Latest / Skin Anarchy / Surviving Cancer and Pioneering in Beauty Industry with Lauren Rampello-Becotte

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Surviving Cancer and Pioneering in Beauty Industry with Lauren Rampello-Becotte · Skin Anarchy

• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Hi guys, welcome back to another episode of Special.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: And today I have such a phenomenal guest.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: This is this is a very special episode for Breast Cancer Awareness Month that we're doing.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, in addition to talking about her wonderful brand that she's built.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: But I wanted to bring this to you guys because it's going to be a really great conversation.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I can't wait to dive in.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to uh Lauren Rampello Bicot, who is the founder of Pure Glow.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, welcome to the show, uh Lauren.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to host you.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Dr.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Ekta.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so happy to be on the show.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, a fan of you and the podcast and and really just your whole whole ethos in helping, you know, sort of bring science to the forefront of skincare and in our industry.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for your kind words.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: I truly appreciate that.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I'm I'm a fan of you and what you're doing.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're really changing the game here, you know, with Pure Glow.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I love what you're doing.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I can't wait to dive into the actual brand, Lauren.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I want to learn all about you and your career because you've had such a phenomenal background coming into this.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to learn um where everything began and if you could walk us down memory lane, you know, with your career, your journey, and what led to the development of Pure Glow.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so my background is in finance.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: I really, you know, have a have a strong interest in sort of, you know, financial literacy and and um, you know, and really sort of understanding, you know, different wealth management strategies.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: But after a few years, I really, you know, thought more about it and I've always wanted to work for myself.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, a few years into my professional career post-college, I decided that, you know, it might be a time to take, take a leap.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: There were certain things happening in the industry that I was in that really kind of pushed me to say, you know what, this is a good time to begin to go out on your own.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: So initially I was making um, I was making plans to start a fitness business, a specific fitness um franchise, actually.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: And went really down the road quite far, was awarded a territory, uh, really excited about this company.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: But the company was growing really fast, their executive board was changing, and ultimately I got some cold feet.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: It was going to be, you know, sizable investment that I was going to be making personally.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: I was planning to make that my whole career.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so I said, you know what, let's slow down and reassess what the next steps were.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, really at that point, I began to kind of self-educate a little bit more in this sort of beauty and wellness space.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I was living in California after school and after college, and really kind of became privy to how far, you know, sort of cosmetic chemistry had come in the realm of sunless tanning, airbrush tanning, um, DHA-based products.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so really what I had quickly learned was that you could get these really believable looks vis-a-vis sunless tanning.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I'm personally someone who had uh has some experience with sunless tanners from a very young age, had a little bit of experience with UV tanning, whether that be outside or indoors as well.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, had always been, had I was, I'd always preferred a sunless option, really knowing that, you know, we have, you know, scarce skin is precious, our, you know, what we expose it to is precious, our health is precious.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so I always viewed sunless tanning as just a safer option.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but at the same time, you know, living in central Massachusetts, I sort of had limited options as to what was um, you know, accessible to use at home as well as professionally.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so, long story short, I had this friend who was getting these airbrush tans frequently, and she looked so natural, you would have never known.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I finally approached her, like, you know, you always look so tan and but it really looks real.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: But I know you're not the biggest outdoors person.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: So where is this coming from?
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: And she had kind of turned me onto this um, you know, this professional airbrush tanning that was nearby where we lived.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know, really from the get-go, I sort of dove in, um, you know, started to learn all about, you know, how is this made?
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: What ingredients are are in this sellless tan, how does the airbrush tanning work?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: And why is it so different than at-home products that I had been familiar with in the past?
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so, sort of that intrigue, um, you know, that sort of discovery lasted quite some time.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, after I had begun to learn that, you know, certified organic products were really effective in the skincare realm, um, that the active ingredient that dihydroxyacetone had really become better refined and there were better sources with that really yielded these better results.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: I tried to, I kind of began to figure out what ways could I get into the industry.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, after a few months of chatting with, you know, manufacturers and and formulators and a lot of different people in the industry, I quickly realized that nobody was passionate about the health component, the health piece as I was.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so people talk about margins and they're really more just, you know, how can we go go to market quickly?
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: How does the scale?
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: How do we really squeeze every sort of bit of profitability out of the customer?
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: When for me, it was really about how can we move forward with integrity and really make sure that the health component is central to any sort of offering and getting people this sort of end result.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: And so that is really what pushed me to, you know, begin the journey of what would become pure glove.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I love everything you said too about um, you know, creating this option for the people in a new way, you know, because I think when we saw tanning and forever listening, you know, Lorna were chatting right before the interview a little bit, but you know, I'm in my mid-30s and I, well, mid to late 30s, and I remember growing up, all of my girlfriends were going to the tanning batch.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, even my guy friends were going.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: We were all going.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think um part of it was just, you know, you obviously like when you get a tan, you have that beautiful glow to you, you know, and that's wonderful.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: But I remember being younger and even thinking, like, I just would hate to see what this is gonna lead to.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like 10 years down the line because some people were going like literally like every day.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: I remember people had, you know, and I'm sure all of us can relate to this.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: People had like, you know, memberships to spas and like tanning, you know, places that they would go literally once a day, if not more than once a day.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it was such a part of the culture at the time that we, I don't know, we just lost sight of it at one point.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then all of a sudden it was as if it happened overnight, where all of these stories started popping up, right?
