With just one product to its name, Better Days Skin Co.—also known to fans as Bedaskin, launched in April 2021 after two years of painstaking research by founder Rachel Poon. As with tech startups and more recently, Kanye West’s Donda with its build-in-public strategy, Bedaskin shared its developmental journey and iterations of their creative process to fans via social media.
The result? A small but potent offering: the Multi-Active Treatment Essence which aims to renew, hydrate, brighten, firm and restore the complexion via a cocktail of active ingredients including niacinamide, salicylic acid, and ceramides. “Unlike other brands, our philosophy is built around streamlining our customers’ routines. So our Multi-Active Treatment Essence, a 7-in-1 multi-correctional formula providing all the benefits of many products in one, was all we really needed to start,” says Poon. “The idea is to replace excessive serums and toners as it covers all the different skin-needs. This means you don’t really need a separate exfoliation product, brightening product etc etc. And there is less confusion with layering products as well.”
The product sold out three entire production batches in a matter of months, but the runway to getting the brand off the ground was not without its challenges especially during complications brought on by ever-changing COVID-19 restrictions.
“At the very beginning of the pandemic, it was honestly really frustrating,” Poon confesses. “Restrictions affecting our production lab and packaging suppliers made everything really stop/start, but eventually it became more productive because there were fewer distractions. I would say it was ultimately a blessing in disguise for a first-time entrepreneur because it allowed me to really think through our business model and launch plan carefully.
Despite having no experience in the skincare industry prior to launching her brand—save for being an “avid consumer”, Poon shares that her fluctuating skin condition in her 30s led her to take action. Once it seemed that no product or doctor could help improve her situation, Poon found herself obsessively researching ingredients and poring over medical studies. “Which is what led me to develop my own product, I currently work with a GMP-certified lab locally to formulate our prototypes and manufacturing—our treatment essence is proudly made in Singapore to the highest of standards.”
These days, the one-woman-show has her hand in everything from branding to customer service, sales, photography, social media marketing, packaging and mailing. “My husband helped at the beginning with setting up our tech backend.”
On starting from scratch in the beauty industry
I’m originally from Hong Kong and have always been mindful of my skin health. My love for simple skincare routines definitely came from observing my mother, who has beautiful skin and a very consistent skincare ritual that hasn’t changed much in decades. The idea of starting from scratch was scary for sure, especially because I don’t have roots in Singapore. Would it just be me shouting into the void? Conversely, that also made me feel like I had nothing to lose! I feel very blessed that our community grew quickly via word of mouth, with more and more people becoming interested and wanting to be part of each round of product development of the Multi-Active Treatment Essence.
On her ‘why’
Better Days was basically born from my frustration of not being able to find multi-tasking skincare products formulated for my sensitive skin. After I moved to Singapore when I got married 3 years ago, my skin fluctuated intensely and nothing in the market seemed to work for me so I decided to figure something out for myself. I became interested in skincare ingredients, reading and studying medical journals obsessively before getting in touch with a lab to start formulating what is now our Multi-Active Treatment Essence.
On what Bedaskin brings to the beauty community
Our key difference is that our products are multi-taskers that are formulated to simplify routines and can target several skin-enhancing pathways at the same time. This is a completely different approach to complicated 10-step programs you would normally find in the market that can overwhelm your skin, creating an endless cycle of products and problems.
On her ambitions for her Bedaskin
I don’t expect Better Days to be the biggest brand in the world, that’s definitely not our ambition! Our motto is “gentle skincare, transformative results”. For me, the most important goal is to make things as simple as possible so that anyone can experience the freedom and mental relief that comes from being comfortable and confident in their own skin.
On her journey as a Singapore-based beauty entrepreneur
It’s really been a learning experience as a one-woman company, trying to juggle day-to-day operations like packing and shipping with the need to be creative and come up with new content every day. Also, I had a very clear vision of how I wanted the product to look and feel, so sourcing the right packaging suppliers that met my expectations was definitely one of the biggest challenges to date.
On what she’s discovered about herself in the process
I’ve learned that one of the things that motivates me the most is the feeling of responsibility to others. Our community was directly involved in our testing and development process, and always sent incredibly positive and excited feedback on each iteration from the lab. Knowing I had to finish the product for them really kept me going when things were tough.
On the biggest lessons she’s learned so far
I think the biggest thing is not to spend too much time comparing yourself to other brands and to focus on your own product and community by setting your own goals. Every business is different, so figuring out what works best for your own situation is something I constantly keep in mind.
On the future of Bedaskin
We’re currently developing a complementary product to our Multi-Active Treatment Essence right now, nicknamed Project Radiance. It’s a brightening crème for all us sensitive skin users that can’t tolerate l-ascorbic acid (pure vitamin C) products. You can follow the development process on our Instagram.
On how to use the Multi-Active Treatment Essence (especially if you have a multi-step routine)
Users are still recommended to pair our Multi-Active Treatment Essence with their own moisturisers according to their skin types and conditions. Although our product replaces ‘toner + serum’ steps, it’s not an issue to add extra serums to your routine as well.
Generally speaking, the Multi-Active Treatment Essence would go before other serums as our essence contains exfoliating acids and has a corresponding lower pH level. (A rule of thumb is that the lowest pH skincare should go first, much like vitamin C serums should go before anything else in your routine).
