By journalist Anneline Højrup 

According to Elisabeth Gierus life sometime presents unexpected challenges and it is about using them positively. To her, a skin cancer diagnosis was the beginning of Elisabeth Gierus Skincare.

The woman behind has not only fought to achieve her goals, but also succeeded in turning the bumps in the road into something positive.

Sometimes you experience things that pushes you in a new and unexpected direction, but it often turns out to that it’s for the better, says Elisabeth Gierus. As a teen, she was devoted to fashion and design and worked hard to secure a job as an office assistant with the Danish fur company Birger Christensen. But an appointment with a cosmetologist, whom she consulted to help her with her skin problems and acne, paved the way for her interest in the industry she today loves and is devoted to.

I felt so excited after every facial, I had. Such a positive energy that emerges when a treatment or a product is truly efficient, and I wanted to be part of creating that sort of energy, says Elisabeth Gierus, who decided to train to become a cosmetologist and makeup artist.

Shortly after her exam in 1994, she was signed by a modelling agency in Copenhagen. A few years after she left for the USA for further her education and to work for the Sunset Gower Film Studio in Hollywood. After returning to Denmark, she invested all her savings and opened her beauty clinic in her own name.

I’ve always worked hard and have been engaged in many projects. But things that made me happy has always been my goal, says Elisabeth Gierus.

Skin cancer became a turning point

In 2005, while she was pregnant, Elisabeth Gierus was diagnosed with skin cancer in her face.

It was not only chock but a wakeup call because she, as an experienced cosmetologist, was an expert in how you treat and nurture you skin.

Before my diagnosis I had no interest in organic and natural ingredients. I was trained and specialised in using artificial ingredients and had never given it much thought that it might be harmful. But the skin is absorbing 80 percent of what we apply, and I think that artificial ingredients disturb the body’s cells and hormones. We simply have to little knowledge about the side effects of ingredients which can’t be naturally decomposed, says Elisabeth Gierus, who, as a consequence of her diagnosis decided to get rid of all products containing artificial ingredients. Both at home and in her beauty clinic.

When I do something, I do it wholeheartedly, she explains. At this point in time her curiosity for natural ingredients started.

I had been working with skin care products for years without knowing how to manufacture them. For a year she attended courses, talked to chemists and read about how to combine ingredients in order to make purely natural skin products that still provides results. Her first cream, based on coconut, chocolate, peppermint, lemongrass and rosemary, was developed at her dining table and today everything in Elisabeth Gierus’ products can be decomposed in nature.

“I find my area of work very exciting, not at least because of what the latest research is showing and that ingredients known for thousands of years, go hand in hand. For example, pomegranate extract has shown to have effects similar to Botox, she excitedly explains.

Develop all products herself

In May 2007 Elisabeth Gierus Skincare became a reality – an organic skincare range, today consisting of 43 products that are based on nature’s purest and healthiest ingredients.

I believe that beauty should be healthy and that it is important to find a balance with nature, concludes Elisabeth Gierus, who finds inspiration, not only in nature but also in fashion and design.

I’m born into a very creative family. My father was an artist, my grandmother a ballet dancer who also made customs for the Royal Danish Ballet. Creativity is an important driver, and as a consequence I engage in everything from the design of the logo to jars and packaging, says Elisabeth Gierus, who at the same time manifested her creativity in developing innovative skincare products.

‘I said to myself. If you can get tailormade clothes, you should be able to get tailormade day cream, which lead me to develop my Customised Day Cream – Denmark’s first ever personalised day cream, mixed to fit the needs of a specific person’, she explains. And continues:

‘To me, continuously developing new products and solutions that can make a difference and make people happy is a significant driving force, she underlines returning to the core of her mission: To bring joy.