LifeGLOSS + Melanie Elaine ULU Rx

Fall is the time to upgrade your skincare routine and undo summer damage. 

We sat down with Melanie Elaine, the founder of Ulu Rx, a private pharmacy dedicated to developing formulas for skin, hair, and supplements. 

This episode goes beyond the story of a female founder. We want to know what motivates a woman to open a pharmacy. 

Short answer: she was searching for solutions to her hair loss and skincare concerns.  

UluRx
https://ulurx.com/?ref=yje2nmm

Stay GLOSSY!

Life-Gloss.com
IG: @LifeGlossPodcast
TT: @LifeGlossPodcast

Press and Partnerships:
Hillary@Life-Gloss.com

Music by, Mag

Transcript

Audio Only - All Participants: 0:00

Welcome to Life Gloss, a beauty podcast for sassy and seasoned women who have lived life and have a drawer full of lip gloss to prefer. life Gloss, we have a treat for you today. This is for those of you that have wondered about pharmaceutical grade ingredients. These are those for those of you that have wondered, what's it like to start a skincare brand? What does it mean to have something OTC? Do I have to go to my dermatologist for everything? We've been seeing a rise in customized pharmaceutical skincare. But I felt like I'm not always getting the customization that I want when I just go through the generic brands that say they give you a pharmacist, formula. So I brought in someone very special. Melanie Elaine is the founder of UluRX. UluRX is a female founded pharmacy that specializes in skin. hair supplements. And we're so excited to talk to you. Welcome. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to speak to you. Your backgrounds are amazing. It's so great to connect with strong, brilliant women. Well, we're so excited to have you on. And when Hillary told me about your company and what you do, the first thing I thought about was This is so unique and it seems so purposeful. So we want to hear about how sort of started as your brand, how you came to this and why, this type of skincare, why, what, and what is a compound pharmacy to our listeners that don't even know? You know, it's a great question. If somebody would have told me five or six years ago, Oh, Hey, in five or six years, You're going to be running compounding pharmacies and you're going to be, you know, live on TikTok and other social media talking about hair loss and skin, I would have said, Oh, you're so funny. So it's one of those things where I had the need, I had the need and I went to three dermatologists in my 50s and it was pre COVID. So COVID hair loss wasn't an issue then. And my hair was just falling out like crazy. And we're a hair family. Nobody had this issue. So I was afraid. I was sick. I didn't know what was wrong. I was testing. It was terrifying. And they all said, you know, I'm pretty much, ah, lady, you're getting old, it's going to happen, you're going to lose your hair. They kind of all put me out to pasture. So then my little neurodivergent brain said, well, let's look at these numbers here. I have a mom who diabetes, COPD, heart lived to almost 91. At the time she was in her 80s. I was like, you got longevity. I got about 40 years ahead of me. How do I want to live it? And that's really what started this whole journey, because it's not just about being healthy. We want to be healthy, but we've got to feel good about how we look. Not for others, but for us. Because Unless you're there, you don't understand the feeling that we as women have when we go to a doctor and we're told you're alive, be happy, get lost. Then what happens is it's the pile on. We start piling on. Well, you know, it's just my hair. I'm just being vain. I'm fine. I'm healthy. I'm selfish. And then you start hiding behind hats and wigs and you don't want to go out. And you feel horrible and you feel like life is over. And I, I thought, I can't be the only woman who feels that way. I can't be. Making me teary. I mean, yeah, this is, yeah, I think we've all felt this in many ways. And it's, yeah, look at us. We're all tearing up right now. So, I said, you know, Where is, I need a safe place. Right? I need to figure out a safe place. Someone to talk to about it. And there was no one to talk to. Everyone said, you are healthy as a horse. You need to be grateful. And I'm a firm believer in gratitude. But that's not the issue. So I was kind of getting beaten up, beaten up, beaten up. And I pulled back and I said, okay, I can't get past this. And when I have, again, being on, you know, neurodivergent and OCD and ADHD, when I got a problem, I'm sinking my teeth into it and I'm not letting it go until it's solved. And so it went from Terry to get out of my way. I'm going to do this. And it started with a whole ton of research. So I did what every good geek does. I started to make a spreadsheet. I wanted a flowchart. I want diagrams. I wanted data. And here's the thing. When I started digging in, I started with just supplements guys, because I got to these three doctors and that's a whole nother podcast that journey. But I went to these three doctors and they gave me this hair growth vitamin and this topical serum. And I looked at the hair growth vitamin, and I said, wait a second, that's not how it works, doctor. What do you mean? Well, the body has vital functions and necessary functions. Let's talk about that, doctor. I don't know what you're talking about. Oh, right. That's when I realized they're not paying attention to how the body grows hair and distributes nutrients. That's when I went into that spreadsheet. Inspired by none other than Dr. Nicholas Perricone. We love him. He's, he's, he inspires so many people and, it's, it's incredible to, to hear that he was an inspiration to you and he's an inspiration to so many. Well, where did you go? So where did, so, so let me ask you this then. So, Your journey is such a personal one and you're experiencing the hair loss, you're experiencing so many things that so many women over the age of 40 experience, but you went ahead and did this. So take us to the point that turning point where you said, if the product doesn't exist, I'm going to make it. So that's a great question because I made it. Using Dr. Perricone's book. And he said, put your own protocol together. To see how this came to be. I followed his stuff for years. I used to pay my kids to put the little, bags together. And I did it. I am telling you, it works. He's so brilliant. So I went, hmm, I'm going to grab his book. I went through his book. I went through my spreadsheet. And I realized, okay, I'm going to feed these vitals. So in the spreadsheet, I made that those vitals were fed and fed and fed adaptogens, antioxidants, energy, hormone support. That's why we have 49 in one. And then I said, okay, you little beasties called the vitals. You guys are just absolutely stuffed full of food now I'm going to feed the hair, skin and nails and that's why we have not one but two proprietary formulas in the vitamin itself One's almost like a backup. Hey, if the vitals are going to grab the first hair formula, we got the second. So I very, very strategically designed this vitamin