Q & A with Sue Dann
Omniderm was formed in 1996 to chart a course through the sea of promising but at times overwhelming skin care. The company set out to source the best results-driven and science backed skin care from around the world. Being extremely selective all brands under the Omniderm umbrella strive to be kind to nature, backed by science and satisfaction driven.
After twenty years the company thrives on success stories and good skin health making sure customer service is at the forefront of the business. OmniDerm today is considered one of the main suppliers of professional skin care to the Australian market. Its brands, products, training and support have resulted in successful partnerships with a large number of skin care clinics, medi-spas and medical cosmetic clinics in every state of Australia.
Who is Sue Dann?
The day Sue Dann decided to leave the UK to settle in Cairns is the day Australia gained a dedicated “skin whisperer”. Those she has touched have christened Sue Dann affectionately as a “miracle worker” and a “skin genius with a touch of an angel’.
Not one to gloat or rest on her laurels Sue started her career in 1978 at a beauty school in Guilford near London. After heading up a leading salon in Bath she started her own business. In 1998 Sue uprooted her whole family and moved to sunny Cairns. She started making a mark and in successive years she opened two successful salons. Sue celebrated the use of acids like most of the industry then.
A chance meeting with Omniderm in 2002 changed all that. Experiencing the effects of herbal peeling combined with Dr Spiller’s unique formulations shook the foundations of what she had come to know about skin care and beauty therapy. The change she saw in herself and in her clients convinced her that what she had been prescribing for her customers needed a rethink.
She immediately switched her game plan and started using and preaching about the wonders of Dr Spiller. Two years later she sold her salons and moved to Melbourne to take up a position in sales and training with OmniDerm and the rest, as they say, is history.
Today Sue is no longer “a best kept secret”. She is an in demand educator, trainer and facialist. Clients, celebrity and otherwise cannot get enough of her sound yet practical advice and common sense solutions to skin health. To say she is engaging, passionate and dedicated does not do justice to how Sue feels about Dr Spiller and managing skin health. She is happiest when she is able to guide anyone along the proper path to skin rejuvenation.
What is your earliest memory of skin care?
I can still hear my mum telling me to always moisturise and pay close attention to what’s in the bottle and how is it helping your skin – wise words.
What is the most important thing about healthy skin? Why?
Your skin reflects how you lead your life – so have a balanced lifestyle. Make sure you don’t strip the skin of its acid mantle. Balance is key and oil is fundamental to the skin’s eco system so stripping it is not an option.
How has your skin care regime changed since you first started in beauty?
Before stumbling upon Dr spiller I was like most people a slave to acids, AHA’s BHA’s, Vitamin C in very heavy doses and IPL which inflicts damage and speeds up the cells renewal flow. But like a moth to a flame I was drawn to the immediate effects of these procedures not realising the long term damage. When I saw how much my skin improved there was no turning back from Dr Spiller.
What have you learned from your most embarrassing moment in beauty?
I think we all learn from the little episodes in our life. Blame it on my inexperience or over eagerness I was consulting a client at one of my salons when I started rattling off all that I thought was wrong with her skin. The unsuspecting customer was aghast and very upset because she felt she had great skin. I learnt quickly that day to always ask questions and never ever make assumptions.
The must have Dr Spiller products and why?
This is a hard one as so many factors come to play in customising skin care within Dr Spiller but these products are the most versatile and can be used for all five skin concerns. You could say this is your starting block of skin care products from Dr Spiller.
In three words how would you sum up Dr Spiller products?
Rediscover Great Skin!
Who is Dr Horst Spiller?
In his late thirties in 1959 Dr Horst Spiller had a career change, deciding to flip from food technology in industrial chemistry to cosmetics. Combinations of oil and water – are an important part of food technology. This unusual background allowed Dr. Spiller to study and develop cosmetic emulsions from a completely different viewpoint.
He first dappled, like others, with oil-in-water formulations but soon discovered that water-based skin care creams evaporated too quickly. He was convinced there was a better way.
It took him ten years but his determination paid off. Through Dr Spiller’s continuous research he discovered how to encase the water molecule in oil so that it can provide better, longer protection.
He realised that while the skin is waterproof it still needs to retain moisture. The end result is the genius water-in-oil formulation that is not heavy. Many formulations of this type contain up to 50% of oil making them dense and greasy. Dr Spiller’s patented formulations have drastically whittled down the oil content to 19% making it light and super nourishing for skin.
Coupled with this technology Dr Spiller was determined to select natural ingredients in exclusive formulations that perfectly mimic the natural mechanisms of the skin. The company’s headquarters are still today nestled in the Bavarian Alps in Germany producing skin care that that fulfils the lifelong passion of Dr Spiller about being gentle on skin with nature the true originator of beauty.