You wouldn’t argue with a Harvard-trained plastic surgeon about skincare, now, would you?
And the same holds true for his or her choice of anti-aging products.
Enter RéVive, the luxury brand created by Gregory Brown, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon and the author of “About Face: A Plastic Surgeon’s 4-Step Nonsurgical Program for Younger, Beautiful Skin.”
He founded RéVive on the principles of physiology, coupled with years of research about the growth patterns of skin cells.
WAG met with Brown at Neiman Marcus Westchester in White Plains, where the Southern charmer — a Kentucky transplant to SoHo — discussed the ins and outs of the line. Like so many good things, its foundation came together serendipitously.
“About 30 years ago now, I was in training and I was very interested in the way burns heal,” Brown said. “It was the beginning of (skincare) technology, as human proteins were just being made synthetically for the first time.”
Brown closely analyzed cell renewal, which led to him to realize that damage from burns and aging were both rooted in slower cell turnover.
“For wounds to heal faster and for (the effects of) aging skin to be stabilized or reversed, the physiology is very similar, because you have to stimulate cell renewal,” he said. Enter EFG (Epidermal Growth Factor), a synthetic protein that does just that.
When the protein was applied to burns, the skin would heal faster. And when used to reduce the signs of aging — like fine lines, dark spots and under-eye puffiness — they would gradually reverse, without the need for invasive surgery.
“The older the person was, the more the (cell turnover) increased,” Brown said.
Soon after, he patented the idea of growth factors as anti-aging properties and began concocting makeshift skincare products, which he offered his patients. Through the grapevine, others learned of Brown’s elixirs and grew interested, which led to their commercial availability at Neiman Marcus in 1997 for a three-year exclusive. Brown is now celebrating his 20th anniversary with the luxe retailer.
Time has helped not only to commercialize Brown’s skincare line but to perfect it. With the use of new technologies, he has been able to identify the active part of a protein and use only this portion in his products for faster results.
“I tell people that it’s like a semi-truck, which is the whole protein, while the wheels are the active fragments that make it go,” he said.
Different active proteins have also joined the RéVive family, including distinct ones for volume and firming.
“The technology has improved and bioengineering has improved,” Brown said. “So we’ve gotten more specific peptides.”
And come spring 2018, RéVive plans to introduce new products that combine volumizing and line erasing for the eye.
“Most people, by the time they get to be 30, have enough volume loss that you can see a demarcation from the lower lid to the cheek. So it’ll help with that, as well as fine lines,” he said.
But in the meantime, Brown — who believes in a natural, nourishing glow — suggests that less is always more.
“I think people can do too much and exhaust the skin,” he said.” “The best anti-aging cream anybody can have is a sunscreen…. And just simple moisturizing is anti-aging.”
RéVive offers treatments for blemish control, dark circles and puffiness, dark spots, fine lines and wrinkles, firming, radiance, sun protection, uneven skin tone and volume loss for the face and body. RéVive products are available at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys and Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as in smaller, niche boutiques, including Bluemercury. For more, visit reviveskincare.com or neimanmarcus.com.
