Scar Cream Scores L Catterton Investment and Enters Bloomingdale’s
RescueMD, a plastic surgeon formulated scar cream, is hoping to reach the masses as it enters Bloomingdale’s next month and gains new investment from L Catterton.
Perhaps surprisingly, it began life at a bar mitzvah in Scarsdale, New York, when Steve Salzinger, who spent most of his career in finance, met Dr. Michael Suzman, the director of plastic surgery at the Westmed Plastic Surgery Group in Westchester County, New York, as well as chief of plastic surgery at White Plains Hospital.
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“He started to explain to me the science and it was fascinating: the enormous frustration that individuals have with scarring and skin damage and the lack of options that there are on the market. Really, there’s been almost no innovation for a very long time, in scarring and skin damage, especially for very serious post surgical sensitive skin,” said Salzinger, previously an operating partner at L Catterton for digital technology and co-chief executive officer of Ideal Image.
The duo began looking at ingredients and came across lapachol, sourced from the Amazon rainforest, which is meant to suppress CUL4A — a protein that’s released when the skin is damaged — and led them to create RescueMD. Other ingredients include peptides, black currant, rose hip, sunflower seed oils, rosemary, balloon vine extract and dimethicone. The product comes in two sizes: a 15-ml. solution priced at $88 and a 120-ml. solution priced at $388.
“What we saw is that when we started to use it, it worked for scars, it worked for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, it worked for sunburn, it worked for regular burn,” explained Salzinger.
When the pandemic hit, they raised funds from friends and family and started selling the product on RescueMD’s website before expanding to Amazon. That led to them being approached by a buyer from Bloomingdale’s about joining its Wellchemist clean beauty collection online, beginning in late August. It is also distributed to aestheticians, spas and hotels via Universal Companies.
Most recently, RescueMD raised capital from L Catterton Growth Fund and from Pine Mountain ventures, although they declined to disclose the amount, apart from stating that it is a minority investment.
“We have been impressed with RescueMD’s scientific research, skin health advancements and the subsequent outpouring of stellar customer feedback,” said Michael Farello, managing partner at L Catterton. “They are set to become a clear industry leader, based on their breakthrough discovery of DNA Repair Complex that delivers unprecedented results. This is an exciting time to invest in the company, and help the team deliver on their commitment to reverse skin damage at a molecular level for all people.”
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