Why Skincare is Healthcare According to Ever Skincare's Jessica Herrin

0:02Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Skin Anarchy. This is your host Dekta and I'm really excited to introduce you guys to the brand that we're hosting today because I feel like it's very hard to come across great products that you can really keep in your collection for a long period of time like and keep coming back to it over and over again and I feel like these the line itself just contains so many heavy hitters so I'm really excited to introduce you guys to the founder of Ever Skin Care Jessica Herring. Welcome to the show Jessica I'm so excited to host you. Oh thank you so much for having me I'm excited to be here and thank you for your kind words about ever.

0:38I feel the same way. Yeah, no, it's a great brand. And I think you've created magic, you know, with a lot of the products that I've tried and experienced. And I know our listeners are always looking for amazing, amazing products, you know, that you can really keep for a long time and keep coming back to more importantly, I'd love to learn just go, if you don't mind, like just telling us a little bit about yourself and what got you interested in the skincare space and really led to the creation of Everett? Sure, happy to share. So I am a serial entrepreneur. I think there's always been someone who early age looked around the world and saw it as I wanted it to be instead of the way that it was and then would become very obsessive about trying to make it so.

1:21And I started out of college in technology and software. I started a company in my early 20s that called Wedding Channel and then founded the Stella and Dot family of brands, which was really about the mission of democratizing entrepreneurship and giving a flexible way for women to earn. We started in accessories and then ultimately went into skincare. So I'm a mom of two. I just became an empty nester about a month ago. So acclimation to that. And I live in the Bay Area with my husband and my dog that you might hear on this podcast. We love dogs here. So that's awesome though. That's really cool that you have this background of entrepreneurship.

2:05I feel like, you know, some of the best skincare brands and beauty brands that I've tried personally come from people who've just really been in the space of truly entrepreneurship across the field, you know, in various industries, because it's, I guess, maybe, you know, understanding consumers and what they're really looking for and finding that white space, you know, you guys are just great at it. So it makes sense why you've created such a wonderful skincare line. Oh, thank you. I think with skincare, you know, and I think this is true for all business entrepreneurs, when you start a company and you have enough passion to actually make it, you know, work to go from that zero to one, you know, idea to fruition, it stems from the idea that you deeply believe it needs to exist in the world.

2:49And for me, I was the frustrated user. I was a person who I started ever, I'm 51, almost 52 now, but I started ever, you know, when I was in my late thirties and that's when I now know all the science behind it. But obviously, you know, we know that as your hormones change, your, your skin starts to change. And I was just the person, you know, working, was looking in the mirror and I was just like, what on earth is going on? Like, what, what is, why do I feel tired all the time? And obviously with hormonal shifts, your skin aging accelerates and you, your skin turnover slows, your collagen production declines, your, you know, your, the hyaluronic acid depletes, your elasticity declines.

3:27So I was noticing that in the mirror and I was just frustrated that I was going and trying to buy the solution. And I was at doctor led brands and, and everything on the super, you know, shelf at this beauty superstores. And I wasn't getting the results that I wanted. And I wasn't finding something that was clean and, you know, and that they would have that both of the intersection with visible results. Good for you products. I was like, there has got to, we've got to do better. You know, when I really started talking to experts, I realized that that was the opportunity. Like, how do you make this clean, luxurious product where it's very clear how to use it?

4:04It's clearly formulated for my changing skin and I'm going to see the results in a mirror. Yeah, no, I mean, I think you really hit home with when you were mentioning the hormonal changes because I'm in my late 30s now and I know exactly what you're talking about because it's like it really does hit you like a truck out of nowhere and you're in your 20s and then you get into your 30s and it's just all of a sudden aging begins and it's like I watch a lot of these like younger the younger generation you know they're really into skincare and I love that it's cool like you know up to a degree but I'm just like you don't know what's coming like all of your grandparents are like you hear that from older people like you don't know what it's like to be old, like the aches and the pains.

4:45But honestly, I'm so happy that you are, as you said, like you're in your thirties is really the time you want to be in the prevention game when it comes to skincare. I mean, I wish I could get my, you know, teen and 20 year olds to listen to me on the sunscreen, but you know, of course as their mother, they just don't do that. But if you feel like you're an invincible, but it will catch up to you and your skin, you know, it's, it's, it's your, it's your largest organ. It's something you've got to protect and you want to take proper care of it. And the steps you did in your twenties and your early thirties, and often the skincare you're using, you can't stick with that because you no longer have the same skin, right?

