Meet the Co-Creators
The Native Sensitive Series was inspired by our ambition to make beauty and personal care accessible and enjoyable for everyone, especially those with sensitive skin and scalp. We know folks with sensitive skin might feel left out when it comes to craveable fragrances, that’s why we teamed up with allergists, biologists, and dermatologists to create formulas that are delightful and suitable for people with sensitive skin and scalp.
Our expert partners played a crucial role in shaping our products. We assembled a crew of sensitive skin experts, including healthcare professionals who understand the unique needs of sensitive skin because that’s what they see & study every day. The team collaborated on formulation decisions, guided our understanding of critical testing methods, and, of course, represented the voices of the patients they serve.
Meet our Experts
Dermatologists
Dr. Sonia Badreshia-Bansal, M.D., F.A.A.D
Sonia Badreshia-Bansal, MD is a board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon trained at Penn State College of Medicine, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where she served as Chief Resident. She has advanced training and expertise in cosmetic dermatology, acne, skin of color. and laser surgery, and has dedicated her career to caring for diverse patient populations with a wide range of skin concerns.
Dr. Badreshia-Bansal is an author and editor in the medical literature and publishes regularly in scientific journals and medical textbooks. She co-edited the textbook Treatments for Skin of Color and is a national and international speaker on topics including skin care, ethnic skin, lasers, and acne.
In addition to her academic work, Dr. Badreshia-Bansal is deeply committed to public education and patient advocacy. She regularly contributes expert insight to mainstream media and has served in leadership and advisory roles within several dermatologic and physician-led organizations. She has served as a peer reviewer for the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD) and has contributed to communications initiatives for the AAD.
She currently serves on the editorial board of Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology.
Dr. Badreshia-Bansal enjoys art and has received recognition for her creative work at the University of Southern California and in medical publications. Most of all, she values time with her family and remains dedicated to education, mentorship, and inclusive dermatologic care.
Dr. Aaron Farberg, M.D.
Aaron S. Farberg, M.D. is a double board-certified dermatologist and fellowship-trained dermatologic surgeon that specializes in skin cancer, inflammatory diseases, and aesthetic dermatology. He is the founder and Chief Medical Officer of Bare Dermatology in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Farberg is a professor at UNT Health Science Center where he is core faculty for their dermatology residency training program.
Dr. Farberg is a summa cum laude graduate of Emory University and continued his education at the University of Michigan where he received his medical degree. Dr. Farberg’s post-graduate training includes additional residency years at the University of Michigan in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and, in New York, as a clinical research fellow in association with the National Society for Cutaneous Medicine and New York University. He then remained in New York, completing another residency in Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital where he served as chief resident.
In addition to treating patients, Dr. Farberg has been a clinical investigator on numerous studies including FDA clinical trials. He is an accomplished author and has published over 100 articles in professional medical journals. He serves as a member of the editorial board for several medical journals including Dermatology & Therapy and SKIN. Dr. Farberg also founded the Dermatology Science and Research Foundation to provide dermatology education to his patients and peers.
Dr. Farberg has been recognized as one of Dallas’s leading dermatologists with numerous awards and honors. He most recently was ranked by his dermatology colleagues in Newsweek Magazine as the #1 medical dermatologist in Texas and #5 in the entire country.
We assembled a crew of sensitive skin experts, including healthcare professionals who understand the unique needs of sensitive skin because that’s what they see & study every day.
Allergists
Dr. Basil Kahwash, M.D., M.M.H.C.
Basil Kahwash is a board-certified allergist and immunologist. Dr. Kahwash received an undergraduate degree in molecular biology from Kenyon College and his medical degree from the University of Toledo, where he was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. He then completed residency in internal medicine at Indiana University in Indianapolis, followed by fellowship in allergy/immunology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine/Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
At the end of his medical training, he joined Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee as an assistant professor. During his tenure at Vanderbilt, Dr. Kahwash was active in clinical research and quality improvement. Now a private practice physician at Ohio ENT & Allergy Physicians, he continues to participate in trainee education and public speaking. His cases have been featured in The New York Times and Elle, and in several peer-reviewed journals including The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Pediatrics, and Contact Dermatitis.
