While the Dermalogica story begins in 1986, the force of change in the industry started in Los Angeles, circa 1983. Jane Wurwand, a tenured, United Kingdom-trained skin therapist new to the American “esthetician” industry, recognised that continuing skin and body therapy education was practically non-existent in the United States. While her training had been comprehensive and serious, US students entered the industry licensed yet under-trained, and worse, under-respected.
Jane put her education in action, opening a small classroom in Marina del Rey, California under the name The International Dermal Institute (IDI). She invited licensed skin therapists to get hands-on with the postgraduate training so critical to making them competitive in the business. Today, IDI is considered the international gold-standard for postgraduate skin and body therapy training with 37 locations worldwide.
While teaching at IDI, it didn’t take long for Jane to realize no product line embraced her belief of skin health as opposed to “beauty,” so she developed her own. And in 1986, Dermalogica was born. The vision was clear – a product line free of common irritants and ingredients that could cause breakouts (including lanolin, SD alcohol, mineral oil, artificial colors and fragrances) that would improve skin health, and were only available from qualified skin care professionals trained at The International Dermal Institute.
