Inventors come up with new products every day, but few of them actually change people’s lives. Matt Singer is one of those who did. His product, Dermaflage, has given people with disfiguring facial scars a new lease on life.
Singer started out working in Hollywood, designing prosthetics for special effects. While working in L.A., Singer inspired the Syfy reality TV show Face Off, currently in its fifth season, in which prosthetic makeup artists compete in challenges to create special effects makeup.
Through industry contacts, Singer learned that Dan Rather, then-anchor of the CBS Evening News, needed to cover a nose scar caused by a biopsy. At the time, the recent introduction of HDTV made flaws in the complexion of TV figures much more noticeable. Singer designed a custom concealment product for Rather using silicone.
Next, Singer created Flexiglass, a silicone used to create ocular prosthetics, with his company, Silicone Ocular. Singer became known as an expert in ocular prosthetics, and he traveled around the world speaking about the topic.
By 2003, Singer was ready for a change and moved to Memphis. He began training in anaplastology — a branch of medicine focusing on facial prosthetics — at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Working with medical-grade silicone led Singer to develop a product to conceal facial scars. He named the product Dermaflage. He planned to launch it as a commercial product at some point but didn’t have the capacity to put it out on his own.
During an event at Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA), Singer met Jocelyn Atkinson. She and her partner, Michael Graber, own Southern Growth Studio, a Memphis company that helps businesses launch new products. Singer and Southern Growth Studio seemed like a natural fit, and, in 2010, they joined forces to form Silicone Arts Laboratories.
Jocelyn’s husband, Oscar Atkinson, came on board full-time as CEO. With his business acumen and marketing knowledge, coupled with Singer’s expertise, they were ready to put the product on the market.
“I didn’t have the business sense of someone like Oscar to promote it on my own,” Singer says. “We needed someone who could take the helm.” In 2011, Dermaflage hit the market, and through e-commerce began to get orders from across the country.
Singer and Atkinson have traveled far and wide to spread the word about Dermaflage. “We’ve shared more hotel rooms than most men do,” Singer says with a laugh. The efforts have paid off, big time. “Dermaflage has taken on a life of its own,” Atkinson says. “We’ve doubled our manufacturing space.”
The product is manufactured and distributed from the company’s headquarters in downtown Memphis. What makes Dermaflage different from other concealment products on the market is that it’s based on translucency rather than opacity. Dermaflage comes in 13 different shades, but the silicone allows the user’s natural skin color to shine through it. Unlike heavy cake makeup applied all over the face, Dermaflage is applied only to the scarred area, and it covers indentations in the skin.
Dermaflage is an extreme example of engineering as applied science. Developed from clinical applications to cosmetic, the product blends the two in a highly innovative way.
“Dermaflage combines the magic of Hollywood and the science of anaplastology,” Singer says. “What it really offers is confidence.” Its initial use was predominately by people who had suffered from skin cancer.
People who want to cover scars such as pock marks caused by acne or chicken pox, cosmetic surgery, shave biopsies, C-sections, even frown lines can use Dermaflage. It conceals blemishes topically and painlessly, doesn’t smudge, is waterproof, and lasts up to 36 hours.
“It is a life-changing transformation for people who have tried everything under the sun,” Atkinson says. “They go out and tell other people about it.”
The company has gained popularity largely through word-of-mouth advertising and has used social media platforms like YouTube to promote Dermaflage.
In 2012, the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development included Silicone Arts Laboratories in a small group of companies it took to Asia to introduce the state’s goods and services. Dermaflage was an instant hit in China and South Korea, and, later in the year, the product was featured on ABC’s World News in a story about products made in the U.S. that were popular in other countries, highlighting Dermaflage’s popularity in the Asian market.
In April and June, the product was offered on QVC. The company has two patents pending on products, and Singer is working on developing a new concealment product, tentatively named “Second Skin,” for covering tattoos — because people who have tattoos sometimes need to hide them.
While they are happy with the success of Dermaflage, they want to continue to grow. “We don’t want to be a one-trick pony,” Atkinson says.
To accelerate the company’s growth, Silicone Arts Laboratories are constantly on the lookout for investors in the privately held company. They are used to the hard work and sacrifice required to take the company to the next level.
“As a small company, we really have to stay lean,” Atkinson says.
Despite the success, the innovators at Silicone Arts Laboratories haven't let it go to their head. “You really have to check your ego at the door, because everyone here takes out the garbage,” Singer says.
Innovators: Silicone Arts Laboratories: Oscar Atkinson, CEO; Matt Singer, Director of Research and Development; Megan Bonner, Director of Communications;
Chris Copeland, Director of Business Development; Meredith Pohland, Master Colorist
Innovation: Dermaflage, a waterproof, medical-grade silicone substance used to conceal scars, burns, and other blemishes with a topical layer that looks like real skin and lasts up to 36 hours.
Address: 6 G.E. Patterson, Suite 101, Memphis, TN 38103
Phone: (901) 654 -3499