With an increasing number of people reporting hyper-sensitive
skin, Biologique Recherche has created Toleskin, its first range
targeting extreme inflammation. Laure Bouscharain, head of R&D,
explains why these products are needed now more than ever
Biologique Recherche has created Toleskin, its first range
targeting extreme inflammation / photos: biologique recherche
Known for its unique methodology and results-driven personalised approach, French skincare brand Biologique Recherche has something of a cult following among its discerning clientele, who love the highly customised solutions that cater to individual needs. The company has spent the past 45 years developing its rigorous methodology, investing in R&D to bring the most cutting-edge products to market.
Now, Biologique Recherche has drawn on its decades of skin biology expertise to create its first collection designed specifically for those with intolerant skin – skin that goes beyond just being sensitive and overreacts with an inflammatory response.
The power of Skin Instants In the world of Biologique Recherche, these overreactions are known as Intolerant Skin Instants – these clients have skin that needs to be soothed and rebuilt, often because they’re coping with things such as cancer treatment, atopic dermatitis or medical-aesthetic treatment.
Biologique Recherche’s new Toleskin range has been created specifically for Intolerant Skin Instants, and includes supplements, topical products and rituals, so it addresses problems from the inside out.
“We’ve noticed increasing numbers of people reporting that they suffer from sensitive skin – many are even having reactions to products that are specifically designed for sensitive skin,” says Laure Bouscharain, head of R&D for Biologique Recherche. “One reason for this is that our world is becoming more and more sterilised. The human immune system needs to express itself, or it will break out against otherwise harmless substances that it comes into contact with. In addition, many surfactants found in soap products can also damage the skin barrier, making it more permeable and susceptible to irritants.
“We’ve identified the factors that lead to intolerant skin,” says Bouscharain. “There’s often a hereditary link – more than half of children with atopic dermatitis have a first-degree relative who also suffers from it – and the physical structure of this skin type makes it particularly sensitive to external stress factors such as UV radiation or pollution. This skin type is healthy but fragile, and will react strongly when it’s overwhelmed.
“We’ve designed products that relieve intolerance and tackle its causes in depth, restoring the skin barrier, rebalancing the skin microbiota, and reducing redness, roughness and inflammation.”
Detailed evaluation The personalised Biologique Recherche programme begins with a ‘Skin Instant’ measurement session in which highly trained skin professionals assess the state of the skin with the help of the Skin Instant Lab – a medical device that can measure moisture content, transepidermal water loss, skin elasticity, melanin and sebum content – and then diagnose and prescribe products and treatments. The evaluation is backed by a visual analysis, photographs and a dermo-cosmetic questionnaire, as well as a cosmetological evaluation of the skin by expert therapists from Biologique Recherche.
Toleskin spa treatments incorporate manual techniques that are adapted to hyper-sensitive skin, including drainage to reduce inflammatory fluid retention, use of acupressure points, no rubbing of the skin, and relaxation to bring down overall stress levels. As with all Biologique Recherche product lines, recommendations and treatment protocols are personalised for each client, and the therapist will determine whether to use the full range, or only certain products, depending on how the skin will tolerate them.
“Biologique Recherche is a brand that’s primarily focused on performance,” explains Bouscharain. “We listen closely to our customers’ feedback, and we have strong ties to the medical world. With increasing numbers of people reporting intolerant skin, we knew it was time to create products and treatments targeting ultra-sensitive skin types. Now, if you have a client with hyper-sensitive skin, we have a treatment range that you can use to help them.”
The new Biologique Recherche Toleskin range includes four innovative products:
Toleskin [DS] - A dietary supplement based on lactic ferments to strengthen the immune system and reduce the inflammatory response
Toleskin [B] - Desensitising booster powder and sterile serum designed to improve skin tolerance and make it less reactive to aggressors
Toleskin [M] - A pre-impregnated mask which immediately calms discomfort caused by skin flare-ups
Toleskin [C] - A reconditioning sterile cream that reduces the skin’s sensitivity and contributes to restoring the skin barrier
photo: biologique recherche
"If you have a client with hyper-sensitive skin, we have a Toleskin treatment you can use to help them" –
Laure Bouscharain, Biologique Recherche
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2021 issue 3
Editor's letter: All about the people
With global staff shortages threatening to stall economic recovery, it’s time to reboot our commitment to driving improvements in pay and working conditions across the spa and wellness industry
Spa people: Dr Mark Hyman
Dr Mark Hyman MD believes functional medicine has the power to be life-changing in the health and wellbeing of patients.
New opening: Six Senses Shaharut
Six Senses has opened the doors to its new 60-key retreat in Israel’s southern Negev Desert, complete with a 1,900sq m, two-level spa and wellness sanctuary
New opening: QC NY
A 74,000sq ft Italian day spa has opened on New York’s Governors Island after a US$50m investment and seven years of planning, building and restoration.
