The Power Of Ageing: An Interview With PRAI Beauty Founder, Cathy Kangas
Having recently launched on our online store, we wanted to take a deeper delve into PRAI Beauty to find out all about the empowering, pro-ageing skincare collection that was first developed with women over 40 in mind. Â
Created by Cathy Kangas, a true skinpreneur and total powerhouse in the world of beauty and animal welfare, PRAI Beauty is the definition of a beauty brand that's a force for good. Join us today as we chat to Cathy about all things PRAI, paws, and positive ageing.Â
Empowering And Inclusive SkincareÂ
Not so long ago, the beauty industry was purely saturated with anti-ageing skincare solutions that were not so supportive of the positive ageing messaging we see on the shelves today. Instead, lotions and potions promising to turn back the clock were demonstrated by younger women in their 20's, and strong claims were being made but not supported. With the emergence of brands like PRAI Beauty, we've slowly been seeing a shift in the industry for the better.Â
"It was important to me to create an empowering and inclusive skincare brand that celebrated women in their 40s, 50s and beyond", Cathy said. "I felt they had been overlooked in the beauty industry for far too long – and I was one of them!" Cathy also realised that there were areas in beauty being overlooked - such as the neck area. But Cathy didn't just want to set up a skincare brand to help women, she wanted to help support another passion in her life, too. "Being an animal fanatic and on the Board of the Humane Society, it was crucial that the brand gave back and made donations to help animal welfare across the world." Cathy said. "I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved."
The Beauty Gap
When asked why Cathy believes there's such a gap in the market for skincare for women over 50, she explained that for far too long, brands were advertising 'anti-ageing' skincare with 20-year-old models - models who didn't have those common signs of ageing skin, such as fine lines and wrinkles.Â
"It didn’t make any sense to me." Cathy said. "Why was this age range being ignored when ageing is a natural part of life. It should be celebrated, and women should feel good in their skin, regardless of their age. I knew I had to make a change."
Embracing Every version Of You
At Face the Future, we echo PRAI Beauty's messaging that ageing is a privilege. So how can our skincare help us to embrace every version of us? "Skincare can simply make our skin the best it can possibly be," Cathy says, "which boosts confidence and helps us feel good on the inside too. I’m one of few skincare founders that has never had any cosmetic work done, I celebrate wrinkles and ageing – I just want healthy skin as I age and I know our PRAI Beauty customers feel the same way."
Combating Negative Messaging
With many believing that targeted skincare solutions contradicts being pro-ageing, we asked Cathy how she helps to enforce the positive messaging behind her products. She explained that we all want to look and feel our best - whatever our age. "Targeted skincare simply ensures we’re giving our skin everything it needs to be healthy, nourished and looked after, whatever our age." Cathy says. "There is nothing wrong with wanting to look after ourselves and replace vital nutrients that deplete as we age. Skincare is really empowering!"
The Challenges Surrounding Pro-Ageing Skincare
As Cathy explained, "we need to be very mindful that we’re celebrating ageing in our messaging and communications – the industry as a whole has shifted from ‘anti-ageing’ to ‘pro-ageing’ which is a massive step forward." PRAI Beauty is a midlife skincare brand that focuses on positive ageing, and as such, they're responsible and committed to addressing the ageing conversation from an empowering angle. As Cathy reiterates, "we don’t want women to feel bad about wrinkles, quite the opposite!"
Expert Formulations To Support Your Skin
Of course, the challenges surrounding pro-ageing skincare aren't only limited to ensuring positive messaging - that's just the cherry on top of a very complex cake. The vital challenge is the actual formulation of the products - after all, the skincare needs to actually give results. "I’m very proud of our chemists and formulators as we’ve always used the very best skincare ingredients on the market – whether it’s the latest peptide, or an ingredient that has stood the test of time." Cathy says. "The formulas we’ve created have a cocktail of ingredients that truly work – and it’s not an easy task especially when it comes to designing formulas for the delicate skin on the neck and decolletage, to get something that works but is also light enough for this thinner skin. We use hyaluronic acid, retinols, peptides, collagen – everything you’d expect from a bestselling skincare brand and we test everything before it goes to market via clinical trials or customer perception studies."Â
PRAI For Paws
Along with a positive message for pro-ageing, Cathy has a huge passion for animals - especially our four-legged friends! If you follow our Face the Future social accounts, you may well have noticed that we're huge animal lovers and frequently welcome our furry companions into FTF HQ, so we loved hearing about PRAI's initiatives to support animal welfare. "At the heart of our brand is our love for animals and it was always important to me that I created a skincare brand that gave back to our four-legged friends." Cathy said. "We are proudly PETA Cruelty-free and Leaping Bunny Certified. Best of all, a portion of every sale goes directly to fund animal rescue projects we care about. We’re particularly proud of our Free the Shelters campaign which sponsors the adoption fees for thousands of rescue animals, helping them find forever homes." In fact, the brand even go one step further to help heir own staff members in their journey to support our animals. "We offer pawternity leave to all of our staff when they get a new dog!" Cathy says.
Cathy's PRAI Beauty Holy GrailÂ
To finish our chat with Cathy, we of course had to ask her what her own favourite PRAI Beauty products are. "My all-time ultimate favourite product has to be our famous and fabulous PRAI Beauty Ageless Throat & Decolletage Creme. I remember looking in a mirror at a funny angle a few years ago and realising that my neck was indeed ageing faster than my face. Hence, I developed this product and now couldn't live without it.  It’s been my go-to for ten years!" Cathy Said.
And her faovurite self-care rituals? "My most important self-care ritual is taking a nice hot bath every single evening." Cathy says. "I light a candle for some additional ambience." Cathy also added that she likes to have a sip of red wine while she has a soak and washes away the day’s stress and troubles - a woman after our own heart! Cathy added, "If I am having to behave I go back to my favourite English remedy -  a cup of hot Horlicks right before I go to sleep."
Lastly, we asked Cathy what every customer should know about PRAI Beauty. "We’re a brand that celebrates every age, creates targeted skincare products that truly work, and we give back to animals." Cathy said. "A brilliant combination!"
We couldn't agree more!
Thank you so much to Cathy for joining us on our blog today and kindly answering our questions.Â
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We hope you enjoyed reading our post Ready to stick around a little longer and read another? Go on! We think you might enjoy our interview with Lena Phillipou Korres, the co-founder of KORRES. Join us here as we chat all things natural skincare - inspired by the beauty and people of Greece.
