Grammy swag bags to include Edmonton-made skincare line
A skincare line created by a team of local doctors is about to get its 15 minutes of fame.
The Edmonton EcoMD skincare line will be included in gift bags handed out in Hollywood for the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Dr. Jaggi Rao, a dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon at Rao Dermatology, was one of the team leaders in developing the naturally-sourced, environmentally-friendly line.
"These are toxin-free products, mostly plant derived. Ingredients and the packaging are all bio-friendly and reusable or degradable," he said.
A team of doctors from different disciplines started working on the collection two years ago as a pandemic project, Rao said.
The line includes treatments for anti-aging, acne and sensitive skin and was developed in Edmonton and manufactured in British Columbia.
"Fortunately we finished it just recently. I won't say the pandemic is fully over, but enough to launch it just a few months ago," he adds. "It's caught the eye of several people across the world, including fortunately the Grammy Awards people."
Rao said the team had to apply to have EcoMD featured at the Grammys, and the line was vetted for safety, sustainability and utility before being approved. He said the company sent in around 145 products for the gift bags.
And while the publicity and potential for international expansion is exciting, Rao said he's just happy to see people using the treatments since they were designed to help people care for their skin.
"A lot of people, particularly over the pandemic, have developed sensitive skin, so there is a need for products like this that are very safe and also very environmentally-friendly," he added.
"We're hoping that we will develop more ideas and we look forward to partnering with the people who can help us expand it."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's John Hanson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.