Theresa, Teen Skin Health   

In this series of four articles, HerCanberra speaks to four female Canberra inventors about why they’re passionate about their idea, how it will change the world, and where their projects will lead them next.  In the third of our series, we speak to Theresa Bradaric of Teen Skin Health.

Theresa Bradaric is no stranger to business. Opening Canberra’s first-day spa—Canberra Beauty & Body Lab’ in Braddon in the mid 90's—founding Allicio Australian Skincare and launching the cooking school program Kids Pantry, the basis for all of her ideas has been helping others. 

Teen Skin Health is no exception. Launching the vegan, cruelty-free and nut-free skincare range in early 2020, the beauty specialist, nutritionist, and mum was inspired by the time she was spending at Kids Pantry and with her teenage children. 

“I had noticed their friends and the kids that were coming to Kids Pantry, who were struggling with their skin, were also struggling with their emotions and different types of stress levels,” explains Theresa. “Most of them were tweens and teens, and that’s where I had come to the realisation that there was something lacking for kids of those ages,”

Founding Teen Skin Health to help young people build confidence, Theresa created the dedicated easy-to-use skincare range (that is also compostable, recyclable, and biodegradable) using active organic, Australian ingredients. 

Perfect for those with allergies and formulated to be as gentle and as effective as possible, Teen Skin Health is more than your average skincare line—it’s also a support system that offers virtual skin consultations to provide teens and tweens with advice and the chance to be listened to.   

“I want to be there to help young people that are struggling because their self-esteem is so important,” says Theresa.  

“Giving them the confidence to feel okay about themselves, to know that it’s alright to get breakouts because we all get them no matter what age. It’s about how we handle them, how we can look after our skin and how eating the right foods can help reduce some of the common reactions.”

While Theresa already had knowledge of the industry, for her, it was a shock to realise there are very few skincare lines that focus just on teens and particular skin conditions caused by chemical imbalances. Working to change that, she has also created Health, Mind-Body programs for schools to help young people understand their bodies and skin in a safe and fun environment. 

“We’re currently working with primary and high schools, educating the students about different ways hygiene, diet and stress can help or hinder their skin. We are also teaching them how to use safe products on their skin so that they’re not having chemical imbalances while receiving the results they're searching for,” she explains. 

“I’d love to be able to go Australia-wide this year and have the product line available as a regular product that people can use. It’s something I really want on department store shelves with the option to give our customers our personalised advice with our Virtual Skin Consultations.” 

While she admits launching a new business in 2020 wasn’t ideal, Teen Skin Health helped Theresa realise the value of her ideas as she supported teens and tweens who were battling esteem issues, lockdown, and home schooling all at once. 

“The most important part for me was that it wasn’t about putting something on their skin and getting rid of a pimple, it was about getting them confident with who they are as a person and then treating their skin. Its all about making young people feel good about themselves,” says Theresa. 

“They are my inspiration and we can all do this together. There are days emotionally it’ll be tough or sad and days that it's great. Its so important to just keep going to make one little difference in someone’s life.”

HerCanberra