Hey guys, welcome back to Skin Anarchy. Today's episode is very, very special because we're going to be diving into the world of peptides. I know a lot of you are probably hearing a lot more about them now because they are entering the skincare space, I think, more rapidly in a more robust way. I know peptides have been around for a long time, but with the rise of wellness and all these health trends, they've really gotten a big spotlight on them. So our guest today is truly an expert in this area. She has built in this space, in the tech space, across the board, and now she's entering the skincare space with a beautiful line. So without further ado, please welcome Whitney Kendrick, who is the founder of Routine Skin. Welcome, Whitney. I'm so excited to host you.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. Thank you for having me. And I'm excited to talk about peptides, skincare, talk about the brand. So I'm the founder and CEO of Routine Skin. We also have another brand called Soma that is peptide focused, and we work with the medical community and have a lab out of Scottsdale, Arizona. So that really happened first and then launched us into the Routine Skin brand.
SPEAKER_00And I really love that you have that background, Whitney, because I think when it comes to peptide skincare, there's so much to unpack, right? For our listeners, I really want to kind of walk down that memory lane with you and learn about more about Soma and like where you really got interested in the space at large. Because I think that's important to understand that peptides, they aren't new. And so the people that are talking about them should have that experience. If you don't mind, I'd love to walk down memory lane and kind of get that insight from you. Like what started all of this for you?
SPEAKER_01Yeah,
I mean, the the people that end up in this space for the long haul, it's usually a pain of passion story. And my journey started six years ago when I had fertility issues. So um went through IVF, IUI, already had a child successfully, and uh just the second one was not happening. And there was no rhyme or reason. I was younger and just could not figure it out. And so I ended up finding this amazing doctor that's over near Burbank. And after, again, that many rounds, he looked at the charts and went, This is quite frustrating. This doesn't make sense. And he didn't really know much about peptides, but ended up just doing a nutrient IV treatment and then kiss peptin, which not a really well-known peptide, but it helps with like egg maturity, follicle development, even sperm health, things like that. And then I got pregnant like right away. And have a beautiful five-year-old girl from it. And it really launched me into this space. And when I went to ask him more, he went, I don't know. He went, really don't know. I just know that I've used this, it works, there's some, you know, some of it happening over in Europe. And so after that, it just became more and more apparent that the medical community was really not aware of peptides at all outside of insulin. But even when you go and speak with a doctor, I would say half of them don't recognize the insulin's peptide. It's just something that they don't associate it with or oxytocin. Uh, some that are more common. And same with the other founder of Soma ended up having issues during COVID and went and dove into it. Same story. Went into a doctor, they went, here, let's put you on, you know, MOTC, which is a mitochondrial peptide. And she said, sure, whatever. Like, I'll do anything at that point. You know, a lot of people are dealing with ailments during that time. And now with, you know, long COVID that they're still having effects from. And within two weeks, like all their pain was gone, everything was better. And I'm not here to say that peptides are some cure-all magic trick. It's just they really are wonderful signaling molecules. And that's what I like to preface when I talk to people about peptides, peptide therapy, even topical peptides, is because they're not like you're putting something on and it sure it works with collagen production, but it's really telling your body, it's matching up these signaling to say, this is what your body should be doing. It's just like a text message, right? Yeah. And so you have to know how to administer it, you know, have that medical insight to be able to say this is the right thing for you. Because if you're sending a bunch of messages and it's someone's yelling at you every day, your body's gonna shut down, right? But if it's the right tone, if it's the right message, if it's at the right time, and you're really taking into consideration these other aspects of your health, down to even sleep, down to sunlight, right? A lot of other things that are just we forget along the way when we're sedentary, working in computers every day, on our phones every day. Like Yeah, inflammation. Inflammation is a huge one. So yeah. Just all the screens, all the lights, everything we touch, products. It just all adds up. It's not one singular thing. So that's been my journey as it led into peptides.
