Lessons in life and beauty with Lucy Vincent of Sans [ceuticals]

After pioneering uncontrived ‘cool girl’ hair over two decades ago as a hairstylist in her home of New Zealand – and, throughout her career, finding frustration in “not being able to find pure, naturally-derived, results-driven products that were also thoughtfully designed and purpose-led” – Lucy Vincent set on a path to apply her passion for authenticity and trichology to something more tangible.

In 2007, this resulted in the beginnings of a multifunctional skin and haircare brand, now known as Sans [ceuticals]. The brand delivers on a tightly edited collection of everyday multitaskers, formulated with naturally-derived vitamins and actives to renew the texture and health of your skin and hair.

A true connoisseur of considered living (doing so while balancing several businesses and two young boys, with a passion for cooking, a penchant for ceramics and self-care through meditation, beauty and nature), we caught up with Vincent on the off chance her pioneering instinct and unwavering curiosity could rub off on us. Here’s what we learnt.

“When I looked into active ingredients,” starts Vincent, whose formulas list ingredients you’ve likely already heard of, “I discovered that some of the most beneficial and transformational ingredients for skin and hair were naturally-derived. They were key vitamins, particularly A, E, B3 and B5.”

It was crucial to the founder that in developing her range, she used the very best in existence – sans made-up ‘complexes’ and suave marketing jargon, and vitamin A was her shining star, “in particular for its ability to transform and encourage cellular renewal and in general, help to heal the skin.”

She likens it to her cooking, with which she prefers to have a pantry stocked with fewer ingredients, using them more frequently so her meals are fresher and more nutritious. “This principle applies to how we make our products. It’s better to have one or two products that you use for a myriad of different things and replenish more frequently. This means better quality, better results and less landfill.”

“When we embark on a journey to truly make a difference, it’s a gesture I don’t take lightly,” speaks Vincent on growing her range and her business, with the ideals of sustainability and wastefulness in mind. “For me it is not enough to put a twist on current packaging, or a spin on marketing comms. It really has to deliver. To add value and to truly make a difference to the world we live in.” It’s why, as she explains, it’s taken the brand time to develop an exciting, relevant, and viable solution for everyday beauty.

Vincent describes approaching the initial development of her formulations from the perspective of a customer, asking questions along the lines of: ‘why should the skin on my body be treated differently to the skin on my face?’, ‘why are body products expected to be cheaper than a 30ml face cream yet come in larger bottles and are used on 70 percent of your body?’ and ‘why do I have to apply so many products to my skin daily? Can’t all the actives be blended into one product?’. Sans [ceuticals] exists to answer these questions, not create more.

Looking to the future, the founder reveals that the brand is working with “an incredible woman,” who has a PhD in Circularity (an economic system which aims to eliminate waste and maximise the reuse of resources) and a background in industrial design, with whom they’re currently in the process of finalising a zero-waste concept for haircare that “combines game-changing packaging with state-of-the-art product innovation.” They’re aiming for an early 2021 launch. “Watch this space!”, teases Vincent.

“When we embark on a journey to truly make a difference, it’s a gesture I don’t take lightly,” speaks Vincent on growing her range and her business, with the ideals of sustainability and wastefulness in mind. “For me it is not enough to put a twist on current packaging, or a spin on marketing comms. It really has to deliver. To add value and to truly make a difference to the world we live in.” It’s why, as she explains, it’s taken the brand time to develop an exciting, relevant, and viable solution for everyday beauty.

Vincent describes approaching the initial development of her formulations from the perspective of a customer, asking questions along the lines of: ‘why should the skin on my body be treated differently to the skin on my face?’, ‘why are body products expected to be cheaper than a 30ml face cream yet come in larger bottles and are used on 70 percent of your body?’ and ‘why do I have to apply so many products to my skin daily? Can’t all the actives be blended into one product?’. Sans [ceuticals] exists to answer these questions, not create more.

Looking to the future, the founder reveals that the brand is working with “an incredible woman,” who has a PhD in Circularity (an economic system which aims to eliminate waste and maximise the reuse of resources) and a background in industrial design, with whom they’re currently in the process of finalising a zero-waste concept for haircare that “combines game-changing packaging with state-of-the-art product innovation.” They’re aiming for an early 2021 launch. “Watch this space!”, teases Vincent.

When asked which Sans [ceuticals] product does the most (and which is most popular and best for newcomers to the brand), Vincent gushes about her personal favourite, the brand’s Activator 7 Body + Hair + Face Oil. “It does everything!”

Simply put, the founder describes it as “a super serum that packs a punch with high concentrations of vitamin A.” You’ll find omegas 3, 6, and 9, vitamin E and squalane in there too. “I put a few drops on my face at night for an added boost, use it on the ends of my hair as a smoothing and hydrating serum, shave my legs with it, remove my eye makeup and also use it post-shower as an amazing body oil.”

According to Vincent, customers have lapped it up. Especially when applied in the shower while skin is wet, or, used as a shave oil for men, who find they don’t have to moisturise afterwards. “It’s designed to take the effort and faff out of a daily regimen yet deliver maximum results.”