SPOOGE is addressing the gap in the med spa space for the younger consumer, at a price point that is more accessible. SPOOGE’s mission is to make sunscreen products more accessible to people and teach people about the importance of sunscreen.
Hillary Schieve and Dr. Whitney Hovenic met when Hillary was looking for a new dermatologist. Schieve is a kidney transplant survivor, which makes it 100 times more likely for her to get skin cancer and requires regular dermatology visits. Both Hovenic and Schieve have backgrounds in public health and public health advocacy. In their quest to provide more access to dermatology and skin health, they developed SPOOGE.
Before developing SPOOGE, Schieve and Hovenic were hosting free skin checks in the community and realizing people weren’t wearing sunscreen because of the look, feel and texture. They set about creating a sunscreen that was formulated that didn’t look, feel or even have a name associated with sunscreen. It took about a year for them to develop SPOOGE.
Hovenic does Mohs surgery and her patients have been getting younger and younger. She says when she first started, she was working on people in their 50s and 60s. Despite education around sunscreen use and proper sun exposure, she is treating patients in their 20s. She says one thing that she sees happening is social media is countering the education around sun exposure and sunscreen use with misinformation.
“We wanted products that made their skin feel really good that would fit seamlessly into their routine, so they almost forget they are wearing sunscreen,” Hovenic says.
SPOOGE, which stands for Shield People Optimally Outdoors Guard Everyone, has sunscreen products that have skincare benefits. Those products include Dew Me, Ghosted, Cheeky, The OG and Face Shots. Dew Me has hyaluronic acid and niacinamide that Schieve says has replaced steps in her skincare regiment. Dew Me is good for use after treatments, like facials and hydra facials, where practitioners want to keep that glow. Ghosted has a cloud-like feel and is not tinted. Cheeky has shimmer and can be used on the body. Face Shots has ceramides and Vitamin E and was developed for harsh mountain environments and people who have dry skin.
SPOOGE is available through 75 Med Spas and retailers. Hovenic says that having SPOOGE available through Med Spas gives practitioners a sunscreen option for their patients to use that is reasonably priced and practitioners know what is in the sunscreen their patients are using. Schieve says that they have noticed that having a line like SPOOGE in the Med Spa gives them a sense of trust between the patient and the dermatology or Med Spa office.
“It really gives the consumer peace of mind when they’re purchasing something from a physician or a Med Spa space and that really makes such a difference because there’s that trust factor,” Schieve says, adding that SPOOGE has dermatology benefits, while still being at an accessible price point.
Schieve and Hovenic say that people who try SPOOGE products say it feels different than other sunscreen products. People who use the product also like the way the products make their skin look and feel. SPOOGE is also gaining popularity among men who don’t normally use sunscreen. Schieve and Hovenic want to be a resource for skin cancer education and skin health education. SPOOGE hosts webinars for estheticians around what to look for on the skin that are signs and symptoms of skin cancer. They are also still doing those skin check pop-ups that started interest in creating the brand.
