Priori

Priori is a science-driven, anti-ageing skincare brand based in San Diego, California, and made in the United States. It was founded by the American chemist Joseph A. Lewis II together with Joseph diNardo, and it has been owned since 2017 by SkinSciPac Inc. [8] The line is positioned for professional use and is sold through medical spas, skin clinics and spa professionals as well as directly to consumers.

Sources differ on exactly when the brand began. Priori's own about page and the trade publication Cosmetics Business both date its launch to 2004 [2][6], while Women's Wear Daily records the founding as 2005 [8]. What is consistent across sources is the deeper technical lineage behind it: Lewis is credited with developing and launching the world's first glycolic acid (AHA) product in 1983, well before the Priori name existed [7].

Priori grew out of the career of Joseph A. Lewis II, a chemist described as holding a chemistry degree and more than three decades of pharmaceutical-industry experience, including earlier roles at Allergan and Herald Pharmacal. His 1983 glycolic-acid product is presented as the starting point of a longer body of work in acid-based skincare, followed by a series of AHA formulations. Launched in partnership with Joseph diNardo, Priori became Lewis's own professional skincare line.

The name comes from the Latin phrase a priori, which the company glosses as "from cause to effect" — a reference to its stated aim of treating the causes of skin ageing rather than only its visible signs [7].

Priori has passed through several owners. It was owned by the cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden from 2014. During Revlon's acquisition of Elizabeth Arden, founder Joe Lewis repurchased the brand and then sold it on. In 2017 it was acquired by SkinSciPac Inc., a holding company formed by beauty-industry veterans — among them Dan Ginsberg, a former chief executive of Dermalogica, as chairman, and David Stern, formerly of MD Formulations and Bare Escentuals, as chief executive [8]. SkinSciPac, based in San Diego, relaunched the brand in 2018 [10].

At the time of the 2017 acquisition, WWD reported that Priori made 21 products priced between $34 and $110, with industry sources estimating 2016 revenue at around $7 million [8].

Priori frames its approach as "Adaptive" skincare — products the company says are designed to respond to the skin's changing needs regardless of age, gender, ethnicity and genetics, built on what it describes as a scientific study of the skin's biological structure and metabolism. The brand presents itself as biotechnology-led and inclusive, and its formulation stance is a clean one: according to Priori, its products are made without sulfates, parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, oxybenzone, hydroquinone and several other ingredients, and are free of added fragrance. The company also states that it does not test on animals and is certified cruelty-free by PETA [3].

Founder Joe Lewis has described the line in terms of an "anti-ageing pyramid" meant to simplify skincare: a foundation of DNA-repair complex, SPF and antioxidants; a middle tier of retinoids and AHAs; and a top tier of growth factors and peptides.

Much of Priori's identity rests on proprietary complexes and antioxidant chemistry. The brand introduced idebenone-based skincare in 2004 and a CoffeeBerry line in 2008 [6]. Idebenone, which Priori describes as a bioengineered relative of the antioxidant enzyme CoQ10, is central to its anti-ageing story. Other named technologies include a DNA Complex, the TETRA "skin shield" system, and rating concepts the founder developed such as the Environmental Protection Factor (EPF), presented as an antioxidant counterpart to SPF.

Signature products include the TETRA fx251 SPF 55 Tinted Mineral sunscreen, an Idebenone-based moisturising cream, and, more recently, the Unveiled range of LED red-light therapy devices — a mask, a neck and décolleté device, and a glove — which use red (633nm) and near-infrared (830nm) light, and for which the company reports clinical results such as firmer skin and reduced fine lines after four weeks of use.

Priori's TETRA sunscreen was included in Byrdie's "17 Best Face Sunscreens," where the dermatologist Dr. Madfes recommended it for its combination of sun protection, hydration and DNA repair [9]. Founder Joe Lewis has also been profiled by trade press, including a Cosmetics Business interview on his pared-back approach to skincare [6].

Priori is active. It operates a live e-commerce site, continues to launch products — including the Unveiled LED devices and newer lines such as a Triple Turmeric Complex — and is distributed internationally, including in the Nordic market [10].