ESSE Skincare

ESSE Skincare is a South African skincare company founded in 2002 in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, by the chemist Trevor Steyn. It built its identity around the skin microbiome, formulating products with live probiotic bacteria, prebiotics and organic biotechnology rather than conventional actives alone. The name comes from the Latin esse, meaning "to be," and the brand's tagline is "Skin as it should be."

The company remains active and, according to its own account, available in 42 countries [2]. Its founder, who was widely described in trade press as a pioneer of probiotic skincare, died on 1 November 2025; the company has said its team will carry his vision forward [9].

ESSE was launched in 2002, entering what the company calls the then-nascent organic skincare market in South Africa with three refrigerated, preservative-free moisturisers [2]. The brand's own history page dates the launch to 2002, following roughly two years of research. A 2016 PR Newswire release instead implies a founding around 2001, describing the line as having a "15-year lifespan" at that point [10]; the earlier figure plausibly counts the research period before the 2002 launch.

The founder, Trevor Steyn, was a chemist later described in the aesthetics trade press as "a gifted chemist" and a "global pioneer in probiotic and microbiome science" [9]. He became closely associated with the category, with several publications referring to him as "the father of probiotic skincare" [7].

ESSE's development tracked the emergence of microbiome science. After early years adding cleansers, toners and a professional range, the company carried out a complete reformulation around 2010, incorporating findings from the Human Microbiome Project to add prebiotics and postbiotics; the same period marked its entry into the European market. In 2015 it introduced what it describes as the first live probiotic skincare serum, containing one billion live microbes per millilitre, alongside a Sensitive Range. A foundation in ten shades with prebiotic and probiotic actives followed in 2019, by which point the company reports distribution in 27 countries. A Clarifying Range using biotechnology for acne arrived in 2021, and in 2025 the company introduced live probiotics in an aqueous format using a two-part activation system.

ESSE frames its approach around the skin microbiome, the community of microbes living on the skin. Drawing on the 2007 Human Microbiome Project, the company argues that a healthy microbiome makes skin more resilient by guarding against pathogens, producing hydrating compounds and helping maintain pH balance. Its stated aim is to make skin "more youthful, resilient, and sustainably healthy" by rebalancing the microbiome rather than disrupting it. In trade and consumer press this positioning has been linked to the "skin rewilding" trend, the idea of restoring microbial diversity lost to indoor, urban life; Glamour UK highlighted ESSE as a leader in that area in 2022, and Professional Beauty featured it as the pioneering example in a 2021 feature, quoting Steyn [11].

The brand sells through a tiered professional channel as well as more broadly. It describes an extensive range of bespoke professional products for in-clinic use offered "exclusively to professionals," and invites practitioners to become stockists and to take a "Prescript Practitioner" certification.

The company's signature product is its Live Probiotic Serum, which it markets as "the world's first probiotic serum, with more than 1 billion living probiotic cells per ml" [3]. Named beneficial microbes in its formulations include Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii and Lactobacillus plantarum. To keep the bacteria viable, ESSE encapsulates and suspends them in an oil base; the company says they reactivate on contact with the skin's moisture [10]. A 2019 foundation extended the probiotic and prebiotic approach into colour cosmetics, and professional-only products such as a Probiotic Ampoule and an Omega Mask serve the in-clinic range.

Beyond probiotics, ESSE uses actives including bakuchiol, which it positions as a plant-based anti-ageing alternative, along with salicylic acid, niacinamide and botanical extracts such as devil's claw and Kigelia africana. The company cites testing in Germany that it says improved skin firmness by an average of 16% over 28 days, with all 20 test subjects showing an improvement [10].

ESSE places environmental and ethical claims at the centre of its positioning. According to the company, its products are certified organic by EcoCert, accredited by the Vegan Society, and certified cruelty-free by PETA, with testing carried out only on human volunteers [3]. It also describes itself as carbon-neutral through annual energy audits and purchased carbon credits, plastic-neutral via a partnership with the collection organisation Cleanhub, and fair-trade certified, using recyclable, non-leaching packaging and rapidly biodegradable foaming agents. Manufacturing takes place in South Africa.

ESSE has been featured in beauty and microbiome coverage across several markets, including Vogue UK, Harper's Bazaar Arabia and Scandinavian Mind, the last carrying an interview with Steyn. Its foundation and sensitive cleanser were included by Ella Mills (Deliciously Ella) among recommended beauty products. The Live Probiotic Serum is repeatedly cited in editorial as the brand's flagship within the microbiome and "rewilding" category.

ESSE Skincare is active. Its blog continued publishing into 2026, with a June 2026 post on probiotic skincare, and the company reports availability in 42 countries [6]. Trevor Steyn, the founder and chief executive, died on 1 November 2025 at the age of 52 in KwaZulu-Natal [8]. In a tribute, the company said its team was "more than capable of carrying it forward," committing to continue his focus on scientific integrity, sustainability and challenging conventional practices [7].