And it's just been wonderful the last couple of years, more so on the education and partnerships in the medical space and helping all of these practices, not just understanding peptides, but also working with wonderful teams that have been passionate about it for a long time, finally getting the recognition in the space in the shift in government. I mean, uh, so many great things happening right now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's really fascinating that you really saw this from the inside out, you know, because I think that's where I get lost in the world of peptides right now, especially longevity. I'm very interested in, I know a lot of our listeners are very interested in longevity science and medicine as it's emerging. And one of the biggest questions becomes exactly what you were just speaking to, right? Which is, well, the people who are telling me to do this, what's their experience in the space? Whether that's personal, whether that's medical, whatever it might be. And a lot of times that falls short, you know, and we don't get the answers. So, like just how you were explaining it, even that kind of explanation, I can tell you right now, when I was in medical school, no one spoke to us about signaling molecules on this level, you know, for therapeutic.
SPEAKER_01Even hormones, it's such a small, it's just a it's you don't get very much education. It's just kind of, here you go. Okay, next, next.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. And that's the crux of all of this is that we don't get educated on any level. Your medical practitioners don't know how to explain this to you, and they're still figuring out. So then what happens? We have a lot of fear mongering now where it's like just what you were saying, you might benefit from this, but we don't even know how to explain it, you know? So, like, how can people start benefiting if we can't explain it? So it's a huge topic.
SPEAKER_01It is. And there is a lot of fear tactics happening right now, uh, especially from the top down just in pharmaceuticals. I mean, there's there's a place for it, there's a need for it, but there's a lot of money to be had in it too. And I think that's where a lot of brands get lost and a lot of the information that's circulating gets lost because you're wondering, you know, who's making the biggest paycheck out of this. And then it provides a different narrative.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely.
Now, I want to actually ask you about routine skin because I love that you created a skincare company that is focusing on peptides after you understood peptides. I think that's my favorite part about what you've created here. And I, if you can talk to us about like what was that moment where you're like, I want to go into skincare and bring this to the skincare space? What led you to that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, I question being in skincare every day. It's it's a strange market. There's so many brands, there's so many products, and forever it's like, okay, how many products do I have to go to through until I find the regimen that works for me? Or you've been using one for so long since you were young that there's absolutely no way you can endure the week of getting off of that regimen, you know? Right. Your skin is so used to that consistency or routine. I mean, there's people that like I've had Olay for since I was 15 and they're, you know, now 50, and they're just like, I there's no way I can switch from it. So I think there's a lot more experimenting happening now. There's a lot more people reading ingredients, but it's still really a small subset of people that even read ingredients. A little bit more on the skincare side, way less on the food side. But routine wasn't even, I would say, a choice that was made one day just saying, I think there's a gap in the market. It was,
I actually had a severe burn and there was a Thanksgiving remodeling was happening. I was like going to blend a soup and just wasn't paying attention. I've made it every year. And it just flew up, went on my arm, went on my face, and it was it was bad, pretty bad. And it ended up being second degree just through. And there was nothing I could do about it. I mean, if anyone's ever had a burn, I feel so horrible for them because the pain and the recovery period from it is so long. And there's just the only thing that I could use was silver. That was it. And you go find try to find anything over the counter. It's like, don't use on burns.
unknownYes.
SPEAKER_00Oh my god. Even though it's crazy about silver for some reason, even though it's very helpful, but I know what you mean. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, even the gods. Like you go and try to find a patch or something to cover of burn, and it's like, don't use on anything but first degree burns. You're like, what do I even do here? It's like, yeah, so and you can only use silver for so long until it starts affecting the healing process. So it's great for like sterility and a microbial. It's wonderful. But there was nothing after that at all. And so I got interested, which is how I ended up on copper. I was like, there has to be something. And so I uh Lauren Pickart was the one that did most of the research and development in GHKC, like back from the 70s. And so I was got really, really interested in it, but again, couldn't find it nowhere. But they actually sold it. They had sold it uh in this really little plastic squeeze tube. I loved them actually. No branding really. It was just straight, this is the ingredient. And I went, I love that. Like I love it. So I got it. It worked, it helped get rid of a ton of the scarring that was happening afterward. And so then I kind of went, but it's nowhere. They just have this, but there's no brand, there was nothing, like nobody knew about it, but they've been around for so long. And then uh, so I just went, there's gotta be a way to be able to make this. It's a finicky peptide, like you can't mix it with a lot of things, but I had chemists already, I had peptide knowledge, so we set out. It was really for a personal need, and I went, okay, well, now that I have it, and so I started using it and it helped a lot. And then other people were like, Well, I have a cut, can I use it? I have this. It didn't start in the aesthetic, it was in the wound healing process, and so that is really where I was passionate about it, and that's kind of where it went more into a clinical grade side, even though anybody can use it. It's just it works really well in even like abrasion. I mean, that's what it originally was developed for was skin like signaling, collagen development, and binding or fusing broken skin and wound healing.