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it was like, oh my God, you know, uh, tanning beds lead to cancer and like all this terrible news.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I just remember being at a point in my life where I was like, this is crazy.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like this is like as if like you fast forwarded time because it hit for me, it hit me all of a sudden, you know, as a consumer, where I'm now seeing that all of my friends and all the people I knew that were doing it, it was like I was automatically concerned, you know, like for them, like I hope they're okay, and I and all this.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: So it has definitely been such an interesting space.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that that's really where I'm gonna try to go with this.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's an interesting thing to watch over the years.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then obviously, you know, as you know, Lauren, like so many uh products popped up, right?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: With like the at-home tanning and like the sprays and all this.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, I remember seeing people that were using them and everyone looked so streaky or orange.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, yeah, this is not it.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: We have not reached it yet.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: We have not gotten there.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's so true.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, you know, as I was saying uh a little bit earlier when we were chatting um pre-recording, you know, a lot of a lot of people, myself included, you know, I didn't grow up with a great airbrush option near me.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't grow up with a lot of um, you know, sophisticated beauty counters near be near me with a variety of sort of sunless products.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: What I was using is, you know, I was trying every single thing and trying to find something that looked natural and didn't streak.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: And like you said, I mean, for so many years and largely still today, uh, you know, it's hard to make, to make and find a quality sunless tanning product product, which, you know, of course, on the flip side, then makes people really cautious and concerned and um, you know, not interested in trying something in the industry.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: So we uh we very much are still combating that sort of, I don't want to look orange, I don't want to look streaky, I don't want to look like I've gotten a sunless tan.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: But the most wonderful thing is great, believable looking, good for your skin, good for your health products are here.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: And they've been here for some time.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they are not quite prolific.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's really sort of the task that we've taken on, which we're I'm really excited to get into more.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but they're finally here.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that, you know, the more people can try them, can experience them for themselves.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think that, you know, very soon we have such a savvy customer that uh that knows better, that is, you know, thoughtful about their health, thoughtful about their purchases and what they put on their skin, just like you know, what they put in their body and what they consume.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that we're really in a place where we're gonna be making some big strides um away from you know UV outdoor tanning, definitely away from UV indoor tanning, and then even beyond some of these conventional spray tans, booth tans, um makeup counter lotions that really contain um, you know, a lot of ingredients that we really can do without.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, exactly.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that is such a huge topic.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I I'm so glad you're mentioning that because I literally had um, you know, a few conversations uh recently about body care.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I mean, we talk a lot about skincare here, and I I know body care is kind of emerging right now where a lot more people are paying attention and they're looking for better products and you know, all that great stuff.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: But one thing that the conversation keeps coming up and uh, you know, up again is that again, with anything that you put on such a large surface area, you're gonna have absorption of that, you know, into your bloodstream.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so a lot of times with body care, even it's like you have to pause and think about what is in this product, you know, like what am I putting on?
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: This doesn't impact me downstream, you know, and it's really becoming a new conversation because body care products are a whole different realm, you know, than just putting something on your face.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: You're covering a much larger portion, you have a lot more surface area, like I said.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's a huge conversation, absolutely.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I think with tanning, um I love that you said that there are, you know, safe and good ingredients in this because one of the big things um I want to talk to you about, Lauren, is, you know, what it takes to create a more natural-looking tan, you know, because at the end of the day, I won't lie to you, I remember, you know, even uh people who were getting a tan and they looked darker, but it was just like, you know, it was an unrealistic tan, you know, not even like in a comical way where we say, oh, you look orange, but it was almost also like um making those people that have like darker skin tones reevaluate, like, why do I look differently when I tan?
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, as compared to somebody who gets a tan at a tanning bed or like a, you know what I mean, like a self-tanner.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it was a really interesting conversation and a really interesting uh, you know, observation, I could say.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: So from that, I want to ask you, you know, what are some of the the good things that are in the product and and you know that people go away with looking natural, you know, after they get a tan with pure glow.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: That that's a that's a great question.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, one thing I'll just share for for those, um, you know, just to preface that, preface that, um, you know, for those who are listening who, you know, may not necessarily think that they're interested in tanning, um, you know, really one of the things I've set out to do is is really, you know, help people realize that tanning is is for everyone.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: So today we see such a wide, uh, wide, you know, demographic of, you know, predominantly women, but um really wide demographic of people across the sexes, across the um, you know, ethnicities, across the ages.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, the desire to look tan, whether that be lightly tan, medium tan, much darker, is you know, is something that that sort of demand is never going to go away.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: But what we what we've educated our our kind of client community in and what we really try to do with our brand is help people know that, you know, we don't want you to look like a different person.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: We want you to look like the best version of you.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_01: So tanned, looking tanned, looking glowy, does not necessarily mean that you look like you've stepped off of the beach for four days or you've came, you've returned from a week-long, two-week-long tropical vacation.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: You don't need to look so severely tan or so noticeably tan to achieve that really even, flawless, um, you know, sort of confident look and feel that a tan, in our opinion, a glow really provides.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's really what we're after.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: We're really after something universal, not necessarily that exclusive, you know, just return from the beach look.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: So, that being said, a lot of people don't realize that the airbrush tan, the sunless tan, is really, I think of it like the union of skincare and makeup, right?
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: So, what you you're able to do is there are all of these wonderful skincare benefits and ingredients that we're using.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: And by using that sort of skincare, we're creating this semi-permanent color that's going to last from seven for seven to ten days.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, how long it lasts is really going to depend on how much natural melanin you already have in your skin.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: So, someone who can tan pretty easily in the sun, their pure glow tan is going to last a little bit longer.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Someone who does not tan at all, really incapable of tanning, or might take a long time to get their sort of bone glow, um, their tan might fade a day or two faster than someone who has, you know, naturally more melanin.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: But what's wonderful is that um we're really able to achieve these light, medium, dark levels of color across skin tones.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have a variety of you know, Middle Eastern and African American and Greek clients that are naturally so much darker at baseline.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: And when they um when they finish their airbrushed hand, depending on what look they choose, they almost always will say, Wow, this looks exactly like I spent a day in the sun.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's it's really incredible that we're really able to to really help, you know, you achieve a glow across sort of skin tones.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and really again, you know, level setting that this doesn't need to be, you know, dark, dark, dark is not the goal.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: We want you to look like the best version of yourself.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that's really what we're we're looking to achieve.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: So to some extent, it does come back to kind of resetting people's expectation.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: What are you going to get out of an airbrush chin?
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: And what we found, you know, almost a decade now, um, you know, working directly, serving, serving customers directly.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, what we have learned is even people who come in thinking that I only look good with the darkest shade have now really turned things down and have really understood that this is about me feeling good, not about me looking like an entirely different person.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so for us, that's you know, that's wonderful because we don't want people to feel like, you know, they need to change their appearance to look great.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_01: So kind of coming back to your initial question, you know, really what we're doing is we're using a lot of really key skincare ingredients.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, something that has been key to our formulation is uh aloe vera.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: So aloe vera we might use in a variety of different forms.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: We might use the extract, we might use the gel, we might use aloe vera water.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: But really, what we're doing is we want to make sure that we're using the um, you know, getting uh isolating the key benefits, which are really, you know, quite a variety of benefits with aloe vera specifically.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, first and foremost, hydration is a really big one.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, the skin is, you know, is combated with all sorts of different environments and temperatures and forced air and um, you know, changing climates depending on our travel schedule, um, you know, as well as so many other things.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so um really continuing to infuse hydration into the skin is great for our everyday lives, as I'm sure you're familiar as a dermatologist, but also um specific to the airbrush tan is really going to ensure that the airbrush tan adheres really evenly, that the skin is conditioned upon application, and that as um as a client lives with that tan, that it's going to also fade really naturally and really effortlessly.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: So there's not a lot of aftercare sort of required.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um a couple other winning ingredients uh in our in our um you know formulations that are really sort of the base of our formulations are things like vitamin C and vitamin E.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: So again, really nourishing, really brightening, um, you know, these vitamins that are really going that we know are really effective and that are going to do good work to really continue to make sure that the texture, the tone, and the appearance of the skin is youthful, even, um, and really beautiful.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I like that you have aloe vera in there.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like um it's so interesting because it's very ironic, right?
