Osazomon Imarenezor is using AI and skin-specific data to help beauty and pharmaceutical brands create personalised skincare products tailored to melanin-rich and historically underserved skin types.
Born out of her background in biomedical sciences and her research on skin diseases affecting West African and African-American populations, Imarenezor launched OSAZ in 2022. Her goal was to fix the massive gaps in skincare for melanin-rich and historically underserved skin types.
During her research, the innovator noticed a pattern in the unfortunate reality that most skincare products are not designed with darker skin in mind. There has been a lack of representation in skincare research and development. Generic products that don’t cater to melanin-rich skin continue to dominate the shelves. Due to ineffective formulation processes, beauty companies waste time, money, and ingredients. Additionally, consumers often have limited access to dermatology-grade personalisation unless they can afford a specialist.
Common issues such as hyperpigmentation, acne, and ageing were either misdiagnosed or treated with incorrect formulas. Moreover, the data that brands relied on primarily came from white skin.
So she built OSAZ, a beauty-tech startup that is a Formula as a Service (FaaS) platform. It’s a B2B SaaS tool that uses AI and data analytics to assist beauty and pharmaceutical companies create custom skincare formulations for various skin types.
What makes OSAZ different?
What makes OSAZ different is that it focuses on AI-powered personalisation based on real data from melanin-rich skin. The platform enables brands to formulate better products quickly and with less waste. It processes skin data, analyses skin needs (especially those unique to multicultural populations), and helps brands create products that work for people of colour.
Instead of launching a product line and hoping it works for everyone, OSAZ works behind the scenes to help brands formulate mineral SPF that blends into dark skin without a white cast, dark spot correctors tailored to how melanin reacts to inflammation, and anti-aging creams that consider the different ways melanin-rich skin exhibits signs of aging.
OSAZ is backed by Techstars, one of the world’s top startup accelerators. With that support, the company is scaling rapidly, expanding from the U.S. into Nigeria and other emerging beauty markets such as Brazil and India. These regions have large melanin-rich demographics and are consistently overlooked by traditional beauty brands.
The startup is gathering regional skin data, developing improved local formulations, and, using scientific insights and cultural context, assisting global brands in entering new markets.
In addition to the platform, Osazomon Imarenezor is investing in the future of the beauty-tech industry. Her startup runs hackathons in Nigeria and the U.S., creating opportunities for local talent to get involved in AI, dermatology, and product development. With Osaz, the female tech founder is building the infrastructure behind the next generation of inclusive beauty.