SPEAKER_00I think that's awesome that you bring this up because no one gives credit to wound healing research and no one talks about it. And it's everywhere, yeah. And like you were saying, it's been around for a long time. Like GHK copper, we've known that it goes up 10x in wound fluids, you know, and just naturally, physiologically. Yet we are just now starting to even discuss it. And then even there, there's so much misinformation. So I mean, that's very fascinating that you had. I mean, I'm sorry you had that experience, but it's fascinating that you saw it like with your own eyes, like it's potential. That's really interesting.
SPEAKER_01It was. I mean, it was a godsend. And then, you know, we ended up formulating a lotion off of it too, because I was like, I'm a very dry French, I have thick hair, uh, my arms were chalkboards, you know, like yeah, it just had dry skin. And so that was a hard thing, too. All the brands out there were just like heavy layered in oils, fragrances. I mean, almost 80% of cosmetics and skincare made for women, especially, are like riddled with fragrance. And it affects not only your skin, but hormones. Like that was a non-negotiable for me too. Even though it's funny because when you put something on, you go, right? Yeah. First thing you do, I swear, I watch everybody at a conference.
SPEAKER_00It's terrible. We're like, we're programmed to be like, oh, it's to smell good.
SPEAKER_01We are. I mean, right? That's what you do. You, oh, test her. How does it feel? How does it smell? Um, and so I think, you know, getting through the noise with that and saying it doesn't have to, especially in with women, is probably the biggest challenge.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I can definitely see that. And I know that you all also positioned routine skin to be, you know, I don't want to say like clinical grade because people don't understand. Like, I think right now we're in a weird space with like labeling, but I know where you're going with that though. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Like, it doesn't require prescription, right? That's yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And and I know you've labeled that because of this reason, I which I'm actually glad that you are bringing this to light, honestly, because when you're talking about wound healing ingredients, and this is one of my biggest pet peeves. I don't know if you feel this, but for all of you listening out there, I personally have done research in wound healing. And so I know how much potential there is in this space. So when you bring it over to something like skincare, you have to do your due diligence with the marketing. You can't pretend like it's not regenerative. Then I see a lot of brands going back to also your point about we have so much, we've had so much fluff for such a long time that I think consumers are now almost like unnecessarily skeptical about really good ingredients that are coming out. But it's also created this environment. Cause I, you know, when I look at a brand that is doing something like it's grounded in wound healing research, right? You know the data is there, you know the efficacy is there. There's over 300 publications, like the, yeah, it's been studied for 50 years. There you go. And that's where I think it has almost done an injustice to us in that way, where it's like now we look at ingredients and we're like, well, I don't know, you know, I don't know if this works. I know you're saying there's papers, but it is. And so I'm saying that for my audience, you know, because we get a lot of questions, even though I know, you know, there's a lot of efficacy in these very heavy-hitting disciplines of science, but there needs to be a clarity that the idea of clinical grade skincare is still viable, but you have to put it in the right context and you have to look at the right brands doing it the right way. You know, you have to really kind of consider that as a consumer. So I want to actually, like kind of pivoting off of that, talk to you about um, you know, where you felt like there was a gap, you know, because I like you said, you know, peptides are coming up, but like where did you want to create in the space? Because yeah,
skincare is very cluttered. It's a very difficult category.
