Entrepreneur
Why less is more when it comes to skincare
How multi-use products could simplify skincare and tackle over-consumption
The skin is a direct mirror of how our body feels. Why not simplify our skincare routine and reduce waste, asks Pontine Paus, investor and entrepreneur.
Skincare products have the largest market share of all beauty industry segments and reports have shown that ‘skinimalism’ has various benefits.
Pontine Paus, entrepreneur and founder of Dr Lipp, says: “Indeed, the focus and knowledge we have today on how to live a healthy life has increased. It’s definitely good that we have this knowledgeable and know how to look after our skin, but I think it’s bad that we’re still using too many products that are not necessarily making a big a difference, but cause a lot of pollution in the world.”
Paus has launched her skincare brand 18 years ago when the multitude of brands and social media platforms we have today did not exist.
She started off with the original nipple balm that later became the signature product of the brand. “I used to have a lot of dry skin and a lot of eczema myself and I couldn’t find anything that worked until somebody said ‘why don’t you try some nipple balm’”, Paus remembers.
“I started doing a lot of research and there was just one ingredient, that’s been around since ancient Greek times and that is lanolin. So, I had this idea of taking the nipple balm out of the breastfeeding market and introducing it into the beauty market,” the founder explains.
Her main aim was to build a brand in which every product was multi-use with a maximum of 10 ingredients. “The average is 30 to 40 ingredients. So, we’ve reduced that massively. That’s probably the most effective and most important contribution that we can make when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint and helping with the biodiversity. I think if we can all consume more consciously, then that will have a big long-term impact.”
The nipple balm was just the start of her commitment to offer multi-use products in order to simplify people’s skincare routine and encourage a minimalistic approach.
“There are some great creams to help reduce wrinkles and pigmentation, for example, but the basic daily products, like hand cream, body lotion or any other cream, could all be one. In terms of washing, your makeup remover, your shampoo, your body wash, your shaving cream gel could all be one,” she says.
“I feel very strongly about the waste we’re creating and the big floating islands of plastic in the ocean,” she continues. “I’m horrified by how much rubbish every household produces every week, and where that goes and equally horrified about how polluted our food and water systems are. So, as a brand owner, I really looked at how to really make a difference.”
Statistics report that 120 billion units of packaging are produced every year by the global cosmetics industry, including lids, multi-layered boxes and cellophane that are most of the time non-recyclable.
“Everybody’s getting becoming more aware [of the environmental impacts], but we’ve got to think differently,” the founder insists. “Brands have got to offer products that reduce our waste rather than just recycling them. Nobody’s going to make it perfect, but we can improve on where we are at.”
With Latin words governing long ingredient lists, simple multi-use products can also give consumers a better understanding of what they are putting on their skin, the entrepreneur tells me. “I wanted something simple and 100 per cent natural,” she says. “A lot of brands do natural, but there’s no real big brands out there that do 100 per cent natural. But I think when it comes to these basic steps in our daily life, it’s much easier to make things simple.”
Paus’ hope is that more companies will come up with compostable packaging in the future.
“It would really make a huge difference, but sadly, the technology isn’t there yet. I hope at least we at Dr Lipp could make everything much simpler for both the people and the environment.”
Shop: The best-selling multi-use products from Dr Lipp
Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm £12
Dr Lipp Superfood Tint Pack for Lips Cheeks and Eyelids £18
Entrepreneur
Last chance to save on Women’s Health Week and Women’s Sport Summit: Early Bird pricing ends 11 September
Early bird pricing for W Group’s two flagship October summits – Women’s Health Week Europe 2026 and Women’s Sport Summit Europe 2026 – closes on 11 September.
Both events take place at Emirates Stadium, London, bringing together founders, investors, corporates, and industry leaders shaping the future of women’s health and sport.
Women’s Health Week Europe 2026
7-8 October | Emirates Stadium, London
This year’s edition will be Women’s Health Week Europe biggest one yet: with 700+ attendees, 80+ speakers, and 20+ sponsors, it will also feature two stages – a Global Stage covering market trends and policy, and a Scale Stage focused on company-level growth and commercialisation. WHW takes place across two days of content, business matchmaking, and dealmaking.
Agenda highlights include:
- Where Capital Flows: Funding Trends in Women’s Health – with Merete Clausen (EIF), Ekaterina Gianelli (Calm/Storm), Henriette Hessen (Verdane), Jemma Day (British Business Bank), Ravit Warsha Dor (Telus Global Ventures), Tim Davis (LSEG)
- Six Feet Under-funded: Surviving the Valley of Death in Women’s Health – with Patric Stenberg (Gesynta Pharma), Valentina Milanova (Daye), Amber Vodegel (28x)
- The Women’s Health Label – Gift or Curse? · Live Debate – with Juan Camilo Arjona Ferreira (organon), Marissa Fayer (DeepLook Medical), Christian Lautner (Heal Capital), Annie Theriault (CBIV), Ida Tin (Clue)
- Passport to Scale: Taking Your Women’s Health Business Global – with Vanessa Carpenter (Femtech Across Borders), Annie Theriault (CBIV), Victorine Lançon (Daya Ventures), Dr Mridula Pore (Peppy)
Early bird pricing (ends 11 September):
| Ticket type | Early bird | Standard |
| Startups, Scaleups, Investors, Non-Profits, Government | £599 + VAT | £699 + VAT |
| Corporates, Payors & Providers | £1,799 + VAT | £1,999 + VAT |
| Service Providers & Consultants | £3,299 + VAT | £3,499 + VAT |
Register for Women’s Health Week Europe | See the full agenda for WHW
Women’s Sport Summit Europe 2026
6 October | Emirates Stadium, London
The first-ever Women’s Sport Summit expands W Group’s expertise in connecting key decision-makers to the sports industry.