5:22You have very much a different skin in structure than you did previously. So that's where the switch up needs to happen in the products you use, the potency of those products, the order in which you use them all become so important. Yeah, absolutely. And I want to actually dive deeper into that because I think, you know, as I said earlier on, you know, Ever has an amazing lineup of products. I mean, you've really like just created a beautiful line. And I want to dive into that a little bit more in terms of like the ingredients, you know, what were some of the things that you realized, you know, through your research before creating the line that you're like, you know, I need this, my skin needs this.

6:00Maybe you could walk us through some of those, like, you know, the great ingredients that you found to be really impactful. Yes. So for one, and I do think this is just such a fortuitous way that the potency of ever is the difference. The fact that it's the formulas have a high concentration of actives. And what that does is, of course, it makes that that's where the investment is in the in the actual active ingredients. so what I found was out there with the market was that you skincare was way too like the dirty little secret about skincare a lot of people think it's like okay because it has a lot of toxic ingredients and and that is true in some cases but frankly a lot of companies have cleaned up their line what is really the dirty secret of beauty is not what's in it it's what's not in it which is not enough actives to actually have results and because skincare is not regulated it in any meaningful way, it's not like you can put on the bottle that this has hyaluronic acid or vitamin C.

7:00But what you don't know is the concentration and stability to know that if, when you actually go to put it on your face and use up that bottle to its last drop, is that doing anything for you? Is it delivering? So, and that was my, when I started really looking into it, I almost felt like angry on behalf of people that were purchasing this product. Like we're really being greatly misled, you know, like that you're, it's all marketing, it's all hype. And that's not what skincare should be, right? Skincare is a treatment that is about your, the vital health of a really important organ, your barrier layer.

7:33So we look pretty angry about the fact that a lot of it was, is not really transparent. So one thing that I knew is that we needed to, and we were in a position to do this because it was born out of the Stellandot family of brands. We spent millions of dollars on R &D, right? So we did not go buy off of a co-manufacturer's line of really just something that somebody wants to go sell in like a TikTok shop or get to market fast and just sort of slap some marketing mumbo jumbo on it and then sell it to people. We started with clinical trials of coming up with a breakthrough ingredient that would be more effective than what people have so it could replace any kind of cool classic they had in there that I wanted to use it.

8:12So we started and did two years of research to come up with what we call LSR-10. And that is a bioactive complex that we have patented that is a combination of hinocchio, ectoine, and ergothionine. The hinocchio is a derivative of magnolia bark. Ergothionine is discovered in like the sand flats of the desert. And really all these things that it helps to combine, how these act together, is to address the major signs of aging. So it's your loss of moisture, your loss of elastin, your loss of collagen. And we went back and kept tweaking the concentration and combination until you saw results that are visible.

8:56And that's one of the things I'm most proud of at ever is that when people buy the product, they try it, they repeat it. And when you get our before and afters, they look fake. They look like they're photoshopped because you really see like this radical difference. And they're not. They're totally legit. And we didn't stop with the formulation and testing and reformulation until we got results that like felt that good. And so that's really where, and I did that with partners. So, so I, you know, as an entrepreneur, you know, I've like been to business school. I've been to this. I know that I'm not a chemist.

9:28I'm not, you know, there to know everything. I'm not a dermatologist, but I can tell you what, I can go find people who are and convince them of the mission and the vision to challenge them to do something better than what they've ever done before. So I worked with Leslie Blodgett, who founded Bare Essentials, was on our board. We went out to the very best chemists in the industry and found people that knew how to make products clean. And then we gave them the budget and the time to work for years to have the breakthrough of the innovation that is the, what is the key ingredient in ever. And that is that LSR 10 that powers the results.

10:05Yeah, no, I think that it's easy to see the value because like for anyone listening you know i don't know if you guys have tried ever skincare yet or not but if you haven't when you do you're gonna see it because for me i remember the first time i was trying the line i tried the peel pads because these this kind of product is one of my favorite products you know i use them pretty regularly you know in terms of like just my overall routine i think they're really helpful especially if you're busy you know like it's it just gets your exfoliation in and and makes your skin just really well primed for the rest of your products and i I remember using yours, the Reveal Biomimetic Peel Pads, and I immediately noticed a huge difference between these and then everything else I've been using.

