South African skincare brand SKIN functional is stepping outside the product shelf to introduce three of the women behind it: founder Shannon Dougall, (main image), warehouse manager Caitlin Piper, and brand manager Natasha Davel.
Between them, they carry more than 15 years of building the company, and each has her own story of what it took to feel at home in her own skin.
Shannon Dougall: From hiding to building
Dougall founded SKIN functional after a 10-year battle with severe hyperpigmentation that no amount of makeup could hide. “I felt dirty, inferior to others, ashamed,” she says of that time.
It took a decade for her to move from that place to genuine self-acceptance – and that journey convinced her to start a brand aimed at sparing other women the same years of struggle.
Today, she still describes herself in motion: a mother, a wife, a woman who is “self-motivated and driven” and always chasing a better version of herself, whether that’s underwater on a dive or on a European ski slope.
When asked how she rebuilds confidence after a setback, her answer is simple: “Failure is just another opportunity to do it better. The most important thing is getting back up and trying again. Nothing is permanent, and everything with focus can be rebuilt.”
Dougall’s advice to women struggling with how they see their skin comes from lived experience. “Be kinder to yourself than the mirror is,” she says. “My skin is breaking out right now is different from I look disgusting. The first is observable and temporary. The second is a story that keeps you stuck.”
Caitlin Piper: Building confidence from the ground up
Piper has spent five years at SKIN functional and now runs the warehouse team, overseeing stock and distribution while lending a hand across customer service, finance and production.
She got there from an unlikely starting point. “Throughout school and my early career, I was extremely introverted and timid,” she recalls. Comments about her weight and her skin during her teenage years left her, in her words, “soul-crushed”.
What rebuilt her, she says, was consistency: the gym, a deliberate choice to stay positive, and the SKIN functional community itself.
Reflecting on Women’s Month, Piper points to South African history for perspective, noting that on 9 August 1956, 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings to protest the pass laws. “How far we have all come deserves celebration – not just for a month but every single day,” she says. “We are strong, smart, beautiful and very much capable of doing anything and everything we put our minds to.”
She credits two women with shaping who she is: her mother, for her patience and discipline, and Shannon, her CEO, whom she calls her biggest role model. “Through her words of encouragement to the difficult conversations, she has helped me find my strengths, identify my weaknesses, better them and fit in exactly where I belong.”
Natasha Davel: Learning her skin, and starting over when it mattered
Davel joined SKIN functional’s marketing team in 2022 after years working in hospitality, an industry that was upended when COVID-19 hit. Leaving a stable job during that uncertainty, she says, was “terrifying”, but it led her to a role she now calls genuinely rewarding, watching the brand grow while hearing directly from customers about the difference it makes.
Her own skin story started with confusion rather than confidence. For years she covered “bumps” on her face with heavy foundation – not realising they were caused by underlying congestion – and stuck with a single moisturiser for over a decade simply because a dermatologist once recommended it.
Working at SKIN functional changed that. “My entire world was turned upside down,” she says. “I learnt so much about exfoliating acids, serums, chemical peels and what an actual skincare routine consists of.”
Now Davel treats her skin as something to listen to rather than cover up. “Your skin is an organ, and when something is wrong, it’ll tell you straight away,” she says. “All you need to do is listen and react in a way that is most suitable for your skin.”
Her advice to women struggling with their appearance is direct. “There is help. So much help. Our brand is built on customer stories and transformations, and our team is here to assist, guide and help build that confidence back.”
A common thread
Three different roles, three different histories and one shared thread: Each woman’s relationship with her own skin shaped the work she now does.
For SKIN functional, that is the point of telling their stories, serving as a reminder that the people building the brand have lived the same struggles as the customers who use it.