with the best team of formulators, because there's certain things you can't put together. And that was their forte. And there's certain levels where certain minerals will cancel each other out. So I brought this to them and they said, you want to put four 49 in there? And I said yes. They go, no one's ever done that before. And I said, yeah, I know. So once I had done my spreadsheet and made my little piles, I used that for three or four months. It was costing me about 300. So it was phase one, to answer your question, which was put together the spreadsheet, use the paracone method of my little baggies. I still have some of them kicking around, my little baggies, my little envelopes, that he would tell you to use. So I did that for three or four months and Oh, my goodness. The results were insane. People were saying, what did you do? Can I do it? And I thought, I ain't making little baggies for everybody. That's too much time. So a friend of the family was in supplements. And so that's when I went to the formulators and said, let's put this together. They didn't want, most places didn't want to do it. Because it was too much like, no, we don't want to do that because it's not easy to formulate materials and excesses and expense and yeah, yeah, we're very blessed. So that was really how it started. You know what they say, make something for you and then share it with others. And this is the absolute authentic beginning of the company. Incredible. Thank you. And Susan, Susan, I can see her face. She's like, wow, Susan, without revealing too much, Susan had a situation in her life where she had to take care of her own health and heal herself. So I can see she's identifying with this quite a bit. completely. You have to take, you know, there comes a certain point, and I'm sure some of our listeners will agree with this, where you go to every specialist, you go to every doctor, and you're being heard, but you might not get the results. And that's when I, and I'm sure you felt this way too, Mel, I wanted to partner, I wanted to. Add to the protocol and come up with a supplementation plan. You know, it's what you're, you know, they often say it's not what you're putting on your body. It's what you're putting in your body. And you really took that to the next level and it's supplementation that's internal. So you have supplements, but you also have skincare products you put on externally. So it's that marriage together that really makes your product So efficient. Well, thank you. And I want to add to that. It's also the coaching, right? You can call us, you can come online. How many of us have bought product and it sits on the counter? Cause we're not really sure how to use it. No, no, no, we are here for you and we are going to walk you through everything you need to know about maximizing the value of that product. I love that. You know, as a health coach, I can tell you that right there is a huge key point of difference. You can walk into any store and get overwhelmed and want to buy topical products or supplements, But if you don't have someone explaining to you how to use the products and what are your specific needs and needs change too. So having that coach is, is just so instrumental in getting those results. So I really applaud you for that. You're really taking the beauty industry to the next level with that, you know, with coaching. I love that. What a point of difference. Well, thank you. And, you know, It's just what I wanted needed. I wanted someone to talk to. I've had women call and say, I was about to, you can't say those words. Right. Because I was so depressed until I found you and thought you gave me hope. And I knew we had to talk, but I didn't realize how much we had to talk. We need to be there for each other. because You know, with, with doctors, they often only know what the drug companies are telling them. They don't understand that by thinking out of the box and by looking holistically, you can really solve a lot of problems. I mean, we're getting to the point now where with the aging research, all of this is optional, right? And it's not about, I don't want to look 20, right? It's about feeling good for me so I can live my purpose. That's, that's really, I think what we want as we get older. At least that's what I want. And I love your whole idea of, you know, building that community. That's why Hillary and I decided to start LifeGloss was to share our expertise, but also to start a community of like minded women. We're all going through this. We're all getting older and We need each other more than ever and especially the beauty industry, which I think we can all agree can sometimes be the ugliest of places. It's nice to have that community. So thank you. You're welcome. And kindness, right? You know, you have to set boundaries. You know, like a lot of people who, you know, they want, we can't give them free stuff. So we're still kind, but we have to have healthy boundaries. And that's the other thing that I find women also. lack and I think hurts their health care because they don't understand that a boundary with a health care professional can be, Hmm, I don't think what you're suggesting is going to work for me. And I think that many women don't feel empowered enough to be able to do that. And they say, well, that's not nice. Or he might get the, or she might get, no, the boundary is that you must take care of yourself first. You have to advocate it. You know, advocating is, is huge. And Hillary and I talk about that a lot in our own personal conversations, like how you advocate for your own health and how you advocate for, you know, how you want to look and feel. You know, and that can come through whatever you put externally on your body and what you put internally on your body. So knowing what questions to ask is huge too. And knowing when to say, you know, that doesn't totally sound right to me. And I think there are so many women out there where maybe men too, who knows? They're listening to this and thinking. Huh, I can actually say no to my doctor. I can actually fire my doctor. I can date someone else. I can go somewhere else. this is probably really resonating. I just recently had some blood work done and they came back to me and said, Oh, well, this one thing is off the chart, but 15 percent of the population has that thing off the chart and they're asymptomatic. And I said, I came to you and asked you to take these tests because I'm not asymptomatic. I don't care how many people have this. I don't care if they have purple horns, green scales, and three, you know, eyeballs. I'm telling you, I think that this is a concern. I'd like to be tested to see if I'm maybe onto something here. And I don't want you to poo and shove it under the rug saying, Oh, it's really common with everything. Cause I do the spreadsheets, the flow charts. I'm a good little geek too. So Susan, we all are. I'm like, huh. Based on all these clinical studies and things that I've seen and things that I've experienced, and I'm logging, Hmm, this could be this. So, let me take a battery of tests to see, and