The Customer-First Strategy That Built Barefaced with Jordan Harper

I've

learned, you know, I don't know a lot. I could always learn more.

I mean, same, same. It's so funny, we were talking about I'm, I'm helping people learn how to monetize and be better on podcasts, and I'm like consistently learning how to get better. And you'd mentioned saying like all the time. I'm like, that is my number one thing I'm trying to get rid of. And it's challenging because you catch yourself. And I think the biggest thing for me is I'm like, right there, you have to slow— I have to slow down. But it's insane how much we use these filler words. And also podcasting for me has been the best networking of my entire life. So I started mine like 10 years ago and I was a bit of an introvert. Like, I'm very extroverted but also extremely introverted. And for me, I thought, how can I bring these people that I would want to talk to to me? And so it started very selfishly. Yeah. And it also has brought some of the most amazing people in my life, which I probably would not be connecting with you or saying, hey, I'm gonna come to Miami, I'll reach out.

Yes.

If we wouldn't have this moment. So totally, everybody, podcast guesting, um, podcast hosting, truly an incredible modality for building your network, which I know, you know, is huge for being a founder and having a product. It's one of the biggest things because have you had to really reach out to your network to get to where you're at right now?

For the brand or for the podcast?

For the brand. For the brand. For Bare Faced.

From a brand perspective, I didn't have a network. And I actually think I am a true— I say this all the time, I am a true testament to listening to people, regular people. My background is a nurse practitioner. Listening, I'm hearing a common problem, a common thread in this problem over and over again in office, seeing my patients and online. And then creating a solution for that problem. So I don't, I don't have a network. I have a network now, but I actually feel like, and I've heard, who have I heard say this? Maybe it's like Shelby Sapp or something. She's, you know, always talking about different sales things. People are so into networking. Well, cool. That's cool. It's like, sounds great. Like meet the people, but also be someone who has something to offer.

Mm-hmm.

And maybe if we focus more on like what we can contribute and what we can offer to other people, Then people want to network with you. I'm not a person that people are just wanting to network with, but once I had something to offer them, and once I was then helping thousands and thousands of people, I became a person that people were interested in. And I think it's easy to want to look inward and like, I had Ann Mallum on the podcast, and if you've ever had her on the podcast, she is incredible. Founded Solid Core. I mean, she is an incredible speaker. I dream of speaking like that, and she's got incredible stories. She was— I was honored to have her on our podcast for season 2. But she said something and she was like, I always knew I wanted to be successful. And I was so focused on like me being successful that it wasn't until her first business was a nonprofit. And she was like, once I refocused and made it about how I can help other people instead of just saying I want to be successful, I mean, don't we all? Don't we all want to be successful? But once she was like solving a problem and helping other people, that then made her successful. And it's like this formula that you can actually really see played out time and time again, because when you're giving and serving, that comes back to you. And so going back to a network, I didn't have a network at all. And I still was able to build a business, obviously built a team. I'm not the only person who's built this business. Never want to take full credit for that. But like, I was still able to do a lot. I had no capital. I had nothing. And like, I really just used social media as an engine for growth. And I think you can still do that to this day. I mean, this was now 10 years ago, but like, I think that's still a very realistic way to reach people and also determine what that problem is before you start a business. Don't spend a bunch of money marketing. You like, at least you know you're answering to what people want.

I love that. We can end the podcast now because that's a masterclass.

Thank you so much for having me.

Thank you. You're welcome, everyone.

Everyone get to work.

Everyone go buy Bareface. Thank you so much. Okay. So you were in aesthetics for 10 years before you started your company. What did that look like? And what were those moments? Because there's so many people in something right now. And they're kind of getting these pings of like, when do I know? Like, when do I know I should start? What did that look like for you?

