How was Alaena born? Can you tell us the whole story?
Sylvie Peres : In the 2000s, I heard about chemical compounds that were carcinogenic and toxic to human reproduction. A group of scientists and ecologists met at UNESCO for the symposium " Cancer, Environment, and Society ," concluding that the development of many diseases was linked to environmental degradation.
I then gradually made my conversion to organic, first for food, then I became interested in cosmetics. As a dermatologist, I receive dozens of patients who ask me about cosmetics. It is essential for me to review my practice and eliminate all questionable chemical ingredients: parabens, silicones, endocrine disruptors, nano-particles...
I then began by remaking masterful preparations in pharmacies, selecting the best natural ingredients. I quickly noticed the results on my patients, their skin regaining suppleness and radiance. Then one day, my daughter Anne, who had been testing my preparations at home since the beginning, suggested I create our own cosmetic range. We wanted to offer a different kind of cosmetology. Convinced that nature can open up the field of possibilities for high-performance cosmetics, for healthy beauty.
photo: Sandrine Iratçabal
What is your background, Anne?
Anne Peres: After completing my entire schooling in Biarritz, I went to Paris to study. I took a preparatory class and joined an engineering school, Centrale Paris, where I followed a path focused on entrepreneurship. In my final year of school, I joined my father's project, a cosmetic surgeon in Biarritz who wanted to create a spa attached to his medical practice to offer a complete treatment program to his patients. I had done an internship in a large cosmetics group, and I was interested in the world of care. We developed this project together and opened the Alaena Spa in 2015.
Alaena is actually the name my father came up with by combining the first names of his three daughters: Alaia, Hélène, and Anne. While opening the spa, I realized there was a real need for products that were both effective and safe, with a growing demand for natural products. And then I turned to my mother. I suggested we create our own cosmetics line using all her knowledge of skin and its needs.
We started from the masterful preparations she made for her patients and developed soft textures and subtle fragrances. This is how Alaena was born, the first organic cosmetics brand developed by a dermatologist.
photo: Anik Labreigne
How do you work together?
Sylvie : Anne and I decide together, based on feedback from our customers, how the range should evolve and the benefits we want to target. I then delve into bibliographic research to find natural and innovative ingredients. Once we have selected these ingredients, we work with the laboratory to develop textures that are tested by the whole family, but also by our friends, my loyal patients, and the practitioners at Spa Alaena. Once the formula is established, we conduct laboratory tests to prove its effectiveness.
Generally speaking, I try not to talk about work outside of our meetings, to respect our personal lives, but often for the subjects that we are passionate about, it doesn't work, and spontaneity is also welcome. With Anne, we have very different personalities, very complementary. It's nice because she knows me well. She has learned to manage my creative side, accept my demands regarding the safety of the ingredients we use and my excesses in respecting environmental standards.
She trusts me in the R&D field, and I have great admiration for her hard work: managing production, communications, and the Alaena Spa is a lot to take on. Sometimes I wish she were more carefree, but I don't have all the skills to relieve her of certain tasks.
Anne : We work closely together but have very distinct missions. We have different backgrounds, and I have complete confidence in her extensive knowledge of skin and the cosmetic ingredients needed to thrive. She's responsible for researching new, innovative ingredients like sprouted seeds and creating our skincare rituals for each skin concern.
photo: Liora Basse
Anne: For my part, thanks to my engineering studies, I'm in charge of both production and marketing of the Alaena range. I'm more comfortable with new digital tools, which I also manage with our team.
We also have very different personalities: she is very creative, very curious, she can spend a lot of time digging into a subject, reading numerous scientific publications to try to understand the microbiota for example.
I admire all of her knowledge and dedication to running her dermatology practice and research for Alaena at the same time. For my part, I'm quite efficient and organized when it comes to implementing a comprehensive project. We complement each other very well, even if that also means we sometimes have big debates!
You are very committed to protecting nature and the ocean. How did this awareness come about?
Sylvie : I'm from a generation that still had a strong connection with nature. For those who didn't live in the countryside like me, they returned there on vacation. I saw nature deteriorate, the fields surrounded by hedges where I picked flowers and gathered wild strawberries being razed. The countryside has been transformed. The fields now resemble vast, uniform carpets. The rivers where I fished with my father no longer have any life. What child can still go butterfly hunting? I accepted it at first as something inevitable, but in the 2000s, when I understood that after the little birds and fish were disappearing, it would be our children's turn, I mobilized.
I started by changing our lifestyle at home, then I wanted to take action by getting involved in an association fighting against bathing water pollution. With fellow doctors, we also created an association called Santé Environnement, a new discipline that studies the impact of pollution on our health. The creation of the Alaena range is an extension of these commitments.
Anne : Since we were little, my sisters and I have spent a lot of time in the water. We grew up in Bidart, just above the sea, and we started surfing at the age of 5. It was my mother who first became aware of the need to protect the sea, I think so that we could continue to enjoy its beauty but also to protect ourselves. She then passed this awareness on to us. We have also been eating organic at home for a very long time; we had a basket of seasonal, locally produced vegetables every week. This was a pioneer 15 years ago; today, I am very grateful for the awareness she had very early on and the education she gave us.
When we created Alaena, it was obvious to develop biodegradable formulas and recyclable packaging, to have the lowest possible impact on the environment.
After Anne, Alaia joins the Alaena adventure, what does it mean for you to work with family?
I'm so glad Alaia is back. She didn't live her life in Australia! One girl on the other side of the world is enough ;)
Working as a family is wonderful and exciting. My daughters share with me the energy of their youth, pushing me to develop a part of my professional life, something I would never have done without them. It was in the making, and my daughters push me to achieve my full potential; it's the world upside down!
After 20 years of practice, I knew what I wanted (and didn't want), but to create the Alaena range, you need all the know-how of an engineer like Anne, and now, thanks to Alaia, I'm immersing myself in micronutrition, an essential basis for comprehensive dermatological care. I'm pushing my knowledge of the plant world further; it's fascinating.
Finally, with Maison Alaena in Paris, Alaia is preparing a real cocoon for us and I love discussing cooking and decorating ideas with her.