[100 Emerging Women Leaders] This entrepreneur is pioneering the concept of psychodermatology in India

Malvika Jain, a litigation lawyer by profession, found herself at home during the first Covid-19 lockdown. During this time, Jain noticed that her cousin was struggling with a severe acne breakout on her face.

Despite consulting several dermatologists and trying various creams and medical products, her cousin’s skin condition did not improve. One of the doctors eventually suggested that the acne might be caused by heightened stress and anxiety.

Following this advice, her cousin started taking anxiety medication and engaged in stress reduction activities. To her surprise, her skin condition started improving.

Jain was surprised to see how the mind could affect the skin. Her curiosity to learn more about this connection eventually led her to research about psychodermatology.

Psychodermatology studies the interaction between mind and skin. Emotional and psychological stress can cause skin issues such as acne, psoriasis, hives, eczema, and rosacea, among others.

Jain’s interest in the field led her to quit her career as a lawyer and embark on her entrepreneurial journey.

In 2023 she started Sereko, a psychodermatology brand, to offer skincare and nutraceutical products. According to the company, its formula is clinically proven to reduce stress and increase serotonin (body chemical that controls mood) production.

“This is a relatively new concept for the Indian market. Through this, patients can not only manage their skin woes but it improves their overall well-being,” she tells HerStory.

Healthy skin and healthy mind

Jain explains that the Noida based brand’s patent-pending psychodermatology formula NeuroCalm®, formed under the guidance of Dr Jafferany, the former President of Association for Psychoneurocutaneous Medicine of North America (APMNA), has been used in both its skincare and nutraceutical products.

She claims that their proprietary formula is India’s first psychodermatology formula, which is made with natural active ingredients like wild indigo, basil oil, and more. It is clinically proven to reduce stress, enhance mood, and improve skin biome.

The brand offers a diverse plant-based product range, including bath and body products like body scrubs and oils, skincare products such as toners, sunscreens, serums, and more. The nutraceuticals include calming candy tablets and the super glow kit sachets. These sachets are rich in zinc, B12, and other nutrients that help balance the gut for healthy skin.

Jain emphasises that Sereko’s signature products include the calming candy tablets and the calming gel pen. She explains that the gel pen, when applied to stress points, helps reduce stress and de-puffs under the eyes, while the candy tablets aid in improving sleep and promoting healthy skin.

The tablets come in a strip of 10 costing Rs 450 and the pack of 30 sachets cost Rs 1,750. The skincare and bath and body range starts at 750 and goes up till 1,250.

So far, the bootstrapped brand has sold 50,000 products. It sells through its own website, Amazon, Flipkart, Purplle, Myntra, and Nykaa. It is entering the retail market next month with Tata 1mg.

The brand primarily targets Genz and millennials.

“With most Gen Z individuals being highly active on social media and the heightened focus on mental health post-COVID, the rising importance of mental well-being has greatly benefited the brand,” she adds.

However, she says that though there is an increasing concern for mental health, understanding the science of how mental health affects the skin is still far-fetched and would require more education.

For this, the brand creates relevant content on its social media pages and conducts awareness campaigns. The brand is recording a 50% month-on-month growth in its revenue.

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The beginning

Hailing from a business family, Jain says that she has closely observed how the business world works since childhood.

From a young age, she knew that communication, research, and debating were her strong points, leading her to decide that law would be a good career choice. She completed her master's in law from Durham University in 2018, and soon after, started working with law firms.

“Law was a good choice for me and never have I thought that I should have done something else in its place,” she adds.

She recalls that even while working as a lawyer, her business instincts never left her side.

“I used to guide the firms I worked in on how they can build their business and grow their brand. I carry a natural business acumen, thanks to my family background,” she adds.

After five years of working as a lawyer, she wanted to do something different in life. As the courts were shut during the first lockdown, she got a chance to ponder over her next career move.

After learning about psychodermatology due to her cousin’s acne condition, Jain began researching intensively. She made the decision to quit her job in 2021 and dedicated two years to studying the science. She collaborated with experts in crafting the brand formulation and officially launched the brand in 2023.

“I realised that this concept was new to most people and there was a gap in the market. So, I thought of creating this new category of products,” she adds.

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Challenges and future

Jain explains that though the brand has the first mover advantage in India, the lack of awareness about the science of psychodermatology has been a challenge.

“We have often faced the problem of people not believing that such science exists. We are creating a category so it will take time to build trust,” she adds.

In the same vein, she adds that the market has been very competitive, especially because of many new skincare brands emerging in the segment.

Jain has experience working in the male-dominated field of law. However, as a female founder, she emphasises that she has not faced any specific challenges.

“Beauty and personal care are dominated by women entrepreneurs, providing me with many like-minded peers from whom I seek inspiration and learn a lot,” she adds.

Talking about the future, Jain shares that she wishes to get into all possible distribution channels, and expand into haircare and bath and body products. She also plans to start state-of-art clinics for aromatherapy and more in the future.

“As we look ahead, we aim to remain committed to solving skin issues by targeting the root cause through our mind-first approach to skincare,” she adds.