767 Danuta Mieloch: Founder of Danucera & Rescue Spa

0:00Kara Goldin:I am unwilling to give up, but I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. You just want to make sure you will get knocked down, but just make sure you don't get knocked out. So your only choice should be, go focus on what you can control. Hi everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin Show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world's greatest leaders. We'll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can't wait to get started. Let's go. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to The Kara Golden Show.

0:44Kara Goldin:So excited to have my next guest here. I've been a huge fan and so honored to have her on to talk all about not just one brand, but two brands that she has founded. One is called Rescue Spa, which she founded that brand first and is still going and growing and doing all kinds of wonderful things that we're going to hear all about it. But Danuta Milak founded a company called a skincare brand called Danucera. And Danucera is really, really amazing. It's an elevated skincare line. It's one, Danuta is one of the most respected estheticians in the world, known for her European techniques, her eye for detail, and her belief that great skin doesn't come from complicated routines.

1:43Kara Goldin:So I love that. We could stop right there because she is just like the, she is the mecca of really not only practicing what she preaches, but also creating products and creating incredible spas that really bring luxury for personalized science-backed skincare to the forefront. So bringing a lot of her European philosophies and practices to the U.S. long before they were trending, Danuta launched Danucera her own line of clean, high-performance skincare designed to simplify and elevate the daily ritual of caring for your skin. So I cannot wait to hear more about how she decided to launch her own brand after building an incredible series of spas, location, destinations.

2:41Kara Goldin:So, Danuta, welcome to the show. So excited to have you here. So excited to be here. And I'm ready. Any questions? Go ahead. Very, very excited. So, well, let's start at the beginning before we get into your incredible skincare line. Let's start with Rescue Spa. What first inspired you to start Rescue Spa? so I've worked in with many spas before and anywhere I worked I always felt like okay I want certain techniques I want certain products a certain equipment and that you know and a certain space that I would really elevate the experience because I think people think of skincare as a luxury of a skincare.

3:31It's like, it's your daily, it's your diet, it's your exercise. It's the, it's the thing that we need to normalize as like, this is not necessarily a luxury, it's something you need to do.

3:42Kara Goldin:Yeah, definitely. Right. So, so it sort of came from the need. And, um, so I was lucky enough to find the space. I used to live in New York. I moved here with $20 in my pocket, you know, in late 80s, early 90s. And I lived in New York for 13 years and then decided to open my own space. And the equation was better for me in Philadelphia. So I moved to Philadelphia. Not knowing many people, I just knew how to do the best treatment, the best facial. that's my power so um with that i open a space for a thousand square feet uh hire a few people train them coach them which is my passion too and that's how we started and the rest and the rest is like it's magic you know i've built i have 165 employees That's incredible.

4:44Kara Goldin:So your first spa, you mentioned you opened in the early 90s in New York? No, 204. And 204, but you were doing facials. I was doing facials, yes. In New York, working with different brands. And, you know, I always knew and had a talent how to pick the brand that actually brings results. And you were one of the first to bring Biologique, right? I'm the OG to the U.S., which is such an incredible brand. And so in addition to actually being one of the only ones, especially in the early 2000s, that was able to actually use that product because they're very particular about who. You know, active, yes.

5:42Kara Goldin:Yes. And so you were doing that. And what was the moment when you said, I'm actually going to open my own spa? I mean, it takes a lot of courage to do that, right? And obviously, you're a sole practitioner back in those early days. But when did you decide, I'm going to open a spa, I'm going to hire people in, I'm going to train them, and we're going to go big? Yeah, because I always have this passion for sharing. And so this is my biggest passion overall, sharing with my clients how to best care for your skin, but also sharing with employees, with estheticians. I think in my time, I train hundreds of estheticians and also I touch thousands and thousands of faces.

6:32And this is for me the biggest joy and the biggest magic. and how to do that, you know, I had to open my own space. And this way I can share what I love to share. So it's really natural. It's organic.

6:49Kara Goldin:What and how many, I guess, when you first opened, what was the point when you started to add employees and other people doing facials in the business? So from the very beginning, I hire a few people. So when I opened, I already had a few employees and trained them one by one. Everybody, I always say that I held hands with all of my estheticians. And yeah, so that's my passion. But because I was also lucky. I was so lucky to meet the original founders and to see their passion and to see their approach to skincare and you know there were many people that I learned from and I always feel like that part we forget in this country to share the knowledge and to respect that you know to me they were like my professional parents like the gurus like to share to be that guru and we all I feel like we need a guru yeah we need the inspiration we need people who are you know perfecting their craft, there is a difference, you know, you don't become expert overnight.

