EZ Beauty: Ole Henriksen, The Boomer Behind the Skin Care Empire

Nadine Sharon Anglin | January 4th, 2013

Chances are you’ve seen Ole Henriksen’s name before — the 62-year-old has built an impressive high-end skin care and spa empire that counts boomer celebrities like Barbra Streisand and Sylvester Stallone as fans along with everyday 20- and 30-somethings around the world.

His Hollywood disposition (a permanent smile and lots of cheeky asides) fits perfectly into his movie-like success story that starts with humble beginnings in his native Denmark and sees him travelling to London for schooling and finally LA to launch his own company.”I would make my products in the kitchen. And I would bring them on my bicycle, I couldn’t afford a car. I’d bring them in Tupperware containers to work,” he says.

The man who fell in love with skin care because of his own past with acne is today a confident and unabashed salesman. When we meet in Toronto’s Eaton Centre Sephora location for our interview he starts with a little song and dance and then promptly launches into his philosophy (he’s big on vitamin C and alpha-hydroxy acids–in his estimation, these are not old school, but tried-and-true ingredients).

Ole La La Glow From Head To Toe Blockbuster Set, $99, Sephora.ca

Ole is almost evangelical about his award-winning products — including the very popular Invigorating Night Gel — but is also a big proponent of living a life full of exercise (he practices gymnastic for fitness) and romantic pleasures (he recommends using his body scrub to “give your partner treatment”). What is most endearing is his realistic, yet optimistic approach to fighting the hands of time: you can’t look like a 20-something anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t look good (and feel good) as a 60-something.

Watch part 1 of EZ Beauty’s interview with Ole Henriksen above.