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because normal tanning causes such uh stress on your skin.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of inflammation happens, and um for you to have such like such a soothing ingredient is very, very um, you know, it's very ironic and it's great that you guys do that because it's very important to have a very calm complexion, I would think, right?
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you're getting like a if you're trying to like upgrade like the the skin tone, I mean I'm guessing it helps a lot with evening the skin tone.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: Indeed, indeed.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we don't talk a lot about the you know, all the work and benefits that you know these few ingredients that we're using to, you know, to support the the airbrushed tan really do.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, I think one of the biggest things that I've always been drawn to about about aloe vera is its ability to negate the free radicals on the top layer of the skin, right?
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, translated right for our audiences it's really going to kind of help to keep at bay and sort of slowly, gently repair that sort of, you know, the bombardment of the elements of the sun, et cetera, that you know, we experience throughout our lives.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, you know, I really love sort of harnessing the power of these um, you know, largely longtime used, known to be effective ingredients that really can do a lot of work for us.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: So one thing I want to know, Lauren, is um, you know, if you do come in, so I from a I'm thinking from a beauty perspective, right?
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know that a lot of times if you're getting a if you're getting a tanning procedure done, you want to be able to match your makeup to it, you know.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of times people, I I always watch these videos where people are like, well, this is my makeup when I'm tanner, and this is my makeup for like winter when I'm like not, I have not no tan at all.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I always find that to be so interesting because um if you're getting like a a tan um that you described like seven to eight days that it lasts, um, do you notice that if you if a client comes back, um it's a darker tan, or can we like maintain the same baseline color?
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is that ever a problem?
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: Or um do they build on top of each other?
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: How does that work?
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so so just so I understand, um, Dr.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: Eka, are you asking, you know, is it common that a client will need to change their makeup color to match their tan?
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Is that the question?
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because like I I'm just thinking from like like you know, let me rephrase it because uh, you know, say I come in for like my initial treatment, right?
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: And it lasts like seven to eight days.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: If I come back like on the sixth day and I want to make sure that my tan is ready to go for another seven days, if you guys do it again, is it going to build on the color I already have and like you know make it darker, or can you still match like whatever color um I started with and then it maintains that?
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: I might be a stupid question, but I'm I'm just curious, you know, because I've never experienced it.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: So no, not um, not a stupid question at all.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so no and yes, right to the to the to the two-part question.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so for the most part, depending on sort of your routine, how often you're sweating, working out, um, you know, sort of your daily life, what products you might be using in your skin, everyone's skin is going to, you know, to last, you know, sort of a different variety.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: Typically, people, you know, people will see it last a minimum of of seven days.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then some people will commonly get 14 out of their tan, which is, you know, I'm included in that.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you might have events back to back or you might really want to make sure that you're maintaining that color.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: So we can, you know, we can do a variety of things.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: One, we're always going to recommend that you use some sort of exfoliating product or tool to, you know, really try to remove any dead skin before uh before you come in for your tan.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you took tan six days ago, most likely you will you will still have some pure glow tan on your skin.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you might still want to do a gentle exfoliation.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the beauty of the exfoliation, right, is it you're really it's really going to allow that the new tan to adhere well and it also allow it to, you know, similarly fade evenly, um, you know, because you've already removed something like your dead skin that's kind of already on its way out.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so we definitely can sort of, so you have to remember that with our airbrush tan, and that's really sort of our signature service at Pure Glow.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, we do have uh professional studios, and so most of our clients are coming in and tanning professionally.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: We can talk a little bit about the at home product line that's coming out.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Afterwards.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: But um, but really, because everything is being done by hand by trained professionals, we can even out the face, different parts of this the body that might still be holding on to a little more tanner.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's incredible, sort of what we can do to even the skin out or move you a little bit warmer.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: So we never worry about, you know, leftover tan residue or if your arms held onto it really well, we can add on to your arms, but also even everything around it.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's sort of hard to go wrong.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: What um typically what we'll see is we're not really building a lot because once you get your tan, right, there's that sort of chemical reaction that's happening with the amino acids in the top layer of your skin.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: And then you're going to rinse that sort of cosmetic bronzer off.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: And then as you're as time goes by, you're going to, you know, shower, rinse, shower, rinse.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, there will, there will, that chemical reaction is already sort of, you know, on the top layer of your skin.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: So if we add more sunless tanner on top of, you know, sort of that reaction, it really isn't going to be a big problem.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, great.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's what I wanted to.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: I was just curious.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, how many shades uh do you keep changing?
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you keep coming back for it.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: But that's good.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's really cool.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that you can maintain that one shade that you've picked out and maintain that.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: Just but keep coming back and keep and keep getting it done.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's really cool.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a great option because I I know a lot of people, um, you know, in the summertime, your shade like I've seen videos of so many influencers or individuals that say, yeah, like, you know, I get like three shades darker in the summer, or sometimes some summers I get five shades darker.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: It just depends on the summer.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, gosh, that's gotta be such a feat, you know what I mean, to match your makeup and to reevaluate.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: And in our industry too, so we um, you know, in the professional sphere, so in our professional studios, we have five different looks that we have clients choose from.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: The first three looks, you really won't need to change your makeup, um, you know, your your sort of makeup tone.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, the the fourth and fifth look are going to be very noticeable looks.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so in that case, typically people will like to to um to use a darker tone or really um make sure they're really adding on a lot of that bronzer on their face.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: So it really kind of depends.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: We have a lot of professional makeup artists send clients, clients our way for big events, things like weddings, et cetera.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: And oftentimes they'll skip the face altogether.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so even if they do a darker look, um, you know, their makeup artist the day of will make sure to match their neck, their decollete, et cetera.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, do all the beautiful contouring with, you know, with the the bronzer and and um you know in the blush and and things turn out great.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: So there really actually is a lot of flexibility built into, you know, sort of working with sunless tanner and in um in a professional airbrushed tan.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: And and I love that you're you're doing this in such an like detailed approach, Lauren, because honestly, I remember um, you know, back when I was I was back in undergrad and I had a a close friend of mine, she was a few years ahead, and she was very fair skinned, you know, and um she's from California, ironically, and she was always telling me, you know, Ecta, I just I can't get behind, you know, always being in the sun because she's like, I I burn, you know, she used to burn very easily.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, I just don't know why people give me so much grief because I never have a tan.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, I don't know, Mindy.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know why they give you, you know, problems with that.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: But she was always like disheartened because it was like she would always burn and she honestly never wanted to like be that consumer, right?
