Skinome

Skinome is a Swedish skincare company founded in 2018 by skin researcher Johanna Gillbro and Marcus Jacobsson, with its laboratory in the Hornstull district of Stockholm [1][2]. It is built around a concept the company calls "fresh skincare" (färsk hudvård): preservative-free formulations meant to be kept refrigerated, designed to strengthen rather than disturb the skin's microbiome — the community of bacteria that lives on the skin.

The brand sells directly to consumers through its own webshop and, as of late 2024, remained an actively growing, founder-led business with a lab and production based in Sweden [3].

Skinome grew out of the research career of Johanna Gillbro, who holds a PhD in experimental dermatology. According to the company, she spent more than twenty years in dermatology, clinical research and skincare product development, working as a research leader and innovation director in the cosmetics industry before starting the brand. She describes her interest in skin science as beginning in childhood, after she developed vitiligo, a pigmentation disorder. In 2019 she published a Swedish book on skin science, Hudbibeln ("The Skincare Bible") [4].

The company traces its central idea to Gillbro's conclusion that keeping skincare fresh was, in her words, "the only way to both guarantee efficacy and at the same time strengthen the skin's microbiome" [4]. She left full-time research to co-found the business with Marcus Jacobsson, a former industry colleague, after winning a place in the Sting startup program [3]. The name itself points to the concept: in a 2022 interview the founder explained that the "-ome" suffix "comes from the word microbiome" [5].

The company was founded in 2018, but according to the founder the underlying formulas and research had already taken more than ten years to develop [5]. Its first two products launched in 2020, and the webshop opened on 3 November 2020, during the pandemic [3]. By the time of an October 2024 business feature in Driva Eget, Skinome reported revenue of just over 20 million Swedish kronor for 2023, a range of 14 products with four more planned, and eleven employees [3].

Skinome's positioning rests on two linked ideas: avoiding preservatives and keeping products cold. The company argues that preservatives extend shelf life but disturb the skin's bacterial flora, and that many active ingredients lose effectiveness at room temperature. Its answer is refrigerated, preservative-free formulas, and it asks customers to store the products in the fridge.

The brand also frames itself around "slow skincare" — using fewer, higher-quality products to reduce consumption and waste — and describes its formulations as based on its own research rather than on trends. Gillbro has summarised the underlying view by describing the skin as "already its own super-competent system" that should be treated with care [4].

Skinome's range centres on facial care, alongside body care, sun protection and routine kits. Its signature product is the Probiotic Concentrate, which the company describes as containing freeze-dried live bacteria (Lactobacillus Reuteri) that activate when mixed with a water-based moisturiser. A second product, the Retinal Concentrate, uses a water-free format intended to keep unstable actives such as retinal and vitamin C stable until they are mixed with a water-containing cream. Other highlighted ingredients include prebiotics, azelaic acid, niacinamide, ceramides and squalane.

These two approaches correspond to two European patent applications the company has filed: a "self-preserving system" (EP4413972A1) offered as an alternative to conventional preservatives, and a "mix-activation technology" (EP3946225A1) covering the water-free carrier [6]. The company presents its work as research-led, and its research is directed by Gillbro together with research chief Ulf Åkerström; it points to a published study on the microbiome effects of preservative-free skincare as supporting evidence [7].

Skinome and its founder have been the subject of editorial coverage in the Nordic and UK press. Scan Magazine, a UK publication focused on the Nordics, featured the brand in 2022 under the headline "Skinome: No preservatives or additives needed" [5]. The Swedish business magazine Driva Eget profiled the company's growth and financing in 2024 [3], and the Swedish title Femina has interviewed Gillbro on skincare routines.

Sustainability is presented by the company as integral to its decisions rather than a separate initiative — a point stated by chief executive Lydia Engholm. Development and production are based in Sweden. The brand lists partnerships with the forest-conservation organisation Naturarvet, the reforestation platform Tree Nation (which it says has planted more than 160,000 trees with customer support), and ocean-plastic collection projects. Its bottles are described as light polypropylene made with 40–50% recycled plastic, and shipping materials as FSC-certified paper.

As of the most recent available reporting, from late 2024, Skinome was active and expanding: a founder-led Swedish indie brand selling directly to consumers, with its own lab and production in Sweden and a growing product line [3].