what do you know, I'm seeing some indications. Am I going to continue going to that doctor? No. I'm going to actually go to Susan's internist, all the way on the East Coast, through telemed, and give him, My test results because he listens. So sometimes you've got to find someone that I can take the raw data to that I feel confident in, you know, really going through and sorting through it. Well, and you know, the AI tools with respect to research, science, and medicine are off the charts. It's not only going to expedite research and new treatments, but it's also, they're also, and I'm not trying to rag, so this is just a fact, they also tested AI diagnosis and testing against doctors. You probably already know this. And the A. I. Testing was far more accurate because human human air when when given access to all the appropriate data. So early on, my fear with AI going into it is that the pharmaceutical companies are going to start controlling the data that they're fed. So it'll get a skewed response. Call me crazy and a little nervous, but yes, they were, the diagnoses were, more accurate. But you have to be careful about bias built into all the models. I couldn't agree with you more. However, if you go in knowing that what I'm saying is it's just another tool for you to get more information because the bottom line is, you know, your body. And if you listen to your gut, you're home free. So I completely agree. and I use AI all the time when I'm looking up ingredients, looking up side effects. and it depends on the LLM that you're using, right? There is bias in the models. No question. Right. So Mel, tell us then at Ulu Rx, you have supplements for hair loss. You have topical products for skincare. tell us a little bit about some of your key points of difference. If I was a consumer and I was suffering from some hair loss. My skin wasn't looking like it used to. what do I need? What is a skincare product? What is a product for the hair? Like, what are some of your products that you think somebody should start with? Like, where should we start? If we go online and Google, you look you What do we need? The absolute supplements, and we've gone over those. We've talked about that. If you don't have good gut health, it's going to show. Our products, our topical will be effective, but not as effective. So this is where I would start. We have two serums for the hair. Both are customized. One is more expensive because it contains the tanapros, the stuff that grows our lashes. Very expensive. So for example, I'll say to somebody, Are you just starting picking your hair loss or are you freaking out? so this is where we start if you are You know 45 50 and you're seeing that big white part. Oh for heaven's sakes make sure you get the hair bomb Because it's got that latanoprost. We're gonna make sure that we grab those follicles before they're dead Super important now both are customized. It's just that one ingredient and we separated them because Some people may just be getting their journey. They need the basic serum and it's topical. So let me ask you this. You're saying the word customized a lot. How do you customize a product for someone? Great question. So we'll coach them. Okay, you want the balm. Fantastic. Because it's a prescription, what they do is they check out. We have a pop up saying, have you filled out your questionnaire in 2024? Yes, I have. No, I haven't. and what will happen is they answer all the questions and our doctor then reviews it. And once the doctor has reviewed it, He will determine whether or not that product is appropriate for them. What can we add to it? What level of minoxidil? Can we put finasteride in the topical? Can we put tretinoin in the topical? Can we put a prostaglandin in the topical? So that's the process. We ask you about medications. We ask you about allergies. We ask you what you've used, right? Because if people say, well, I've used this, it didn't work. Well, we're not going to put that in. And then we'll often follow it with a call. Okay. We're thinking this, this, this, this, and this. Are you okay with these ingredients? Work with the doctor. He writes the script. It has been filled and created by our compounding pharmacist. So do people need to submit blood work for this or is it just simply a questionnaire? No. In the questionnaire we ask them, do you have any illnesses, sicknesses, conditions? We want to make sure that our products are safe for them to use. And, and what we're doing is extremely safe, but we're want to make sure it's uber uber safe and uber effective. So you fill in the questionnaire and then you give that information to the physician. And then based on the physician's feedback and protocol, you work with the compounding pharmacy to actually create a customized product for both hair and skin. Yes. And our compounding probably have three compounding pharmacists. You probably heard one just in the background coming in and they are not only brilliant. They are so caring and so loving. You've got to feel it in your compound. And so, yeah, and we do the same with skin. So depending on your skin condition, you've got spots, you've got, okay, are you okay with a little hydroponone, a little kojic acid? You have to rotate off. We teach them about that. All right. How sensitive is your skin? We're going to tweak, tweak, tweak, and then we'll send it to them and say, how was that formula? You know, some people like, well, a little of this, we'll remake it. And tweak it and make sure it works for them now for our listeners that I use a compounding pharmacy for some of the hormones that I take absolutely some of our listeners that might not know the difference between a regular pharmacy and a compounding. Just give a quick explanation. compounding pharmacies, we're cooking it, we're making it, we're putting it together with the recipe. Cooking. Think cooking. CVS, Walgreens, all those places are taking it from a big bottle and putting it in a little bottle. That's the best way to explain it. So it really is customized to your specific needs. Yeah. And I can say from my own experience, I started using Ulu Rx mid July. So July, August, September, I'm like about to hit that magic three month mark. and my mom has had the same experience because she's like, wait a minute, what's happening? I need to be doing this. I'm able to say, can we bump a little hydration up in the estriol? And then, the pharmacist will recommend, Hey, she could pay, maybe do this if she wanted to now, Mel had that conversation with me. So every time that I'm reordering, it is. there's a conversation about where is your skin now because your skin changes especially if you have topical conditions or in the area of hair as your hair is improving it's at a different phase so you where you're growing with your clientele as their needs are changing not only is their needs as their concerns are improving but as their biology is aging over years and years and or seasons as well So I'm getting to, almost the three month magic spot and. Within two weeks, I was like, what is happening? I thought I was