Beyond Baby Skincare: The Ex-Aesop Founders Creating A New Kind Of Family Ritual With UKOO

Family skincare that does not compromise can be difficult to find, especially in the years between babyhood and adulthood. Babies have entire ranges dedicated to their delicate skin, while adults have carefully crafted rituals, beautiful packaging and products designed to make everyday care feel like a moment of pause. But what about the messy, busy, growing family years where everyone shares bathrooms, rushes through routines and tries to make life a little easier?

That was the question that eventually led to UKOO. Created by a team of former Aesop employees, including Co-Founder Fatuma Ndenzako, UKOO was born from the belief that family skincare did not need to mean compromise. It could still be beautiful. It could still be considered. It could still feel special. Because becoming a parent does not mean suddenly wanting every product in your home to become purely practical. UKOO was created to offer family skincare that does not compromise on quality, design or the experience of everyday care.

The Moment That Started UKOO

For Fatuma, the idea did not arrive through one dramatic moment. It came quietly through noticing something missing. The idea of family skincare that does not compromise grew from recognising how few products thoughtfully served children beyond the baby years and the adults caring for them.

“The realisation arrived quietly, which, I’ve found, is often how the most important truths announce themselves,” Fatuma explains.

After years working in skincare, she understood how much thought went into creating products and rituals for adults. But after becoming a parent herself, she began noticing a gap.

“Once a child turns three or four, and provided they don’t have a significant skin condition, almost nobody is speaking to them or their families in a thoughtful, contemporary way.”

It was something many parents have probably experienced without really thinking about it. You move beyond the newborn stage, but the next options often sit at opposite ends of the spectrum.

“There seemed to be an unspoken assumption that family skincare existed only at two extremes. On one end, there were highly clinical products designed to solve a problem. On the other, products that felt overly infantilised, brightly coloured, heavily fragranced, watered down, or built around a nostalgic idea of childhood that no longer reflects how modern families live.”

UKOO wanted to create the space in between.

Creating Skincare For Real Family Life

At Parenthood360, we often talk about products that genuinely fit into the reality of parenting. Because family life rarely looks like the perfectly styled version we see online. It is school mornings, missing shoes, bedtime negotiations, sports bags, homework reminders and everyone needing something at exactly the same time.

For UKOO, creating family skincare that does not compromise meant developing products that could work within rushed mornings, busy evenings and shared family routines.

“We weren’t interested in creating products for an imagined family that exists only in beautifully lit photographs,” Fatuma shares.

“We created products for families who are running late, who are tired, who are negotiating bedtime, school lunches and life’s many small emergencies.”

The goal was not to create another complicated skincare routine. It was about products that could sit naturally within everyday life.

“We wanted products that were uncomplicated without being simplistic, products that worked hard, felt beautiful and integrated seamlessly into the rhythms of real life.”

What Aesop Taught Them About Creating Something Different

Coming from Aesop, the UKOO founders understood that skincare is not only about what is inside the bottle. It is also about the feeling attached to using it. Their experience helped shape a vision for family skincare that does not compromise, combining effective formulations with thoughtful design and an enjoyable daily ritual.

“Working at Aesop taught us that people remember how a product makes them feel long after they’ve forgotten what it promised,” Fatuma explains.

They took those lessons around craftsmanship, intention and experience but wanted to open them up to a different audience.

“What we wanted to do differently was widen the circle of who gets to participate in that experience.”

For UKOO, luxury was never about exclusivity.

“We wanted to create a brand where luxury was not about exclusivity, but about everyday intimacy, where the ritual of care could belong to an entire family.”

Creating Family Skincare That Does Not Compromise

One of the biggest misconceptions UKOO hopes to challenge is the idea that family products need to be less sophisticated.

Parents today are more aware than ever. They read ingredients, they care about what comes into their homes and they want products that align with their lifestyle.

“The modern family in 2026 is complex, dynamic and deeply intentional,” Fatuma says.

“Parents are ingredient-conscious, time-poor and design-aware. They care about efficacy and safety, but also about experience, ritual and emotional connection.”

The philosophy behind UKOO is that children do not need a watered-down experience, and adults should not have to give up beautiful products because they are sharing them with the family.

“We couldn’t find a brand that recognised that children deserve the same quality of care we expect for ourselves, nor one that acknowledged that parents don’t stop wanting beautiful, thoughtful rituals simply because they become parents.”

The Product That Tested Their Patience

Developing family skincare that does not compromise required patience, particularly when balancing meaningful hydration, a luxurious texture and gentleness for younger skin. Creating something suitable for the whole family was not as simple as putting a new label on a bottle.

The UKOO lotion became one of the biggest formulation challenges.

“Our lotion demanded a level of patience that, in retrospect, was entirely appropriate,” Fatuma explains.

“We wanted it to absorb beautifully, provide meaningful hydration, feel luxurious enough for adults, and remain gentle enough for younger skin.”

That balance between performance and simplicity became central to the brand.

“Looking back, we’re grateful it took longer than expected because it forced us to remain uncompromising about what we wanted it to become.”

The Little Moments That Matter

What has surprised the UKOO team most is that the feedback that stays with them is rarely about ingredients alone. It is about the small rituals families create.

“The messages that stay with us are rarely about ingredients or packaging,” Fatuma says.

“They’re the ones where someone tells us that applying lotion after bath time has become their child’s favourite ritual, or that a parent finally feels they’ve found a product they can share with their entire family.”

For UKOO, skincare is not just about skin.

“We’re not simply creating skincare; we’re participating, in some small way, in the rituals through which people express love and care.”

Our Parenthood360 Thoughts

As parents, we spend so much time creating moments for everyone else that sometimes we forget care can be shared. The beauty of UKOO is that it recognises modern family life for what it actually is. Busy, imperfect, chaotic and full of little moments that matter. It is not about adding another step to the day. It is about turning something you are already doing into something that feels a little more intentional. Because sometimes the most meaningful rituals are not the big ones. They are the small everyday moments that quietly become part of family life.

UKOO shows that family skincare that does not compromise can still feel practical, beautiful and genuinely suited to the realities of modern family life.

Discover UKOO at https://www.ukoo.com.au/

Disclaimer: Parenthood360 was provided with product for consideration. There was no obligation or guarantee of coverage, and all thoughts and opinions shared are our own. Skincare experiences and results may vary from person to person. Product information and ingredient details referenced are based on information provided by the brand. This article is intended for general lifestyle and editorial purposes only and does not replace personalised skincare or professional advice.