From a young age, I took an interest in fresh, natural materials from my garden and kitchen. I would look for ways to use them, treating everything from acne to sunburns. I experimented with DIY skincare recipes like Aloe Vera for skin tags or baking soda for blackheads.

I’ve always believed that earthy ingredients have their own natural powers which can remedy skin issues in a healthy, holistic way – you just have to figure out what works.

This curiosity led me to pursue a biology degree from Central Connecticut State University. There, I learned of the properties in different elements, as well as how to combine them to maximize health benefits. As you can imagine, this only furthered my belief in using natural products.

As I grew older throughout college, I would often get compliments on my skin. When I approached my 20s, I realized that if I wanted to maintain a youthful look, I had to start an anti-aging skincare regimen.

Waiting until I was older and already wrinkled wasn’t going to work, I had to start preventative measures right away.

I went on a skincare journey seeking out the best products to preserve my skin and fight the aging process. Admittedly, coming from a biology background, I was cynical about these mainstream products. Reading their labels, I’d see a never-ending list of ingredients that I couldn’t imagine an everyday consumer understanding –  it made my head spin. Then there were times where I was happy to find products with great ingredients, but they’d be canceled out with fillers and additives.

So, what is a biology major to do?

Use my education and create my own, of course.

With help from a very experienced chemist, I created a high-grade ingredient Vitamin C and retinol serum. Both ingredients are known to be great for your skin. Vitamin C is necessary for collagen production and maintenance; its antioxidant properties neutralize free radicals in the skin. On the other hand, retinol works to stimulate collagen and elasticity, increase cell turnover and helps remedy dark spots and wrinkles.

Knowing these two ingredients were what I needed in my formula, I took on the challenge of  combining   them, which had never been done before. Due to Vitamin C and retinol’s differing pH levels, they typically cannot live in the same product; therefore, to solve this problem, we created a time-released premium quality retinol that bursts onto your skin after application.

To preserve the serum’s integrity, we then created the “blacked out” bottle for the serum. This would prevent the heat of the sun from penetrating the product, which could result in the changing of properties in the vitamin C and retinol.

Our serum promotes extreme collagen production and speeds up cell turnover to fight acne, diminish sun damage and wrinkles.

I am elated to stand behind a product that I have dedicated my life to discovering. Knowing how it feels to be lost in a world where there are so many “miracle serums” out there, I pride myself on offering a product that people can trust.

Taroob Ahmad is a skincare expert and founder of Honeylux Skin,

a premier skin wellness company. 

Joe Gardner