sleeping well. I thought my supplements in, I knew my hydrogen water was working, but I was like, wow, that really got to my skin fast. And then I started realizing, wow, it's my, it's my blue copper, it's my, it's, you know, it's my copper, my GHQ and then. After 12 weeks of doing this and this alone. And I'll be honest with our audience members. I was after the Estreol cream. I was like, I want Estreol. I don't trust any of those other brands out there. They're mixing it in. I don't want to put my pharmaceutical, you know, cream that I put on my skin into my skincare. I don't know what I'm doing. And Mel was like, Hillary. We'll get you there, but first trust me start with the copper peptides 8 to 12 weeks And then we can look at estriol and TRET and I was like fine I'll do it. I'll do it because I know when she's saying 8 to 12 weeks I know as a medical esthetician that makes sense. I noticed radiance smoothness, dark spots, brightening up, like just overall looked refreshed. And it's nice because it's important to do one thing at a time with ingredients, with diet, with hair, with anything. You don't know what's causing a problem or improving your situation if you've done or eliminated 10 things at once. So, that person, that touch makes me feel very safe and, it's not out there. There are a lot of, Pharmacy brands where you send in your little friends. And it's a big company, and I know from working with, as an esthetician, working with some of the early versions as a consultant of these pharmaceutical brands, that basically they have 10 different versions, and there's thresholds built into your form. Nobody really ever touches it. Within the threshold, the AI says, okay, she needs this one. Oh, she needs this one. She needs that one. A human usually isn't ever looking at it. It's an algorithm. And you know, that's not necessarily a bad thing if you don't have a hard problem to solve. Because you have to start somewhere. So I have no problem with them starting somewhere. But what I Want to do is continue to tweak it and the only way you can really get that question answered questionnaires only go so far because you missed the iteration of a conversation. How about this, that, and that conversation is really what happens with the magic. And some people are like, no, it's perfect. Don't change it. Fine. Some people are like, well, you know, it's fall. I'd like a little hydroquinone Kojic. Okay, we can do that because you haven't used it in the past three months. Great. Now, if I hadn't called and asked that question, here's the thing. They wouldn't know it was possibility that a lot of people, Oh, they might tell you I was using it all summer, which is terrifying, but still, you know, it's those conversations that are so important. Yes. And It's very gratifying because so many people. are so grateful that we took the time to talk to them. They're like, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm like, man, this is, this feels really good. Am I doing it for them or me? Because it's so great to help people. I'm a nurturer. You know, my kids are grown and, I don't have any dogs right now. I'm like, well, got to nurture someone. So it's you guys. Thank you. Thank you. Do you have a favorite ingredient that you're currently working with that you just really are, you know, you said it best, geeking out on, but is there an ingredient that you are just really like, wow, I have noticed such a difference in myself and our clientele with this product or this ingredient? Okay, that's a tough one because I have a favorite ingredient for hair, which is the latanoprost. I mean, this is the hair I had when I was 30, 62 next month. Right. And I couldn't, I can't, my happiness level would be very different. So that's a tough one for the hair, the latanoprost is magic. If that follicle is alive, all you're going to see is the results get better and better over time. For skin. Yeah. Thank you. The GHKCU, our quality pharmaceutical grade, is stunning. It's just stunning. And this is what, you know, Hillary's talking about that. Like, we have so many people walk by a mirror and go, Well, was that me? You know, because it's such a great product. And if I may, because I think this is important for people to hear, and Susan, the GHKCU, the copper, it's like, we saw it in the nineties, it was gone for a long time, vitamin C came in, antioxidants came in, peptides came in, and it is a peptide. But no one was using the word peptide in the mid nineties when they were talking about it, they were talking about the mineral, they were talking about all the other things. Maybe we weren't ready for the word peptide then, but so I've tried them. And they're fine, but I haven't had the kind of result that I had with the ULU copper peptide. Tell us a little bit about, to Susan's point. Okay, so I reverse engineer, we reverse engineer. I don't say, oh, this looks like a good idea to make this whatever I'm making and then go test it. That doesn't make sense. So I'm reading the, dermatology journals, the PubMed, and I'm reading these and I am seeing that the GHKCU at a certain percentage and purity continues to have Insane results since the 70s. So I said I'm a pharmacist. Okay, either I'm really smart or I'm really stupid. What's going on here? Why aren't people using it? And it was what I suspected. The raw materials are extremely expensive guys. I mean, they're off the charts. The over the counter people can't 30 markup, or they make something for 2 and sell it to you for 80. Our markup on these copper peptides is not what it should be. But I have to do it, and I have to do it the best. So, I started just going to the pharmaceutical supply companies, and you can't, they can't sell unless you have a pharmacy license. Because why did I go there? Because it's the only place we could get the quality. So I kept saying, why aren't people using these? What is going on? And it came down to the quality and source of the ingredient, and the amount of testing, which led me to pharmaceutical grade. The price is insanely expensive. A true copper peptide molecule is extremely sensitive to the pH around it. That pH gets too low, it's going to blow up that peptide, and you just wasted all your money. So what I discovered was all the over the counter Pharmacies who have a copper peptide, not crazy about their sourcing, not crazy about their percentage, but their formulations, if you take a look, they have 30, 40, 50 ingredients. Why do you need 50 ingredients in these copper peptides? They're putting acids in with peptides. They are not licensed. They are not regulated. They don't understand the molecular reaction the way pharmacists do. So the third part of that was It has to be formulated correctly. It has to be handled correctly. That's the difference. Why has no one else do it? Because you can't do your 20, 30, 40 markup, but you can be the best at what you do. Love that. You know, it sounds to me like we just got an organic chemistry lesson for free, which it sounds like you've used that to your advantage. You've used that curiosity and that way