About Optifold
Built from personal experience.
Optifold began with founder Ray Tang trying to understand why his own eyelid skin folded differently and whether that fold could become more stable over time.
That personal question developed into years of handmade experiments, product development, patent protection and outside recognition.
The beginning
The idea began with a problem Ray experienced himself.
Ray grew up with monolids. During childhood modelling events, he became increasingly aware of the defined eyelid creases he saw on other children and the difference from his own eyelids.
He later began experimenting with eyelid tape to understand whether the skin could be guided to fold along a more deliberate and consistent line.
There was no company yet. It was a personal experiment developed through observation, repetition and trial and error.
Early development
The first versions were made one piece at a time.
Ray compared different widths, curves, lengths and adhesive areas to see how each variation changed the position and strength of the eyelid fold.
Early batches involved measuring, cutting, separating and comparing many versions of similar-looking tape shapes.
The work was slow, but it allowed each part of the design to be evaluated before the product moved toward more repeatable production.
Learning through repetition
Small changes to the shape created different results.
Even slight adjustments to a curve, opening or adhesive area could affect where the crease formed and how strongly the skin folded along that line.
The goal was not simply to produce a temporary crease while tape was visible. Ray was studying what happened after the tape was removed.
This gradually moved the idea beyond ordinary decorative eyelid tape and toward a coordinated system with specifically developed shapes.
Developing the invention
The private experiment became a public product-development project.
Optifold entered startup and health innovation environments where the concept could be presented and evaluated outside Ray’s own experience.
Presenting the system required him to clearly explain how it differed from conventional cosmetic eyelid tape and what problem it was being developed to address.
Feedback from these environments helped move the work toward a more structured product and method.
Patent protection
The developed tape system became a protected invention.
The invention was published internationally as WO2015016486A1, titled Tape for forming double eyelid crease.
The patent describes a coordinated tape configuration developed to form and support an eyelid crease rather than a single conventional cosmetic tape strip.
Patent protection was subsequently granted in Japan and South Korea.
External recognition
Recognized as Best Invention of Canada.
In 2017, Ray received Best Invention of Canada recognition at the International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada.
The award marked an important stage for a project that had begun with one person cutting and testing tape shapes for himself.
It provided outside recognition while the product continued to be developed and refined.
Health innovation support
Further support helped continue the development work.
In 2018, Optifold received a $7,000 HealthEDGE award through the University of Toronto Health Innovation Hub.
The support helped advance a project that was still moving from individually prepared prototypes toward a more repeatable product.
Awards and patents did not replace the product-development process. They helped support and validate the work behind it.