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: That was sitting laying out in the sun all day or like trying to, you know, get a tan.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: But I know that she um at one point we had a conversation where it was like her voicing basically, I wish somebody would just give me an option to get like a slight, you know, color into my on my skin in the summer where I didn't have to, you know, be this like burnt color or whatever.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And she was really adamant about that.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I used to always like just be like, ah, I don't know.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I had no answer for her because it was such an interesting time back then.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: But I think right now, like this is creating so many options for you know for people because sometimes you just want that, like you say, like it's in the name of your company, you know, you want a glow to you.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of times we we say, you know, tanning is just getting darker, but really no, it's sometimes it's just adding that, you know, level of vitality to your overall skin tone.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's so like I think that's more interesting than just getting darker.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's it's just so interesting.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I couldn't agree more.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_01: And it's funny.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_01: So one of the ways in which we've sort of innovated in this space, um, you know, very early on is we, you know, we have a look called vibrant and called radiant.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_01: And really what those looks are, you know, we refer to them as sort of under-the-radar looks.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so they are really designed to help you look really simply glowy, right?
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: We, you know, we're Boston-based.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: So Boston, Massachusetts, we have very cool weather the vast majority of the year, right?
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: We have a very short, hot summer.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so as a result, if you're staying local and if airbrush chinning is part of your regular sort of maintenance and routine, it isn't going to be natural to look noticeably tanned throughout the year.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's really where vibrant and radiant came in.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I know I have friends in the industry across the country, you know, with studios that, you know, across the country to different places, and there is, you know, so little uh, you know, sort of discussion or, you know, options are really not available for a more conservative glow or catering to somebody like your friend who really cannot tan in the sun.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: So something like a medium tone would be so drastic and it could actually feel really embarrassing because it's so far from what is natural to her.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so having, you know, in Boston, we definitely, you know, kind of one of the initial things that I did is we need to cater to a very fair skin clientele.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_01: We have a very high sort of Irish population here in Boston.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: And I cannot tell you how many times over the years we've had clients come in and express very similar, you know, sentiment to your friend, where, you know, hey, I've learned from a young age that I need to slather sunscreen on myself, or I will, I can seriously harm myself with really severe burns and burning very, very quickly.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I have to really be my own advocate and I have to be so conscientious.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_01: At the same time, I see my other friends tanning and have, you know, getting these beautiful looks.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel as though I'm I'm missing out, or I would like to experience that, right?
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's almost like, you know, let's say that, you know, we're younger and you know, some broad blonde streaks are really popular for brunettes, and you're telling your friend that, you know, you're not allowed to get blonde streaks.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: You can't try that trend, you can't participate.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, that's that's really not fair.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: And um, and then similarly, you know, again, like I mentioned, we really spend a lot of time educating the consumer of that, you know, a beautiful sunless tan, a pure glow does not necessarily have to be that fresh off the beach sort of look.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: And so people like your friend come to us, they experience, you know, an airbrushed tan with a beautiful little red undertone that looks a lot more like them, and they're instantly hooked.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: It transforms their look, it transforms the way they feel.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, it is just such a fun part of their routine.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so it's it's really, really cool to be able to sort of make this available to a variety of skin tones and and often, you know, some of these overlooked, uh, you know, fair-skinned um individuals like your friend.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I think it I think that's so lovely that you offer that.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, honestly, I won't I won't lie, you know, I come from a culture like, you know, in India.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like my parents are from India.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm from India, I was born there, and I know that there's a huge and it's a little in the opposite direction, but I want to talk about this and make this analogy because, you know, there's this huge, like terrible culture around um fair, you know, skin lightning, you know, in a lot of eastern countries.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: And one of my biggest thoughts around it has always been that, you know, instead of promoting that toxic culture, like, why don't we talk about how very fair-skinned people can make themselves glow?
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean, by doing little things and and changing little things and and incorporate that into regardless of what skin tone you are.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes it's beauty is not about the shade of you know, color that you have, it's about how you how your color is glowing, you know what I mean?
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like what you're doing to bring that color out and to bring your normal, you know, level of skin tone out.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's also a huge topic here because it it is a culture-shifting perspective to, you know, to build this idea around whatever color of skin that you have, you can enhance that color by having this like look to you that's like an inner glow, rather than just I'm just gonna get darker, you know what I mean, or I want to just get lighter.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean that doesn't mean anything at the end of the day.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where like I I know it's like opposite, but like I've had these conversations with people who are like, well, I just I hate my skin tone, or like, you know, they people will say that, you know, very drastic comments, and they'll say stuff like, you know, I just I don't like it, and it doesn't go with anything, or I don't feel like clothes look good on me, and and etc.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: etc.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm from my perspective, I look at that and I'm like, well, I think it's less of a problem with wanting a fairer skin tone and more of a problem with finding ways to look and feel beautiful in your own skin, you know, and I think what that can go in both directions.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: It can be for very, you know, melanated skin or very, you know, demelinated skin.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: It could be either way.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: You just have to find a really nice balance and a place where you feel comfortable.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like what you're doing is really standing for, you know, this idea of like true body positivity through that way.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like that is, it's a huge component of body positivity that we feel comfortable in our skin tones, you know, and it's important to talk about it.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think it is.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I think um, you know, sometimes it's hard to incorporate when we talk about our brand because it, you know, it can feel a little cheesy or you know, a little bit, um, you know, a little bit forced, but you know, really the you know, such such an important part of what we do, our team does in the studio is, you know, as soon as, as soon as a client, you know, enters the treatment room, we, you know, we we help, you know, tell them what to do to undress, it's you know, to their comfort level, et cetera, et cetera.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: And there are these really bright lights and these really big mirrors.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: And the moment anyone enters, they immediately, you know, of course, predominantly women, they immediately start saying, um, you know, talking negatively about their body, about their skin, right?
