Skin Boosters Gone Wrong: How a Beauty Nightmare Inspired a Skincare Brand | Sara Douglas

EP 56. Imagine going in for a routine skincare treatment and leaving with a severe reaction; this is what happened to Sara Douglas, founder of the regenerative skincare line Cellure, and co-founder of Vitaclean, an innovative shower head brand. In this episode of Well Done, Sara describes her experience trying a skin booster treatment that made her question the safety of newer cosmetic procedures. From there, she set out to create her own line of skincare, Cellure. In this conversation, we also dive into peptides, growth factors, regenerative skincare, and what consumers should know before jumping on the latest beauty trend. If you've ever considered skin boosters, this conversation is for you.

In this episode:

• What skin boosters are and how they're different from Botox and dermal fillers
•  The cosmetic procedure nightmare that led Sara to create Cellure  
• The little-known side effect that can turn your under-eye area a visible shade of blue
• The risks of newer injectable beauty treatments and why every procedure deserves careful consideration 
• Why peptides, growth factors, and regenerative skincare are gaining so much attention 
• What to look for when shopping for peptide skincare products 
•  Sara's biggest lessons from building both VitaClean and Cellure 

Resources: 

• Learn more about Cellure: www.cellure.co
• Use code WELLDONE15 for 15% off your Cellure order  
• Follow Cellure on Instagram: @cellurelabs 
• Learn more about VitaClean: www.vitacleanhq.com

Guest Bio

Sara Douglas is the founder of Cellure Skincare and co-founder of VitaClean, an innovative filtered shower head brand. After a cosmetic skin booster treatment left her with a severe reaction, Sara immersed herself in the science of skin repair and regenerative skincare, leading her to develop Cellure, a skincare line built around peptides, growth factors, and evidence-based ingredients designed to support the skin's natural repair processes. 

Transcript

Sara 0:00

how unhappy am I or am I just trying to be a little bit better? Sometimes by trying to be a little bit better, you actually completely ruin everything

Speaker 0:08

This is well done. A space where we explore the mind skin connection, living in alignment, and what it actually means to live well and look your best. I am your host Kat, a beauty industry insider, mom of twins, and someone who suffered from severe eczema before realizing that true beauty is an inside job. We don't talk about surface level quick fixes here. This is about real insight, practical tools, and learning how to listen to your body. Let's go. Hey, and thanks for tuning in today. We are getting into the topic of skin boosters today and how one treatment led my guest to start her own skincare line. If you're unfamiliar with skin boosters, they are injections. They're cosmetic treatments Where microdoses of substances like hyaluronic acid, vitamins, polynucleotides, those are injected into the superficial layers of the skin, and they are designed to improve overall skin quality, hydration, texture, and elasticity. And these treatments are really meant to give you more of a glow rather than adding any extra volume or structure to your face. So that's how they're different from fillers and Botox. My guest today is Sarah Douglas. She's the co-founder of VitaClean, a filtered shower head brand focused on healthier skin and hair, and she's also the founder of Cellure Skincare. And Cellure actually came from Sarah's deeply personal experience. In this conversation, we are going to talk about what happened to Sarah and why newer beauty treatments need a bit more scrutiny than they're given, and what makes Sarah's skincare line, Cellure, different. Okay, let's dive in

Kat 1:29

Hello, and welcome back. I am so thrilled to introduce my guest today. Her name is Sara Douglas. She is the co-founder of the shower head brand VitaClean, and she is also the founder of the brand Cellure, a skincare line built on the science of how skin actually repairs itself and on the belief that you can get real lasting results without a needle. Welcome to Well Done, Sara.

Sara 1:48

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here

Kat 1:51

let's Just jump right into it. So something happened to you, something crazy happened to you in 2024, you go in for something that sounds like a pretty standard treatment. So walk us through what happened to you and it changed everything for you really when it comes to skincare.

