Dr Zarifa Gamzayeva is the founder and president of Gazelli Group. After qualifying as a doctor from the University of Medicine, in Baku, she worked for more than 15 years in the field of practical science and research.
"At the beginning of my career I was passionate about studying families' medical history. If the parent or grandparent has an illness then you find a way to prevent this in the children", explains Dr Gamzayeva. "I wanted to apply this knowledge to developing preventative skincare and haircare and I think naturally-derived, active ingredients are key."
It was her interest in using natural ingredients, found only on the territory of Azerbaijan, that led her to launch her professional range of skin and hair care products under Gazelli Group in 1999.
She has published more than 60 scientific papers and holds six patents. Her latest work involves the Triple Youth skincare range, which she developed with her daughter, based on the Ancient White Oil found "deep in the ground" only in the remote Naftalan region of Azerbaijan. "For 600 years it has been known for its healing and medicinal properties and after extensive research, we have applied it to skincare", explains Dr Gamzayeva,
Gazelli's luxury anti-ageing Triple Youth range is going to be launched across Europe and UK in September 2011.
Discovering and testing new ingredients is Dr Gamzayeva's passion: "The time I spend in the lab working on a new product is the best thing about what I do", she says, "and seeing the final product emerge."
Dr Gamzayeva has been honoured with numerous international awards, including a recent accolade Gazelli received for exceptional quality, which she collected from The International Economy Council in Moscow. She is now working on mother and baby range, influenced by the birth of her grandchild. "Lot of things are still in the test period like anti stretch mark creams which my daughter used after her pregnancy", she explains.