SPEAKER_01So it is. I mean, the nice thing is we've been able to go very slow with the development of the brand, with getting a lot of feedback. I would say it's less competitive in the general skincare. I mean, maybe the closest is people considering, you know, one skin, uh, which is huge now. I think they've done a lot of development in the space, and in particular with OSO1. And very helpful. But you have to break through, you have to stay. I think less is more. We really started out with two flagship products to get that feedback and make sure that everyone utilizing it, it was working to the extent of the need, whether it may be rosacea, whether it may be just dryness, whether it was they actually have scarring. Um, I mean, it could go all the way from just general daily use to a specific use with the product. And I guess the easiest way to say I didn't start it to be a billion-dollar company. I started it because there was just nothing in the market. And now it's popping up all over. Like there's GHK CU products, uh, you know, some great brands out there that are starting to incorporate it. It is a very expensive peptide when you're formulating. And so you see high prices. Like I'm gonna say most of the serums that are truly out there are in the 120, 130 range when you go and actually find real GHK CU. And there's a difference. You'll see one at Walmart and it says GHK or Amazon. It's like 15 bucks. It doesn't have the CU. It doesn't have the car. That's what makes it blue. Uh, so that's the biggest difference. That is the peptide, the added to the peptide to be able to signal your skin for that regenerated, healing collagen production. Otherwise, it's like a broken fragment. It's really not gonna be very beneficial, a little anti-inflammatory. So when people, I'd say for listeners, when you're looking at that, you're going, well, this one's 15 bucks. I can get it at Amazon. It's not blue. It doesn't have the entire, you know, ingredients. Usually it has some oil base, something in it that's not great for your skin. Not to say that expensive is better. It just you need to really, you know, use an app, like scan the ingredients, just take a look at what they are and what it means. There's tons of apps now that you can just literally scan a label and it'll tell you all of benefits, if any of them conflict with each other. I mean, use chat GPT.
SPEAKER_00Like, yeah. No, I mean, I agree with you. I think that's a big topic.
And I it's something I really did want to get into as well with you. It was this idea of when we look at GHK copper formulations, there's a huge night and day difference, and you immediately can tell by the efficacy. That's the number one thing. It's either gonna work for you or it's absolutely not gonna work. I had a listener chime in once and he was asking about, and this was interesting to me because it was a man and they never chime in about skincare. So he chimed in and he was like, Hey, if I want to use this after I shave, what do you think about that? Yeah. And so I was like, This is awesome. I never even thought about that. So I feel like if you're a consumer, like understanding the real role of this kind of ingredient and like where you can see results, that'll kind of separate it out for you immediately, you know, in terms of what's gonna work and not.
SPEAKER_01I love that you brought that up because actually one of our biggest markets that we didn't anticipate, we anticipated the men in that market, because I always say men have skin too. It's growing rapidly for men that are interested in skincare, um, but a lot for shaving. They're doing more beard care, more maintenance, and there's just a lot more focus on them in, I mean, marketing as well. But the most of our customers are men. And it's because of ingrowns, the shaving. Uh, they're rough on their hands a lot of the time. And they don't want something oily and gunky and like doesn't rub into their arm hair. That's been the biggest feedback when we went through a lot of the trialing and testing, is like it just absorbed instantly. Again, it was, I'd say just an afterthought because that was just what the ingredients did. It didn't leave residue. But then it was interesting hearing such positive feedback from the men because they were like, I'm glad it doesn't have a fragrance. I'm glad that it rubs it. And not to keep talking specifically about the product so much, but it's just we should all be thinking about that in the formulary stage, as opposed to what we're so inclined to, the silky and I, you know, feel hydrated all day. And it's like, if it's working right, you probably shouldn't even notice it's on you at all.
