How Ignae Revolutionized Sustainable Skincare With Rare, Skin-Transforming Botanics and Unprecedented Science
Ignae’s Azores-sourced ingredients harness the mineral-rich and nourishing power of these volcanic islands’ indigenous trees, plants and aquatic life. With hand-collected, nutrient-rich spring water and thousands of botanical species used to create Ignae’s awe-inspiring formulations, you can trust that their products are both intensely effective and remarkably clean.
Ignae prioritizes sustainability, assuring that their process does not deplete or damage ecosystems native to the Islands on which they are harvesting ingredients and producing their products. With absolute reverence for your health, skincare imbued with biodiversity, and protecting the planet from the harmful effects of industry, Ignae is a brand you can trust with your body, beauty and values.
This performance-driven skincare line harnesses the rare skin-transforming natural elements of the Azores with unprecedented biotechnology, able to deliver ingredients that have never been successfully integrated into skincare products before. It is no surprise that Ignae remains an astounding authority on scientific innovation and sustainable, non-toxic beauty.
Brand name: Ignae
Founder: Miguel Pombo
Date founded: 2017
What was the first product you developed and why did you create it?
The first product we created was the Enriched Regeneration Serum. We wanted it to be a supercharged high-performance product for skin and cell regeneration.
What was the inspiration for the line?
It was always the volcanic rich Furnas Valley and the Azores Islands. When we travel abroad and come back to this unique place, we have a better understanding of how special it really is, and how different it is from any other place in the World. So I thought that we really needed to make the most of the natural conditions found in these Islands, because the potential was always here.
What is the brand philosophy?
To explore and enhance the natural ingredients of the Azores Islands with the use of advanced biotechnology.
What is your bestselling product, and why do you think that is?
Day Complex, because it offers a multitude of benefits for most skin types, and can be effectively used as a single “go to” daily product.
What's your favorite product in the line, and why?
I would have to say the Rich Night Serum. It has such a nourishing effect, and when you start seeing the improvement on the quality of your skin after a few days, it’s really easy to get addicted to it.
What makes your brand unique?
The rare combination of biotechnology and bioengineering with the unique, powerful actives from the Azores Islands (our patent-pending liposome factor is able to encapsulate natural actives that would not be able to penetrate the skin otherwise).
What's one surprising thing people might not know about the brand?
I still go in person to the Terra Nostra Garden hot springs at dawn to collect the thermal water we need to manufacture our products, to ensure we only have the purest water.
What do you want people to think of when they think of your brand?
Carefully crafted products that they can trust and that deliver real results.
What was one of the biggest challenges you faced when you launched?
The usual challenges any indie brand faces, but also the disbelief that a brand from the Azores Islands could actually be taken seriously.
How did you know you'd made it as a brand?
When we read that our products had been used by some of the world’s most famous celebrities at the 2018 Met Gala in New York City.
What is your proudest moment as a founder?
Every time I get a call or an email from a customer saying that our products really help their skin.
What can we expect from Ignae in the future? Any exciting news you can share?
We perform our own research and development, which means we are constantly looking into novel ingredients from the Azores Islands. We are now preparing some new, exciting ingredients, which will be incorporated into our upcoming products, mostly derived from micro and macro algae found in the Azores. Also, because Ignae’s birthplace is the Furnas Volcano, we are perfecting some very promising ingredients that come from microorganisms living inside the actual volcano. These microorganisms are some of the first to exist on the planet and thus possess some unique properties that help the skin regenerate from intrinsic and extrinsic aggression factors, and we believe this will be a huge breakthrough.
Why did you decide to launch this brand?
When I was working for a consultancy in Brussels, back in 2009, and learning about cosmetic ingredients’ regulations, I started realizing that we had many similar ingredients in the Azores Island which were ignored. That was the spark that made me want to move back to the Azores and launch Ignae.
What made you want to be in the beauty industry?
Making the Azores Islands’ properties known to the world, while helping people feel better about themselves.
What has been your biggest struggle as a founder?
Making sure that we are always at the forefront of scientific research and making the most of the ingredients at our disposal in the Azores Islands.