10:47Because your skin, like, the thing is with peel pads that I've noticed with other brands is like, okay, yeah, you know, they claim, like, it exfoliates, whatever, but then still patches are left over that are not exfoliated. Like, you don't feel like your skin is truly primed, you know, what you're, the effects you're trying to get, you're not getting them, you know, and that's the problem I kept running into. So I'd keep using more product. But the problem with that for me always was, well, I'm using more of their product and it's causing me to have sensitive skin, you know? And it was like, almost like counterproductive to like what I was trying to accomplish.

11:18Yeah. And so when I used the Ever Ones, I was like, oh my God, I can use one pad and it gets it done. Like I'm good. And it doesn't irritate your skin. And at least it's really smooth and refreshed instead of irritated or red. And so I think that's one. I mean, like, first of all, for all your listeners who may not be exfoliating like religion, let's talk about why you need to do that and why all the dead cells are like just diminishing your glow, your beautiful glow that's lying underneath that you need to like let out. So because you're so a cellular turnover of like a baby happens like every six days, like you see like a little baby gets a scratch and like it's gone right away.

11:53Whereas when you're older, you'll start to notice if you think about elder people that may be in their 80s or 90s, those are people where you're like, they see a scratch and it doesn't heal. And that's because the cellular renewal radically slows. But when you're in your 30s, 40s, and 50s, that starts moving to like 30 days, 45 days, 60 days. So it's dead skin cells that are sitting on top that is what you're aiding when you start to gently remove them by putting exfoliation into your routine. And so a lot of people are in their early 30s, they're cleansing and they're moisturizing. But what they're not doing is exfoliating and treating with a serum.

12:28And those are the steps done in the right order that make all the difference. So these peel pads were just a key, a key part of our ever pure results regimen that gets those dramatically different skin in 30 days, because you are addressing that resurfacing and the promotion of radiance. So that one is, we've got our caviar lime in there, azelaic acid, willow bark that fears bacteria and promote, it reduces the appearance of blemishes. It gets rid of dark spots. So that one is, I was, I mean, I personally, like before ever I had tried like IPL and, you know, done like lasers to get rid of brown spots.

13:07Cause I like punishing my skin in Arizona, like with baby oil. Right. So I had all that like hyperpigmentation process. You just have revealed, like you do it for 30 days. Then you take a picture like before 30 days and 60, and you will notice a dramatic reduction of those things. And that really is, you hit the nail on the head that these peel pads are huge, different makers. they're you know five-star reviews they've been in allure best of beauty award you know so they're just a really really killer product yeah it's amazing like i've i mean i love that you brought up like kind of like the hyperpigmentation side you're the brown spots because i think i mean all you know melanin rich skin users and customers out there like you guys know like it's hard you know what i mean it's hard when you have changes in your skin in result of either sun exposure or maybe it's like post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or anything that has to do with just changes of like you know the evenness of your skin and a big problem is that products claim like okay this brightens your skin which you know whatever like it does or it doesn't you know it either works or it doesn't but these peel pads I found like I have been using them pretty regularly and it's been helping with obviously the exfoliation but it just makes my skin really react to the products better I feel like you know I know it's not in my head because I've tried so many products you know i'm so glad yeah so they're really great you use that juice pad the juice is so good again it's the concentration the stability factor like take it down your neck put it on your decollete put it on the back of your hands like you want to use up every last drop of that big pad yeah absolutely no it's really really good and i like that you brought up like the sequence that you should be applying your products i'd love for you to tell us a little bit more about that because i know that you know the serum is amazing as well like the face and eye serum it's so good like I feel like that's one of those products where you can use this alone.

14:57Like if you need that one heavy hitting product, this is one of them. So I'd love for you to dive into that. I'll tell you that you can, but I'll tell you why you shouldn't. Because so our number one bestseller is a serum called Youthful. It's our quattropeptide serum. As I said, potency matters. And then the order in which you apply your products matters because you need it to penetrate down to the layers of your skin where it needs to get to work. So it has to be hardworking and it has to be able to show up to the right spot to get the job done. And if you don't exfoliate, it sits on top of the dead skin cells instead of penetrating into the deep layers.

15:35So that's why the four steps of beauty are going to start with cleansing. You're then going to exfoliate. You're then going to treat with a serum. And then you're going to use a moisturizer on top. And I confess that when I was in my early 30s, I did not know the difference between a serum and a moisturizer. Serums are thinner in viscosity. So they're just like thinner and they seep down to a deeper layer. And then a moisturizer you apply on top, which is typically a bit thicker, and it helps the barrier layer of your skin. So it's working on the outer layer of your skin and it's holding in and helping the other serums do their job better.