WSS brings together rights holders, brands, investors, athletes, and media to accelerate commercial growth across the sector.
Agenda highlights include:
- From capital to crowd: the women’s sport cycle at scale – with Omar Shaikh (Arsenal FC), Nicole McWilliams (Google), Kerstin Lutz (Mercury13), Jo Currie (BBC Sport)
- Women’s sport through the investor lens: what gets funded – and why – Hugo Sever (APEX Capital)
- Rethinking ROI: what are we measuring that doesn’t actually matter? – Fi Watherston (Metro Bank), Silvia Keiser (Billie Jean King Cup), Gabriel Akin-Odujobi (Crux Football), Tammy Parlour (WST)
- Beyond the 90 minutes: matchday as a commercial product, not just a fixture – Maggie Murphy (Aston Villa Women FC), Sam Feasey (Diageo/Guinness), Molly Miller (OneFootball), Megan Feringa (The Athletic/The New York Times)
Early bird pricing (ends 11 September):
| Ticket type | Early bird | Standard |
| General Pass | £299 + VAT | £399 + VAT |
| Service Providers & Consultants | £1,799 + VAT | £1,999 + VAT |
Register for Women’s Sport Summit Europe | See the full agenda for WSS
Attending both events?
For group tickets or to attend both summits this October, contact Callum, W Group’s Client Success Lead, at [email protected].
KOVE Medical has raised €1.7 million to support first-in-human studies of an implantable device designed to reduce preterm birth risk after foetal surgery.
The University of Zurich spin-off is developing a device designed to close defects left by surgical instruments following fetoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure performed inside the womb.
Fetoscopies can treat life-threatening conditions before birth but require surgical instruments to pass through the uterine wall and amniotic sac.
This can weaken the protective membrane, causing fluid leakage or rupture and often leading to preterm birth.
KOVE Medical said in a statement on LinkedIn: “This is a crucial step forward for our company, and we are incredibly grateful for the strong support and trust from our syndicate of visionary angel investors.”
KOVE Medical says its device closes the defect at the end of the procedure, stabilising the membrane and preventing complications. The aim is to make in-utero interventions safe enough to become a standard method of care.
The company plans to use the seed funding to reach first-in-human studies, a key milestone for a medical device seeking regulatory approval.
The CHF1.6m round was backed by a syndicate of angel investors.
The Women’s Health Innovation Summit (WHIS), the event uniting the global women’s health ecosystem, has just announced 18 new speakers joining the agenda for its 2026 summit, taking place October 13–15 at Encore Boston Harbor.
The latest additions bring further depth across pharma, clinical research, health systems, venture, and policy, reinforcing WHIS’s role as the only platform where the full women’s health ecosystem convenes under one roof.
Newly confirmed speakers include:
- Kelle Moley, MD – VP, Women’s Health Early Phase Clinical Development, Cardiometabolic Research, Eli Lilly & Company
- Justine Levin-Allerhand – Executive Partner, Chief Corporate Development Officer & COO, Flagship Labs, Flagship Pioneering
- Sebnem Yildirimoglu, MD, PMP – Executive Director, Women’s Health Strategy, Premier Research
- Terri Stewart – Head of Global Healthcare & Government Affairs, EMD Serono
- Dr. Morag Grassie – Executive Director, Blavatnik Fund for Innovation, Yale
- Sandra Butler – Director, Design Impact, Mass General Brigham
- Zhenya Lindgardt – Chief Executive Officer, Sera Prognostics
- Sadie Morahan – Head of US Revenue, Withings Health Solutions
- Angela Drew, PhD – Vice President, Regulatory Strategy, Premier Research
- Dr. Stephanie Lahr – CMIO, Aqurio
- Michelle Andrews – Contributing Writer, KFF Health News
- Charlotte Williams – CEO, My Bump Hub
- Clint Dart, MS – Director, NIH Women’s Health Data Coordinating Center, Premier Research
- Cass Sanford – US Venture Advisor, FemTech Lab
- Megan Mukuria – Founder & CEO, ZanaAfrica
- Tiffany Inglis, MD, FACOG – Chief Medical Officer, Sera Prognostics
- Angelean Hendrix, PhD – Vice President, Pharmacometrics and MIDD, Premier Research
- Amanda Ducach – CEO & Co-founder, EmaEQ
“WHIS is where the women’s health industry comes together to take action,” said Poppy Howard-Wall, Event Director at WHIS.
“This latest wave of speakers reflects exactly the kind of cross-sector expertise our attendees expect – from global pharma and clinical research leadership to venture, health systems, and grassroots innovation.
“It’s this breadth that makes WHIS the room where things actually move forward.”
Bringing the Full Ecosystem Together
These additions join a growing 2026 agenda spanning four content tracks that reflect the full lifecycle of healthcare innovation, from early-stage research and development through to patient delivery, system transformation, and commercial scale.
Attendees can expect over 1,000 senior decision-makers, 120+ expert speakers, four dedicated stages, and more than 10 hours of curated 1:1 meetings.
Full speaker and agenda details are available at whisusa.com/speakers-2026.
About WHIS
The Women’s Health Innovation Summit is the only platform uniting the full women’s health ecosystem – providers, payers, employers, pharma leaders, investors, and innovators -to increase deal flow, expand reimbursement, improve access, and deliver better outcomes for women at every stage of life.
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