How Jo Collection Is Retraining Skin to Renew Itself: A Q&A with Leah Ward

Healthy skin has a built-in renewal clock.

In its prime, this natural rhythm completes a full cycle every 28 days, shedding old cells to reveal a smooth, hydrated, and even-textured surface. As we age, however, that efficient process slows down (sometimes up to 90 days!) and the “glue” that holds dead cells together starts to linger longer than it should. The result is buildup, dullness, dryness, and a loss of that youthful vitality.

To solve this, Leah Ward, founder of Jo Collection, developed a simple, science-backed routine to help skin return to its peak performance. The new Essentials Nighttime Kit is designed to restore that perfect 28-day rhythm. We spoke with Leah to understand how her unique blend of science and family legacy is teaching skin to behave like it used to.

Q: What was the personal inspiration behind starting Jo Collection?

Leah Ward: It’s funny now, but at the time it really wasn’t when I completely wrecked my skin barrier using a trendy skincare tool. After trying everything, including advice from my dermatologist that only made things worse, I decided to figure it out myself. I put my law school research skills to work, studied ingredients, and even took formulation and chemistry courses in my free time.

My dad, a pharmaceutical chemist, helped me bring my formulas to life in his FDA-compliant lab. Jo Collection is named after my late mother, Joanne, a trained cosmetologist who believed skincare should be simple: cleanse, treat, and protect.

Q: Your brand is built around the “28-day renewal rhythm.” Why is this concept so central to your products?

Leah Ward: The 28-day renewal rhythm is really the foundation of healthy skin. It’s the natural cycle your body was designed to follow. When we’re younger, our skin renews itself about every 28 days, which is why it looks so fresh and radiant. As we age, that process slows. The “cellular glue” that holds old cells together becomes stickier, and newer cells can’t rise to the surface as easily. That’s when dullness, uneven tone, and fine lines start to show.

Our products are built to help your skin find that natural rhythm again, especially at night when renewal happens most actively. The three-step system works with your skin’s own processes instead of pushing against them. Rather than stripping away every dead cell at once like harsher peels, the Pineapple Peel gradually loosens the intercellular bonds that hold them together, just as healthy skin once did on its own. The goal isn’t to leave your skin exposed; it’s to guide it back to its natural, balanced pace of youthful renewal.

When the skin renews naturally, it also strengthens its barrier, the outer shield that protects against pollutants, UV rays, and moisture loss. You don’t want to remove that shield. You just want it to stay flexible enough for fresh, healthy cells to rise and replace the old ones.

That’s why the other two steps in the routine matter just as much. The Green Queen Cleanser helps reset your skin’s pH to an ideal level before treatment, so the Pineapple Peel can perform evenly without irritation. After exfoliation, the Night Cream restores balance with hydration and barrier-supporting ingredients that lock in moisture and calm the skin. Together, these steps keep the renewal process steady and consistent. No redness, no flaking, just smoother, more radiant skin that wakes up looking refreshed and renewed.

Q: You’ve launched a three-step “Essentials Nighttime Kit.” Can you walk us through how that simple routine works?

Leah Ward: The Essentials Nighttime Kit keeps skincare simple in just three steps that sync with your skin’s natural renewal rhythm, not against it.

Step 1: Cleanse – Green Queen Cleanser
You always start by setting the right foundation. The Green Queen Cleanser is a gentle, amino acid–based foam made with kale and spinach that clears impurities, protects the skin barrier, and preps skin for treatment without that tight, dry feeling so your skin is clean, comfortable, and ready to absorb what comes next.

Step 2: Treat – The Pineapple Peel
The heart of the routine. It uses clinically proven AHAs and BHAs in a gentle formula designed to gradually loosen the bonds between dead skin cells (encouraging them to shed at the right pace instead of all at once) to smooth, clear, and brighten. It’s formulated to self-neutralize so it’s safe enough to use every day. It gently keeps your skin on its natural 28-day rhythm, and the built-in moisturizers help it stay soft and balanced.

Step 3: Protect – Jo Collection Night Cream
The final step locks everything in. Shea butter, jojoba oil, and hyaluronic acid deeply hydrate, while panthenol, marshmallow root, and pea extract calm and strengthen the skin barrier. You wake up with skin that feels renewed, soft, and resilient.

Three steps. Proven ingredients. Visible results and a routine inspired by my mom’s belief that great skin comes from keeping it simple and staying consistent.

Q: The “Pineapple Peel” is the kit’s hero product. What makes it different from other, harsher exfoliants on the market?

Leah Ward: The Pineapple Peel works with your skin’s youthful and natural timing instead of against it. Most exfoliants act like bulldozers by trying to remove as many layers as possible in one go. That can leave your skin raw or uneven. Many are also so confusing you practically need a calendar to figure out when it’s safe to use them again. Pineapple Peel takes a gentler, more physiological approach.

Its blend of glycolic, lactic, and salicylic acids slowly dissolves the bonds that hold dead cells together, helping your skin naturally let go of what’s ready to shed. Because it’s self-neutralizing, it knows when to stop. The acids do their job, then deactivate before they can go too far.

Think of it as coaching your skin back into its healthy rhythm. Over time, it teaches your cells to turn over on their own again, so your barrier stays intact, your tone evens out, and your glow looks natural, not forced.

Q: Jo Collection blends a family legacy with pharmaceutical-grade science. How do you ensure your products are both effective and accessible for consumers?

Leah Ward: Jo Collection brings together my family’s worlds: my dad’s pharmaceutical precision and my mom’s belief that skincare should be simple and consistent. I wanted to create something that carried both of their legacies forward. My dad taught me to care about safety and formulation accuracy, and my mom taught me that great skin comes from habit, not hype.

I also have ADHD, I’m a mom, lawyer, founder and I don’t have the time or focus for complicated routines. I wanted formulas that worked, made sense, and didn’t cost a fortune. That’s why Jo Collection is built around three essential steps anyone can actually stick with: cleanse, treat, and protect.

Every product is developed in our FDA-compliant lab, reviewed by international formulators, and tested beyond what’s required to ensure safety, consistency, and performance. The result is luxury skincare made simple, effective, and accessible. Proof that science and sophistication don’t have to come at a premium. No fluff. No 10 steps. Just science made simple. Skincare that works the night shift.

In the end, it’s five minutes, three steps, and real science that respects your time, your skin, and your wallet, a blend of my dad’s precision, my mom’s wisdom, and my own need to keep it simple.

The core message from this interview is clear: skin health is about rhythm, not force. By focusing on the skin’s natural 28-day renewal cycle, Jo Collection provides a simple, effective system that delivers visible results. It’s an approach that combines a family-driven passion for care with the precision of pharmaceutical science.

As the beauty industry continues to evolve, the demand for simple, trusted, and effective solutions will only grow. Jo Collection’s three-step routine proves that supporting the skin’s foundational health is the most powerful way to restore its vitality showing you don’t need complexity to get results.

In a beauty world obsessed with instant results, Jo Collection proves that lasting change comes from simplicity and consistency, not intensity.

To learn more visit https://jocollectionusa.com/