Twenty/Twenty Puts Vision at the Heart of Beauty

How Dr. Diane Hilal-Campo is reshaping the eye category one safe, science-backed product at a time.

It’s easy to forget that the most delicate part of our face, the eyes, has long been the most overlooked in beauty product formulation. While serums and skin tints have gone clean, clinical, and curated, eye makeup has largely remained untouched by the wellness revolution. That is, until Twenty/Twenty Beauty entered the chat.

Founded by Dr. Diane Hilal-Campo, a board-certified ophthalmologist with over 25 years of experience in clinical practice, Twenty/Twenty was born from what she calls a “crisis in eye health quietly happening in beauty.” As trends like tightlining, lash extensions, and prostaglandin-laced serums gained traction, Dr. Hilal-Campo saw a rise in eye infections, styes, blepharitis, demodex, and even long-term damage to the meibomian glands—essential structures that keep our eyes from drying out.

“I was seeing more and more patients with complications that stemmed directly from the products they were using,” she explains. “Things they thought were benign, like eyeliner on the waterline or lash glue, were actually causing real, sometimes irreversible, damage to their eye health. I knew I had to do something about it.”

A Brand Built From the Clinic, Not a Concept Board

Unlike most founders, Dr. Hilal-Campo didn’t set out to create a beauty brand. But as both a woman and a physician, she had a unique perspective. “I’m not just an ophthalmologist. I’m a woman who wears makeup. I wanted to create products that enhanced eye beauty without putting my own eye health at risk,” she says.

What started as a passion project that was self-funded and sparked by a beauty industry patient who helped connect her with formulators has now become a category-defining brand that sits at the intersection of wellness, skincare, and color cosmetics. “I couldn’t believe there was nothing like this already on the market. That’s when I realized this wasn’t just about filling a white space. It was about protecting people’s vision,” she says.

Hero Products With Medical Muscle

At the heart of Twenty/Twenty is clinical-grade care designed for everyday beauty routines. The brand’s best-selling Easy on the Eyes Calming Face Mist with Hypochlorous Acid is a multi-tasking marvel: a naturally occurring molecule created by white blood cells, hypochlorous acid is known for killing 99.9% of bacteria, some viruses and fungi (within one minute) while being gentle enough for babies.

Previously available only through ophthalmologists, Dr. Hilal-Campo worked to bring this medical marvel into the hands of everyday users. “It’s not just about treating conditions like blepharitis or styes after the fact,” she says. “This is a preventative hygiene step that everyone should be doing—twice a day, every day. It’s a game changer.”

Another standout: the Get Growing Lash & Brow Serum, which avoids the controversial prostaglandin analogs found in many conventional lash serums. Instead, it uses clinically supported, non-toxic ingredients to nourish follicles without the risk of pigment changes or fat atrophy around the eye. “We don’t use anything I wouldn’t prescribe in my own practice,” she emphasizes.

Even the brand’s Visionary Eye Shadow Sticks were created with intention. “I opted for a cream formula because powder fallout can disrupt the tear film,” she says. “It’s about more than just pigment. It’s about protecting the structures that keep your eyes healthy and comfortable.”

The Glaring Blind Spot in "Clean" Beauty

Despite the clean beauty boom, eye health has often been left out of the conversation. “The eye area is incredibly sensitive, but most brands use industrial-grade ingredients that are completely inappropriate for ocular tissues,” Dr. Hilal-Campo says.

That includes:

• Fragrance, often a cocktail of undisclosed allergens

• Beeswax, which can break the tear film’s homeostasis and exacerbate dry eye

• Carbon black, a known irritant and possible carcinogen used for deep pigment

• Preservatives like benzalkonium chloride, which damage corneal cells

Twenty/Twenty bans more than 150 common cosmetic ingredients and uses gentler preservatives—if any at all. “If a formulation doesn’t meet our health standards, it doesn’t go to market,” she says plainly. “No exceptions.”

That unwavering commitment to health means longer formulation timelines and higher costs—but it’s non-negotiable. “The goal isn’t just to be clean. It’s to be clinically safe and ophthalmologist-approved. If that means I need 12 lab iterations before we get it right, so be it.”

Education as Advocacy

Beyond the products themselves, Twenty/Twenty is also on a mission to educate consumers (and fellow beauty professionals like us) on the often-unseen risks of conventional eye makeup.

“People are shocked when I tell them that tightlining can block your meibomian glands and cause long-term dry eye,” Dr. Hilal-Campo says. “Or that certain lash serums can cause fat loss under the eyes, leading to sunken lids. These are things consumers deserve to know.”

To that end, she speaks at both ophthalmology conferences and beauty industry panels, bridging two worlds that rarely intersect. Her ultimate goal? “To change the narrative and shift industry standards. I want brands to start thinking about eye health as part of overall skin and wellness care, not an afterthought.”

What’s Next for Eye-Safe Beauty?

While Twenty/Twenty currently focuses on eye makeup, hygiene, and supportive treatments, expansion is already underway. “We’ll likely move into skincare next, starting with products for the eyelid area, and eventually expanding to the full face,” she shares.

But don’t expect a 50-SKU lineup anytime soon. “Every product takes time. I’m not interested in launching filler. I’m interested in solving real problems, healthfully and beautifully.”

For a beauty landscape increasingly shaped by clinical claims and consumer skepticism, Twenty/Twenty offers something rare: credibility earned not through celebrity co-signs or capital raises, but through a lifetime of medical practice, patient care, and a genuine desire to protect what matters most.

“Your eyes are how you see the world. Why would you risk them for a mascara?”

She’s right. And thanks to Twenty/Twenty, maybe now we won’t have to.