16:11So they work synergistically together. So that is, but if you're not doing the serum, I can say this, that is what's penetrating to the collagen, like it is the one producing collagen, which is that the structure of your skin, that if you think about it, like a mattress pad, like when it's like, if it's, if it's old and like, it's been pushed down and deflated, it'll have like a lumpy and buffy. And that's where you're seeing the wrinkles. But if you pop up that under layer, it's going to be nice and smooth on top. So the collagen that you're restoring with the use of our serum is what's then getting back to that plump skin where it diminishes lines and wrinkles.

16:49That makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. I mean, I think it's so very, I mean, it does absorb very quickly. So it is a product that you could layer on a moisturizer because I won't lie. There are some times where I'm like using a product where it's claiming to be a serum and it just sits on the surface of my skin. It just sits there. And then you apply something else on top and it pills up and it's like a huge mess, you know? So this one, yeah. Yeah. Let me tell you exactly what's happening there. Like, here's the thing. And like what I want everyone to know when you're buying skincare, like don't waste your time and money buying things that are not quality.

17:20And essentially like, you know, there's not like when people say vitamin C, there's not one type of vitamin C. There are lots of types of vitamin C. And then how you keep it stable is the delivery system, right? So then how fresh is it? And therefore how bioavailable is it to your body? And I use vitamin C because most people have heard of it, but that's true for all hyaluronic, all kinds of the ingredients that go into skincare. So when a formula is not performing well, or it's because it may no longer be stable, which means it's no longer available. So the label on the packaging still says it's there, but that's not what's happening to your skin.

17:55So the use experience of it is really important. So we use only the stable ingredients, the right types, and you're right, your skin and dry down quickly. So there shouldn't be any peeling or anything that feels like it's on the top of your skin, or it's probably not going in properly to the layers of your skin where you want it to do its job. Right. No, that makes so much sense. I like that. I like that you explained that because I think, I don't know, we've just kind of fell into this like culture, I think over time. And I do, I don't want to say blame, but I, I'll give TikTok a lot of credit for this is this idea of like, just keep on adding layers and layers and layers, you know, to your skin.

18:32And I feel, I don't think that serves a purpose at the end of the day. So whatever you are putting on, it has to be mindful. And if you're getting pilling, it means that it's not getting through. You know what I mean? Like the product is just sitting there on the top of your skin. It's not actually hitting the cells and, you know, making an impact. So I like that you've thought that out, though, honestly, because I don't see a lot of brands doing that anymore. You know, I just see a bunch of launches sometimes where I'm like, well, why do we need this? You know, like, and where are we going to put this in the routine?

19:01Because we already have five steps and you've added seven now, you know, so like it gets a little daunting, you know? It does feel daunting, but I talk about the steps of beauty, much like I do healthy living. I have also started FlyMD, which is a longevity clinic. So I'm very deeply passionate about women's midlife health. And I really believe that when you think about health and wellness, it's a good place to invest time and money. right but when you think about skincare when people say god do i really need to do more than one step should i do two steps i'm like well that's kind of like saying do i want to be healthy if you ask somebody how to be healthy they'd be like well you know you should hydrate but should i do other steps you should probably also get a good night's sleep you should probably also walk should do weights you should do stretching the more you do the better off you are so when people are like oh my gosh i don't have time for that at night i'm like well you know maybe you should make time for four to five.

19:55Because it's just how much do you want in terms of results? And by the way, we've created this in 60 seconds a day. Like it may be five steps, but it's not like each of them are taking an hour, right? Like they're just like open the jar and we really try to make our product. I want it to be a relaxing, luxurious end of day ritual where you smell that we use rose oil, which is a Bulgarian rose oil and some of our products by weight. It's more expensive than gold. It has antidepressant properties that the actual like aromatherapy of it is amazing. So you will look forward to step number two and step number three, because they're just so sensorial.

20:32So that's the other thing too, is we wanted real luxury and the feel of the products, the sense of the products that you look forward to doing it versus thinking like, Oh, what a dread. Yeah, absolutely. No, I completely, I completely resonate with that. And I want to actually, shift a little bit because I know that a lot of the thought behind the brand had to do with hormonal changes. So if you would, I'd love for you to walk us through some of those things, because I think that people don't really know, especially women, we don't know what to expect when it comes to hormonal changes. I think a lot of consumers don't know what to expect.