8:05Kara Goldin:No, definitely. And I think it's also when you think about the competition, right? And not just from the products that you're bringing into your spa, but also, you know, you're a very, you're offering a very hands-on service with incredible facials and other services. like how did you get the word out I guess about about what you were doing was it very much word of mouth that people uh told others about what you were doing or can you share a little bit more about that yes pretty much a word of mouth of course I you know um I met incredible people in who were talking about uh our services receiving our services as well at that time but yes it's every client that ever came to me usually return for a second service.

9:02That's incredible. And that's how we build a business. It's not about how many followers we have on Instagram. It's how many people are coming back for our service. That's incredible. And today, are you still doing facials? I'm training. You're still training every single esthetician at Rescue Spa is trained by me.

9:22Kara Goldin:That's incredible. When you think about European philosophies around skincare versus American philosophies or an American audience that wasn't yet familiar with them, and I think you're just, you're known for having brought a lot of that over to the U.S. But what was it that was so unique and so different that the Americans weren't seeing? well I think you know I think in US the culture of using products is a little bit different but yes it always existed too and those clients that came to me and they use the three-step Clinique or or anything their skin is definitely better than not using anything so So in Europe, in Poland, especially not in Europe, everywhere, I think, you know, taking care of your skin is practically inherited.

10:23And because of the maybe harsher climate, because of the fact that most of us have sensitive, delicate skins. And, you know, I took care of my skin since I was a child. And, you know, I helped my sisters. One of them suffered from acne. so I think skin and taking care of your skin was super natural uh however in the U.S. taking care of your body you know dental your hair is so amazing too and then so I always felt like if we come up with skincare we're gonna be on top in the U.S. and and and it's and it's here and you know that's what makes me happy because skincare is right now it's booming and it will continue to boom because no matter how many injectables and quick fixes we can, you know, do, skincare is here to stay.

11:18The ritual, that daily routine, it's like, it counts. It makes a huge difference, you know, and I try to practice what I preach and I live it, live it, so.

11:31Kara Goldin:Yeah, definitely. So at what point did you realize there was an opportunity to create your own product line and I'm specifically talking about Daniel Sarah I'd love to hear the backstory on that yeah so I didn't create the line I always dream about creating my own line but I didn't create the line when I wasn't ready until I found the right formulator right ingredients and and a setup but as a lot of companies are changing products that I work with are changing changing hands um being companies being sold things change and change is good but i wanted to keep and create a brand and line that anybody can use it at any time that it's not no gimmicks it's just strictly takes you back to the routine so you do your five steps, take five minutes every day, and I can guarantee using my products, you'll get amazing results.

12:40Try it 21 days. It's amazing.

12:43Kara Goldin:That's incredible. So I'd love to have you take everybody through it. So you're the first product. Can you talk about it, which was the first product that you came out with, but can you talk about the different steps more specifically? Yes. So my first product, it's called Cera Balm. Cera is complexion in Polish, so it's a balm for complexion. And I was thinking, and I was very inspired by this product because I wanted to create a product that you can cleanse with, you can apply as a moisturizer. It's your like a desert island pig. So the consistency is super magical. The ingredients are really beneficial for our skin, like metal foam oil, sea backthorn oil that correspond with our own sebum.

13:31So you double cleanse. That's first step. Okay. Every single evening you need to double cleanse. Think about it. We're in New York now. You need to take a shower when you come home in New York, no matter what right so that cleansing at night if we were sunscreen little makeup very crucial and it's best to cleanse right after you come to the door right after you arrive at home so you don't postpone then toning okay so i am called the queen of tonic for the skin because toner is misunderstood but the fact that you're applying this toner on a cotton round and you're tapping, you're lifting and you're removing the remaining of the grime and you're balancing the skin balancing the pH doing that regularly it creates magical difference and I've always used toners I've used Janet Sartin before I used Biologique Recherche and things like people don't remember but I've always been in Poland I use like herbal toners so toner for me it's it's like my religion but of course serum and moisturizer as well right so then after your skin is prepped cleansed prepped with toner you apply serum and the serum is a little thinner and it's usually packed with actives like the peptides different levels of peptides so they can penetrate deeper into the skin and vitamin c these ingredients niacinamide which is super healing these ingredients are so beneficial for regeneration of our skin that's what i'm thinking skin regenerates itself we just want to help we don't need to change the whole story we just need to help little by little to regenerate.