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: In this particular case, we're really treating you head to toe.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so whether you're, you know, much more, much more melanated and you know, you scar easily and and you have, you know, sort of acne scars that are really obvious, or dark bruises, or, you know, anything that it might be, and immediately, you know, right, we're always our own worst critic.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, or if it's somebody who's really kind of on the other end of the spectrum, or demelinated, oh my gosh, I'm, you know, I'm such a ghost, I'm so fair, I hate the way I look, all these things.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: And we hear so much of that.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I really feel like we're in this position to completely sort of combat that negative self-talk and say, you know, that is absolutely not the case.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: That is not why you're in here, but you know, this service is gonna even you out, and I guarantee you're gonna feel so much better after.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: And it's true.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: We really are in the business of instant gratification and um, you know, and and really sort of, you know, turning that negative self-talk around and really making sure that people, people know that um, you know, you you look great the way you are.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, I can't tell you how many times I've gone to a facialist and and they've told me, oh yeah, we have a lot of work to do.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: You're you're really in in bad condition, or you know, maybe I'm having someone look at my skin for something and oh yeah, there, you know, there's a lot of a lot of fat that we can um we can attack here.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I I just can't believe that somebody would, you know, would speak to a client like that.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: And so the culture at Pure Glow and the culture within our team is really combating that and and um, you know, at the end of the day, saying, you know, hey, we have this great tool that's going to even your skin tone and make you feel like the best version of yourself.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_01: So even if you feel this way right now, even though we disagree with the way you feel, in 10 minutes, I guarantee you're gonna feel better.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, you know, I do think that that is an important, um, you know, important part of our role.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we, you know, we're uniquely positioned because we, you know, our clients are sort of in this vulnerable position to be sort of, you know, their their confidant, their friend, but really sort of their their hype girl and and their best promoter.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that is so integral, you know, especially in it when it comes to just anything body care.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: I I really believe in, you know, uh I think companies need to have this level of ethical responsibility in that way of taking that into consideration, you know, about their consumers is that we all have body issues in some way.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: All of us do.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_00: We can all relate to it.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think when you're able to take that head on and and treat that with a lot of care and, you know, just be mindful of it, that speaks volumes about, you know, what you're creating and what you're putting out here as an entrepreneur.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I I love that you've, you know, you've considered that and you guys take it, you know, take care of your clients rather than just, you know, assume that no one is thinking about it.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because we are, you know, all of us are.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: We're walking around and we're all criticizing ourselves constantly.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a huge, huge topic in the realm of body care, you know, what whatever we're talking about, whether that's skincare or tanning or or whatnot.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so yeah, I think it's a huge area that needs attention and needs more attention from the side of entrepreneurs and the side of businesses, you know, um, obviously from the side of consumers, but also from that side, from that angle of businesses being more um resourceful, more mindful, more thoughtful about these topics.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I love it, Lauren, and I want to shift gears a little bit because, you know, I know that you've you're also um, you know, you're a breast cancer survivor, and I want to talk about that a little bit because I think it's important, especially with breast cancer awareness month, you know, we were talking before the episode started that people are often talking about amazing, you know, we're talking about the survival stories, and that's wonderful, but very um few times do I hear um people discussing this role of you know entrepreneurship and then becoming so successful in what you're doing, and then here comes this life-changing moment that kind of turns your world upside down.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to ask you, you know, what was your journey like and how has it been and how is that tied into your you know role as an entrepreneur, as as obviously a woman and and especially with your career, if you could share some details with us.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, sure.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, life is life is full of ups and downs.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, for for over a decade now, I I've always you know really chipped away at sort of meditation, mindfulness, and and really just trying to be in the present moment.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, when we have really exciting things going on in the business, I really try to be grateful and and um you know, and be grateful for where you know when things happen.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, similarly on the on the other side, um, you know, deep in the pandemic and and getting, you know, sort of diagnosed with a major life-threatening disease, uh, you know, really just trying to sit with with those feelings and know that, you know, every, you know, there can't always be ups without the downs, right?
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: But there will be ups again.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, you know, for the first uh, you know, six years of of the business, actually a little, a little uh over that, um, you know, I've been a solo founder and and I've been uh self-funded, bootstropped the business um, you know, way back since 2015.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so when the pandemic came along in 2020, um, you know, I didn't have a co-founder to lean on.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't have a large corporate team to lean on.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I was, you know, doing a lot of everything.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I had some great vendors that, you know, were certainly an extension of my team for many years that would help with different, you know, styles of the business, whether that be uh, you know, marketing or uh construction or design.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, really at the end of the day, it was it was just me.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so the the pandemic was a tremendously stressful time for me as a solo founder and um you know as a self-funded individual.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so for us, we were forced to be closed in Boston for many months in 2020.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, every month there was more uncertainty.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, I'm unmarried, I didn't have a husband to lean on.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, financially I was leaning on myself.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_01: And so sort of as the months grew, you know, sort of the my stress certainly grew.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_01: 2021, um, as we entered, you know, a little bit more optimistic, um, you know, we found that, you know, regionally there was still a tremendous amount amount of fear around COVID.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so our customers' buying behavior very much reflected that.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so where other parts of the country, towards the end of, you know, to mid and end of 2020 were really beginning to reopen and thrive, and um, you know, people wanted to be out and and and things like that, it was quite a different story in Boston.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I was really, I really felt a lot of pressure.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, our business had been profitable and growing uh since day one.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_01: And in early 2020 and in mid-March when COVID really showed its face, um, we went completely to to revenue zero, which was, you know, beyond something I could have ever imagined in my life.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, as entrepreneurs like, you know, like yourself, you know, a lot of your sort of pride and your identity identity is tied with your um, you know, tied with your business.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_01: Your business is your baby.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a child.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's something that you invest so many of your resources and and your energy into.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so to to see something suffer so much um that was completely out of my control was was quite hard.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that, you know, a lot of a lot of stress really unfortunately manifests physically in our bodies.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: And um, in early 2021, I noticed a lump in my left breast.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I was actually in and out of the studio.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, at that point, we had reopened, and you know, we're really sort of doing the best we could to get back to normal and sort of respect client sentiment and and things like that.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_01: But we were doing what we could.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_01: We were open, and um, a really good client of mine who'd become a good friend came in one day for for a tan.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I sort of could see this this small lump.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, uh, you know, it was really palatable.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_01: You could really see it if I if I stood up nice and tall.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I said to her, you know, can you see this?