of thinking to your advantage. And as a parent of two neurodivergents, I applaud you for that. and I think that, um, you know, really diving deep on these ingredients and being so transparent, you know, I really think that transparency is something that is, I mean, we've all talked about this is lacking. Of course, you know, we're in the beauty industry, we're smoking mirrors and we all fully admit it. Um, but your level of transparency and your level of passion. For me personally, is what is really setting ULU Rx. Aside from the competitors, you know, you don't want to put down anyone and you come from a place of kindness, but it's your passion and your ability to think differently and be transparent that I think will draw people to you as a brand. Well, thank, thank you. And I hope so. And I have a little, I have a little saying it's, it's skincare for smart women. It's women who want to understand what they're buying and put on their skin. Our pharmacist goes live every Monday night To be here to answer your question. Who does that? It's pretty incredible. It's pretty incredible. So what, what do people need to do? They go to Ulurx. com, U L U R X. com. What's the next step? Walk us through, because you're more involved than just like push and play. You're not just going to see it on Instagram and be like, put in cart, boom, it shows up at your house. Cause this truly is, you know, A conversation and it's a relationship. You know, you can speed date your color. Don't speed date your skin care. You're in a long term relationship with your skin. Why not be in a long term relationship with the person that's formulating your skin as well? So, walk us through what people do so they know what to expect. If this sounds like your jam, here's what you do. Um, a lot of people already know what they want. They know the copper peptides because, because we have smart cookies, right? They know copper peptides. If they've heard about us from an influence, they're like, yeah, I want to try that. So some people go in, they'll go to the shop all page, put the copper peptide, fill out the quiz, get a confirmation. We get it to them. So some people, a lot of people actually will do that, um, because we're doing so much product education. Um, the website is uber plain and simple. And what you're going to see is I put my picture on the front of the website, not for ego reasons, but I want people to know they're in the right place. So it starts there and then next to it's like, do you want to call? Do you want to text? Do you have questions? Because we know that so many people have questions and we welcome them asking the exact same questions that you guys are. Well, how are you guys different? And so, you know, sometimes they'll call once, twice, three times. We'll continue to have the discussion. And we, what I often do with people is to say, okay, are you at your computer? Great. I want your products. So while we're having a conversation, I'm writing out in an email, What I want them to use what they shouldn't use. I asked give me your product. What is it? What are you using? I grabbed the ingredients from Google. I put them into a I make a little chart. Here's what I like. Here's what I know. So by the time we're done, we've got this custom program for them and they understand. Okay. I still have to do my gut health test. I'm a freak about that. We don't sell them. So everyone's different. Some people are very educated about their gut. Some people know what they shouldn't shouldn't eat depending on that person's needs. They may go in and check out. They may text and say, I got a few questions. Do you have a minute? Absolutely. Um, they may decide to come and watch us on TikTok just to see who we are. All those options are available for them. So when you ask me about next steps. Right. And it's very custom to them. Um, you know, a lot of people see, they see the before and afters on those copper peptides and they're done. And those are not touched. Those are 100 percent from the clients. Um, so it depends on the person, but I actually enjoy the interaction because then I know we are giving them exactly what they need and we're creating the relationship that we want to have with each of our clients. Right. That's beautiful. I don't know how in the world you're going to keep this up when you have your phone is ringing off the hook and you have hundreds of thousands of people, but I'm sure you'll find a way. You know, people ask me that and my response is, I'm going to do it as long as I can. Right. If, you know, my, my vision is I would love to delegate everything, you know, as a business owner, you're doing everything and just have interaction and coaching all day. I love the coaching. Right. Beautiful. How long has your company been in business for? We started with the supplements like 2018, 2019, selling them on Amazon and I cooked up the serum for my head pretty much the same way as the supplements by just concocting all my own stuff in my kitchen that worked. And the, um, pharmacy started one month before COVID and it was very hard for us to get momentum because the pharmacy, we could, you know, we weren't, you know, a critical service, but Pharmacists were, we had one who just, just didn't show up. And then what happened was with the, um, with the vaccine, we couldn't pay a quarter million dollars a year. So we would have pharmacists or not have pharmacists. So it was a really tough time to get that momentum. Companies who had the momentum pre COVID who were online did great trying to get that momentum and the people was tough. So really, I like to say, really, we've really only started in the past, you know, since really things have opened up. In the past two or three years. It took a long time, you know, this industry really had a restructure as a result. So, yeah, yeah. And where do you go from here? Oh, I got some plans. Um, our products and our formulas are proprietary and they're fantastic. We have women from all over the world. asking and men, you know, can you help? Uh, I see licensing to other compounding pharmacies around the world of risk specific product line where we teach them how to make it. They use the formulas and they benefit from the marketing and education. So I think that's the easiest way to get the product worldwide. And you've tackled hair. You've tackled skin, supplements. We're, we're also in anti aging. I don't know if, um, Hillary's talked to you about the nicotinamide mononucleotide, NMN. Tell Are you gatekeeping? No! I haven't started. I'm doing one thing at a time. Okay. Listen to her. See? You can tell we're like Yes. Well, it's, you are keeping, we like to, to do everything this, oh, well, you know, I'm sure you know who Dr. David Sinclair is. Dr. Huberman? Yes. Dr. Huber. Wait a minute. Dr. Huberman. Okay. I'm back. Um, and Dr. Sam Walters. Oh my God. Okay. Did you ever see the video of him, the YouTube video where he had his shirt off and he hit the rock on his, he looked like Atlas from Atlas Shred. We saw it. I saw it. Oh yeah. I love him. I love him. I love him. Okay. Focus. Focus.