15:32And then moisturizer. Okay. So that's something that I'm still battling in the U.S. A lot of women don't, or men don't use moisturizer. And I'm like, are you killing me? It's so true. To me, it's unthinkable. Okay. It's like bare faced going somewhere that is really unthinkable because moisturizer is here to seal and to protect you so you know we can layer where you know three layers of clothing but don't put anything on the face that makes no sense and the face is exposed so in the five-step process you talked about it's for

16:17Kara Goldin:everybody. So you are, so aging skin or somebody in their 20s, like everybody can use the same five steps. Everybody. This should be applied actually to early teens. Like we see now on social media, you know, seven, eight, 10 year olds already doing skincare. But if they just focus on a good cleansing, we'll probably eliminate half of the acne problems. That's incredible. What year did you actually start, Daniel, Sarah? 2022. That's incredible. You talked about serums a bit. And obviously, Biologique has had a lot of serums over the years, too. For those who might not be familiar with serums, can you talk a little bit about that and the benefit of serums?

17:08Yeah, so the serums are, this is like your treatment. This is like your product because it's thinner, so it penetrates a little bit deeper. You always have to think of skin, you know, not much permeates to the skin. But yet at the same time, it does permeate. We can wear a patch and things, you know, permeate through the skin. So if it's thinner, if it has a proper delivery system, like with exosomes now or with peptides or liposomal delivery system, it goes a little bit deeper. So serum has that potent ability to penetrate a little bit deeper. But serum alone is not enough because it will quickly evaporate, right?

17:56So that's why you need to seal with moisturizer. That's why, like, it's almost like that's why those steps and then the eye cream. The fifth step is the eye cream that, you know, our area on the eyes is the thinnest. It doesn't have oil glands. That's where the first signs of aging actually are noticeable. So I've been using eye cream since I'm 16. And eye cream you need to use at least twice a day. Sometimes you can carry even in your purse and just dab it when the weather is cold or it's dry inside. You just dab it extra. So, you know, you always do this.

18:36Kara Goldin:And what is the vitamin C for skin? Because often the vitamin C's that are out there are very drying. So I think a lot of people, while they might think that vitamin C would be great, They also just don't want to put too much on their skin because they feel like it could be drying. What's your thought on that? So my thought of skincare in general is like nutrition for you. So vitamin C is very crucial. C and A are building blocks of collagen. B is crucial, too, in the form of niacinamide. So all the vitamins are really important and crucial. It's just now how to dose the right amount, right ingredients, and the kind of vitamin C that doesn't turn brown, that it's stable.

19:25And oftentimes what happens here in the U.S., we think, okay, we're going to take the strongest retin-A and we're going to get results. No, you need vitamin A, which is the retin-A transforms into vitamin A, but you need smaller doses. it's like you wouldn't take the entire jar of you know vitamins at once it's it's slow and steady

19:53Kara Goldin:wins the race and the skincare is a long game so clean beauty is uh such a uh i think overused uh term and and i think many people don't really know what it means and and what would you say just overall, just being in the industry for as long as you have and being such a leader. How do you think about clean beauty and what should consumers be aware of? Clean beauty and sustainability for me are really important, but I understand this in a more practical way. So sustainable, it's when I finish the entire jar and there is no leftovers. so and preferably it's a glass jar so i don't have a you know bad conscious right clean is where i can eliminate unnecessary things that make things look good like the silicones like the unnecessary fragrances fragrances are so overused in skincare and we don't need a great scent in a cream.

21:06We can apply, you know, your perfume if you love that, but it doesn't have to be everywhere on every inch of your skin because it can be an irritant. And any scent in the skin, in the cream, I'm sorry, it's already, it's fake. There is no natural scent per se because everything has to be, you know, processed the way the perfumes are processed. so I think we need to be very mindful what we put on our skin because the skin absorbs everything it's meant to absorb and sometimes it might absorb things we don't even know how much that's why there's all these new regulations and sunscreens and certain ingredients in skin care and I think we need to be aware of it.

22:01So for me, clean beauty is that, but I also, I consider my brand is more, yes, it's clean because I want it to eliminate unless, but it's very potent and it's results driven. Because, you know, so every product that's like, that's clean. If I can use one serum and gives me results, that's sustainable and that's clean. if I can use one cream versus hundreds of creams and being surrounded by thousands of things you know so to me this and now where I'm seeing like every minute new celebrities launching skincare, makeup where it's a waste it's a waste so that's why I want to keep my brand very you know concise and I want everyone who uses my products to finish until the last drop

22:56Kara Goldin:Definitely. What was the most difficult part of launching your own brand? I mean, you were thinking about it for years and then you finally decided to go and do it. How long did it, I guess, how long did it take you to actually formulate it the way that you wanted it? And what has been difficult? Because developing, you've been in the services business using other people's products. And now you're taking inventory on your own product and creating it with formulators and packaging. It's not just about the actual product, but you've got to get a lot of things right and shipping it out and dealing with consumers that are not coming into your spas in Philly or in New York City.

