Founder Story

 

It started in a community pharmacy in Seoul, where Hyunah spent her early career as a trained pharmacist and quickly became known for something beyond medications: skincare expertise. In Korea, pharmacists often play an important role in guiding people through both medical and cosmetic skin concerns.

What she saw surprised her. People weren't lacking skincare options. They were drowning in them. Shelves were packed with products promising flawless skin, yet many customers were frustrated, overwhelmed, and often irritated by complicated routines. Some were layering five, six, even ten products a day. Many formulas were mostly water, packed with long ingredient lists, preservatives, fragrances, and fillers. Skincare had become more confusing than helpful.

At the same time, Hyunah was carrying around a dream of her own.

While most pharmacists around her were building stable careers, she wanted something different. She wanted to understand how products were actually made, not just what was written on the label. That curiosity led her to make a bold decision: leave a successful career in Korea and move halfway across the world to pursue a PhD in Pharmaceutical Science in Madison, Wisconsin.

Studying pharmaceutical science and formulation, she began looking at cosmetic products through a different lens. Something didn’t add up: why were we shipping bottles that were 70-90% water? Why did so many formulas rely on preservatives and bulky packaging just to maintain a format?

There had to be a smarter way.

That’s when the idea clicked. Inspired by pharmaceutical tablet technology, she began exploring a concentrated, dissolvable format for personal care: stable, precise, and only activated when you need it. Instead of carrying large bottles, you add water at home. A small shift in thinking but it changed everything.

She partnered with her university to file a patent and began the work of turning an idea into a real product.

What started as a pharmacist's frustration with complicated skincare became something much bigger. That journey became Ondari, where a daily skincare routine becomes a small ritual of care, simple enough to fit into real life, meaningful enough to look forward to.