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So, yes. Um, it is the precursor to NAD plus, which is the fuel for the mitochondria. NAD plus taken orally just isn't as effective. NAD plus intravenously, very effective. But the NMN stimulates your body to produce its own NAD. Nicotinamide mononucleotide. It has been taken off the market as a supplement. It is now a drug. As a pharmacy, we can obviously get it to you. It is game changing. Um, my pharmacist actually grabbed the bottle and hide it from me. They go, it gives her too much energy! Take it away! Take it away! We can't keep it! Um, so it's nicotinamide mononucleotide, and what it does, it's energy, but here's the really great part, and you can take a look at Dr. Sinclair's information, etc., Dr. Huberman. And this is how Sinclair defines it. Aging is like, um, a CD that gets scratched, right? When you're younger, your body can repair that scratch, because it's got the NAD levels. The NAD levels stop, start dropping. Aging is too many scratches on that CD that aren't repaired by using the NMN, which is giving the NAD to the mitochondria. Your mitochondria now has enough energy. You know what we did to our bodies when we're young and we repaired it. Now your body has got what it needs to repair the DNA. Give you the energy. It has helped so much with my cortisol levels and adrenal fatigue. It really helps my mood. I even wrote a song about it that I can share with you. It helps my mood. It helps weight loss. I did. Do you want to hear it? Yes, of course. Oh my God. I have to. Yes. I have to have it. Are you ready? We're ready. You are my energy, my anti aging. You make me happy when people are dicks. Your asses and bed helps my eyesight. Please don't take my enemy away. I wrote this because they were taking it away from me because they said she has too much energy to begin with. We can't keep up. So that's my enemy. I love it. I love it. I love it. I mean, I That's, that's the top 10 of the charts right there. Top 10 of the chart. I, I'm telling you, I'm, I'm taking it on the road. I'm taking it on the road. Yeah, sure. They're gonna rush the stage. They're gonna rush the stage. I, I know it I'm like, I'm like, I don't know if I wanna wait. I think I'm just gonna have to add it now. I'm like, add to cart. Add to cart. Add to cart. Mm-Hmm. I'll have what she's having. Yeah. Well, and here's the thing. I'll do the research for you. I love it. I love to, to, to create the synopsis and, and, and give it to you, but I always encourage people. I will give you the links to all of the research that we use to reach these conclusions. So you can see for yourself. People want to, some people don't. It's up to you, but I want you to know that this is reverse engineering from science. We see what works. And then we create a usable formula. I love it. And I've noticed, I've noticed huge differences in my skin. Um, as a matter of fact, I was doing a little video the other day and I thought, I'm going to have to put a lot of makeup on. I'm going to have to put a lot of foundation on. It was a very dramatic character based look and I didn't. I had on lashes, I had on eyes, I just had a little concealer here, here, little contour. I mean my skin, I put a little here just to give me a little pop, but I didn't have to cover my skin. It was pretty uncomfortable. You look amazing. I mean, you're a beautiful woman and you're always, you're always gorgeous, but when we were doing that live the other day and you said you had no makeup on, I was blown away. I was blown away because you're, if I may share your age, you're almost 50 and you don't even, somebody actually told me on the live that they thought you were maybe late 20s or 30s when they saw your scan. Well, that's so nice. Well, and even these super annoying lines. That make me feel like I skipped my mother, and I'm going straight to my grandmother. I mean, there's only so much that can be done for these topically, we all know that. But they're less egregious. Yep. So I'm seeing results in things that I didn't think I'd see results in. So, um, for, you know, again, topically, there's only so much you can do. We're all being honest about that. But if you're going to spend your time and your money being diligent, use really great OTC products. Take your OTC to the next level with some well designed pharmaceuticals. Um, I definitely believe in the power of the plants, the power of herbs, the power of all of these natural things. They're better for us than anything. A lot of pharmaceuticals we're based on, you know, plant pharmacology. So keep your skincare simple, clean, protect it. Um. And you don't have to go really crazy there, but you'll see some real, see the difference results with the Lulu RX products, protect, nourish, care for your skin. Like, you know, to do it otherwise. And, um, my recommendation, I've been happy with that protocol for three months plus, and I'm going to keep going. So, Well, we're going to keep going too. I'm glad you said that because With A. I. The science is getting better all the time. So I'm always digging in. Ooh, how can we improve this? How can we tweak that? How can we address this? How can we address that? And that's the thing, right? Like you, you've got to stay up with the science because we are getting so much data that we can now analyze with quantum computing. What's the benefit for us? We're going to be able to really understand what combinations work, what doesn't work, what can replenish and so I think it's super exciting. I mean, you know, it's, it's almost like avoid a facelift. I hate to say it that way. Like, I don't want to have a facelift. So it's like, I'm gonna use this stuff as long and as hard as I can until I get to the point where it's like, well, you know, maybe I need to, I don't want to, if I thought I wanted to. And I have no problem if anyone wants to, but my job and my obligation to you guys is to keep you up on the latest in hair science, in skin science and the anti aging science. I'd love to see what you could do for the body, you know. Oh, well, we've got the crepe, we've got the crepey skin cream. It's on its way to me. I'm going to start using it. I'm going to take photos. Let me show you not to get undressed. Oh, Susan's like, Okay. 62 year old skin. I was getting creepy skin. I'm getting it here. I know what I'm doing after I hang up. I know me too. I got to get, I got to get photos. We have to practice what we preach and take photos. Photos. Yeah. Really important. So just to monitor your own, like I had to look at my photos. Cause I was like, is this little thing getting better? Is this? Hmm. So it's here a little better, but a little better is a lot better. Yeah. I'm starting here too. Well, and I'm not trying to flash you guys, but what I'm trying to say is I can't, I'm not going to sit here. I'll cover it up in clothing and, um, say, Oh, do you use my stuff? It works. I have to be able to show you my skin. Yeah. It looks great. 60, 62. This is the neck and the decollete. And I think that the hands and the neck are what going to age you the fastest. Yep. We can, you know, The protocol of back and forth with retinoic acid and the copper peptide for crepey skin, because you asked about body, so I'm coming full circle. Yeah. The copper peptides on the skin, women who are losing weight. are using the copper peptides. They're beginning when they start losing weight, they're immediately applying the copper peptide because it's rejuvenating skin. So as they lose, the skin is building collagen and elastin, and they've been blown away by the results.