Sara 2:07

What happened was I went to a, a beauty clinic, and she suggested that I get polynucleotides, which is salmon DNA, and it was, micro-injections under my eyes. And it was a really, really crazy situation because I had just been living in a horrible situation where I had a, a crazy neighbor that lived above me, and she'd been keeping me up at night, partying all the time, and it, just completely wrecked havoc on my nervous system. So it was like night after night after night. I actually ended up, renting a property close by and, like, waiting for her to get evicted, and it was just like a-- it was one of those situations where you try to, prepare and plan for everything, and it just, hits you like a truck out of nowhere, and you just suddenly have to deal with it, and it feels like everything is against you. And I've always been, like, a really good sleeper and, you know, I think in terms of beauty, wellness, skin, sleep is the number one component that makes you healthy and happy. and I've never been deprived of my sleep before, so it was like going on and on in cycles like this. So I was really drawn to, when she finally got e- got evicted, I was really drawn to trying to get my face to look how it looked before she moved in, 'cause I really felt like I had dark circles, and I felt like I had a lot of creasing under my eyes, and I really just wasn't feeling confident at all. So I had been to this clinic before. It wasn't just like a random clinic that I'd found off the street. But I explained to her my situation, and I said, you know, "What can I do?" So she said, "Well, you should do polynucleotides." So I did that, and I have to admit, it actually did look better. And what she said was for me to come back in three weeks and get a top-up. you're meant to do it, like, three times over, like, three to four weeks, so it's a three-month process in total. And so I walked into the clinic, this was in October, and then I was like, "I'm really happy, really excited to do it again." And she was like, "Well, that's worked so well, so let's do this now," which was not polynucleotides. It was actually a hyaluronic acid skin booster that I later found out was not meant for under the eyes. Under the eyes is, like, a very, very sensitive area. It, doesn't have great drainage in terms of lymphatic flow. Any undry filler that's any good, it doesn't have, a super high HA content. They lower it intentionally to ensure that water doesn't draw to that area and give you, like, puffy eyes or swelling or bags immediately when she injected it, I felt this crazy sensation and it was almost like a bit of a burning sensation. And I can't really explain it, but it's just like my body completely jolted and my body obviously really didn't like whatever she was injecting in me. And it turned blue straight away, which I actually have a photo of, which hopefully you can see. So you can see here it was like a... Yeah, it was blue. So this was when I kind of still looked like myself and normal and, but I just had a blue eye. So I wasn't too concerned. I was like, "Oh, well, you know, I just have a bruise and I'm sure it will go away." just, it,

Kat 5:11

c

Sara 5:11

It went blue like two or three hours after. It was just a crazy feeling. And then as I was driving home it got, you know, more and more blue. It kind of just looked like a, a little bit of a bruise when I left the clinic. And so I sent them a photo a few days later, and they just said it was a bruise But it wasn't, and it stayed on and on and on, and it really stayed on for, like, six weeks, and It would go from that crazy blue color to-- I couldn't cover it with makeup. It was just, glowing blue. And what it was was a something called Tyndall effect. So Tyndall effect, is actually something that happens when filler, especially filler under the eyes, is done really badly or it's too close to the skin. So because the skin is so, thin and fragile, it basically allows the hyaluronic filler or matter to glow through the skin. And that creates, a light-reflecting blue color which I'd honestly never heard of before. And quite frankly, I didn't even realize I was having k- some kind of filler under my eyes. And it would kind of fluctuate between attracting loads and loads of water, and then it would go to being extremely dehydrated, and it would almost, turn a, brown pigmented color with, extra wrinkles depending on, like, what I was doing, how much sleep I was getting, what I was eating, or it would, completely fill with water, which was just crazy. I'm gonna show you the, the pigment. So this here was, plasmin, so the blue was, causing inflammation cells all around the eye and, a pigment that really went right up to my eye line. And it was awful. Honestly, I really had not a lot of confidence. I didn't wanna be on Zoom calls because on Zoom calls it would really glow. It was just awful. And being, a founder, it was, you know, 'cause I- I have another company as well, I'm always on Zoom calls and, always have to be talking to people, so it was, really, a massive hit to my confidence So over time, I then went to her and I said, "Look, I don't know what's going on. This is really crazy." Like, this was in December, and she's like, "We're gonna have to dissolve it." And I was really worried about that because I'd read really bad things about hyaluronidase. And she was like, "No, no, it's gonna be fine. Don't worry." And again, I had a really bad burning sensation when the hyaluronidase was put in my face, and it was just very hot and inflamed. And in order to get the stuff out of my eye, I ended up having to have, like, three or four rounds. I can't remember. And that was over time, up until about, February or March. And my skin was just left completely depleted. I was had obviously gotten rid of the blue and also the crazy water inflammation, but it just looked, it still looked really dark, with the pigment because that was, inflammatory cells. And just it was very frail, very crepey. And for someone, we've had VitaClean, our filtered shower head company, for a really long time. And so one of our things is, like, we've always had pretty good skin and hair from that because we've always really looked after it and focused on quality of water, which is, your base one when it comes to beauty. And so dealing with this was just really strange to me, and I just had no idea how to deal with it. that's the,

Kat 8:20

Oh my

Sara 8:21

the down low on my story.