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: Can you, do you mind putting your hand here?
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_01: Can you feel this?
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_01: I couldn't tell if it was a figment of my imagination or uh, you know, if this was really truly a lump.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so I'd kind of been noticing something for a few months.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_01: And lo and behold, I was fortunate to have an appointment with my primary care doctor about two weeks later.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, when I when I went in, she she confirmed, you know, hey, this is definitely a lump.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, and but you know, you're young, you're um, you know, you have a little bit of a thinner frame.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's you know, really kind of how we can see it.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: We can feel it.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: It feels as if it's it's not particularly hard.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, she kind of gave me this laundry list of of reasons why it wasn't cancer.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so she said, you know, don't worry, you know, we're gonna go ahead and and make an appointment for you at a lot, you know, um, in a few days to to follow up and and get it, you know, looked at by a specialist.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_01: Lo and behold, um, you know, you know, I end up getting an ultrasound and I get a very similar sentiment.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, you're young, you know, there are all these reasons why, you know, this is not cancer.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so, kind of on a rating scale of how concerned are we if this is malignant or if this is benign, um, they put me right in the middle.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so that was not particularly comforting, but it was better than, you know, sort of a definite feeling of this is benign.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_01: So, really, what they did is they gave me, they gave me the option.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: First and foremost, they said, you know, most likely you can go home now and we're gonna schedule you in six months to, you know, to kind of follow up and take a look.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_01: If it grows in size, um, you know, we're gonna recommend that you get a biopsy.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_01: Fortunately, my parents are both medical.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_01: My mom was uh was an RN, my dad was a uh a doctor, a urologist and in your urological surgeon um my whole life.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I really grew up with these parents who were very invested and cared a lot about the medical field and um not only our health, but everyone's everyone's health and wellness.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, you know, I I called up my dad, spoke with my parents, and they said, um, you know, I strongly recommend that you get a biopsy now.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, there's no reason that you should have a lump in your breast.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I took this information back, felt really fortunate that I, you know, I had someone who is knowledgeable in my family that I could speak to and get their opinion.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I I kind of responded that, you know what, I would like to get a biopsy today.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I don't want to wait.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to fall up in six months.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: I I want to get one today.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm so Glad that I did because if I hadn't pushed for that, um, I was I later found out that I had a tremendously fast growing breast cancer.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so waiting six months could have really said the trajectory of my life in an entirely different direction.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really boiled, really wild stuff.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I've had friends approach me since who are, you know, similar age to you and I, who've had lumps in their breast, who've been asked um, you know, if they want to follow up or if they want to get a biopsy.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I have, you know, pleaded with with you know my whole rational and emotional mind to do it, because there's really no downfall in doing um you know, doing a biopsy.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_01: In addition to that, I think it's really instrumental that you do a biopsy in multiple locations and not just one.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that's something that I also learned, which became an important part of um, you know, the later part of my cancer journey as I moved, as I, you know, began to learn really, you know, what was ahead.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, long story short, um, everyone's sort of diagnosed diagnosis is is going to be very different.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_01: There are many different kinds of of breast cancer, uh, and uh, you know, many, there are, you know, a number of different stages, and and really, you know, there are so many ways that you can be treated.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_01: So the decision of how to be treated and what to move forward with, you know, I found, and I'm sure you can really speak, speak quite a bit to this, Dr.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_01: Edka, but um, you know, there are a lot of different things, and you have to really personally ask yourself, you know, what is the best choice for you and your family?
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_01: But for me, um, you know, treatment looked like surgery followed by chemotherapy, followed by radiation, followed by hormone therapy.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so the hormone therapy um, you know, I'm currently experiencing and you know will most likely uh follow up with for the rest of my life.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I also had additional infusions um alongside chemotherapy that are not that are that are like chemotherapy, but um, you know, work a little bit differently.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and now since you know graduating from radiation, um I've had a number of different treatments and therapies that um are now sort of beginning to uh address issues and and fallout uh from the chemotherapy and you know the radiation and and the hormone therapy.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_01: Because of course, once you start um, you know, addressing one issue, you know, unfortunately other things can can come up that need to be addressed.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, long story short, I'm in a really good place today, but managing the business and treatment um physically and emotionally, sort of, you know, what treatment requires was entirely new, uncharted territory for me.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's what I was gonna also ask you was I mean, you you go through this like change, and I I can't imagine, you know, first of all, like truly hats off to you for being such a survivor and for getting through this incredibly challenging phase in your life.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I can't imagine having to go through that.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then also, like you said, you know, you're an entrepreneur, you're a go-getter, you know what I mean?
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_00: You've got this whole life that you're building, and all of a sudden life is throwing a wrench, you know, in the middle of it.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it's gotta be something that is so hard in terms of just, you know, being able to navigate, obviously, but then also just, right?
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's a that's that's a big life change.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of survivors, you know, I like I've heard stories where it's just like this happened at the peak of my career, you know what I mean?
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like a lot of people say that, like this happened when I least expected something to happen.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I I always find that to be so, you know, you know, we always say it's like God's humor in a way, right?
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's so in just uh disheartening to hear that because I hate when women are stopped in in an in our tracks, you know what I mean, because of something that is out of our control and something that we can't really say, you know, I can change this or I can, but you know, for you to survive that and to be doing so well with your career, with your business, with coming back, like I just want to ask you, you know, how was that with coming back into the swing of things and coming back into you know your entrepreneurship and your developing your business, you know, more and more and keeping it going, you know, how was that in terms of the adjustment period?
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_01: It was um it it really it really went great.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: I think, you know, for me fortunately, um I I had such a strong foundation uh in terms of sort of my my knowledge of you know our mission, you know, what Pure Glow has really sought to do, we've made a we know we had made a tremendous amount of progress.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_01: We have a really enthusiastic, super loyal and supportive client community.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um we had our you know a really strong team for many years.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um the pandemic certainly had you know uh forced a lot of people to scatter to different locations.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but since we've built a really strong and in um and fabulous team to date in studio as well as you know on the on the corporate side.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um and so really, you know, I think that getting a pretty serious diagnosis like this, it it really almost sort of forces you to reevaluate what is important.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, for me, I've always been passionate about my work.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_01: I um anything I I choose to do, I I will only do it 110%.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_01: There is no other way for me.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, you know, I love to learn.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, I think being an entrepreneur, I mean you are constantly learning, you're teaching yourself so many things, you're wearing so many hats, um, and you're really, you know, learning a lot as you go, right?
