Betting on BEAUTY

Meet the Malaysian entrepreneur behind GetHarley, a London-based start-up revolutionising the skincare industry

- ZUE WEI LEONG

The beauty industry is booming, projected to be worth approximately US$580 billion by 2027—with a large proportion owing to the fast-growing skincare segment. It is driven by high levels of consumer engagement as well as rapid scientific advancements in the research and development of products. However, the two factors don’t always work in tandem as the former is stymied by the inaccessibility of the latter, constituted by cosmeceutical and medical grade offerings with higher levels of biologically active ingredients. Charmaine Chow discovered this surprising disconnect during her own journey in treating her acne and eczema.

“I always had difficult skin. In my late 20s, I felt that my skin was not where it needed to be. I decided that I needed to invest the time in consulting doctors and finding the right skincare for myself,” shares Chow. Her own struggle in locating, securing a booking and following up with her doctors—while scouring shelves to obtain different prescribed skincare—sparked an idea.

Why were consumers shopping for skincare the same way they were shopping for clothes, when she knew that they wanted to understand their condition and find the most effective solution without an arduous trial and error process? In 2019, Chow set out to solve this problem. She left a career in finance as an executive director at Goldman Sachs with previous experience at Morgan Stanley and KKR, to found GetHarley, a platform to connect consumers to the world’s best clinicians and skincare. During online consultations reasonably priced at US$50 per half hour, the clinicians diagnose skin concerns and curate a personalised routine of the most suitable products from a range of brands, which can be delivered straight to their doorstep.