Kat 8:23

that's in- that's insane. So one of the things that you mentioned was you didn't realize it was filler that she was putting into your, into your eye the second time, that hyaluronic acid. So she was just not forthright, or you didn't really ask those questions at that time? You thought she knew what she was doing?

Sara 8:38

So it wasn't a filler, it was something called Jalupro, which is actually a skin booster, but it is hyaluronic acid. But a skin booster should probably be used like around your chin or around, around your cheeks, maybe on your forehead. And it is very popular. Like You see clinics advertise it all the time, but it's very different. I mean, I think if she put under eye filler in, it would've been a lot safer because under eye filler is it's put in usually a lot deeper, and this was done with micro-injections, not a cannula. So a cannula is where they make one injection and they basically go like quite deep. And that is a lot safer than anything from a micro-injection. 'Cause what I had was the Tyndall effect, which basically sits under the skin. So if you're putting a skin booster around there, you're immediately at risk of Tyndall effect. So I honestly just think she probably went to a training and maybe this product had worked really, really well for some people. But for me, I just had a crazy reaction. And I think that is a risk with some of these things because you never know how you're gonna react to something. Like even if something is really well tested or it's very well known, you don't know how you personally are going to react. And I think sometimes when you're trying to get these treatments, you've really gotta evaluate how unhappy am I with something or am I just trying to be a little bit better? Because sometimes by trying to be a little bit better, you actually can completely ruin everything

Kat 10:03

Yeah. For your experience, at what point did you start to question, Cause I read something around how a lot of women, they might downplay the symptoms that they experience after they get these types of treatments, assuming that they're normal, right? So then they're like, "Oh, this is just something that happens." Did you question it? Were you thinking that this was abnormal, or did you assume that this is just, part and parcel to getting a treatment like this?

Sara 10:27

I thought it was abnormal, but only like after I realized that it wasn't a bruise. So when I thought it was a bruise, I just thought it was super normal and I was just "Whatever." But after like the four-week mark, and especially as it started to change forms, I was really confused on what to do and how to fix it. I just had no idea. I remember crazily googling and Chat GPT-ing like eye surgeons and upper blepharoplasty, lower blepharoplasty. But the, that wasn't really the problem because the problem was my skin and my cells were reacting in all different kinds of ways to this matter in my skin. And then that continued even after the hyaluronidase because it would just always be reacting to things. the barrier was completely broken, and then I think the cells underneath as well were also really affected. And surgery is not really gonna fix that, you know? That's a internal and also external problem

Kat 11:18

Yeah. Go- so going back to what you said about you have to weigh the pros and cons, When we're going in to get a procedure like this, what are some things that we really need to, question or ask ourselves? And what was going through your head, too, when you were thinking about getting these types of procedures?

Sara 11:34

Well, with the neighbor, I was just desperate to look myself again, you know? And I, I just feel like I'd been under, like, a lot of stress, and I wanted to look, I wanted to look, shiny again, and happy, and well-slept. And the thing about these skin boosters, polynucleotide injections, it's still relatively new. And on top of that, I think you have to understand from the injector's standpoint, they're trying to make money, right? It's like three treatments over, like, three months, which is a returning customer model. So that's sometimes I think why they push it so much. It's why some people push things like lasers and, you have to be careful with lasers too. You never know what's, gonna work for you and your skin. And there's so many machines out there and so many people who don't really know how to use it, or they have, very minimal training. I think it's really important, if you wanna do something, first of all, I would stick to, like, Botox and fillers because that's been around the oldest. It's, like, very tried and tested. You have companies like Juvederm, Restylane, and, like, they're pretty safe, especially if they're injected, very deep into the face. But any of the new things I would definitely avoid. I don't really think that you should be micro injecting things like polynucleotides or hyaluronic acid into your skin. First of all, I just don't think your under eyes are meant to take multiple pricks that's not what our skin was designed for. And that's a lot of pricks, like, if you're doing it three times over three months. I've had friends who've done it, and they've had crazy bruising. Not what I had, but they had crazy bruising from it because it's just, it's a really sensitive area. But if you do decide to do these things, I would definitely go to a very, very good doctor, and I would read the reviews extensively because it's, it's really important how people respond, if they genuinely care. I think I'm always a big advocate of people who under-treat. I really like a doctor who you're like, "I want this," and if they're like, "No, I don't think you need that," like, "You're being silly," or, "I don't inject that area because it's too risky," that is a good sign of a good injector because sometimes people will just try and go for gold in selling you things