SPEAKER_00Yes, exactly. I could not agree more with you. And I think that's also a big topic in regenerative skincare because you don't need 50 ingredients with a regenerative skincare product. We need to start wrapping our head around that. If you really want efficacious skincare, you need to start figuring out what ingredient am I looking for and why is it formulated the way it's formulated.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'd say work backwards instead of like letting the marketing come to you or you know, it you scroll, you you see marketing hit you, someone putting stuff on their face, they may be 20, they may be 50. I mean, the targeting's all over the place, but I would say if you have a skin condition or you have a problem with anything, whether it's dry, whether it's acne, whether it's, you know, redness, inflammation, maybe you get hot more frequently, whatever the case is, put the ailment in or the issue in first. And you're right. Like look at a specific ingredient that may solve that versus as a whole, because then it's gonna narrow it down to a couple brands.
Yeah. On that topic, what were some like non-negotiables with the formulation process for you that were like, you know, we just can't do it? Because I mean, you've been in peptides for a while. So you know how finicky they are. And I think you brought this up earlier. Formulating a really, really good GHK copper product is not easy. I'm sure the formulation process was tough. Where were some of those points where you were like, we gotta make sure that we don't compromise on our efficacy and the viability of the formula?
SPEAKER_01I mean, I was in a really strong position with having chemists in the team. Uh, so I'd say, you know, actually having the raw peptide and the capability of having my mass-produced GHKCU in-house has been really great for just being able to develop it out the gate and mess around with it. But non-negotiable was 100% fragrances. My team went back and forth, back and forth, but even natural ones, right? They're kind of like, what if we put this essential oil? What if we just a little, little and no? And they're like, well, we'd sell more, right? I'm like, I don't care. I don't think, I don't care. Like, I just, it was one of those things that I went, if more brands were doing that, it wouldn't be sought after. And and and I think collectively, as you know, anyone putting out whether it's uh skincare, cosmetics, vitamins, anything, I think that all of that should be considered first versus what sells more.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And hats off to you for being so adamant about that because it's just unnecessary. Yeah, and it's lying to the audience, you know. And what you said really kind of hit home. I think it hits home for a lot of us when you have a situation where you're looking for a solution, right? And you're going to pharmacies, you're you're trying to find a solution, and you keep running into products that are literally lying. You know what I mean? And they're saying, like, oh, this is gonna help you. And then you see nothing, and you're in an actual position where you need the help. Like, is it it's not for vanity, you know? Like that's what I think gets me so much about this industry. And I've had this conversation with A couple like you know, even like medical professors have come on where it's like, guys, like we're finally blurring the line, I feel like, with skincare and like true skin health. We're blurring that line in dermatology and plastic surgery. This is not the time to keep formulating products that are riddled in fragrance, riddled in essential oils, riddled in ingredients that do absolutely nothing for us. Like we gotta separate this out at this point. So yeah, really hats off to you for that. I hope porn brands follow in that direction because that'd be amazing.
SPEAKER_01You know, it it's more cost effective too for them. Less ingredients, less sourcing. Honestly, I think we get stuck. And it could have been that easy because yeah, when I did smell tests and all of our team did, of course I was drawn to the one that maybe smelt a little more like an echinacea or uh, you know, soothing, calming. Uh but again, it's just it's not necessary. And yeah, I just hope that more brands go down that line. Like there's a few out there that are that are starting to. And I think this big shift in this space and longevity and people acknowledging that, I know it's only gonna get more and more, but there's gonna be a lot more battling on, like you said, marketing. There, like it used to be a very sacred space, I'd say in like biohacking, longevity, and now in the last couple of years, it's just like, oh my God, like who's sponsored? You know, is this an open right? And then it used to be there's one product, this works really good, and now the bandwagon's happening where they go, okay, now there's 20, now there's 50. And then we have to kind of sort through the differences and see which one's real, not real. Like, we're doing the same thing in this space too. It's inevitable. It's human nature.
SPEAKER_00I know
it is. And I want to ask you like, what are your thoughts on this whole like like biohacking and where we're going now with longevity? What are your thoughts on that? Like with all the stacks and all the craziness that we're seeing now.