Dr. Kahwash is a Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), and a member of the American Contact Dermatitis Society (ACDS). He holds a Master’s of Management in Healthcare from Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Business.
Dr. David Erstein, M.D.
Dr. David Erstein is board certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and the American Board of Internal Medicine.
He earned his undergraduate degree from New York University and completed a Master’s degree in Medical Sciences at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Erstein received his medical degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical College. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, followed by fellowship training in Allergy and Immunology at the same institution. From 2007 to 2008, he was awarded the Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program Fellowship at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
Dr. Erstein has published in peer-reviewed medical journals and presented research at national medical meetings. Throughout his career, he has also been quoted by news and online media outlets regarding allergy care, prevention, and management.
In addition to his clinical and academic work, Dr. Erstein founded Assured Bites, a company that played a role in advancing national policy related to food allergy prevention. Through this work, Assured Bites contributed to changes in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s allowance of health claims recognizing the benefit of early peanut introduction in helping reduce the risk of developing peanut allergy.
Dr. Erstein has extensive expertise in the diagnosis and management of nasal and ocular allergies, sinusitis, asthma, and anaphylaxis. He also specializes in the evaluation of food and medication allergies, cosmetic allergies, allergic skin diseases, insect sting reactions, and latex allergies. He is committed to providing evidence-based, personalized, and thoughtful care to adult and pediatric patients. Outside of medicine, Dr. Erstein enjoys spending time with his family, crafting espresso, and is an avid car enthusiast.
Biologists
Dr. Mikah Coffindaffer, Ph.D.
Dr. Mikah Coffindaffer earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Developmental Biology from University of Cincinnati following her undergraduate degree in Food & Nutrition, Dietetics from Bluffton University. She is a Research & Development Director at Native with 15 years of experience in the Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPG) sector, specializing in consumer research and cross-functional partnerships.
She focuses on addressing unmet consumer needs, particularly in the natural product space. Dr. Coffindaffer is passionate about creating impactful brands and products people can feel good about putting on their body while thriving on problem-solving and data analysis.
Dr. John Cumbers, Ph.D.
Dr. John Cumbers obtained his undergraduate degree from The University of Hull, and his master’s degree in bioinformatics from The University of Edenburgh. He obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry from Brown University and is the founder and CEO of SynBioBeta, a leading community of innovators, investors, engineers, and thinkers dedicated to using synthetic biology to create a sustainable future. He publishes the weekly SynBioBeta Digest, hosts the SynBioBeta Podcast, and authored “What’s Your Biostrategy?”, the first book addressing the disruptive potential of synthetic biology across industries. In addition, Dr. Cumbers founded BetaSpace, a network focused on space settlement innovation.
With a background as a bioengineer at NASA, Dr. Cumbers has been actively involved with multiple startups and serves as an operating partner and investor at the hard tech investment fund Data Collective.
Dr. Jose Carlos Garcia-Garcia, Ph.D.
Dr. Jose Carlos Garcia-Garcia obtained his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Universidad de la Habana, and his Ph.D in Biomedical Sciences from Oklahoma State University before completing post-doctoral work in Medical Microbiology from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he was appointed as a research faculty professor. He is an experienced Research Fellow and leader in biotechnological innovation. He has a strong background in establishing and directing multidisciplinary global teams within both the consumer goods industry and academia. His expertise includes biotechnologies, microbiome/probiotics, biomedical sciences, target identification, and the discovery and development of bioactive and natural products.
Dr. Garcia-Garcia has a proven track record of identifying disruptive innovation opportunities in the microbiome and biotechnology spaces and is a passionate advocate for open innovation. He has extensive experience managing collaborations and strategic partnerships with academia, startups, and SMEs, focusing on projects that develop technologies aimed at maintaining health and curing diseases.