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what we're doing for the body, is just build, build, build. The same thing we're doing for the face and neck. And I am talking these, I am one, we had one woman, she lost as much as 35 pounds, but she's using it like on her thighs, on the places where you see the stretching of the skin and the before and afters are on the site and blown away. So you asked about body. Sorry. I got off on the tangent. I started taking off my clothes. Wait a second. I got to take out the rest of it. Almost done. Yeah. It's so good. I can't wait. I've got all my little spots. I'm going to take photos of my poor husband's going to be like, what are you doing with the camera in the bathroom? Like half dressed. I'll be like, I'm taking pictures of areas. Listen, just another Friday night at Hillary's house. You know, what can we say? It's for science. It is. Absolutely. It's for, I'm just curious though, because when you're doing something in the bathroom and you're really quiet, the whole family's like, Hey. What are you doing? Mel, thank you so much for being with us. I think we're going to be popping in and you know, over the next little bit of time, Susan and I are going to be like. So Susan, it's three months. What have you been doing? What are you noticing? And, we'll have to, we'll have to have you back to talk about everything that's happening with ULU and how you're growing and how you're integrating. And I'm sure we'll want to talk about our results. We'll want to report back to you and all of those that are listening. And for our audience members that are listening, please keep us abreast as well. We're here at LifeGloss. We're part of your journey. We want to know what you're doing, want to know what's working for you. And let's definitely give Ulu Rx and Mel a lot of love, reach out to her, talk to her, ask her questions. And it's just such a relief to know that somebody's, you know, looking out for us. And I happen to know that my pharmacist's name is Ray. And Ray looks at my formulas and it's really, it's, it's very special to be like, Hey Ray, I have a question. What do you think about this? Can I bump up my, this, or can I do this? And he's not afraid to say no. How many people can put truly a name to a face when they're talking about something as personal as supplementation and skincare? I really off the top of my head. Can't name any. So. This is pretty groundbreaking. So you, Mel. You're welcome. Just let everyone know, and Hilary had a good point. I want to end with this, but you are on medications of any sort. Please, please, before you buy the supplements, send me a list. We want to make sure that nothing in even over the counter is going to interfere with your medication.