So it is very interesting, because when I look back, I've always been a very, like, ambitious, a very curious person. And when I look back, I never thought I was never the person that was like, okay, I'm gonna have my own business one day. I just wanted to be able to do what I— yeah, this is never like I was Always like hustling. Like the very first job I ever had when I was like 7 and worked at a concession stand, and I would also make these little like bracelets and sell them on the side to make extra money. So when I look back, I'm like, oh, this is— it's very clear this is what I— I have a very entrepreneurial spirit. But I didn't know that. Neither of my parents are entrepreneurs. Like I never saw that played out. So I didn't understand. I started as a nurse, then a nurse practitioner, but I did always know I was interested in skin. One, from having skin issues myself. Part of my story is this memory or this experience that I had that was very negative at the time that then propelled my future in the best way. And I think this is such a testament to these hard, challenging experiences can really yield to life transformations if you allow yourself to dig in and learn from them. Right. So I had this experience. I go to see a provider for my skin. I'm 15, so uncomfortable about my skin. And I remember vividly, like, I already was kind of embarrassed to be there. She— I feel like she has like one hand on the door the entire time. She's kind of like looking down at her like notepad. This is, you know, before the iPads. She's like looking down and I'm just trying to ask some questions and I'm feeling like I don't know what to do. And I just felt dismissed. And I was like, when I left, I just remember being like, oh my gosh, I hate this place. I hate being here and I feel stupid. Mm-hmm. 3 months later, I go back. I needed to have like a follow-up appointment. I see a nurse practitioner. I have a night and day experience where I now know that these appointments are 10 minutes long. They have the same amount of time, but her experience, all she did was sit down. She just talked to me, gave me very practical skin advice. Hey, I'm noticing you're touching your face a lot right now. Did you know that that's going to maybe cause you to have breakouts? I was like, no, didn't know that. And just, I just felt seen and I just felt heard. And I think that's such a testament that, that to me, after I left that appointment, So I left 3 months before. I was like, I hate this place. I left that appointment. I was like, that's what I want to do because of that feeling of like how she made me feel. And also like she provided me with education too. It was an empowerment. It was like, okay, you made me feel seen, you made me feel heard, and then you empowered me to give me some tools to do it on my own. Fast forward, I become a nurse practitioner. I'm working in cosmetic dermatology aesthetics, and I am seeing so many people in the same situation that I was in, also very uncomfortable with their skin or coming in and getting these treatments, Botox, fillers, lasers. They're investing in all these treatments, but they don't have a set skincare routine. And I always use this analogy is like, that would be like going to the dentist twice a year but not brushing your teeth every, you know, twice a day. Like, the office treatments are amazing. Don't, don't get me wrong, they are, they are great. But like, you've got to get the foundation right. So then I start just creating these skincare routines and they're, they're interested in them, but they feel really overwhelmed by skincare. At this time, I'm like creating routines, trying to simplify skincare, and I become one of the top sellers in the country for really these like top skincare brands. That's when I— my curiosity like does me so many favors because I'm like really digging in here, like what's going on in the skincare industry? Like I'm trying to understand how these products are formulated, what's going— like how they launch. And I remember vividly this one product launches, it was the fall, fall, like Q4 time, and it was a pumpkin enzyme mask. And I remember asking like What, like, what is this mask? Because to me, I'm like, this is silly. This is an excess. I'm a less but better person. I— that's our whole philosophy with Bare Faced. I want to know what works. I want to use it, and then I want to move on to the next thing. I'm not trying to sit here and dwell in like skincare world. I want to— I want to know I'm taking care of my skin, going to get better skin. I can go on and, you know, do whatever I need to do. So they're like, oh no, we have to meet these quotas. We have to launch. I have no business, you know. So before this, I have no business experience. I have medical training. And they're the on the back end, they're like, oh, we have to meet these quotas and launch these products. And I was like, oh, so now it was so eye-opening. And for someone who has a background in like marketing or business, they're like, yeah, duh. Well, I didn't. I'm just like thinking, oh, this you know products are launched because they're a solution to a problem. Well, that couldn't be further from the truth. Like I know now, like the industry of beauty is more is more is more. And that's I think it's around fifty thousand new beauty products launch every single year. So that can kind of like propels me into like. Okay, I, I don't like any of this. I'm gonna be the antithesis of that. And so I just start talking to a chemist, and because of my credibility of selling other products, that kind of got me in the door. That, that helped them to take me serious. And so that was really— because I didn't have any money. My husband and I are $500,000 in debt. He's in medical school. I have school debt as well.

