To Chris Christenberry, healthcare executive and entrepreneur, acquiring Rejuvaskin® in 2016 was more than just becoming the CEO of a company. For him, it was the chance to be involved with the process of skin healing for thousands of people worldwide. Talking with him, you can feel the energy he has for his work. He actually ends every conversation about Rejuvaskin by asking, “Are you excited? Man, I’m excited about this.”
Well, today we were excited because we got to sit down with him and hear about Rejuvaskin behind the scenes, what this company means to him, and what he has planned for the next five years.
Tell us a little about your professional background and what you were involved with before Rejuvaskin.
I have been in the healthcare industry for 30 years working in both public and private companies. After gaining corporate experience in Europe building international sales and marketing teams for medical devices, I built several healthcare businesses. These businesses range from a national chain of imaging clinics, to a revenue cycle management company, to a healthcare IT firm, and a fast growing healthcare marketing company. Everything I have done has been medical based.
Why were you initially interested in the skincare industry?
Personally, I’m fair skinned, live in Florida, and have a history of skin cancer in my family. Skin healing is important to me and my friend and business partner, Paulo Santos, knew this.
Paulo and I have worked and enjoyed a friendship together for over 15 years. We share many interests and a mutual respect. Our conversations could range from the effect of a certain vitamin to an upcoming triathlon we want to compete in. He had been a customer for Scar Heal under its previous ownership and when the opportunity for new ownership arose, he came to me because he knew this would be a cause I was interested in working on. Scar Heal is now Rejuvaskin, but our family of products are now branded under both names.
Consumers have so many options when it comes to choosing skin care. What makes Rejuvaskin unique?
Rejuvaskin isn’t trying to compete with cosmetic companies, because we’re not a not a cosmetic company. We are a skin healing company. You won’t see us offering mascara but we're interested in healing our largest organ. We’re specific for a reason, because it is the origin of what we know and what our backgrounds are in. We pay attention to detail when it comes to creating products and we’re interested in connecting with our customers, whether that be through social media or in person.
What has been the most surprising thing about working in the Skincare industry?
What really surprises me are some of the ingredients that big name companies are putting into their products. There are a lot of products that have ingredients that I wouldn’t want on my skin, and they’re charging hundreds of dollars for it as well. My advice to customers would be to do some research on what the products you see in commercials actually have in them before you purchase them. For example, Vitamin C is an ingredient that needs to be delivered to the skin in the right way for it to be effective and although this ingredient is listed in a lot of products, it isn’t always guaranteed to be delivered to the skin directly.
To me, it doesn’t matter how pretty your packaging is if your product doesn’t have the right substance. Substance should always come first.
Where do you find inspiration for new products?
First, I want to say that I believe any skincare regimen should be simple. Maybe it’s because I’m a typical guy, but I want things be simple for our customers. Second, I think natural ingredients are the best. I want our customers to know how much emphasis is being put on selecting the right ingredients, so that each product will be effective. I’ve done a lot of research and read a lot of clinical literature to stay up to date on what has been proven to work, not to mention I have a team of scientists and people who have been in this industry for years to back me up.
What kind of stories do you love hearing from customers?
I love the feedback we’re getting on our Rejuvaskin products. I love when people write to us and say that a certain product has changed their life. My daughter is in her 20’s and uses Rejuvaskin’s products. When she came to me and said that she and her friends really liked the texture and results of the products, I knew I had something here because she’s not the type to just say that for bonus points!
Where do you see Rejuvaskin in the next few years?
We’re going to make this company big. We’re in 60+ countries currently, and I think that says that the world has a need for the products we're offering. I think I would like to focus on expanding the customer base in the U.S. but also continue to ship to as many countries as we can.
We just unveiled our new Advanced Stretch Mark Creme and are now working on more medically directed products for burn scars. Later we will also put out a moisturizer that goes along with our anti-aging line. We also want to develop a physician exclusive line. It hasn’t been an easy road to get here, but I believe in what we’re doing. When I find something I’m passionate about, I jump into it 100% and try to learn as much as I can about it. I feel like I have a good grasp on where we are and where we want to go…... Are you excited about this? Man, I’m excited about this.
We’re excited Chris!
Rejuvaskin can be contacted at customerservice@scarheal.com or 888-SCARHEA(L) and any one of its representatives would be happy to offer advice, recommend a product or set up a shipment for you no matter what country you reside in. You can also shop for our scar heal products and anti-aging products online.