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so we're all about safety and I have to say I'm a little blown away on how many people are on medications and aren't aware of the interactions until we make them aware of them. So. We're here for you. You don't have to buy anything. You can just be thinking, whatever your questions are, but we are here. Give us a list. They are so good at saying yes, yes, yes. No. I had someone yesterday asked me about the NMN Ray said, no, he's like, no, if they're on this and this, they can go ask their doctor, but I wouldn't recommend that lovely safety. I love that. He says, love it. Love it. Thank you. We'll see you soon. Congratulations. Congratulations. And thank you from the bottom of my heart. My skin feels better. My mother's happy with me. We've got to keep my mother happy. Got to keep the redhead happy. She called me and said, I was in the shower and you know, my skin just feels different. We've got, I've got a call now. My skin just feels different even in the shower. So that's because it is different. It is different skin. It is rejuvenated. Mm-Hmm. It is younger skin. There you go. What we all want. That's what we all want. Thank you. We'll see you again and we will Thank you Mel. We'll pass comments on as well. Thank you so much and I'm really grateful that you guys invited me on your podcast. You could, you know, have anyone and you chose to just delve into my company and I'm really grateful for your, your, your love and support. fantastic. Thank you. We love it. Really appreciate you. Thank you. Bye. I'll keep clothes on next No. way much fun to stop this.