Oxygenetix

Oxygenetix is an American makeup and skincare brand founded in 2008 by Barry Knapp and Kort Pearson [2]. It is built around a single idea: a foundation that lets skin breathe through the coverage. The company positions its products as "medical grade" and markets them chiefly for skin recovering from cosmetic procedures, as well as for acne-prone, sensitive and redness-prone complexions. The brand remains active, with an ongoing blog and a full product line on sale.

The brand sits at the intersection of makeup and skincare, and describes its purpose as allowing wearers to "no longer have to compromise your skin's health for beauty." Its flagship Oxygenating Foundation is the product the company is best known for, and the one third-party reviewers most often single out.

⚑ Thinner sourcing. The article relies largely on the brand's own statements (T2–T3). Glowpedia is seeking independent sources.

The brand traces its beginning to a family experience. According to Oxygenetix, founder Barry Knapp's mother underwent a chemical peel, and her daughters were frightened by how she looked afterwards [2]. That reaction, the company says, prompted Knapp to develop cosmetics for skin healing from aesthetic procedures. He partnered with Kort Pearson, and the two set out to create an oxygen-permeable foundation intended to reduce scarring, discomfort and the "social downtime" that follows treatments [2]. Both partners are described by the company as bringing decades of combined experience across cosmetics and the medical field.

The product was developed in the Beverly Hills area, according to editorial coverage in Byrdie, which describes it as created "by a plastic surgeon and dermatologist in Beverly Hills for post-laser skin" [7]. The company operates a Los Angeles–area customer line and maintains separate medical advisory boards in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, made up of board-certified plastic surgeons and dermatologists.

Oxygenetix presents itself as a bridge between makeup and skincare rather than a conventional colour-cosmetics brand. Its stated mission is to minimise scarring, discomfort and recovery time after cosmetic procedures through a foundation that skin can breathe through. The brand's tagline is "It's Your Skin You Deserve the Best."

That positioning shapes who the products are aimed at. Alongside post-procedure patients recovering from treatments such as microneedling, laser work and injectables, the range is marketed to people with acne-prone skin and sensitive conditions including rosacea and eczema. The brand has also cultivated an aspirational, Hollywood-facing image, describing itself as "Hollywood's Best Kept Secret."

The core of the line is the Oxygenating Foundation, which the company describes as "breathable, weightless coverage" designed originally to support even the most sensitive, post-procedure skin. The brand's catalogue also includes an Oxygenating Concealer and moisturising Hydro-Matrix products, along with an oil-control foundation and application tools.

Two formulation choices define the products. The first is the base: instead of water or oil, the foundation is built on an aloe vera (Aloe Barbadensis) base. The company explains this choice by arguing that "water and oil, even essential oils, can be harmful as they attract bacteria to your skin," and says the inconsistent pH of aloe vera made the formula difficult enough to require a year of development [4]. The second is the brand's proprietary Ceravitae Complex, which it markets as its "patented hero complex" and an oxygenating ingredient that, per the company, "botanically mimics the 400,000+ Saccharomyces Lysate cells in the human body" [4]. The patent claim is the brand's own and has not been independently verified here against a patent registry.

Around these ingredients the company makes a series of performance claims: that the foundation forms a breathable, "second skin" barrier, and that it is safe to use after treatment. Oxygenetix states its products have been "tested extensively by physicians and their patients" for more than 15 years [4], though it cites no formal clinical studies. Retailer descriptions echo the theme; Dermstore characterises the range as a "breathable line" that helps "comfort and disguise a variety of skin injuries" [8].

Sunscreen rating is reported inconsistently across sellers. The brand's own product and FAQ pages do not state an SPF, and it should not be inferred from them. Most third-party retailers, including Dermstore and Cult Beauty, list the foundation at SPF 25 [8], while one Shopify variant listing gives it as SPF 30 [12] — likely a market or formulation variant rather than a single agreed figure.

On ethics, the company states that its products are "Certified Cruelty-Free and Vegan by the Peta organization" and are free of parabens and what it calls "unnecessary chemicals" [4].

Much of Oxygenetix's public profile rests on editorial and celebrity attention rather than formal awards. Byrdie reported that Kourtney Kardashian "has called it her holy grail" and that her sister Kendall uses the acne-prone formula [7]. The retailer-edit publication The Skin Spot lists Kardashian alongside Gal Gadot and Julianne Hough among celebrities said to use the products for photo shoots and red-carpet events [9]. The brand also features an endorsement from Vogue's Nicola Moulton, who is quoted saying the beauty insiders she respects most "just rave about this product."

Third-party reviewers have described the Oxygenating Foundation in strong terms: a Byrdie reviewer called it "a holy grail product, especially during a flare-up" and noted wearing it over freshly micro-needled skin without breaking out [7].

Oxygenetix remains active. Its full product line is on sale, and the brand maintains an actively updated blog running to dozens of pages of skincare-education and makeup content, indicating ongoing publishing [6]. It operates across multiple regions, with medical advisory boards and distribution spanning the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, including the Nordic markets.