Founder of Mark Los Angeles uses expertise in HIV treatments to develop plant-based skin care

27 Jun 2024 --- Mark Los Angeles tackles acne-prone skin by utilizing the founder’s background in co-inventing therapies to combat the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. 

Founder Mark Menning speaks to Personal Care Insights about how his experience with developing HIV treatments helped create the skin care brand.

Menning worked on life-saving drugs such as Truvada and Atripla at Gilead Sciences and later founded Nucleo Life Sciences, which creates solutions for drug delivery and tackles challenges such as solubility and bioavailability.

“I was struggling with my own personal skin care challenges, as well as a cancer experience that heightened my scrutiny of product ingredients and lack of ingredient transparency. I found that my work at Nucleo translated particularly well into skin care, leading me to create Mark Los Angeles in 2023, where we’re able to leverage these drug delivery technologies to innovate and challenge conventional treatment paradigms,” explains Menning. 

Delivering acne solutions
Mark Los Angeles developed its patent-pending Transdermal Flavosomes (XDF) system, which delivers plant flavonoids and other “beneficial ingredients” to the skin through its novel liposomal skin care delivery system “without harming skin cells or dangerous side effects.”

Mark Menning released his own skin care brand to help consumers feel confident in their skin.Stemming from Menning’s background in HIV treatment, Mark calms down key cellular signaling pathways, knocking down inflammation markers and targeting the symptoms caused by acne and other inflammatory skin conditions.

“XDF technology enhances the solubility and skin delivery of flavonoids such as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and quercetin. These compounds are specifically chosen for their ability to inhibit acne-causing bacteria, reduce inflammation and redness, stimulate skin repair and protect against environmental damage, making them highly effective against acne and other inflammation-related skin conditions,” says Menning.

The company uses XDF in its EQ Clear Skin Collection, which exfoliates, cleanses, protects, moisturizes and “rescues” the skin from symptoms of inflammation, acne and other environmental factors. The series does not contain parabens, phthalates, laurel or laureth sulfate, artificial colors or synthetic fragrances.

“The EQ Clear Skin Collection is changing the landscape of naturally derived skin care with its scientifically grounded formulas,” Menning continues.

“Plant flavonoids are a vast group of compounds found in superfoods like green tea, grapes and berries, exhibit powerful antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties, though their benefits are often limited when ingested due to low solubility, leading to poor bioavailability.”

Competitor comparison
The EQ Clear Skin Collection is delivered through XDF and is made to penetrate deep into the skin to reduce inflammation breakouts and soothe skin, which the company says makes it more effective than competitor solutions. 

“Not only do the treatments fight impurities and promote skin repair, but they’re also effective in protecting against environmental aggressors and repairing and rejuvenating skin damaged by UV radiation, pollution, and other stressors,” asserts Menning.

“Our brand aims to do more with less. We focus on powerful actives, very targeted delivery, and only the necessary ingredients with no fillers. This ethos is applied to all aspects of MARK Los Angeles, including formulations and optimal product lines. We accomplish with four products what others do with six.”

By Sabine Waldeck