SPEAKER_01I mean, loaded question. There's so many. Uh, I mean, you could break that out in what's happening medically, what's happening aesthetics, what's happening. I mean, the biggest talk right now is all the weight loss and, you know, everything out there in the peptide space. I think the future really is more uh getting better at very simple tasks, very simple daily tasks is probably the best way that we're gonna see long-term results, you know, even down to not wearing sunglasses. Like I think people are becoming more aware when historically cancer, skin cancer started happening and it really became not just our food, but certain sunscreens. Um, but in this space, I mean, lay lasering is becoming huge. There's so many machines that are coming out that are able to just completely resurface your skin. In 10 years, it's gonna be, I think, light years of what it is even today.
SPEAKER_00No, I mean, it's definitely growing at a faster pace. We're putting the cart before the horse, in my opinion. Like, I think I think there's a lot to be figured out and there's a lot that needs to be like debunked, you know, in my opinion, because the longevity space is it's actual medicine. It's not supposed to be marketing. It's not supposed to be, oh, cool, this is a wellness trend. Let me get some methylene blue and you know, like pretend like this is gonna fix me. That's not gonna fix you. That's a these are drugs, these are things that work biologically, physiologically, cellularly, you know what I mean? And they're not supposed to be just we're peptide stacking to oblivion and we're gonna expect us to not have an immunological reaction to it at the end of the day. You know, that's where I get very lost in this space. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, with with people that are going and using peptides without rhyme or reason, or just because, again, they were told that it they would have muscle growth, they would lose weight, they're gonna feel better. It definitely has to start with the why. And when you're considering peptides, especially injectable peptides, you need to do it in the care of medical professionals. You need to do that with the guidance. There's a lot more of them out there. I know it used to be like who, where, like, how do I even get that? But at least, you know, get your labs, get your baselines. I mean, most of the time it's not even a peptide that you may need. It's like hormones. Yeah. It's just, yeah, you need you need to start with the baseline. And I would say, even before you consider injecting yourself with something, you need to go and make sure that your vitamin D is even on the right track. Consider what supplements you're taking. And also don't, you know, you don't need the whole kitchen sink and 50 of them. Just lie. Just isolate it down to a handful. And most people just throw everything in at the same time. They're like, I don't know which one.
SPEAKER_00No, but I think that's a good point, right? Where it's like we are throwing the kitchen sink at everything. And we're like, okay, something's gonna work. But then in that mess, it's like, yeah, I mean, speaking to your point, it's like we don't have to do that. And and you know, also going back to like what you were just saying, where if you don't know what your vitamin D levels are, if you don't know what your baseline labs are, for you to then go to a doctor and be like, give me fit like five peptides, you know, it's like that's what really gets me with people, is like you guys need to let's just go back to medicine, you know, like let's go back.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, instead of really you can walk in somewhere. I mean, I was just in a conference and they were just doing right there. They were just, you know, offering an injection right on the spot. Oh my god. And I was like, what is happening? I mean, I get it, it's popular, but that is just wildly inappropriate.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, just no, it's terrible. It really no, it worries me a lot. And I know a lot of people feel like this in the space because it is unregulated.
And that's one of the questions I had for you because you do come from a space where you've worked in industries that are very highly regulated, you know, telemedicine and even, you know, with soma. Can you talk to us a little bit about that in terms of where do you see the regulatory bodies in all of this? And where do you think they there needs to be improvement or there needs to be an acceleration with the way that things are being handled, whether that's skincare, whether it's in the peptide lane, you know, on the longevity side. What are your thoughts around that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, it it is starting to happen. We're seeing a shift with this most recent administration that's considering, you know, what has the FDA been doing for the last, you know, 50 years? Let's take a look at it. Let's unpack it. And that's the best part is I think more and more eyes are going, we care less about the money and let's unpack it. And so I hope that that dialogue continues to happen. And especially in administration and going forward, that they challenge each other. Because I think so often it's just kind of like if you have a partner or business partner at home or anything, if you guys were the same, there's not a lot that gets done. Like the same thing gets done, the same agenda gets done. You don't really grow because you're just, you know, saying the same thing. You're getting each other hyped up about probably something you shouldn't be. Uh so I think, you know, the more that the consumers even can continue to challenge that, they can show up, you know, outside of just political movements, but show up and, you know, talk about the efficacy behind these things. Ask those questions. So, you know, don't come in and you're not always the expert. I'm not always the expert, but at least ask questions, ask why. And I think we forgot to do that along the way. I think we just got so used to either hearing our own voice or talking, talking just to be heard that if we continue to push on those narratives, then we'll at least keep keep peeling back. Technology is scary and beautiful, but it has helped us dig deeper into the trail of why certain things may have happened along the way. So, I mean, in the space of peptides, in the space of longevity, I can only hope that, you know, the traceability just becomes better. Like that there are certified, established facilities, you know, required staff and certifications that is in every other space. I don't know what happened along the way with supplements and all these other things. They were just like, whatever. Yeah. Because FDA couldn't really have oversight over it, right? You just put a label and not FDA approved, yada yada, and like you could do whatever. Yeah. It's the only market I've been in. I've been at aviation, at wealth tech, and all these others that are like, if you do this, you will get in trouble. Yeah. It's very black and white. And this is the only area that's been like the most impactful to consumers that you're kind of just like, why wasn't this validated and checked? And there's traceability, certificate of authentication. I know physically the facilities that this is coming from. I guess that all of those stamps of approval happen before it went out to a retail center.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01It doesn't.