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_01: I have no background in chemistry, but I I have really needed to understand how to work with chemists.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I have no, you know, no background particularly in owning and operating a salon, but I, you know, learned how to do that and um I learned how to manage people.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_01: I learned how to recruit, you know, incredible executives from from different parts, you know, you know, from different companies and in um you know different roles in the organization.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that um, you know, really I I had to I had to tell myself, remind myself that even though things were getting really bad and I would not know uh you know what a number of months would look like, how often I would be able to show up at my desk, how often I would be able to focus and get anything done.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I knew that I had a really strong foundation and that, you know, maybe being absent for a year, being um, you know, absent for a year and a half or more would not change that.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think I had to really remind myself that, you know, this business is so much more than me, but I am a constant.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_01: I am reliable.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_01: And what I've built, what we've created as a community, as a team, is um, you know, is not fleeting.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so that really sort of gave me the confidence to focus on myself when I needed to focus on myself.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, I am not perfect.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_01: There were many, many weeks to some extent, almost constant, that I was worrying about our team.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_01: I was worrying about our clients, I was worrying about how the studio was operating.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I, you know, I really had to, I really forced myself to, you know, give them autonomy, give them the autonomy they needed.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_01: I had a good couple friends who stepped up and and helped me with operating when we were sort of in between management, right?
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_01: We had to furlough our management during the pandemic.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_01: It really wasn't clear as to when Massachusetts was going to let us reopen.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, you know, a lot of other big kind of internal corporate projects with the labs and things, you know, the our labs had to really kind of stop creating cosmetics and we're really focusing only on sanitizers and way to support, you know, anything else that was needed COVID-related.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_01: So really all these sort of projects that were in motion, everything really had to stop.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, you know, it was it was a really good reminder that, you know, if you have to stop for a period of time, it's okay.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_01: But there will be no pure glow without Lauren at this point in time.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_01: And so I really need to take care of myself if I want this company and if I personally want to come out of this, you know, better than than the way I went in.
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, really, you know, I think you have to just go back to, you know, what's important, even though I love my work so much.
• 52:48
  SPEAKER_01: I always will.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm so passionate and I get so much um fulfillment from what I do.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, I think I will always continue to do that.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, it really was a time where I had to look inward and I had to allow myself to to really focus on on me until I was kind of on the other side.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_00: Gosh, I I just yeah, everything you said, it just resonates with me so hard.
• 53:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I I really, really, truly applaud you for having such a wonderful mentality and being such a go-getter and such a fighter.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, honestly, that is, I think it's something that you can't really, it can't really be taught.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a part of, you know, who you become.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I think, you know, that there's so much to be learned by just what you've shared here, you know, in your journey.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_00: I hope everyone listening, if any of you have gone through this, you know, I I I hear so many stories of people who survived such terrible events, but I mean, everything Lauren said here is, you know, what I've taken away so far is just that you have to find a way to adapt and overcome, you know, and you have to find a way inside of you that is going to allow for that adjustment, allow for that healing and and for that forward movement in your life.
• 54:03
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, just believe in yourself.
• 54:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that, you know, Lauren, what you're doing and what you've done and be what you're building, I mean, it's absolutely phenomenal.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: I truly, truly applaud you.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, thank you for sharing your journey because it's just so important to get it out there.
• 54:18
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, for anyone that is struggling, that knows somebody that's struggling or going through this right now, it's always encouraging to hear that there is this end of the, you know, a light at that at the end of that tunnel.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if you're undergoing therapy and and um treatment, you know, it it can get very dark, I'm sure, you know, during those times.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I've seen patients, you know, where there's a light in them and then, you know, they start going through treatment and it just starts to dim, you know, a little bit.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to take moments like that very seriously, you know, whether you're going through it or whether you're a person that's on looking.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, Lauren, what you've shared here, it just kind of reminded me of that.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's what I'm saying is that you have to keep moving forward, you have to keep doing it.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I just I love that you've come out on the other end and that you, you know, Pure Glow is thriving as it should be, you know, and also that you've created such a conscious brand, you know, like that's another thing that I just I feel like for me as a consumer, like looking at what you're creating and from the the stance from which you're creating it from is so meaningful because I always say this on the podcast, you know, it for me, brands aren't just brands, you know, it's about the person that has created it, it's about why they've created it, with what morals and ethics and reasoning behind what they're creating, and um, you know, to have gone through such life-changing events and then, you know, build your business in a way that is so responsible and so like morally sound is just it's amazing to me.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I love it, and I love everything that you're doing.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_00: I I really, really do.
• 55:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I uh for everyone listening out there, if you guys are in the market to look for a very natural way to tan, a very healthy way to tan, this is your option.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is it right here.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I really encourage you guys, you have to check out Pure Glow.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_00: Check out one of the locations.
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Lauren, uh could you tell us um briefly like where their where the locations are right now?
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, roughly, geographically.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_01: So, so um, so sort of there are a number of different ways that people can experience Pure Glow.
• 56:21
  SPEAKER_01: So today we do have uh two Boston-based uh professional airbrush tanning studios.
• 56:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one is in Back Bay in Boston, another is in a close by suburb in the town called Wellesley.
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we will also be opening a third location uh in the heart of the Seaport neighborhood in Boston, so also downtown Boston.
• 56:41
  SPEAKER_01: And uh we are actually also going to be announcing very soon, so you're hearing it first on Skin Anarchy, that we will be uh we will be franchising nationwide.
• 56:52
  SPEAKER_01: So we will be opening Pure Glow studios throughout the country.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna be starting in larger markets, but for anyone who, you know, really kind of resonates with this culture and our message and um, you know, really be, you know, really having this conscious healthforward mindset, um, you know, is really a great fit to become an owner of a Pure Glow studio.
• 57:11
  SPEAKER_01: In addition to that, um, you know, we it became glaringly obvious to us during the pandemic that we really need to expand our retail products so that if you do not have a Pure Glow Studio nearby, that you can still get our special sauce.
• 57:27
  SPEAKER_01: All of the wonderful ingredients, that really well refined uh DHA that gets you that beautiful look.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we also have some new technology that we're incorporating that really helps um, you know, less melanated and more melanated skin get um, you know, a more believable look, you know, by again by using the own their own melanin.
