We sat with co-founders of the first CBD brand in the Middle East region – Juana Skin – mother and son Juana and Yann Martini who talk about raising the bar on clean beauty
What started as a mother’s concern for her son’s health while under immense stress at his work turned into a wellness journey to help other people that are conscious of what they eat and what they put on their skin.
“Skincare has always been my passion since I was a child. I have always loved mixing ingredients together and testing them on myself. If something worked, I would share it,” said the brand’s namesake, Juana, who grew up around olive trees, adding that creating an oil first was a natural choice. “What I learned in the Juana Skin journey is that at any age you can create your own life, you can succeed.”
For the founders, the range of products is designed to be functional, using good-quality oil at the right potency, to benefit not only the skin in terms of beauty but also the body and mind. For instance, when used at night the Switch Me Off range really helps to get good quality sleep and to recharge the skin overnight.
“The long-term vision of the brand is to become a wellness brand, including supplements and other aspects of nutrition. We started with skincare because it’s non-invasive. It’s a way to open the conversation and educate consumers about CBD, what it is, and how it works. This is our responsibility as being the first CBD brand in the region,” said Yann.
Not all CBD oils are created equal – in fact, several reports over the last few years have found many brands claiming to have CBD didn’t. Authentic CBD oil can only be extracted from the top buds of the flower, at a higher cost than extracting oil from other parts of the plant. To ensure CBD is being used the ingredients must mention cannabis sativa stem or flower. Otherwise, brands will word their ingredient list carefully, using the phrases such as “Cannabis infused.” In order to bear the CBD label, some brands will include the minimum potency of CBD.
Juana Skin has taken care with each step of the manufacturing process. It complies with European quality standards. The company has partnered with Cannabis farms registered in Europe, and each product is 100% created, designed, and sourced in Europe. We only work with Cannabis farms registered in Europe. The laboratories are all good manufacturing practice (GMP) certified as well.
Aside from ensuring quality ingredients and compliant manufacturing processes were used, Juan Skin’s products underwent a rigorous two-year testing period to get the right potency. Any aroma or colourant that doesn’t add value has been removed. The Martinis wanted the products to be clean – and with every step of the creation process, from farming the ingredients to using airless technology for the the recyclable packaging to avoid contamination, being carefully managed, they have full confidence in their products, though achieving this was not without its challenges.
“It’s easy to compromise on the packaging, on the quality of the CBD from some countries to cut costs, or to add preservatives in order to have a long-life cream or to use a white cream instead of the natural colour. The challenge was to stay faithful, not to comprise our standards. Creating this brand and its products it’s a unique opportunity to create a legacy, to be a pioneer in the CBD beauty industry,” said Yann.
