In this episode of Skin Anarchy, host Dr. Ekta Yadav sits down with Hannah Penn, the visionary founder of HPPY Skin, to explore a breakthrough technology transforming the way we extract and preserve nutrients in skincare—High Pressure Processing (HPP).
From Family Innovation to Beauty Disruption
Penn’s fascination with HPP started long before skincare. Her father pioneered its use in the food industry with Good Foods in 2008, using cold-water pressure to preserve freshness without chemicals or heat. Watching the impact of that innovation on food quality inspired her to bring the same philosophy of nutrient integrity to the skin. “When I started looking at how actives and ingredients are made and processed in skincare,” she says, “I knew HPP could completely change the space through nutrient retention.”
The Science Behind the Pressure
HPP Skin’s patented process uses 87,000 psi of cold water pressure—six times deeper than the deepest part of the ocean—to unlock nutrients from botanicals without degrading them. Unlike traditional extraction methods that rely on heat or chemical solvents, HPP maintains each plant’s full biochemical structure. The result is a stable, bioavailable, and bioactive concentration of ingredients that the skin can recognize and use effectively.
As Penn explains, “When you think of pressure, you might imagine everything being crushed—but because HPP is universal, it’s gentle. You put a grape in, and you get a grape out—but with the nutrients released.”
Clean 2.0: Science Meets Nature
While many brands chase the “clean beauty” label, Penn sees HPPY Skin as a movement toward scientifically clean innovation rather than marketing buzzwords. “Every brand defines ‘clean’ differently,” she says. “We wanted transparency and true performance. Forty percent of skincare users say their products don’t work—HPP changes that.”
By focusing on how ingredients are processed rather than which ones are trendy, HPPY Skin delivers stable, potent formulations proven to retain 10× more antioxidant content than conventionally processed formulas.
From Spoiled Experiments to a Patented Process
The early days were anything but glamorous. “Our first batches smelled like spoiled baby food,” Penn laughs. Years of trial, error, and iteration eventually led to a patented extraction method—the first of its kind in skincare. The result: BioBerry Infusion™, a line powered by six berries high in anthocyanins and antioxidants, shown to protect against 91% of free-radical damage.
Building a Cross-Disciplinary Science Team
Unlike most beauty startups, HPPY Skin’s core team blends food scientists, cosmetic chemists, and HPP process authorities—an interdisciplinary model Penn credits for the brand’s breakthroughs. “Our chemist helped perfect texture and stability, our HPP expert optimized molecular preservation, and our food scientist helped identify the most nutrient-dense botanicals,” she explains. “That collaboration has made all the difference.”
Filling the Nutrient Gap in Skincare
At its core, HPPY Skin aims to restore integrity to natural ingredients—and consumer trust. “The beauty space doesn’t need another white-labeled formula,” Penn says. “It needs innovation, quality, and excellence. HPP bridges the nutrient gap that’s been missing in skincare for decades.”