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_01: So we will be very soon launching our um our first sort of gradual tanning lotion that we'll be able to um take advantage of right at home.
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_01: So that's coming in in a few months.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_01: You'll have to follow along at Pure Glow Tanning on um on Instagram as well as our newsletter, which you can access at pureglow.com for um you know that launch.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then we have lots of great products coming down the pipeline to support the airbrush service, but also it's also to support those who um you know really want something super safe and really beautiful to look their best at home.
• 58:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yay, that's so exciting! Oh my gosh, I love that.
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that you guys are going nationwide with this.
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing! Congratulations.
• 58:31
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 58:32
  SPEAKER_01: We already have um a couple fun um locations that we'll be announcing outside of Boston very soon.
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_01: And um, and then Dr.
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_01: Eka, I cannot wait to get some product in your hands um once we are able to officially launch.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll we'll certainly keep you posted.
• 58:47
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, yes.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_00: I am so excited for you, and I'm so excited um that you're bringing this, you know, to the whole country.
• 58:54
  SPEAKER_00: I really, really encourage everyone.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you you gotta get behind good options, guys.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we got to vote with our dollars, we got to vote for the right stuff.
• 59:01
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I'm I'm a huge advocate for do what makes you feel beautiful, do what makes you feel amazing in your own skin, but be safe.
• 59:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I think Pure Glow is just the most beautiful combination of all of those principles.
• 59:15
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much, Lauren, for sharing your story, for coming on the show.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_00: It has been such a delight to chat with you.
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I really, really believe in what you're doing, and you know, just you know, full speed ahead.
• 59:25
  SPEAKER_00: Really.
• 59:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 59:27
  SPEAKER_01: And Dr.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_01: Echo, one last thing I'll I'll just share that was um, I really just think pulls pulls everything together so beautifully.
• 59:34
  SPEAKER_01: And and what that was was, you know, I had a quite quite an extensive care team once I received my diagnosis.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I will never forget this moment where I had just gotten my vitals and I sat down with uh a fellow who was, you know, really my kind of the second MD in in charge of my care plan.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_01: And he sat down and and really made this comment where he said to me, you know, one thing I really want you to be mindful now is any product that you use on your skin, on your body, I want you to be really careful of what's in that.
• 1:00:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because as a cancer patient, as someone who was very soon going to be immunosuppressed, you have to be so careful about what you put on your skin.
• 1:00:15
  SPEAKER_01: And he immediately began to kind of make a couple uh recommendations.
• 1:00:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I could not help but truly just laugh out loud.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I said to him, that is exactly what I've been dedicating my career and my life to for the past almost eight years.
• 1:00:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, I felt like, wow, what sort of incredible validation.
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_01: This is, you know, so important, not just for cancer patients, for everyone, for absolutely everyone.
• 1:00:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so this will always be, you know, an integral part of our brand and how we how we formulate and innovate going forward.
• 1:00:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, again, just really sort of bringing it full circle, that sort of validation was was really powerful for me.
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 1:01:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, that is why I support like what you're doing so much, because you have this perspective, Lauren.
• 1:01:09
  SPEAKER_00: You have this idea and this understanding.
• 1:01:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there are so many people out there that are creating products, and I'm, I mean, I I would never name names, but there are people who don't care.
• 1:01:19
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:01:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's the truth of it.
• 1:01:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it's mind-boggling to me, you know what I mean?
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because you have to care and you have to know who's behind the brand.
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_00: It it's such a fundamental at this point in consumer behavior, I think, because we have to be behind individuals who get it, who care, who are here for the right reasons.
• 1:01:39
  SPEAKER_00: The morals and the ethics align with yours.
• 1:01:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that is so huge.
• 1:01:43
  SPEAKER_00: And for you to say that, I mean, I just I already knew it, but I'm glad you said it out loud because that, you know, we need to know that, you know, what you're what you're putting on your body, you guys, that's going to go into your bloodstream.
• 1:01:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's just fundamental medicine, you know, and it has to matter who is behind the brand because they're going to do the homework to make sure that they're not harming you or even letting you harm yourself by utilizing their products.
• 1:02:07
  SPEAKER_00: And that's huge.
• 1:02:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm, yeah, I'm a huge believer in what you're doing.
• 1:02:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that you specifically are doing it, Lauren, because we need people to be more conscious.
• 1:02:16
  SPEAKER_00: We need businesses to take responsibility.
• 1:02:18
  SPEAKER_00: And the fact that you've been doing it and that you continue to do it through your treatment and now even you know, beyond, is just remarkable to me.
• 1:02:25
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for everything and thank you for creating such a wonderful business because it's it's rare to see that.
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_00: It it really is.
• 1:02:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm huge hats off.
• 1:02:34
  SPEAKER_01: It is.
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 1:02:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's why we do what we do, right?
• 1:02:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's so important to, you know, to have that foundation and um you know, so much more fulfilling when you know you're you're genuinely putting a great, great product out there.
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_01: But Dr.
• 1:02:47
  SPEAKER_01: Eka, thank you so much for having me.
• 1:02:49
  SPEAKER_01: I had such a nice time getting to know you and and speaking with you.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I I look forward to continuing the conversation.
• 1:02:56
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 1:02:56
  SPEAKER_00: And for everyone listening out there, if you guys have any questions about Pure Glow, any questions at all, please reach out to our team.
• 1:03:03
  SPEAKER_00: You can get our email from our bio on Instagram.
• 1:03:06
  SPEAKER_00: Just shoot us an email if you have any questions for the Pure Glow team, uh, send them to us as well.
• 1:03:11
  SPEAKER_00: We will pass them along.
• 1:03:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I really hope you enjoyed this episode.
• 1:03:15
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, just for all the breast cancer survivors out there and for anyone going through it, because it is awareness month, I just, you know, I'm sending you my best wishes, my best regards, and you will get through this.
• 1:03:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's a journey, but you just gotta keep going.
• 1:03:31
  SPEAKER_00: And and from everything I've heard, um, you know, from the experiences of survivors, from the patients I've seen personally, it's this, it's mind over body sometimes, you know, and it's very important to stay positive.
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I really, really wish everybody the best and the best vibes.
• 1:03:47
  SPEAKER_00: But thank you so much for tuning in, and I will be back next time.
• 1:03:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 1:03:53
  SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
• 1:03:56
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