Why the UAE needed its own kids' skincare brand

If you're raising kids in the UAE, you already know the drill. The dry patches on little shins. The itchy crooks of elbows that flare up every summer. The moisturizer that works for exactly three days before the flakiness is back.

This isn't bad luck. It's the climate — and the numbers back it up.

Eczema is everywhere here — more than most places

• Over 20% of children in the UAE are diagnosed with eczema, and more than 15% live with moderate-to-severe symptoms, according to the Emirates Dermatology Society's national ECZPLORE campaign (Gulf News).
• A 65,661-child study across 18 countries found diagnosed eczema in 16.7% of UAE children — rising to 39.1% when counting reported symptoms — higher than in many other countries (Dermatology and Therapy / Springer).
• The government's own health portal, Weqaya, puts eczema at 24% of adolescents and 11% of adults (Khaleej Times).
• Globally, 20–25% of children are affected; 60% of cases begin in the first year of life and 85% before age five (Sanofi).

In other words: if your child has sensitive, reactive skin in the UAE, they're not the exception. They're the norm.

The AC paradox

Here's what makes the UAE uniquely brutal for young skin. Summer temperatures push past 40°C, so life moves indoors — homes, classrooms, malls, cars — into air conditioning that runs nearly year-round. And air conditioning does something most parents don't realize: it strips moisture from the air.

Researchers have identified dry indoor air as the main cause of dry skin (Heriot-Watt University), and studies show indoor air pollutants can measurably increase transepidermal water loss — the moisture escaping through the skin barrier — in children with eczema (PLOS ONE).

So UAE kids get hit twice: blazing heat and sweat trigger flare-ups outside, while dry, recycled AC air saps moisture from their skin inside. It's a loop most skincare — designed for temperate climates — was never built for.

Young skin isn't just small adult skin

Children's skin is thinner, loses moisture faster, and its barrier is still developing. Harsh cleansers and strong actives hit young skin harder. Yet the "kids" options on most shelves are either baby products they've outgrown or adult formulas with a cartoon on the label — nothing built for a 9-year-old spending eight hours a day in air conditioning.

That's why we're launching FOMO

FOMO was created in the UAE, for the UAE: five formulas made for young skin and UAE weather — pediatrician tested, pH balanced, safe for sensitive skin, and free of sulphates, silicones, parabens, mineral oil and phthalates. Every formula carries oatmeal and ceramide-mimic lipids to support the skin barrier where it matters most.

Because when one in five kids here is dealing with eczema, they deserve skincare that was actually made for their weather, their routine, and their skin.

FOMO launches soon. Join the waitlist and we'll email you the moment it drops.