EP166. Fixing the broken beauty industry

We all know that the beauty industry needs to fundamentally change as so much of it is broken. I've talked about so many of this industry's flaws on this podcast. The waste, the toxic marketing narrative, the problematic ingredients, the dangerous practices, the lack of inclusivity, the arrogance. And it's easy to look at all of that and think, oh, what a mountain to climb. But then along comes an entrepreneur who looks at one of those many broken parts and seizes the opportunity. And that shows us that all of these issues can be fixed, which is so exciting. Last week here on the podcast I interviewed Candice Quinn of Many Safe, an award winning brand of gel manicure gloves which protect your skin against the harmful UV rays in manicure lamps. Candace is so passionate about protecting the skin on your hands one glove at a time. And I think Candace is the perfect example of someone who wants to take part of the beauty industry that is resolutely broken and fix it by creating a fun, easy and yes, beautiful Solution with these UPF 50 plus gloves that she's made to protect the skin on your hands while you're having manicures. And that made me think about all those entrepreneurs out there who want to change the broken parts of the beauty industry and the fact that they are the future. So I thought that this would make a fun topic to explore on today's podcast. Hi, it's Lorraine Dallmeyer, chartered environmentalist, biologist and CEO of award winning online organic cosmetic formulation school Formula Botanica. I host the Green Beauty Conversations podcast and these are my green Beauty opinions in which I share my takeaways from the podcast interview we released last week and also set you a challenge to make the green beauty sector a better place. If you want to be the first to hear all of my latest episodes, make sure you subscribe to this podcast. So coming back to my conversation with Candice last week, I what was really noticeable in her interview is that she's pinpointed a huge risky practice that continues all throughout the nail sector where people have manicure lamps emitting potentially dangerous UV rays onto the backs of their hands. And the science clearly backs it up. You heard it for yourself if you listened to last week's episode. But the problem of course, is that the industry doesn't like turning in on itself and making profound changes when risks are identified. After all, if you're a nail tech and you suddenly say to people, hey, my lamp might be putting you at risk, then you in turn run the risk of damaging your own income. So it's all very understandable and that's the battle that so many new entrepreneurs in the beauty industry face when they can see opportunities to improve or fix something that's broken. We've seen it for ourselves at Formula Botanica, when we started running ads to say that everyone can formulate and that you don't need to be a chemist to make your own skincare products, we actually received complaints from one of our big industry partnerships. And after that, we went our own separate ways because I refused for us to tone it down. I vividly remember being on that call and being told we've received complaints about the fact that you are saying you don't need to be a chemist to formulate. At which point I doubled down and said, yes, that's a huge part of our brand message, and we certainly won't be stopping anytime soon. And it's the same with so many brands, including so many of our graduates who were ridiculed for using natural ingredients. When the beauty industry refused to accept that this is what shoppers are and we're looking for because they have concerns about the ingredients that have been so ubiquitous for a long time in our cosmetics, the industry fought and they argued and they refused. And now many of those natural brands have written enormous success stories for themselves. So if you see something that isn't working, then it's likely there will always be resistance to change it. But it's important to remember that there will then also be a massive opportunity there. I recorded a podcast a While ago, episode 144, if you want to hear it back. And I talked about the future of the beauty industry being the eco beauty pioneers, and I stand by that statement. But you know what? Actually, I think it goes even further. The future of the beauty industry is down to the people who can find the opportunities to improve the way the entire sector operates. This is also why we won't ever run out of opportunities for new beauty entrepreneurs and why the beauty industry continues to need that influx of new brands and new ideas. Let's not forget that an entrepreneurial mindset is about finding the gaps to improve products and services, and it's about being solutions orientated, even when you might think the entire industry is against that idea. Candace and her gloves are a great example of exactly that scenario. She's found a solution to a problem that the beauty industry is burying its head in the sand over. And at some point, that dam will burst and they won't be able to hide any longer. And at that point, everyone will want Candice's gloves. How awesome is that? It's the same with formulation and the message that we share with our award winning online formulation courses. We're watching more and more people realize that they can formulate their own skincare and hair care products for themselves or even to turn into a business. And that realization is changing the way that people view mainstream beauty. So my challenge to you for this week is to continue supporting all of those pioneering entrepreneurs out there who are changing beauty for the better. I feature so many of them on this podcast and I know if you're listening to this that you support their message too. I challenge you to go back through the podcast archives and go and buy a product from one of my previous guests. These people are changing the world. One formulation, one glove, one product at a time. And by buying from them, we'll be driving forward that message together. Thank you for listening to my Green Beauty opinions. Remember to visit the Formula botanica website@formulabotanica.com to try our free online formulation course. And if you haven't subscribed yet to the Green Beauty Conversations podcast, please make sure you do so now in your favorite podcast app. Leave me a five star review if you enjoy the conversations I host and I'll be back soon with my next episode.