Interview with Vivier founder, Jess Vivier

If you’re one of our beloved FAB readers then you know by now that I swear by Vivier Pharma products. They give results. And, I was lucky enough to chat with the founder, Jess Vivier!

Jess is a Chemical Engineering Technologist who has been working solely in pharma since beginning his career in 1976. He founded Vivier in 1997, which sold their very first product in January 2000.

“In pharma our goal is to provide results in every product we market. Otherwise a company sells false promises and consumer gets nothing in return for their good hard earned money. I call this dishonesty.

Having said this, now you know our raison d’être. Results. 

In real estate they say, Location, Location, Location.

At Vivier we say Results, Results, Results.
In fact our company tag line is “The Beauty of Results” which is now our trademark.” – Jess Vivier

Because I’m a true Vivier Pharma groupie and have a wikipedia amount of questions for you, I’ll get right to it without trying to fan-girl too much. I’ve heard rumours of how some members of the Vivier family would gather around the kitchen table creating new skincare formulas together. Please tell me more.

Actually that is not what happened. My very good partner, and associate is a pharmacist and is an expert in formulating either drug or non-drug products. He and I collaborated together and we co-invented our current formulations for our Vitamin-C.  What happened around kitchen table was that my family worked diligently in the packaging of the products.

This only lasted for a few batches and then the process was taken over by manufacturing facility.

All of our formulations are designed by our formulator and I, and our formulator does lab batch for our testing. We go through rigorous testing with our R&D group.

Nothing goes to market unless I’m 100% satisfied and that our products have met our testing standards. About 15 of them, not to mention clinicals.

Because we were not know by anyone, we would give samples of our Vitamin C Serums and people were saying ‘wow, I can see a difference’ and ‘I love these Serums’. This type of feedback motivated us to make more great products that deliver visible results. This our raisin d’être, our motivation and our passion.

Well, I for one am thankful for that passion for great skincare products. To date, what products are you most proud of creating?

Actually I’m proud of every product we made. But I must confess the new and patented GrenzCine products we are making and the new V-STAT Advanced Scar Gel we are launching next month is a new discovery in Dermatology backed by 30 years in research by Plastic Surgeon Dr. Dolynchuk who did his Ph.D. in Polyamines and made several discoveries. 

Since there has been no new discoveries in 20 years in Dermatology, I believe this may be the best and most innovative anti-aging and skin care repair molecule in the next decade and will be Vivier Pharma’s legacy.

That’s HUGE. I’ll try to be patient for next month. Until then, it’s widely known that Ascorbic Acid is highly unstable, yet is wonderful for rejuvenating skin. How did that particular patent for Vivier come about? IE How many trials & errors? How many grey hairs & sleepless nights with pints of ice cream?

Great question. In fact that’s actually a key question that will answer many questions. {Vivier prides itself on} pharma standards and pharma quality!

Well there are several grades of L-Ascorbic Acid;

Pharma grade which is denoted by USP which is on all our packaging. USP is United States Pharmacopeia which is the world standard for drugs. All of your medications, cough syrup, birth control pills, cancer drugs, antibiotics are all USP grade.

So we use L-Ascorbic Acid USP which is 99.9% pure. Which is pharma grade. Therefore a 10% L-Ascorbic Acid USP = 10% L-Ascorbic Acid.

Then there is cosmeceutical grade L-Ascorbic Acid generally found in the form of an ester.

A 10% Vitamin-C ester will = about 5% L-AA.

Then there is food grade.

A 10% Vitamin C = about 2.5% L-AA.

So if you buy Vitamin C buy USP grade.

Mlle FAB: I need to repeat that for our readers: spend your hard earned pennies on the USP GRADE of Vitamin C as the potency of the ingredient is what gives the result.

Now you know why our products provide results because we use pharma USP grade. The reason why companies don’t use USP grade is because they cannot stabilize it. This is why we have a patent on our L-AA USP.

If someone is brand new to serums, what would you recommend starting with or making the splurge for?

The best is GrenzCine Serum but expensive. C E PEPTIDES is also a great product.

Now for skincare nitty gritty:

If someone likes to workout first thing in the am, besides sunscreen what exactly should go on the face before heading out the door?

I guess you can cleanse, tone and do everything as usual, however it’s best to do all your skincare regime after exercise. 

For retinol users, is using an exfoliant important or not?

If you are using retinol, you don’t need to exfoliate but can {though} no more than once per week.

For youthful glowing skin, what do you recommend our FAB readers should have in their skincare arsenal? IE moisturiser, sunscreen, flower offerings to Aphrodite, etc.

GrenzCine Serum. It’s the best. It will give better and more longer lasting results cost-effectively. 

Like many of us, I bow to anti-aging products, especially those that give results hence why I’m a Vivier nutbar as it’s the only line where I’ve seen actual results for myself – merci beaucoup!

So, I am very curious about the GrenzCine serum. What makes GrenzCine different from anything else that’s currently on the skincare market be it Vivier or otherwise?

GrenzCine Serum is so special because it’s a new discovery. {Backed} by 30 years of research. It’s the only patented product for thin skin. It works to thicken the epidermis and epidermal-dermal junction.  Also, Vitamin C helps to produce collagen in dermis. So all layers of skin gets treated. Plus, it helps to reduce trans epidermal water loss (TEWL). Skin is thicker, younger looking and more luminous.

Who is it best suited for? IE could a mid-20s start using it or is that too young?

Anyone who is concerned with thin skin, exfoliates regularly, using lasers, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, microneedling, post-Breast radiation; anything that thins the skin.

Why did it take 30 years to create?

Good question. Sometimes research takes years and years to study many aspects and, even at that, sometimes nothing comes out of it. That’s why they call it a discovery.

Makes complete sense. And I can’t wait to try GrenzCine serum for myself – story to come, FAB readers!
Judging from the launch of the GrenzCine serum, it’s apparent that Vivier is always striving for the best innovation in their products. Is Vivier currently working on anything?

Yes, we have an active R&D pipeline. Our R&D is always kept as private & confidential.  We don’t want competition to learn what we do. It takes 2 to 3 years to develop a new product. 

Well, after the results I’ve personally experienced, I will always keep my eye on Vivier’s product launches!

What a treat to pick one of the genius minds of Vivier Pharma. A massive merci beaucoup to Jess Vivier for giving us a peek behind the beautiful magic skincare curtain that is Vivier.

I invite you to try anything from the brand because like the trademark company tag line says, Vivier gives everyone The Beauty of Results.

Bisous,
Mlle Fab Skin

xo