21:04So just walking through that, some changes that might be prominent or more common and things that really inspired you, you know, when you were crafting the line to really combat those changes. Yeah. So that is the thing, like kind of the, the things that you should know about what actually changes in your skin and women start to lose about 1 % of their collagen production, you know, in their thirties. But what happens is in the years pre menopause, when you go into perimenopause and you start to see declining in estrogen, which by the way, it can happen a full 10 years before your actual last period.

21:40So this is definitely something hitting you in your forties. You are, your rate of decline in collagen starts to accelerate. So you are now losing, you know, you'll lose like five, 10 % in matter of just a few years, which by the way, sadly does not happen to men. I'm sorry for all the dinging. I'm trying to, I've tried so many times to turn that off and it won't stop. So do you want me to start that again? Hopefully with less dings. No, it's like, I mean, you can, if you want. Yeah. I didn't really notice it to be honest. Okay, good. Then I won't worry about it. All right. So let me just go back to how your skin changes.

22:15Here's the thing you need to know about women in their thirties and their skin. As your hormones start to change, meaning your production of estrogen and progesterone start to become more sporadic. They start to decline in your thirties, certainly in your forties, as you get into perimenopause, your whole body has estrogen receptors, your skin being a big component of that. So what will happen is you'll see a big decline in collagen. Okay. So collagen being that, you know, under layer of your skin, that makes it that you don't have lines and wrinkles. You start to lose 1 % a year at the age of 30.

22:50And then I'm sorry to tell you this, but it happens to women and not men. You get an acceleration where you start to lose five, 10 % in just the few years of perimenopause. So that's kind of what's happening when you're in like your late thirties or early forties, and you're looking in the mirror and you're like, what, what, what's going on? It's, it's the collagen loss is accelerated. The next thing that really happens is you lose elastin, right? So that's where you just, you know, especially if you've gone through any weight changes, which happens with pregnancy, right? It's happening in your face.

23:20It's like you puff it out and then you puff it back down. But when you go back down, it starts to look like, you know, a deflated balloon versus it just bounces back to what it looked like before. That's because you've lost elastin. You also have less hyaluronic acid production, which is that what gives you your skin, the glow and, and you have lower cellular renewal, which is the turnover skin, which is like you get too many. So it needs different skincare, different potency, different treatment. And the good news is, is you can stimulate your body's ability to produce these, these key elements that your skin, healthy skin needs.

23:54Um, but you need to do that. And you can do that with topical treatments. You can do that with ingestibles. You can do that in a number of ways, but topical skincare along with healthy living, right? Sleep, proper nutrition, like food is medicine and hydration are really important for your changing skin as you age. Makes sense. That makes sense. I mean, I think it's something that we don't really discuss a lot. And frankly, to keep your hormones balanced, which is women in general. Yeah, no, it really is something we don't discuss enough. I think is this idea of like what exactly is changing, you know, like on a molecular level in the skin.

24:32And I think with collagen and elastin production, it's very interesting. You know, the topic is very interesting because I think women think once I've lost my collagen, once, you know, my skin starts to sag, the only cure for that is to go get a facelift or go get something really drastic done. But really it's about this consistent use of what works for you and keeping up with it because they're, you know, they're proteins that your body's always going to be able to make them. It's just a matter of giving it the right tools that needs to make those proteins. So that's, yeah, it makes a lot of sense.

25:03I mean, at the end of the day, though, I think when it comes to hormonal changes, it's just it's shocking no matter what, right? I mean, for women, especially like our bodies change so quickly, that it's hard to kind of wrap your head around what you need, you know, and what you need to start incorporating and when and I, I've seen that a lot with consumers, you know, people will chime in like, hey, you know, all of a sudden, I have sagging neck skin, I've never had that before, you know, like, what do I do now? And, and what products do I use? And it's like, well, yeah, you know, preventative care is always the best, but it's, it's good to know that things can be, you know, you can take steps to help things along, you know, so it's good to know that for consumers out there.

25:43But I would love to discuss actually more about this, this idea of like, you know, these changes and what they mean for women, because I feel like no one really discusses the emotional impacts of hormonal changes and just, you know, aging, I guess, overall. And I'd love to get your take on it and your opinion. Like, you know, where do you think, how do you think women should approach this topic? Really? Let me ask you that. You know, the first thing I think women should do is be pro-aging, right? The opposite is not a good alternative. right? So you should just embrace that beauty is inside out.