Kat 13:41

that's a good point. I think some women might feel a little bit of shame after doing something like that, and then there's such a visible after effect, right? Like, you said you were on Zoom calls, and it's very noticeable. Did you feel any personal blame or personal shame and when people asked you about it

Sara 13:59

Honestly, I was just so focused on fixing it. I really like to fix things. It's like, it's my nature and I, I was very determined to fix it I would spend a lot of time on it which ultimately led to Cellure. But I was really sure that there was a fix. I mean, I don't think it's so shameful. I don't think it's shameful to get procedures and things go wrong all the time, did it suck that I didn't feel great? Yeah. But I also don't think that you can go through life 100% of the time feeling absolutely amazing, like, you're gonna be bloated sometimes, you're gonna be a little bit overweight sometimes. Like, you're gonna feel amazing and be in, the best shape of your life at one stage. life and your appearance fluctuates, and I think that's something that as I've got older, I've definitely come to terms with

Kat 14:44

Yeah. Okay, so then how did that start you on this journey of Cellure,

Sara 14:49

That doctor who did the injection, she suggested that I get filler under my eye, and I was just like, there's no way I'm injecting more things under this." Like, that's su-such a risk. So I bought the Omnilux red light therapy mask which honestly I think just aggravated the inflammatory cells more. I have a little bit of like melasma on my face and I don't think that red light is so good for melasma and the plasmons that were formed under my right eye were also quite inflamed from the red light. I bought a lot of like different skincare, a lot of different moisturizers, none that I really found worked. And it wasn't actually until, which interestingly 'cause the salmon DNA, I was talking about getting that, that injected, but I actually bought the masks, like just cheap masks off Amazon for it. And I'd read a lot about that and its healing properties. Interestingly, and this is totally off brand, but I actually have horses sport horses. I am a dressage rider for Australia. And one of my horses was really injured like three years ago, and the vet actually injected salmon sperm into the cell and tendon, and it really made it a lot better. So I am quite a believer in, salmon DNA in terms of cell regeneration. And I tried the masks and I was like, "Wow, like this is starting to look maybe a little bit better." And what happened was we have a formulator for Vitaclean, and I had a call with her and I was like, "I really like these masks. Do you think that you could make me one with like copper peptides and a few other peptides in a really kinda gentle formula? I would like love to use them just to see how I could heal my skin. And th-this seems to be really working at the moment." So she created a serum which is actually our peptide hydro lift serum and at first I hated it 'cause she put lots and lots of dragon fruit in it, and it was super, super sticky. But I, like,, persevered and I used it, I think after, like, day two I was like, "I hate it." But I kept using it. And then after, like, 10 days I was like, "Holy shit, like, I look a lot better." And my skin was, a lot more plump. It was a lot less inflamed. It didn't really get that kinda, hot reactivity anymore. And so that was really, really interesting. So I persevered with using that. And kept researching all the ingredients, and then I discovered volufiline. So volufiline, I don't know if you're a TikTok user, but The Ordinary has, quite a big volufiline serum, so it's all over TikTok. But I started I bought some volufiline, it's, like, a, a raw ingredient, and I mixed it with our serums. And it worked super well. It, I actually was originally gonna put it in the Peptide Hydro Lift, but it actually works better on its own, in its own base. And so we created the Volufiline Serum, which is actually our bestselling serum at the moment on Amazon and also on our website because, I think because of the whole Volufiline craze. But what Volufiline does is it's clinically studied to increase the fat cells in your, wherever you put it. So it was originally tested on women's breast tissue, and it's a patented ingredient from Sederma in France. If you put it on your face, it can really help plump out the fat pads. I put it on my lips. I haven't had lip filler in two and a half years, and I feel like they look more filled now than when I actually had lip filler. It works so well like in the temple area. It works quite well for smoothing out wrinkles. then another thing that I started to do as my skin was repairing and, you know, I was trying all these things and they were really working, I was getting excited, so I just kept researching. I then discovered tranexamic acid. So tranexamic acid I had taken before actually because it's for women with heavy periods. And I used to have that when I was quite young. So I had taken it orally, and what it does, it's I think slows the, like they give it to you sometimes in a surgery to stop your blood clotting because it makes, I think, blood not as clotty. I don't know what the medical term for that is And so what that does is that all the pigment cells that you see melasma or what I had which was the, the melanocyte inflammation, it's all kind of like blood clots under the skin, right? And so basically, the tranexamic acid can help clear that, and it really helps with things like veins under the eyes. So I had a fat vein under my left eye because it wasn't only my right eye that reacted that was way more visible, but the left eye also looked kind of strange. And I had a really big vein just here. And the tranexamic acid, I was taking that orally. And so then I also crushed that up into the base of the s- of the serums that I use which was by use, I mean the, all the Cellure range. It's all kind of the same base, but different actives, and that makes it the most gentle on the skin. Basically, it just, it really, really helped with my inflammation. It really helped with any kind of vascular irritation under the eyes and also with pigmentation. I'm naturally a researcher. I love to research things and, I love to make things better. So that was a really, really interesting journey and one that I'm so grateful for because I just, I honestly don't know how I would have healed it if I hadn't have discovered it And I haven't always been a big skincare user. Like, I, I have tried all different kinds of skincare, expensive, cheap and I've never had great results. I actually have a, so here, this was right after my injection incident, actually. This was kinda like the purple. This was before it went blue. It went this purple. So you can see that's why I thought it was, a bruise. But you can actually see here on my skin texture that it's, really scaly and peely, and that was, just how my skin always was, in wintertime. And, I was using really great skincare then. I was using, like, Barbara Sturm and also Ole, Ole Henriksen, and it just didn't do much. that you...