23:42uh what has been the most difficult so you know with shipping and receiving we're very good because shop rescue spy has been on the line now 15 years so so that aspect we have we have covered but in terms of creating your own brand it's like i i didn't slap my name on just like a genetic product it's done from the scratch so the most important thing was to find a formulator and the company that can adhere to my requirements my requests hear what i want to have in a product but at the same time being able to formulate i'm not a formulator so i am the inspire inspiring person what I want and then there's a person to vote so I was very lucky I met this amazing French formulator and she's a female which is always great she uses my products and you know anytime we exchange it's like oh my god I'm using this new serum that we're creating and I love it and And I was like, this is what I want to hear.

24:55You know, I want my formulator to love my product. Yeah. So it's a little bit like the chef in the kitchen. Does he taste and loves his food? You know, so that is part of the magic. And then, of course, the design team, the graphic and packaging. and we're doing independent studies. And, you know, so everything is tested. We even run the FDA approval. And, you know, my products can be sold in Europe and they are certified. They are clean. They have leaping bunny, you know, certificates. So all these things, those are little details that add to a greatness of the product. But yeah, but it's still in the end, it's what's in this jar.

25:48It's my knowledge, what I dream about in the jar, in the best edition. Definitely.

26:00Kara Goldin:So being a founder, and I'll call you a serial founder because you've now launched two different companies, it's not easy, right, to launch a business. And I think often what happens behind the scenes is not necessarily what most consumers see. So I definitely understand that being a founder myself. When you think about success, right? And that's something, too, that I think is, I think you've probably been humbled along the way, right? where you think like everything's going great and then something happens along the way. Can you share any stories like that where you felt like, you know, how are we going to get out of this?

26:54Kara Goldin:And then you just did. You figured it out. Do you know, do you have any stories that have come up along the way? I probably start like the story that humbles me every day when I see a happy client walking out, working out of rescue spa, when I see clients returning and purchasing the Nusera, that, to me, this is what feeds my soul. I try not to focus on difficulties because I think we all learn through difficulties. Of course, I think the most difficult was pandemic where I had to, you know, I tried to hold down as long as I could, but at some point I had to lay off some of my employees. And obviously with the promise, I'm going to rehire them as soon as we are able to perform services.

27:49And I think that was the most difficult time. But otherwise, you know, the challenges, I think the challenges over the time, like you learn to deal with it in a different ways and it's always a lesson. It's like, okay, how can we do better? Because every single day, all of us, in any state, even if you're just home, doing nothing, you can do a better morning routine. For example, on the weekend, sometimes I wake up, I was like, oh, how can I spend this, you know, a few hours better? I'm like, okay, so maybe I should go to the gym. So I love improvements. I'm a builder. I build homes. I have a farm.

28:39I love to experiment. I love to build. That's why my spaces are beautiful. This is how I share.

28:48Kara Goldin:I love it. Well, Danucera is such a wonderful, wonderful line. Thank you for creating this. Rescue Spa, you now have how many locations? two locations um in new york and philadelphia each 10 000 square feet and yeah we do we are doing around like 150 facials a day so wow that is absolutely incredible incredible so yeah one facial at the time and changing people's lives and i love it yeah i still love it every day Well, Zenyuda, thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. And you're an inspiring reminder that with$20 initially, you were able to come to the U.S. and build this absolutely, not just one company, but two companies built on simplicity and intention and lasting impact.

29:51Kara Goldin:And you've changed many people's skin and brought mindfulness to their lives as well. So you should be very proud of what you've done. But everybody needs to check out Danuta's work at rescuespa.com and also denucera.com. And don't forget to follow and share on the Kara Golden Show this episode, because this is just another one of an inspiring founder story that we've had today. So, Danuta, thank you so much. Danuta Milak, founder of Danucera and Rescue Spa. Thank you again. Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure to share and just following your passion and not to forget to work. You know, it takes the work and passion both.

30:44Kara Goldin:Definitely. Thanks again. Thanks again for listening to The Kara Golden Show. If you would, please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit. And of course, feel free to subscribe so you don't miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Golden. I would love to hear from you too. So feel free to DM me. And if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my Wall Street Journal bestselling book, Undaunted, where I share more about my journey, including founding and building Hint.

31:25Kara Goldin:We are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Thanks for listening and goodbye for now.