Wow.

So we, you know, I have no business starting a business, and I really, at this point, am thinking this is going to be a solution for my patients in office. And it wasn't until my husband got selected for a residency— I was living in Charleston at the time. I'd been living there for 7 years building my patient base and using social media to like post skin tips and post before and afters of my patients. So I had really built up like a full business.

Mm-hmm.

And my husband gets selected for a medical residency outside of Charleston, South Carolina. And honestly, that was devastating for me. I had an 8-month-old at the time. And I was like, well, I'm leaving my entire business because my business at this point is just like in person. I'm treating patients. Social media isn't my business yet. I'm just like using it to educate on skincare and kind of like inform people online what I'm seeing in office, give them tips. So then that's when I was like, oh shoot. Okay. So, so when you're, when you're in residency and medical school, like you're making very, very little money. And so I'm really providing, like I'm the breadwinner for my family at this And 2 months later, I then get pregnant with my second child. So I'm like, I gotta, I gotta figure out a way to like make this a reality. So it was really in that period of devastation, honestly, where I was like, I'm losing, I'm losing everything I worked 7 years for. Now I need to pivot. That really forced me to take the leap that I don't think I would've taken otherwise because I was comfortable where I was. And so I think that's also like, My mom has always used this quote or this phrase of bloom where you're planted. And really, it's like you literally cannot control what happens to you. Or, and I signed up to, I wanted my husband to be, you know, in residency. I was a part of that decision. So it wasn't like I was blindsided, but I also like, I want to stick with him. So I'm going to move. I want to, I'm a person who values my relationship with my spouse. So I was like, I'm going to move with you. But I also know that I now I need to figure out another plan. So I didn't have Capital investors. I took out 5 0% interest credit cards. I also did a pre-order, which I think this is really important because this shows too I had built up enough trust with my community at this point. I think I maybe had 20,000 followers. I built up enough trust with my community that they took the leap to take that pre-order. That gives me almost chills thinking about it because it's like you— and I had been giving to my community online, you know, tips and everything for the past 5 years prior to launching anything, which I think is also a really good thing because you're not just going out off the, off the cuff and like, oh, I'm launching a product. Like they knew, like they knew who I was. And at this point, you know, Instagram's still showing all your stuff to your followers. So I have a lot of people who have been following me along my whole journey. And so by the time I did that preorder and then the 0% interest-free credit cards, like that propelled the whole business. And I didn't really feel like it was such a risk at the time because again, it was that common thread, that common problem that I saw time and time again. So it wasn't like this is an idea that I just thought of. I'd seen it in practice and I just knew it was going to be successful and I knew it was solving a problem. And then that's where too, like being naive in certain things, like I didn't really know how to run a business, but like I knew what we were offering was great. And then we figured out the rest from there. So. That's really, a lot of that was like unplanned, but it's like seeing opportunities and making things happen for yourself. Being resourceful is what kind of propelled Bear Paste and here we are today.

Okay, I love this. There were so, there were so many takeaways there though, because without you knowing it, or you probably did know it, is you were mitigating risk because you had spent so much time in your community and all the value that you were giving back. So it kind of goes to the very top of what you were talking about with if you create enough value, Like you're gonna get a lot of great things in your life. And so by adding all that value to your community, by the time you did the preorder to kind of get that influx of cash, but also an answer, like you were getting a response saying, this is a product market fit. This is gonna work for your community. Your community is probably gonna be the thing that really helps you lay this, uh, powerful foundation. And that helps mitigate risk of being able to say, I'm gonna do this, this is gonna work, let's go all in. So a lot of people don't realize that very important missing first portion. That's why so many people talk so much about the importance of building that personal brand first, to know that you can then almost go plug in anything you're extremely passionate about if you know it's solving a large problem for yourself and your people. Yes. So I love that because it makes taking that leap Way less risky. And it also, you know, you're not going and borrowing money for a concept that isn't proven out, which then totally changes the energy that you are launching with. So. Absolutely.