SPEAKER_00No, not even close. Like it's not even asked. Like the questions don't even get asked. I completely agree with you. And you know what's crazy is it's not like there's not money to be made. There's plenty of money to be made from the regulatory side. It's a booming industry, especially supplements. Yet we don't even have somebody starting the process. Like the FDA is just sitting around. It's like, are you guys gonna step in at any point? You know, like are we gonna take it? It could be, I agree.
SPEAKER_01I think it could be such basic things, like even just if this is being made, this staff member with this certification is required. Yeah. It's like, I mean, just the simplest things where at least it changes it a little bit to where it can't be anybody anywhere, you know, that bought a piece of equipment that seals, you know, bottles. Like that's because that's where we're at right now.
SPEAKER_00It's it's I could I yeah, you're literally like speaking the truth on this. Like I literally created, and this is just I'm just telling for our audience, I created safe seal because of this reason. We are the only efficacy seal in the skincare and beauty industry, and it's exactly for this reason. Like, and it's difficult as hell, I'll tell you right now. Like it's to start a regulatory thing right now in this space is like an uphill battle because not only is it hard to get people to understand why you're doing it, but brands don't want to open up their books and be like, here you go, here's all my information. And I don't want, I don't understand that at this point, right? It's like I speak to founders like yourself, you have a very strong background you're coming into the space with, but then I look at other companies who are claiming adjacent things, right? Like they're coming in just as strongly, but then they're they're not ready to open up their, you know, like the back end of it and be like, This is what I did, here you go, and I have nothing to hide, you know. Here, like I'm claiming such and such, here's how I can prove it. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Like that's the working on it. Here's where things came from. Like, I mean there should be no question on being able to point at that information. Yeah, it's just if you're making anything correctly, that's either able to be put on you, consumed, uh injected, whatever the case is. Like there should be complete traceability. Like it just doesn't, it doesn't make sense to me.
SPEAKER_00I completely agree. No, I completely
agree. Now, coming back to routine skin though, like what are your future goals with the brand? Are you guys gonna expand beyond copper-based products or where do you want to take it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, we'll stick to our core, which is peptide focused. And there's not too many that can be used topically just because most are large molecule. Uh, we are figuring out, you know, more ways to be able to have it, you know, your skin's the largest organ, it's very porous. So there's things that we are formulating to be able to rapidly absorb into the skin. So it's not gonna all be copper based because I don't think that's effective for every person at every need, but definitely peptide focused. So we'll we'll expand a few more items, more like a toner or a cleanser. I don't even like saying toner. It falls more into like a debris cleansing, an overnight or a vitamin C. All of it though is just we've taken our time and made sure whatever we release is purposeful. So that's cool. No, I like that. In the next six months, we'll have more products being released.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome. No, I think that's really cool. And I wanted to ask you because biotechnology is being so it's coming in strong, you know, in the skincare space. And like when I look at routine skin, like you guys are a very, very forward-thinking brand. So, like, what are your thoughts on biotech as it pertains to like things like encapsulation or whatever it is to really stabilize ingredients, make them more efficacious? How do you
approach that when it comes to the development?
