4.5.6. Skin is steadily moving toward its goal of understanding and delivering on the needs of melanin-rich skin.

Founded in 2020 with a variety of facial skincare essentials, the brand is now introducing three different versions of its Max Glow-Getter Serum and Sevenly Delight Serum, with each version optimized to cater to the needs of a particular skin tone.

“We’ve been working with our community on bridging the research equity gap, and iterating and improving based on consumer feedback — we’re doing the work from the bottom up,” said Noelly Michoux, who cofounded the London-based direct-to-consumer brand with Imen Jerbi Azaiez and Carlos A. Charles.

Along with its existing “universal” line, 4.5.6. Skin goals to introduce skin tone-specific iterations of every product in its collection. These latest variations will cater to skin phototypes IV, V or VI, that are the three darkest skin tones designated by Thomas B. Fitzpatrick’s skin phototype system. The system asserts there are six skin phototypes, each classified by the quantity of melanin they’ve and the way they react to sunlight.

“There was an increased awareness around inclusivity in beauty, but I feel prefer it has mainly benefited makeup,” said Michoux, who goals to assist driving comparable breakthroughs in skincare. “Hyperpigmentation, for instance, is an enormous topic inside the Black community, but the best way it must be addressed varies depending on how much melanin your skin produces — there are nuances there,” Michoux said.

The brand’s latest formulas leverage data and feedback the brand has been collecting since its debut.

“I at all times say: Science is great, but for those who’re not involving the people who find themselves going to be on the receiving end of that science, you’re not quite there,” Michoux said. “While a lot of the feedback we’ve received has been amazing, we’ve also had an excellent 30 percent of individuals coming to us with not-so-great feedback; we realized we want to create gentler formulas that allow people to get results that were type of softer, but more sustained over time. Like with anything with melanin-rich skin, these weren’t straightforward answers.”

A number of the feedback-driven changes the brand has made include swapping retinoids for bakuchiol, and harnessing coenzyme q10, azelaic acid and resorcinol alongside vitamin C for treating hyperpigmentation and brightening.

The brand can be introducing a latest product to its universal line: A hydrating mist called Skin Bouquet, which incorporates vitalized water (which it says penetrates skin cells more effectively), emulsified berry wax, fatty acids and a variety of flower extracts. The mist retails for $38, while Sevenly Delight and Max Glow-Getter are $75 and $65, respectively.

Industry sources estimate that Skin Bouquet and the brand new iterations of Max Glow-Getter and Sevenly Delight could collectively reach $2 million in first-year sales, though Michoux didn’t comment on the estimates.

“I desired to create a brand and a product that made me feel the best way that the industry never made me feel: that I’m placed on a pedestal, that a product was made specifically for me. I would like to say, ‘I see you, I value your unique beauty and I’m working hard to make you are feeling special and unique,’” Michoux said.