Founders of Environ

The introduction of vitamin A into the formulation of skin care products heralded a new era in the treatment of the damaging effects of the sun on the skin. Although some cosmetic houses were using very low doses of vitamin A in their skin care products in the 1980s, Dr. Des Fernandes, a prominent Cape Town, South African plastic surgeon, was the first person in the world to introduce vitamin A in high effective doses. This range established Environ® as a leader in skin care.

The Environ® skin care range was first formulated as a result of Dr. Fernandes' misfortune when he attempted to treat the melanoma of two young patients, who both died before they were twenty-three years old. Such a difficult experience leaves an indelible scar on one's life as a doctor. For this reason, he started to study the mechanism of skin cancer and the skin - and thus Environ® was born.

The cosmetic manufacturing company, Environ Skin Care (Pty) Ltd., was founded by Dr. Fernandes in 1990 and he soon expanded its number of products into a full skin care range. Environ® skin care products are manufactured under strictly controlled laboratory conditions at the Environ® factory in Cape Town, South Africa.

The company is owned and operated by Dr. Des Fernandes and his sister, Mrs. Val Carstens. It now has an extensive distribution network throughout more than 70 countries worldwide.

Dr. Fernandes has specialized in the field of plastic surgery in which he has gained the respect of his international peers. After a long career in the commercial world, Val Carstens joined her brother at Environ Skin Care (Pty) Ltd. as its CEO, bringing with her a wealth of business experience that she has used to engineer and build Environ® into the company it is today.

Owners of DermaConcepts

Carol Trow, B.Sc., RN, began her career as a nurse and later transitioned into the field of professional service marketing as the director of marketing for a Fortune 1,000 company. She went on to start a marketing firm that specializes in practice enhancement for plastic surgeons, cosmetic dermatologists, lawyers and CPAs. Carol has 20 years of experience in the medical skin care field.

Rob Trow is an acknowledged authority on skin care. He has published over 100 articles on skin care covering both the science of serious skin care and practical business solutions to operating a professional skin care practice. Rob speaks frequently on current and emerging topics of interest at national and international meetings, as well as to medical spas, estheticians and physicians. Rob holds a bachelors degree, several masters degrees and did doctorial studies at Harvard University.

Rob and Carol have owned Environ Skin Care - DermaConcepts for over 25 years. Dermaconcepts is the exclusive United States distributor who strives to provide state of the art products and technology that are always two generations ahead of other skin care companies. As the distributor of Environ Skin Care in the United States, we are proud to represent a line which is a world leader in serious, results oriented skin care.