SPEAKER_01On sorry, you mentioned like capsule. And so I mean, capsule, like we'll see a lot more go liposomal. Everything's going small molecule, like that's Switzerland and over there's kept it really close to their chest. So there's a ton of bioregulators. I think it needs a lot more studying. And uh, but there's great products that are coming out of there. I'd say the biggest changes I think we're gonna see is more in like topical pain management. And and that's something that we're seeing work really well with bioregulators. But as far as the aesthetics, everyone's gonna always go after the collagen building. So the sooner we can determine the best way to really shrink down, like, you know, nano that can go through that skin barrier or something that may be in saliva or you know, a drop or a tincture, a lot more of that coming.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but yeah, it's exciting. It's an exciting space. I'm I'm just curious, like how we're gonna see this evolve because you're right, there's a lot coming out of Swiss. Like, I always hear this, like Swiss brands are phenomenal, like, no, it's just because they don't share. They don't.
SPEAKER_01I appreciate them. They do, they start over and then they kind of go Europe, and then you know, usually they end up even going to Africa and then making it into the US. But to get anything over into the US is, I mean, just with importing in general right now isn't easy. So I'm sure it'll be quite some time until we see like a mass spoon of that coming over. But it's exciting. Like, I implore everybody, like, just think a little bit more about why you're paying $50, $60 for something. I see people scoop the collagen and do all that stuff too. And I'm like, and your gut just ate that.
SPEAKER_00Right. Yeah, you just wasted 70 bucks on nothing.
SPEAKER_01I mean, maybe mind over matter that works a little bit.
SPEAKER_00No, but you know, that's interesting. You bring that up because like going back to we were talking about data and how like there's so much that's actually data backed. And then even when you give people data that says this doesn't work, they're like, I don't care. It's part of my routine, I'm doing it.
SPEAKER_01I don't give a break. I do this, it's affordable, it's fine.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I swear I'm glowing from it. My hair is growing. I'm like, I promise it's not, but okay, we'll ride that out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, probably something else in there that's doing that, or you're you're more hydrated. I think people don't give themselves credit for that, too. Just because you did a scoop with something means you're having more electrolytes or water.
SPEAKER_00No, God forbid. It can't be simple. It can't be simple. It can't be simple. No, it has to be like that new Himalayan-derived extract from you know, whatever. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I've been there. I think we've all been there. Like I used to buy really expensive lines when I was younger and just try like, oh, this came from a farm and it was cured over this amount of time. No, like it's definitely marketing.
SPEAKER_00No, I I agree. But no, I really, really admire what you're doing. And I think that it's really important to have this kind of background when you come into skincare. Like, I am not lying, I've I've interviewed so many brands at this point where I, as a consumer, I usually, when I'm shopping for myself, I always look at the background of the brand. You know what I mean? Like I always try to like figure out like, why did you guys even make this product? Like, you know, that kind of thing. And I think consumers are finally getting there. That's why I asked all those questions at the beginning, because I'm like, tell us, you know, because you have that background. And I really urge everybody listening. Like, when you guys are shopping for any ingredient, it doesn't matter what it is. It could be niacinamide for hell's sake, you know, but you need to know where the origins of that brand come from. Why are they making what they're making? Are they gonna prove it to you? Are they gonna back it up with data? Are they, you know, even talk about it on a podcast or anywhere? You know, I think that's an important question. So yeah, I really I applaud you for doing this right and keeping your science forward above all else.
SPEAKER_01So oh, thank you. It means a lot. Again, excited. I hope more brands just catch on and do that as well.
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you
so much. This has been so fun and I loved our conversation. And I know a lot of people probably learned a lot from it. So I can't thank you enough. And for everyone listening, make sure you guys check out routine skin. I'm going to be linking everything in the show notes of this episode. So scroll down, check them out, and leave us some feedback. Thank you so much. Thank you.