposed), Statz describes the psychological and bodily transformation as “a fog being lifted.” It was then Statz knew the skincare line with Dr. Parikh wanted to mix each basic and “alt-pharma” elements, particularly anti-inflammatory elements you wouldn’t usually discover in facial merchandise.The two picked up the place they left off and introduced A.P. Chem to fruition. The playful, science-forward identify got here from the duo’s nicknames for one another — “the cool nerds” — whereas additionally reflecting the model’s superior chemistry ethos. “All the cool nerds took A.P. Chem in highschool!” Statz gleefully tells me. (I agree along with her though I practically flunked out of A.P Chemistry.) The two wished the formulation to cater to Gen X and “Zillennials” — demographics they felt had been neglected within the magnificence and wellness house with reference to merchandise with luxurious elements at an inexpensive worth. Dr. Parikh and Statz wished to make use of “a mix of the OG [ingredients] like hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and peptides” whereas introducing various elements like GABA, Palmitoyl Isoleucine, and Baicalin — all anti-inflammatory and clinically accredited. Along with the inexpensive worth level, Dr. Parikh’s formulations are created to focus on one other “Zillennial” concern: age-deceleration. He tells me what number of of his younger purchasers who had been already having fillers dissolved, and the way in lieu of botox and fillers, he suggests A.P. Chem’s anti-inflammatory elements to focus on the identical considerations. Ingredients like GABA, a neuropeptide that acts as a “nature’s botox,” not solely instantly lifts and corporations the pores and skin, however really produces collage elastins over time; and Palmitoyl Isoleucine, which acts as “nature’s filler,” creating a way of quantity the place pores and skin usually begins to skinny, therefore why it’s good for under-eyes.In 2022, Dr. Parikh and Statz launched the MicroDOSE Magical Moisturizer, A.P. Chem’s first product. The identify references psilocybin, but in addition incorporates eight multi-benefit mushroom extracts. And this month, the model launched their EYEahuasca Enlightening Eye Treatment and DOPEamine Uplifting & Smoothing Serum — two powerhouse merchandise full of Polyglutamic Acid, Baicalin, GABA, and extra. As for the road’s cheeky product names, Dr. Parikh and Statz are serving the next objective, ideating names meant to destigmatize psychedelic remedy and normalize dialog round it, whereas nonetheless being an authority on skin-science. “We don’t condone the usage of road medicine, and we by no means need to mock habit,” she says. “We’re advocating for psychedelic medication, used for therapeutic functions.” “We may’ve simply gone to a lab, requested for white label formulation, and slapped a brand on it,” Statz says forward of the launch. “But we wished it to be science-forward. We comprehend it’s not for everybody, however we need to illuminate folks’s choices.” After testing all three merchandise for the final month, my pores and skin has by no means appeared higher. I seem like I bought a full night time’s relaxation on days the place I most undoubtedly didn’t, and my hyperpigmentation has taken a backseat, leaving me with balanced, even pores and skin. It’s clear that in relation to A.P. Chem, Statz and Dr. Parikh have accomplished their homework.
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