Entrepreneur
Why less is more when it comes to skincare
How multi-use products could simplify skincare and tackle over-consumption
The skin is a direct mirror of how our body feels. Why not simplify our skincare routine and reduce waste, asks Pontine Paus, investor and entrepreneur.
Skincare products have the largest market share of all beauty industry segments and reports have shown that ‘skinimalism’ has various benefits.
Pontine Paus, entrepreneur and founder of Dr Lipp, says: “Indeed, the focus and knowledge we have today on how to live a healthy life has increased. It’s definitely good that we have this knowledgeable and know how to look after our skin, but I think it’s bad that we’re still using too many products that are not necessarily making a big a difference, but cause a lot of pollution in the world.”
Paus has launched her skincare brand 18 years ago when the multitude of brands and social media platforms we have today did not exist.
She started off with the original nipple balm that later became the signature product of the brand. “I used to have a lot of dry skin and a lot of eczema myself and I couldn’t find anything that worked until somebody said ‘why don’t you try some nipple balm’”, Paus remembers.
“I started doing a lot of research and there was just one ingredient, that’s been around since ancient Greek times and that is lanolin. So, I had this idea of taking the nipple balm out of the breastfeeding market and introducing it into the beauty market,” the founder explains.
Her main aim was to build a brand in which every product was multi-use with a maximum of 10 ingredients. “The average is 30 to 40 ingredients. So, we’ve reduced that massively. That’s probably the most effective and most important contribution that we can make when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint and helping with the biodiversity. I think if we can all consume more consciously, then that will have a big long-term impact.”
The nipple balm was just the start of her commitment to offer multi-use products in order to simplify people’s skincare routine and encourage a minimalistic approach.
“There are some great creams to help reduce wrinkles and pigmentation, for example, but the basic daily products, like hand cream, body lotion or any other cream, could all be one. In terms of washing, your makeup remover, your shampoo, your body wash, your shaving cream gel could all be one,” she says.
“I feel very strongly about the waste we’re creating and the big floating islands of plastic in the ocean,” she continues. “I’m horrified by how much rubbish every household produces every week, and where that goes and equally horrified about how polluted our food and water systems are. So, as a brand owner, I really looked at how to really make a difference.”
Statistics report that 120 billion units of packaging are produced every year by the global cosmetics industry, including lids, multi-layered boxes and cellophane that are most of the time non-recyclable.
“Everybody’s getting becoming more aware [of the environmental impacts], but we’ve got to think differently,” the founder insists. “Brands have got to offer products that reduce our waste rather than just recycling them. Nobody’s going to make it perfect, but we can improve on where we are at.”
With Latin words governing long ingredient lists, simple multi-use products can also give consumers a better understanding of what they are putting on their skin, the entrepreneur tells me. “I wanted something simple and 100 per cent natural,” she says. “A lot of brands do natural, but there’s no real big brands out there that do 100 per cent natural. But I think when it comes to these basic steps in our daily life, it’s much easier to make things simple.”
Paus’ hope is that more companies will come up with compostable packaging in the future.
“It would really make a huge difference, but sadly, the technology isn’t there yet. I hope at least we at Dr Lipp could make everything much simpler for both the people and the environment.”
Shop: The best-selling multi-use products from Dr Lipp
Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm £12
Dr Lipp Superfood Tint Pack for Lips Cheeks and Eyelids £18
Medtech startup Peripear has won an Innovate UK award for developing a wearable designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.
The Oxford-based company is developing a hands-free warm compress device for use on the perineum during the second stage of labour.
Peripear describes its product as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.
The device is intended to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.
Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant.
The funding will support further product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.
Nina van Schaick, co-founder and chief operating officer of Peripear and midwife, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.
“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.
“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.
“I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.
“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”
Entrepreneur
Applications close August 18 for Women’s Health Innovation Summit 2026 Innovation Showcase
The Women’s Health Innovation Summit (WHIS) has reminded startups that applications for its 2026 Innovation Showcase close on Tuesday, August 18.
The Showcase gives early and growth-stage companies the opportunity to pitch live on stage to the most influential audience in women’s health, at a summit that convenes more than 1,000 senior decision-makers from across the ecosystem, including payers, providers, pharma, and investors.
Now in its eighth year, WHIS takes place October 13–15, 2026 at Encore Boston Harbor.
The event has built a reputation as the leading platform uniting the full women’s health ecosystem, from health systems and health plans to pharmaceutical leaders and the investors funding the next wave of innovation in the space.
A Direct Line to Funding, Partnerships and Adoption
Companies selected for the Innovation Showcase will present directly to an audience with the capital, clinical expertise and commercial relationships to move deals forward.
Past participants have gone on to secure investor introductions, commercial partnerships and clinical collaborations that started as presentations on the WHIS stage and turned into signed agreements.
Applications Reviewed by an Expert Selection Committee
Submissions are being reviewed by a selection committee of leading investors and industry operators, including:
- Parambir Bhangu, Executive Director, External Innovation & Emerging Science, Organon
- Elizabeth Bailey, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Foreground Capital
- Karla Loken, Founder, Loken and Associates
- Mané Mikayelyan, Associate Partner, DeciBio
- Anna Valcheva, Founder, Managing Director & CEO, Astra Ventures
- Azin Radsan van Alebeek, Co-founder & General Partner, Emmeline Ventures
WHIS is where the women’s health ecosystem comes together to get deals done,” said Poppy Howard-Wall, Event Director of WHIS.
How to Apply
Early and growth-stage companies across digital health, therapeutics, diagnostics, med device and consumer health are encouraged to apply before the August 18 deadline.
Full details and the application form are available at whisusa.com/attend/start-ups.
Women’s Health Week Europe 2026 has released its fully populated speaker and session lineup ahead of the event’s return to The Emirates Stadium in London on 7–8 October, with 80+ speakers now confirmed across two dedicated stages.
The programme
The agenda runs across two dedicated stages in parallel, plus two pitch competitions across both days.
The Global Stage opens with a keynote from Merete Clausen (EIF) before moving into sessions on funding trends, AI, the gender data gap, the wearable revolution, and European policy.
Standout sessions include The Age of Digital TransformAItion featuring Nichole Young-Lin (Google), Frida Polli (MIT), and Sapna Shah (Sie Ventures); Lone Wolf or Pack Leader on collaboration versus fragmentation, with Eirini Rapti (Inne), Tatum Getty (Thena Capital), Novo Nordisk, and Jen Roberts-Woods (Borski Fund); and a live debate on whether the women’s health label helps or hinders founders. Day one closes with a keynote from Alison Cave, Chief Safety Officer at the MHRA.
The Scale Stage runs a practical playbook track in parallel, with sessions covering regulatory approval pathways, international expansion, the founder’s legal playbook, PR strategy, and implementing AI into a women’s health business.
The Reverse Pitch flips the usual format: investors and corporates pitch the room on what they are actively looking to fund, acquire, or partner on right now.
Register here and receive a 15% discount on tickets. Redeem with code FEMTECHWORLD
Pitch competitions
The WHW Europe pitch competitions are back, taking place in front of the audience across both days on the mainstage. 16 finalists will compete across two categories: Consumer & Tech on day 1 and Medical Devices & Therapeutics on day 2.
Any company treating a condition that affects women exclusively, differently, or disproportionately is eligible to apply.
Applications and close 28 August 2026.
Previous alumni include Circe, who secured £100k from Innovate UK, BoobyBiome, who closed a £2.5M seed round post-WHW Europe, and Amilis, who secured £1M at London Tech Week after winning at WHW USA 2026.
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