Interview: Kenneth Ryan
We talk to the global head of spa at Marriott International about navigating the global lockdown, re-imagining the company's brand portfolio and what it will take to succeed post-COVID-19
Sponsored: Time out
Answering a growing demand
for non-invasive, anti-ageing skin
care, Comfort Zone is relaunching
its Sublime Skin line with a new
filler-like natural formula that
reverses cellular degeneration
Research: Total impact
Latest ISPA report considers the economic fallout of the pandemic and the spa industry's road to recovery
Sponsored: Gharieni Group
CEO Sammy Gharieni talks about his relentless drive
to deliver innovative products to underpin operators’ success
Analysis: Role model
What business models are showing the most potential in the wellness industry? Lyndsay Madden Nadeau shares her insights
Interview: Lorenzo Giannuzzi
The hospitality veteran dreamed of reinventing an historic Italian palazzo as a world-class medical spa. Lisa Starr went to find out more
Sponsored: TechnoAlpin
Snow rooms are creating a ‘wow’ factor for customers,
while reducing operating costs in the delivery of hot and cold
experiences
Interview: Gloria Caulfield
The executive director of Lake Nona wellness community talks about tapping into the latest tech to create healthy living environments
Software: Revenue management
How software suppliers have been supporting spas to get savvy with yield management since the pandemic began
Promotion: Iyashi Dôme
Iyashi Dôme’s touchless infrared tech is the perfect investment for the post-lockdown world, says Florent Cornelis
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
TLEE Spas + Wellness
TLEE Spas + Wellness is a globally acclaimed spa design and consulting firm created in 2010 by Tracy [more...]
Knesko Skin
Known for their unique approach to wellness and beauty, Knesko’s products combine ancient healing tr [more...]
With an increasing number of people reporting hyper-sensitive
skin, Biologique Recherche has created Toleskin, its first range
targeting extreme inflammation. Laure Bouscharain, head of R&D,
explains why these products are needed now more than ever
Biologique Recherche has created Toleskin, its first range
targeting extreme inflammation / photos: biologique recherche
Known for its unique methodology and results-driven personalised approach, French skincare brand Biologique Recherche has something of a cult following among its discerning clientele, who love the highly customised solutions that cater to individual needs. The company has spent the past 45 years developing its rigorous methodology, investing in R&D to bring the most cutting-edge products to market.
Now, Biologique Recherche has drawn on its decades of skin biology expertise to create its first collection designed specifically for those with intolerant skin – skin that goes beyond just being sensitive and overreacts with an inflammatory response.
The power of Skin Instants In the world of Biologique Recherche, these overreactions are known as Intolerant Skin Instants – these clients have skin that needs to be soothed and rebuilt, often because they’re coping with things such as cancer treatment, atopic dermatitis or medical-aesthetic treatment.
Biologique Recherche’s new Toleskin range has been created specifically for Intolerant Skin Instants, and includes supplements, topical products and rituals, so it addresses problems from the inside out.
“We’ve noticed increasing numbers of people reporting that they suffer from sensitive skin – many are even having reactions to products that are specifically designed for sensitive skin,” says Laure Bouscharain, head of R&D for Biologique Recherche. “One reason for this is that our world is becoming more and more sterilised. The human immune system needs to express itself, or it will break out against otherwise harmless substances that it comes into contact with. In addition, many surfactants found in soap products can also damage the skin barrier, making it more permeable and susceptible to irritants.
“We’ve identified the factors that lead to intolerant skin,” says Bouscharain. “There’s often a hereditary link – more than half of children with atopic dermatitis have a first-degree relative who also suffers from it – and the physical structure of this skin type makes it particularly sensitive to external stress factors such as UV radiation or pollution. This skin type is healthy but fragile, and will react strongly when it’s overwhelmed.
“We’ve designed products that relieve intolerance and tackle its causes in depth, restoring the skin barrier, rebalancing the skin microbiota, and reducing redness, roughness and inflammation.”
Detailed evaluation The personalised Biologique Recherche programme begins with a ‘Skin Instant’ measurement session in which highly trained skin professionals assess the state of the skin with the help of the Skin Instant Lab – a medical device that can measure moisture content, transepidermal water loss, skin elasticity, melanin and sebum content – and then diagnose and prescribe products and treatments. The evaluation is backed by a visual analysis, photographs and a dermo-cosmetic questionnaire, as well as a cosmetological evaluation of the skin by expert therapists from Biologique Recherche.
Toleskin spa treatments incorporate manual techniques that are adapted to hyper-sensitive skin, including drainage to reduce inflammatory fluid retention, use of acupressure points, no rubbing of the skin, and relaxation to bring down overall stress levels. As with all Biologique Recherche product lines, recommendations and treatment protocols are personalised for each client, and the therapist will determine whether to use the full range, or only certain products, depending on how the skin will tolerate them.