Kat 20:30

or

Sara 20:31

No, it was just dry skin. Just dry skin that wasn't really reacting, I mean, it could've been eczema. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but it was very, like, scaly

Kat 20:40

Got it.

Sara 20:41

Ciao

Kat 20:41

So, You have these three products. somebody is not supposed to use them all together at once, right? So how, how would you suggest a listener what is the best way to use them throughout the week or throughout the month?

Sara 20:53

So the Peptide Hydro Lift is definitely the one that I use the most. It's, what I use under makeup. It's what I use, in the morning, in the night. The thing about these products, which is very cool, is that they kinda seal. You feel like they kinda lift and seal. So once that seal is on, you're safe to, put another serum on. However, for me personally, I still space them out. Like the Volufiline I love to put on right after a shower 'cause your pores are really open, and I just feel like I definitely get the best results, if it's just, right after a shower and I turn the heat up a little bit in the shower. It really depends, like, what you're trying to do. So with the Volufiline, if you're trying to make your lips bigger, for instance, you should probably be putting it on, three or four times a day, and you can rub it here, and then basically,

Kat 21:34

Oh.

Sara 21:34

And we have photos on our, you know, videos on our Instagram. You can see how you use it. if you're trying to restore volume in the temples or under the eyes, again, just throughout the day I would be putting it on. It depends what you're trying to do. If you're trying to just get, like, a, some nice skin texture, good improvements, then I would say, you know, use each of them once a day. But if you're really trying to get, volume, you do need to commit to that process. With the tranexamic acid, I would put it on at night just because basically tranexamic acid, it's hard it doesn't blend so well It's the only serum of ours which can actually pile a little bit, so I wouldn't put it under makeup or anything. But it's really good basically at nighttime. So I would layer, in the, the morning I'd stick to the Peptide Hydro Lift maybe a little bit of Volufiline after the shower. You can put the Volufiline on before the Peptide Hydro Lift as well. And then at night I would use the Peptide Hydro Lift, let it seal, and then basically use the tranexamic acid. Ideally maybe, 10 minutes after, but it's not such a problem if it's sealed on

Kat 22:33

Okay. And I know that the line is around this idea of regenerative skin, can you tell us a little bit about the difference between, your products and the philosophy and maybe just, other skincare that might be on the market that don't really use these types of ingredients? What's the difference?

