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IpulseTM is the brand name in front of one of the world’s leading innovators in light technology beauty therapy, CyDen Ltd. Established in Swansea, Wales UK in 2002 the company was formed by Prof Marc Clement, Jan Simonsen (1959-2008), Dr Mike Kiernan and Kevin Smith.

A partnership between scientists, entrepreneurs and electronic engineers from Wales (Cymru) and Denmark, they held a vision of “democratising light therapy”. The story began long before CyDen was formed: Professor Clement in 1979 discovered that the passing of a laser over a hair follicle (on his own arm) resulted in the permanent disabling of the growth of that hair. This discovery and research in other laser- based therapy, especially vascular conditions, resulted in lasers being used within the NHS for medical/cosmetic applications for the first time by the early 1990s. During the 90’s Professor Clement, working with Dr Mike Kiernan, became the first to introduce laser therapy for hair removal, vascular lesions, acne and non-ablative skin rejuvenation. They gained the very first FDA approvals for these applications, a remarkable achievement for a non-US based group.

CyDen was established to develop an electronic solution to providing the intelligence and control required to safely and reliably emit an effective form of visible light – lower energy but increased clinical efficacy being the key requirement. This would allow the miniaturisation of the technology and lead to the democratisation of light-based cosmetic treatments. The Ultimate goal was a consumer device for in-home treatments. Co-founder Jan Simonsen was key to finding the answers. Jan was considered a leading expert in the field of power electronics. He was Director of Bang & Olufsen -  the global consumer electronics company and a founder of B&O’s medical device operation. In early 2003 a power drive that was small and powerful enough to be encased in a portable computer-like housing that delivered a specific form of wavelength light energy – called Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) – was designed and tested. The i100 was born utilising CyDen’s intelligent pulse technology - Ipulse

The clinical experience and heritage, electronic expertise and manufacturing capabilities meant that CyDen was able to design and bring to market a patented method of energy control and light output onto the skin.

This technology allowed CyDen to develop, initially, professional products that performed clinically better than other products and technologies but at lower, much safer energy levels. These professional products were manufactured under medical device approval and distributed to Dermatologists, Doctors and Beauty Salons around the world. During 2005 to 2009 Ipulse became a recognised world leading technology in the provision of permanent hair removal, skin rejuvenation and the treatment of acne. It was FDA approved for all the treatments offered and was the only system capable of delivering all treatments from a single machine and handset, all thanks to its Ipulse technology. The product was distributed to 61 countries globally and became the benchmark for professional light-based cosmetic technology. During 2007 and 2008 CyDen was developing the next stage of the technology – even smaller and safer – with the objective of launching a home-use device through retail channels. In February 2009, the CyDen / Boots partnership saw the launch of the UK’s first in-home IPL device – branded Boots “Smooth Skin” by Ipulse. Retailing at £275 the device, weighing just over 1Kg, had the capacity to emit over 30 joules of energy in short controlled millisecond bursts to permanently remove hair. By 2010, in competition with world technology giants, Philips and Remington who had followed Ipulse into the market with less effective technologies – the Boots Smooth Skin led the market * (GFK 2010) with over 40% share and a retail price of up to £325.

In 2011, CyDen brought its next innovation to market in the shape of Smooth Skin PLUS. This device had improved on the first product. There were more shots (or flashes capacity of the light emitting lamp), an additional skin tone (up to Skin Tone IV), faster flash rate and another UK first – an intelligent skin tone sensor ‘wand’. The skin tone sensor was designed to actively select the power setting to be used so that the user got the right amount of power / energy that their skin required for even safer and more effective treatment. Again, this product took a market leading share of sales in both volume and value * (GFK).

During the time of the second launch CyDen and its founders and investors were developing a global distribution strategy to work alongside the UK model of success. In October 2011 CyDen signed an exclusive distribution deal with consumer product giants Procter & Gamble. This deal was to see a hybrid version 3 model of the Hair removal device developed and allocated to the Gillette Venus brand that is managed by the Braun section of the P&G family.

And so in September 2012 – CyDen in partnership with P&G launched the Gillette Venus Naked Skin by Braun in Western Europe across a wide range of retailers including El Corte Ingles in Spain, Boulanger in France, Saturn in Germany and many others. Part of the P&G partnership deal did however mean the end of the exclusive agreement between Boots and CyDen and the discontinuation of the Smooth Skin. The links still remain however, with the new Venus product being introduced to Boots and other retailers by the same training and marketing team that launched the original device in 2009.

In addition to this there is an appetite to collaborate on new product innovation and the potential of new categories being introduced.