“Biologique Recherche is a brand that’s primarily focused on performance,” explains Bouscharain. “We listen closely to our customers’ feedback, and we have strong ties to the medical world. With increasing numbers of people reporting intolerant skin, we knew it was time to create products and treatments targeting ultra-sensitive skin types. Now, if you have a client with hyper-sensitive skin, we have a treatment range that you can use to help them.”
The new Biologique Recherche Toleskin range includes four innovative products:
Toleskin [DS] - A dietary supplement based on lactic ferments to strengthen the immune system and reduce the inflammatory response
Toleskin [B] - Desensitising booster powder and sterile serum designed to improve skin tolerance and make it less reactive to aggressors
Toleskin [M] - A pre-impregnated mask which immediately calms discomfort caused by skin flare-ups
Toleskin [C] - A reconditioning sterile cream that reduces the skin’s sensitivity and contributes to restoring the skin barrier
photo: biologique recherche
"If you have a client with hyper-sensitive skin, we have a Toleskin treatment you can use to help them" –
Laure Bouscharain, Biologique Recherche
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
View contents of Spa Business 2021 issue 3
Editor's letter: All about the people
With global staff shortages threatening to stall economic recovery, it’s time to reboot our commitment to driving improvements in pay and working conditions across the spa and wellness industry
Spa people: Dr Mark Hyman
Dr Mark Hyman MD believes functional medicine has the power to be life-changing in the health and wellbeing of patients.
New opening: Six Senses Shaharut
Six Senses has opened the doors to its new 60-key retreat in Israel’s southern Negev Desert, complete with a 1,900sq m, two-level spa and wellness sanctuary
New opening: QC NY
A 74,000sq ft Italian day spa has opened on New York’s Governors Island after a US$50m investment and seven years of planning, building and restoration.
Interview: Kenneth Ryan
We talk to the global head of spa at Marriott International about navigating the global lockdown, re-imagining the company's brand portfolio and what it will take to succeed post-COVID-19
Sponsored: Time out
Answering a growing demand
for non-invasive, anti-ageing skin
care, Comfort Zone is relaunching
its Sublime Skin line with a new
filler-like natural formula that
reverses cellular degeneration
Research: Total impact
Latest ISPA report considers the economic fallout of the pandemic and the spa industry's road to recovery
Sponsored: Gharieni Group
CEO Sammy Gharieni talks about his relentless drive
to deliver innovative products to underpin operators’ success
Analysis: Role model
What business models are showing the most potential in the wellness industry? Lyndsay Madden Nadeau shares her insights
Interview: Lorenzo Giannuzzi
The hospitality veteran dreamed of reinventing an historic Italian palazzo as a world-class medical spa. Lisa Starr went to find out more
Sponsored: TechnoAlpin
Snow rooms are creating a ‘wow’ factor for customers,
while reducing operating costs in the delivery of hot and cold
experiences
Interview: Gloria Caulfield
The executive director of Lake Nona wellness community talks about tapping into the latest tech to create healthy living environments
Software: Revenue management
How software suppliers have been supporting spas to get savvy with yield management since the pandemic began
Promotion: Iyashi Dôme
Iyashi Dôme’s touchless infrared tech is the perfect investment for the post-lockdown world, says Florent Cornelis
Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai in Hoi An, Vietnam, has put together a Global Wellness Day
(GWD) agenda with activations rooted in nature and shaped by four pillars of Joy – in
alignment with the day’s theme #JoyMagenta.
The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2026 event in
Phuket, Thailand, later this year with the theme: The Science, Art and Soul of Wellness.
Auko, an all-inclusive development, is opening in Phong Nha in Vietnam in Q3 2026, with a
series of 30 tented eco-lodges and wellness hospitality operations by Lumina Wellbeing.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Naples Beach Club, a Four Seasons Resort, has opened a 2,800sq m spa called The Sanctuary,
with the design and concept inspired by the Native American people that populated Florida’s
Southwest coast – the Calusa.
Swire Hotels’ luxury hospitality brand Upper House has revealed it will roll out its two-day
House of Healing retreats at its three hotels in Hong Kong, Chengdu and Shanghai.
LVMH-owned beauty house Guerlain will launch up to five spas with partners a year as part of
its plan to expand globally, according to the brand’s international spa and wellness director,
Diane Davody.
A new global study by Kevin Kelly and Peter Yesawich, called WELLSurvey 2.0, has revealed
more than half of consumers in the UK, US and Germany would not choose numerous high-
profile wellness resort brands for a future trip.
Luxury hospitality and wellness pioneer Jeremy McCarthy has launched Leisure Alchemy, a
digital platform that will provide professionals with strategic guidance on how to build
transformational leisure experiences that drive profit.
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
TLEE Spas + Wellness TLEE Spas + Wellness is a globally acclaimed spa design and consulting firm created in 2010 by Tracy [more...]
