Q&A

The science of derma Ayurveda

Farah Bashir, cosmetic formulator and founder of Sachi Skin, tells Josie Jackson about clinical botanicals and why Ayurveda deserves more than a marketing moment

Your background is a cosmetic formulator – how did that evolve into launching your own brand?

“It began with my own skin. In 2001, I had a TCA peel and was severely burnt. At the time, there was very little understanding of how to treat skin of colour, particularly around pigmentation and post-inflammatory marks. That experience made me realise that the people who were supposed to be looking after my skin didn’t necessarily understand it.

“I trained as a facialist in the evenings while working in economics, and my focus was always on caring for people of colour. Later, when I moved to Japan and had my daughter, formulation became even more personal. She was born with more than 30 allergies and had her first anaphylactic shock at six months. I began researching ingredients to help with the sensation of itching and inflammation, and that led me into cosmetic formulation.

“Then, after my son was born, I developed melasma and reacted badly to hydroquinone. I knew there had to be a better approach than relying on aggressive acids or the same legacy actives. Sachi Skin really came from that need to solve problems I couldn’t find proper answers for.”

What are the key Ayurveda principles that translate into skincare?

“For me, Ayurveda is an intelligent medical system, not just a collection of oils or botanicals. The key principle we translate is that skin is dynamic. It changes with stress, hormones, climate, inflammation and age, so I don’t believe in fixed skin types.

“At Sachi Skin, we use a ‘states of skin’ framework. We look at whether skin is in disruption, stagnation, withdrawal, depletion or deep depletion. That allows us to understand how skin behaves under stress rather than simply labelling someone as oily, dry or sensitive.

“The other important part is clinically evidenced botanicals. We work with ingredients such as triphala, ursolic acid, saponins and centella asiatica, but only where there is proper extraction, research and validation behind them.

"Ayurveda has so much intelligence, but it has to be translated into modern, clinically credible formulation.”

Where do you see Ayurveda being misinterpreted or diluted in Western beauty?

“It is often reduced to a marketing veneer – turmeric face masks, pretty oils, or a ‘natural’ story without much substance behind it. That’s what I wanted to move away from.

“Ayurveda shouldn’t be treated as a trend or a decorative reference. These botanicals have a history, a culture and, in many cases, real scientific potential. The World Health Organization has noted that around 40% of modern pharmaceutical drugs have origins in traditional or ancient practices, which shows how much value there is in these systems when they are taken seriously.”

What is Sachi Skin’s point of difference in a crowded market?

“Our first point of difference is the states of skin framework. We are not asking professionals or consumers to think in rigid skin types. We are asking them to look at how the skin is behaving.

“The second is our category: derma Ayurveda. We are not a clean beauty brand, and we are not a purely clinical brand. We combine dermatological science, delivery systems and known actives with clinically supported Ayurvedic botanicals.

“The third is our focus on diverse skin tones. Sachi Skin was created with melanin-rich skin in mind, particularly pigmentation, red marks and post-inflammatory concerns. Many brands still under-deliver here because they don’t fully understand the complexity of pigmentation across different skin tones.”

What should professionals be more critical of when choosing skincare brands?

“They should ask about the clinical validity of botanical ingredients. Not all extracts are equal; there are different grades, different extraction methods and different levels of evidence. If a brand is using a botanical active, professionals should ask: where has it come from, how has it been extracted, and is there research showing it makes a difference in the skin?”

You focus on fewer, multitasking, products than most brands. Why?

“Skin doesn’t need 12 steps. It needs the right actives, layered correctly. Multifunctional formulation is difficult because each product has to work across different skin states. For example, a serum may need to support hydration, redness, barrier repair and pigmentation at once. That makes product development slower and more expensive, but it also makes the routine more useful.

“For professionals, this is important because clients cannot always afford elaborate routines. If you prescribe too many products, you risk losing trust. Fewer, stronger steps are better for the client, the professional relationship and the planet.”

Do you approach your own routine like a formulator or a consumer?

“A bit of both. As a formulator, I test products and I’m always looking at what other brands are doing – the technology, the textures, the ingredient systems. But as a consumer, I still want to enjoy skincare. Texture and experience matter. That said, when it comes to treating my own skin, I stick to what works. I have PCOS, I’m prone to acne and pigmentation, and I know my skin can flare under stress, so there are areas where I don’t experiment.

“I have also avoided most in-clinic treatments for years because I wanted to preserve the integrity of my formulation testing. I needed to know what was working on my skin.”

What has been the hardest part of building Sachi Skin?

“Educating the market on a new category. Derma Ayurveda is not always immediately understood. If I positioned the brand as purely clinical, people would get it faster. Botanicals still don’t always receive the same respect as a synthetic-sounding peptide or active. The challenge has been showing that we have the encapsulation systems, the recognised dermatological ingredients and the clinical results, but we are pairing them with Ayurvedic intelligence in a new way.

“The other challenge is staying true to the brand. It would have been easier to follow the mass-market path – with fast launches and trend-led formulas – but that isn’t what Sachi Skin stands for.”