Eriko Watanabe is the founder and CEO of one of the most exciting new skincare brands in the world, erii France. For years, she has been researching and developing methods for creating the perfect holistic skincare solution. The serum is made from 100% natural ingredients and utilises innovative technology customised to your DNA. In understanding how skin cells regenerate, the serum helps your skin recreate this process, leading to a youthful glow. Read on to find out more about Eriko Watanabe’s inspiring journey and how erii France came to fruition.
Hello Eriko, thank you for speaking with us! Can you start by telling us what inspired you to begin pursuing quality skincare ingredients?
I have been suffering from hereditary atopic dermatitis since my teens. My mother developed cancer from a skin disease and was repeatedly hospitalized and discharged. I went to several dermatologists but the medicines prescribed only temporarily increased the level of steroids that suppress inflammation, and eventually my skin looked like a burn with the dermis peeled off. I had bad skin, I couldn’t stand the stimulus of the air, I couldn’t meet people, and as a result I had to quit the company I was working for at that time. From there, I encountered completely additive-free natural cosmetics and obtained a qualification as a specialist, but I discovered problems particular to additive-free cosmetics by experimenting with my own skin.
After that, while researching Doctor’s Cosmetics and skin care, I took the opportunity to start pursuing skin care that is safe for infants’ skin. It all started with the desire to not make my child suffer the same as I had for hereditary reasons. There are many people around me who had sensitive skin and who are unaware of the problem itself. I noticed. There are too many skin care products and people are confused about their available choices. I thought it would be nice if there was a product like a skin bodyguard in the world that I would be relieved if I had at home.
I opened a school for infant massage and music therapy in Bangkok, Thailand for 8 years, and listened to and supported various infants and parents’ mental and physical problems. After that, I researched essential oils, oriental herbs, and deep-sea water with the cooperation of members of Japan’s premier medical university, which was conducting research on regenerative medicine in Japan, and the cosmetics department of Chiang Mai University in Thailand. Meanwhile, Japan was damaged by the tsunami caused by the Great Tohoku Earthquake, and my research was suspended for a long time.
After that, my son and I moved to Japan, and I started working at an entertainment company in Europe and Japan and continued my research on cosmetology from a different perspective. While listening behind the scenes to the skin problems of actresses and models who are usually active in fashion shows, movies and TV commercials, it was very practical to work with makeup artists to consult about the issues. They always have to look their best in the moment, so there is always a burden behind the reality of covering the skin and ensuring a youthful glow. Every time I saw their makeup removed face, I felt sorry to see their bare skin was dull grey or brown, and I was convinced that people like them were the ones who needed a single bodyguard product to protect their own life and future as a human. The experience of listening to the voices of celebrities first hand has been very helpful in the process of creating high-end skin care products with powerful, effective, and innovative ingredients.
Can you tell us about your journey and what you discovered when searching for these ingredients?
I was born and raised in Japan and have lived in four other countries: The United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand and the United States. When I was a teenager, I relied on chemotherapy with medications prescribed according to dermatological instructions. However, the side effects of dermatitis, which I had suppressed with medicine at that time, gradually began to appear in my late twenties. When I was in my twenties, I discovered the existence of completely additive-free cosmetics. At that company, I studied to qualify as an advisor to see if the products could solve underlying skin problems. However, I used myself as an experimental model and discovered a problem particular to completely additive-free cosmetics. From there, my full-scale pursuit of skin care products began.
While running a massage and music art school for 8 years as an infant care specialist in Thailand, I visited the best local spas as a spa guide reporter in the beauty powerhouse Bangkok and wrote experience columns in local magazines and guidebooks. There, I learned the charm of Chinese medicine such as oriental herbs and plants, and I started cultivating tropical herbs such as noni, mango, papaya, peppermint in my garden. I used propolis honey as an anti-inflammatory lotion that suppresses baby diaper rash and cheek rash. Also, I started to trial skin care products such as original face packs and soaps.
The power of pure natural plants is great, but they have the weakness of being short-lived. Therefore, I tackled the issue of making products that rejuvenate cells and maintain a sustainable state by allowing people to regain their original skin-beautifying tissue, rather than cosmetics that make the skin surface look beautiful with synthetic chemical ingredients. Initially, the product was planned to be made in Japan, which has very strict health and safety standards. I spent about five years researching with Japan’s highest-level regenerative medicine team members in search of high-level medical techniques. However, Japanese research has the limitations of not being able to make sustainable cosmetics without the use of preservatives and emulsifiers, as well as other ingredients that have not been FDA certified. As such, there were some major problems with imports from Japan to the United States. For this reason, I had to find a new direction and try to seek the possibility of making the impossible possible.
When I was about to give up, I had a miraculous encounter with a cosmetic scientist who was obsessed with the pure essential oils of a luxury brand manufacturing lab in France. Through that encounter, it became possible to increase the concentration of luxurious skin-beautifying ingredients such as Award winning ingredients, collagen, EGF, fullerene, gold, and silk, and the power of product efficacy increased at a tremendous speed. Over 20 rejuvenating herbs and essential oils can now be diluted to the highest levels harvested in France, which are much more effective than Japanese products. From Japan to France, we imported deep sea water containing more than 80 kinds of minerals, as well as koji, soybeans, natto, aloe, and cherry blossom extract, which are indispensable as skin-beautifying ingredients. From Thailand, which is a treasure trove of cosmetologically plants, we import Pueraria Mirifica, which is effective for tightening and lift-up and is used as a traditional rejuvenating medicine, and ginseng, which has anti-inflammatory effects and enhances cell blood flow. We have collected only the best beauty ingredients selected from each country. With 100% additive-free ingredients, we have succeeded in creating a high-quality serum that memorizes the pattern of skin rejuvenation in DNA.
When did erii France finally come to fruition?
In February 2019, erii France was finalised.
What ingredients do your products contain?
- Luxury ingredients- Platinum, Gold, Silver, Silk
- 200+ High performance growth factors, Novel prize technology EGF, Fullerene
- 80+ Dead sea minerals, Algae extracts, Silica, nigari, sea salt
- 30+ Finest botanical ingredients
What makes your elixirs so special? What are the benefits for skin?
Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of the product is the customizable DNA Medical grade anti-aging serum without hash chemicals. This protects skin cells with just one use in an existing skin care routine. The serum is simple and multitasks in order to boost overall skin health.
How can people incorporate your products into their skincare routine?
After washing your face, simply apply 1-2 drops of the booster onto one palm. Afterward, use your fingertips to apply the serum to your face (cheeks, chin, forehead, nose, and undereye). Gently rub the serum onto your skin in an upwards motion. Then apply your favorite moisturizer. Repeat this every morning and before going to bed.
Finally, do you have a fundamental piece of skincare advice that you can share with people?
Daily skin care should be as simple as possible. Cleansing can be completed in less than 1 minute. First apply booster serum to protect the skin, then apply moisturizer. It should be a habit to keep it simple in the morning and at night and not to put a strain on the skin.
In the morning, be sure to apply a board spectrum type sunscreen containing titanium oxidize or zinc oxidize, which is the most important, at the end of skin care.
Thank you Eriko for your time!
You can learn more and visit erii France at eriiskincare.com