Sara 22:48

Yeah, for sure. The thing that's different about our company is basically it's like the peptides mean signaling. So what they do is that they signal to your fibroblast to basically regenerate and repair collagen. I think that you can really see that with our serums because... And we've got quite a few before or afters where this has been tested not only just on me, but other people. It gives you like a really nice inner glow and a glow from within, especially just here like, I would say like this square just really kinda lights up in your face. And one of the bases of our product is GHK-Cu, which is like a, it's copper peptides. So copper peptides are all over Instagram at the moment. People call it the beauty peptide GHK-Cu, like My Beauty Stack. And I'll just get a little bit into it. But, a lot of people are injecting copper peptides and seeing like great results. I personally don't really agree with injecting peptides. I think it's not regulated enough, and the sources that people buy it from are really not trusted. Like, I know so many people who will just buy random things off the internet. I met a girl the other day who said she was injecting her peptides every day, and she had a hard bit in her bum. You just, You just don't know what's going on really with the whole peptide space at the moment. And I'm sure that will change because there's a lot of money being put into it. But I personally have seen great results from putting peptides on my face, not injecting it in my ass. And I have to say I've seen a lot of people who inject it in their ass, and I don't think they look great. And then we also use obviously the PDRN, which is the salmon DNA. then we also use like snow mushroom, amino acids. So that's that's really like the uniform base for all the products. And then you have different actives. So for the peptide Hydro Lift, you have a Botox freezing peptide. And then you also have growth factors, so like AGF oligopeptide one. growth factors, not too many companies doing it at the moment, but it's like a growth factor serum. One of the top ones at the moment is like $175, and then there's like another one, I think it's like 65 or $70. And ours is $45. So we are definitely like the most competitively priced growth factor serum on the market. I have tried the one for $170. I think ours is like a lot better. It gives a lot better glow. And then we have the, simple base with the tranexamic acid. It's 15% tranexamic acid. So, a strong one on Amazon, you'll still only see like 10%. One of the things as well with our serums is we have DMI in them. So DMI is dimethyl isosorbate, which is a carrier, and that ensures that your peptides and also ingredients like volufiline, tranexamic acid actually absorb into your skin. So no other volufiline serum has a carrier, basically like you're putting it on your skin and kind of hoping that it works. And I think that that's super interesting because in skincare we have something called Daltons. And Daltons, it's the molecules and how large they are and how easily they can basically seep into your skin. And any kind of peptide is quite a high Dalton that without a carrier, you're just not really getting anywhere. And I think that's like one of the problems that I had when I was using skincare. It was just kind of stuff sitting on my face, and then when you go to sleep, it would get on your pillow. It I couldn't see or feel it working. And look, some people are getting more and more into the peptide space, but I definitely haven't seen a product which is com- as competitive as us in terms of ingredient formulations. Some people will use like a copper peptide serum and then a growth factor serum. they say that you should use the two, but it's okay, those serums are like $200 each. Like, I don't wanna spend $400 a month on skincare. That's just not realistic for me, or most people. So it's... I wanted to create something that was really affordable and the results would be really good and consistent.

Kat 26:42

Yeah. That's such a good point. I think a lot of women don't know what to look for when they are shopping for skincare, right? So they'll see peptides, and they're like, "Oh, I heard that... I heard about that on Instagram, TikTok, like, I should buy that." There's a difference, and now the listener knows that there's a difference.

Sara 26:57

What's your, experience with skincare? What's worked for you? What hasn't? What helps with your eczema?

Kat 27:03

skincare for me was really hard because when I was flaring up, I had eczema, like, all over my face, so almost everything that I tried burned. My skin barrier was completely wrecked from that constant inflammation, so I really couldn't try a lot of skincare. I went to the basics. And then over time, like, I also was working on the inside of my body and healing my gut and reducing toxins, I started to see my skin was healing. And the irony is that I think because my skin went through so much, I now have better skin now than I did when I was, like, in my mid-20s. I don't know if it was because it just, went through such a beating that my cells repaired and repaired and repaired, and Today I've been dabbling a little bit more because now I feel like I can have fun with skincare again. I honestly didn't use any real skincare for years, like four years.

Sara 27:50

So interesting

Kat 27:52

And I, I haven't tried Vitaclean, but I do wanna try it. I've been using Jolie. They're probably a competitor of yours, and honestly, I don't know if I've noticed a difference. And this was, like, years ago when I heard that, you know, hard water can affect your skin. So then I switched.

Sara 28:07

Allergic to Jolie 'cause we just created a new product which is our new VitaClean Ultra. So one of the things that we did is we, tried all our competitors. And initially we actually wanted a KDF filter, which is the filtration that they use. I used to have hair extensions. I don't anymore, but basically because of trying the bloody Jolie filter, because they all fell out And I got, like, a crazy itch on my scalp because KDF, it's like a copper zinc alloy. So the Jolie, it's not a water softener. So although it filters your water, it's probably good for drinking. It's really not great for, skin and hair conditions. That's, like, why we use ceramic balls and vitamin C. It's very interesting, we actually have a few people who've switched over to VitaClean because they're like, "Well, it just didn't make a difference." But they're really big. I mean, they've been advertising a lot and everything but I can't say that KDF is, a good filter. And I'm not just saying that 'cause I own VitaClean. It's something that we were like, "Oh, people are using KDF," so we were like, "We should use KDF, too." And I was like, "This sucks."

