How K-Beauty Brands are Championing Cruelty-Free, Sustainable Practices
Hana Lee, founder of Korean brand Melixir Beauty, speaks to us about the importance of cruelty-free beauty, minimalist skincare regimes, and the power of robust natural ingredients.
Within the beauty and skincare industries, there has been more push as of late towards clean beauty. The movement focuses on products that are free from harmful ingredients and toxic chemicals that actually work against the skin in the long term, rather than help it. The faux au naturel ‘Clean-Girl’ makeup look even took over TikTok last year, after finding popularity amongst the It-Girls of the Internet.
But clean beauty doesn’t stop just at removing damaging chemicals from the products in your routine. Now, more brands in the Asian beauty market are actively evolving to create ethically made products, aiming to acutely tackle some of the social issues that plague the beauty industry, like sustainability, ethics and transparency.
Enter Melixir. Since its launch back in 2018, Hana Lee, the CEO and Founder of Korean skincare brand Melixir, has been focused on developing products that are 100% cruelty-free, using quality plant-based ingredients to power her products. In this interview, we speak to Hana about the shift towards using cruelty-free skincare goodies in Korean consumers in more recent years, and how the pandemic fortified consumers’ desire for healthy skincare products that can cut through the fluff.
What is the inspiration behind the name Melixir and how did you come to decide on it?
Meaning of ‘Melixir’ = Me + Elixir
From “elixir,” a potion that prolongs life by curing all diseases shown in ancient alchemy as the ‘Elixir of Life’. My/Me – Empower people to make decisions about their own wellness rituals. Melixir is a brand that elevates people’s lives healthier through everyday products and services.
Melixir was born of the need for cruelty-free products in the K-beauty market. Could you tell us more about the catalyst in making this the ethos of the brand?
I got inspired to start Melixir back in 2014 when I was working for a beauty tech startup in San Francisco. When a client came looking for a cruelty-free option that surprisingly didn’t exist, I realised just how pervasive animal testing was and decided there needed to be a solution. That short interaction was the start of a long journey and a promise to provide skincare that is 100% vegan and sustainable.
At the time, I knew the core values I wanted to uphold in Melixir were honesty, purity, and sustainability, and everything that we’ve developed since then is reflected in that initial promise. By using high-quality plant-based ingredients rooted in traditional Korean culture, we wanted to offer healthy and sustainable skincare accessible to all. My own struggle with finding products that worked on my skin is what inspired me to turn to traditional Korean plants and design every product specifically for sensitive skin.
Vegan beauty is becoming more popular in Korea. What do you think led to this shift in this prioritisation in K-beauty consumers?
I’d say K-beauty has had three waves, and Melixir really helped define the most recent wave where ethical/ethics and sustainability issues have only just started to take centre stage for many K-beauty brands. In my mind, the first wave focused on cute, eye-catching packaging and affordability while the second wave emphasized ‘clean beauty’ and attention to ingredient novelty and quality. In the second wave, we started seeing ingredient index apps and more products with ingredients like ginseng, snake venom, and snail mucin.
When Melixir came on the scene in 2018 as the first fully vegan skincare brand in Korea, brands weren’t focusing on what we still feel is most important. My sense has always been that people wanted healthier options for themselves and for the planet, and the COVID-19 pandemic really brought these concerns to the fore. We’re now seeing the concerns reflected in everything from people’s fashion to dietary choices, and Melixir continues to be a pioneer as K-beauty reaches a more diverse global audience.
The K-beauty trend of maximalist skincare has made way for a more minimalist one, why do you think that is and what are the benefits of a simple routine?
Our skin’s microbiome can be harmed under various situations and we want to avoid that to keep our skin healthy. Having the right PH balance and giving hydration to your skin is the key. We think the number of steps is less important, rather, using the right products that do not harm the skin microbiome is more important.
What would you say is your most viral product that placed Melixir on the map of K-beauty household names?
Vegan Lip Butter. This product was our hero product that took our brand awareness nationwide when we were a small indie brand. We created the lip butter without petroleum under vegan principles while many lip products in the market used those ingredients. The product meets the needs of Korean consumers who look for safe ingredients with nourishing effects.
Melixir has a tight and curated product offering, setting it apart from other high-volume beauty brands. What did you choose to focus on when establishing your product range and why?
This is a very good question. At Melixir, we discuss many times what product we want to launch and continue to offer. Because we want to meet the highest satisfaction from people who trust our brand, we spend more time evaluating and improving existing products rather than launching new ones. With limited resources, we chose to focus on product quality improvement rather than expanding the product range.
Green tea extract is a star ingredient in many of Melixir’s formulations. What made you pick this ingredient and why do you think people should add this to their routine ASAP?
In Korea, we traditionally wash our face with green tea-infused water to brighten skin radiance and deliver hydration to the skin. Green tea is a gentle ingredient so it fits various skin types, too. Our Vegan Balancing Toner is made of a single ingredient - Korea Green Tea Extract grown organically – it is watery and refreshing. I soak the cotton pad with toner and put the pad all over my face whenever I want to have healthy glowing skin.
On top of Melixir’s commitment to cruelty-free vegan products, it also places emphasis on sustainability. What are the actions the brand has taken in tackling that?
Our dedication to sustainability, primarily our recycling campaign called “Me:cycle”, is an ongoing campaign we have in Korea. With the Me:cycle initiative, we have effectively reduced over 200kg of CO2 emissions each year and about 950kg of CO2 emissions in total by collecting and recycling our customers’ used and emptied product bottles. Second, we use PCR materials instead of virgin plastics for product packaging. That way, we can reduce carbon emissions. These efforts demonstrate our commitment to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management to make our society more sustainable.
For Singaporean consumers, what do you think is the best product for them to get as an introduction to the brand?
I highly recommend Vegan Airfit Sunscreen SPF 50+ for Singaporean consumers. My hometown Korea is quite dry all year and I look for Vegan Airfit Sunscreen that is hydrating without feeling greasy. When I stay in Singapore, the weather is hot and humid and this sunscreen works perfectly because it is lightweight and doesn’t leave any white cast even when I sweat. In addition, it has strong sun protection with SPF 50+ PA++++.
With its highly edited product offering, is the brand planning to expand its product range in the near future?
Yes, we want to expand our product range in the future. One we’re working on to launch in Singapore is a lightweight tinted sunscreen. After COVID, people want lighter makeup and we think having tinted sunscreen will meet two needs - skincare focus and medium coverage that is good enough to go out when meeting people.
