Audrey Ajakaye created Mind the Skin out of necessity. She has been dealing with eczema for most of her life and she was looking for something that would give her the same effects as a wet wrap without the mess involved in wet wrapping her skin when her eczema flared. The skin condition causes inflammation, dry skin and severe itching. It can often appear on the skin as rashes, blisters and scaly patches. According to the National Eczema Association, there are seven types of eczema: atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, dyshidrotic eczema, neurodermatitis, nummular eczema, seborrheic dermatitis and stasis dermatitis.
Audrey Ajakaye is the Founder and CEO of Mind the SkinMind the Skin
Mind the Skin is a system of skin patches that will help with the itch and help heal the skin. The patches target the stages of eczema: pre flare, active flare and post flare. The patches come in Signal for pre-flare, Surge for active flare and Reset for post-flare. The patches come in different sizes to cover the size of the flare during the cycle. For instance, the active flare patch is the largest because that is when the flare is at its largest and the post-flare patch is a little smaller to cover a smaller surface area of the skin.
“What I found is that if you’re able to target all three of those stages of the flare, you can hopefully heal the flare faster, as well as hopefully keep the flare from coming back in the same annoying spots that a lot of us eczema sufferers often face,” she said.
Ajakaye said that it took her five years to get Mind the Skin from idea to completion. She had to find a manufacturer that would work well. All three of the patches are made out of three different types of materials. The pre-flare patches are made out of hydrogel, the active flare patches are made out of hydrocolloid and the post-flare patches are made out of microneedles. She said that to find a manufacturer that could make patches out of those different materials, while infusing them with active ingredients was a battle. Once she found the manufacturer, testing had to be done to ensure the patches were safe for skin and shelf stable. She said she couldn’t be happier with the end result because it is exactly what she envisioned, a brand that stood out from typical flare care.
The Signal pre-flare patch has niacinamide, ceramide complex, hyaluronic acid and Centella Asiatica to cool down the skin and counteract the skin issues. She said the pre-flare patch is an proactive approach to the flare cycle. The Surge active flare patch has zinc oxide, Centella Asiatica and Madecassoside, ectoin and beta-glucan to help with skin barrier repair, visible redness and maintaining cellular hydration. She said a lot of the ingredients in the active flare patch are focused on skin barrier repair because when the skin is in active flare the skin barrier is broken.
The Reset post-flare patch has glutathione and tranexamic acid, niacinamide, centella asiatica, ascorbyl glucoside and kojic acid to target discoloration and hyperpigmentation and helps to restore an even skin tone, while rebuilding the skin’s structure resilience and improve the skin’s texture. She said those actives ensure the flares won’t come in the same area, which she said is a major pain point for people who have eczema.
Mind the Skin comes in Signal, Surge and ResetMind the Skin
Each box has eight patches in it. People can use one pre flare and one active flare patch every day for eight hours. For the signal pre flare patch, people need around 3-4 patches for their skin issues to resolve. With the active flare patch, some saw their flare resolves in three days and some people needed seven to eight days for their skin to resolve. For the post flare patch, which people can use every 2-3 days, it will last 2-3 weeks. The flare will typically resolve with use of all eight patches in the box.
Ajakaye said the response from people who have used Mind the Skin has been overwhelmingly positive. She said orders have come from 48 states in the U.S. and 30 countries around the world. She said what gives her joy is that people have reached out to her to tell her that the patches have helped them sleep through the night. She said that people who have eczema the itch can keep them awake at night. She said people are finally finding relief and are happy to not have to use a steroidal solution.
“We are there to be an adjunct targeted solution for them and they are happy about that,” she said. She added that pediatricians and dermatologists are using the patches. The products are safe for use on young children.
Ajakaye said that people are reordering since it was launched in April. She added that people who are reordering are ordering multiples when they do. She said she is happy about the community she is building with Mind the Skin and pleased with the way the company is revolutionizing flare care. She said the company wants to give people with eczema the framework and tools to identify their flare and support them.