Kat 29:09

I mean, I honestly can't say that I noticed a difference, but I also was doing so many things, and I had a lot of variables, But let's talk about your founder journey and how... did you have any lessons from VitaClean that you, took over to Cellure?

Sara 29:23

So many, so many. But I think one of the main things was I really wanted a product that was made in America. But the tariffs was so difficult and very, very stressful and always following the news and not really knowing what was going on and, you get just, like, random bills, and you have to pay it or your stock will be returned. And I really wanted something that was made in America because I just think if you're selling to the American consumer, then that's, really, really important with the political climate I also learnt... I wanted a more simple product as well. You know, Vitaclean, it's an amazing product, and the returning customers are insane. The people subscribe and they stay subscribed, and they love it. But it's like having a hardware and refillable product is complicated, especially because we would have, you know, buy it from all different kinds of places, different places, different suppliers, because we are a triple-filtered shower head. to us gives the best results. That's why we do that. But there's a big level of complexity and a pain that comes with that. I think as well, keeping my shit together. I think when I first started Vitaclean, oh, the level of anxiety. And I also was actually really sick when I started Vitaclean. I had like awful gut problems. I really was not well, like for the first kind of like two years of starting Vitaclean. That wasn't related to Vitaclean. It just happened to like line up timing-wise. But I'm sure that starting a company didn't help. But I think especially if you've never started a company before, you're always like, "What if it doesn't work? What if I'm not good enough? What am I gonna do if people know that I fail?" And I think that, having that experience behind me really enabled me to build Cellure and just not really give a fuck. it is gonna be what it is gonna be, and I'm just gonna try and... Because at the end of the day, I think people are really busy thinking about themselves. They don't really care about you. You know, I think there's so few people in the world who are actually doing stuff, right? Like, how many people do you meet who are like, "And then I'm doing this, and then I..." And they actually go do it, It's like people might talk about it, but they don't go and do it. So instead of being hard on myself, I try to think of that, because sometimes I think you can really get in the, "Oh my God, she has an amazing life," or, "He built this and, you know, like Jolie is bigger than us." Like, why are we not that big yet? It's basically really difficult internally, I think sometimes when you're always comparing yourself with outliers instead of basically saying well, I've had an idea, I've gone and I've done something, I've executed it relatively well, and it's building and people like it. And that needs to be enough in the beginning, and then you just keep building that. And I think effort compounds over time, and the more that you can keep your nervous system regulated and just keep your head screwed on, the better that you'll end up doing because a lot goes wrong in entrepreneurship and you have to solve problems constantly no matter whether you're on holiday or you've got things to look after. It just, it, it doesn't stop. And that's probably my main lessons

Kat 32:25

You have to be very passionate because it's not easy, And that's why most people don't do it, right? To your point, people don't really execute because it's actually a lot harder to sustain and to persevere.

Sara 32:38

you gotta keep persevering. You've always gotta have hope.

Kat 32:41

do you think you've built trust in yourself? Like, it, Trust in your intuition or

Sara 32:46

Yeah, I think so. I've always been focused on creating the best products for people, and I really trust that I have done that. with Cellure, I've never been into skincare. Now I'm obsessed with this. It's, really changed my skin quality. With Vitaclean, we just launched a new shower head, which we spent three years building it, and it's like, it gives you the best skin and hair ever. So I really trust in my ability to want to give the best product to people. And, whether I can execute that as well as some people is yet to be seen. But, you know, I think we've given it a really good go. And to me, it's, really important to, like, really be authentic and to really know why you're doing something and have a, decent, Not to say that I'm super spiritual, but I think life, like, pushes you into directions when you're meant to go there. And, with Cell that was happening, the tariffs were happening, it was quite stressful, and then I obviously had this eye incident and a crazy neighbor. Like, although that, it was one of the worst years of my life, I really think it was, the world being like, "Hey," it's time for you to go do this as well." You know? And, that was really interesting, and it's worked out. I mean, people, it's not only me who loves the product. I'm getting amazing reviews every day saying, "This is the best product I've ever used." And we've had that with Vitaclean too. I think there's really something in that, where people are just blown away by your product. It's cool. It's a very cool feeling. Like with eczema, when people are like, "Oh, this healed my son's eczema." I'm talking about Vitaclean now. you're like, "That's amazing." Like, it's so cool. There's not many feelings in the world like that, I don't think

Kat 34:22

Yeah, being of service. So you are Australian, and I'm just really curious about, what are some of the differences that you've noticed between how Australians approach beauty and Americans? Have you noticed anything?

Sara 34:35

I mean, Australians, they look really good. They're really, really into, like, wellness, skincare. Some Australians have created absolutely amazing brands. I think that Australians are really good at niche market brands, so brands similar to Cellure and Vitaclean. They start it from, passion problem, and they're very, very determined. I would say Americans sometimes start things a bit more on marketing. Like, they're like, "Oh, I'm gonna make so much money with this, and this is how it's gonna be," because of the capitalism mentality. I feel like Australians care more about looking good than capitalism, whereas Americans care a little bit more about capitalism. I hope that's not offensive.

Kat 35:13

No. No, I think that's pretty true. Is there anything around the philosophy of beauty and, like, how... i'm not even American, I'm Canadian, but I think that in America, I feel like there's a lot around, the quick fix you see a trend on social media and you're like, "I'm just gonna try that 'cause I want that to work," versus, actually asking yourself, "Do I feel good? What should I do about my body and my health?"

Sara 35:35

I mean, look, everyone I think in the world loves a quick fix. Everyone's always kind of like expecting miraculous results, and I think that's more like personality based. But I think there's a large group of Americans who are really into health, and a large group of Australians who are really into health. Maybe Australians are a little bit more down to earth and they have-- 'cause they have, like, more access to nature. they, really like being around nature. But then I'm sure there's areas in America like that as well, but maybe not New York, LA, Miami or places like that. But Americans are very trend crazed. They love trends, and they love jumping on it. I mean, volufiline, it's a trend, but to me it's a trend that works. And we have definitely capitalized on that and it's been really, really lucky, and I think that you can, capitalize on trends as, like, a founder. And the American market is always a really, really interesting market because things can catch on really quickly, and you can do really well.

Kat 36:30

Is there any skincare myth or trend that you are tired of seeing and hearing about?

Sara 36:35

Skin boosters.

Kat 36:36

question.

Sara 36:36

Every time I see it on my feed, I'm like, "Shut up." there needs to be more regulation in what can be injected in people's faces. And I, think social media makes it really hard. Like, social media puts images of people that look absolutely perfect and amazing, and everyone, feels like if they, I don't know, get the six-pack, or they get the perfect skin, or they have this, or they have that, that everything's gonna be okay. But it's just, that's just not how life is, you know? It's really about how you feel inside,

Kat 37:06

Yeah. The skin boosters, I just see so many people going to Korea and like getting the PDRN injections and I also see the ones where people get them and then they also have not like, not the same thing that you got, but they have the inflammation after and they're told that it's, you know, normal.

Sara 37:23

It's absolutely crazy. And I, I can't imagine that, to go to Korea and basically just get my face injected by someone random, especially after everything that happened. It's crazy

Kat 37:33

I know. Okay. Before we wrap up, there are probably two things that really stuck with me from this conversation. The first is just because a treatment or an ingredient is trending doesn't always necessarily mean that it is the right choice for you. I think it's always easy to see something, you know, on social media and assume that it's safe or that, wow, everybody is getting these amazing results. But this conversation is a good reminder that not all treatments work for everyone, and that every procedure comes with some risk, especially if it hasn't been around a very long time. The second is that I really appreciated Sarah's perspective as a founder because Cellure wasn't created because she saw this market opportunity. It literally came from her experience and her trying to solve a problem that she had with her skin. And I have so much respect for founders who build products this way because they just really understand the problem at hand, and they're really deeply invested in finding and creating something that really works. Since recording this episode, I've also started using Cellure myself, And I have really been genuinely enjoying the products. I love the smell. It feels really great on the skin. And, as someone with reactive skin, I'm always really cautious about introducing anything new to my routine, but this one really works for me. So if you'd like to try Cellure yourself, Sarah has generously offered Well Done listeners 15% off of your order with the code WELLDONE15. That's WELLDONE15. So just go to the Cellure website, link is in the show notes, and you can get 15% off of your first order. If you enjoyed today's conversation, it would mean so much if you followed the show wherever you get your podcasts, or if you could leave a rating or review, I would really appreciate it because it really does help get the show out to more listeners. And please share it with a friend who might be interested in the topic that we discussed today. Thank you so much for listening, and I will see you next time