Well, and yeah, you're right. Like I've never actually, you said it way, way better than I could because I had been testing this with other for years. And so I had some semblance of like, okay, I can tell, I can see how many link clicks I'm getting. I can see how many purchases, like you can kind of test that out and then Knowing what they need and knowing the questions that they're asking me, it didn't really even feel like that big of a, that big of a risk.

Like, you literally did what I would literally tell someone to set up. So good job on following your—

yeah,

on following your intuition and doing all the things that probably just made sense to you but don't make sense to a lot of people. But now, everybody listening, if you want to know how people are going for it, they're not going for it blind. A lot of times they're doing these things that they don't even understand they're doing, and they are taking those big feelings of risk off the table by getting proof points. And you kept doing that over and over in your community. You had data, you had proof, then you had proof of people who were interested, then you had proof of presales, and you had so much to go, okay, I'm going all in. So that is super exciting. I love it.

And I think too, like, yes, I had the social proof because I was on social every single day, and I also had the proof of patients in office. So I had that physical, and I'm pretty much also the consumer. So I can get our consumer very, very well because of that. And one other thing I will say, and I think looking back now, we've been in business for 6 years, we were talking skincare simplified since day one. It's very popular now. Obviously, you're seeing like the Korean trends and like the 10-step routines, but you're also seeing a huge wave towards simplified skincare. If you like go online, you can't— Miss it.

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Our message has been the same since 20— like, I mean, even before I even had a brand, and it hasn't changed. And it's interesting because we'll see people like use taglines that we've used before, and it feels like it's like kind of like a You're like, oh man, like we've been saying that. And but maybe they're like bigger brands than us. But it's the thing is, is like, we've said that, we'll continue to say it. They're saying it for a moment. This is who we are. And it is so tempting as you grow, you get more. We have so many opportunities, which I'm so grateful for. And they're so shiny and they're so tempting. And we say no to about 99% of them. And that is, I think, so important because keeping the main thing the main thing. Is, is what is going to really keep your brand in your consumer's eye clear. And have we made mistakes? Have we gone like— absolutely. But like, it is also something, having this like less but better philosophy, it's something my team will also check me on. They're like, I don't— that— because I get excited, really excited about stuff.

Yeah.

And they're like, I don't think, I don't think that's less but better. It's like, I'm like, oh, okay,

that's

so bad. Yeah, it's like, it's good to like also have those checks and balances by your, your ethos.

When you have that North Star, it truly is life-changing. I have a friend who's kind of really helped guide me in the past few years that I touched base with here and there, but I— you probably know her, Jamie Kern Lima of IT Cosmetics. And she's the one who has been like the one thing, like they had, what was it? I believe it was Bye Bye Under Eye, like was there. She just Preached the one thing; they were all about the one thing. And so, it like you said, it is it's probably the easiest thing in every business to get really excited about a million different things. And I will tell you that my Achilles heel of my whole career, if I could go back and change one thing of the twenty years I've been an entrepreneur, I was like I thought that I had to be multi-passionate. And while I do think that's somewhat important for my personality, I wish I would have. Gone a lot deeper on one thing, which is probably why Jordan, for the first time in my life, I get on podcasts and people are like, "Hey, you're talking about podcast guesting and being a better guest." Because I'm like, I am gonna drive this thing home till like the wheels fall off because that's why your message is rippling throughout. And when I start seeing my friend do something else, you know, I have these genius, brilliant entrepreneur friends. I'm like, Lori, let's just stay here. Let's. literally become masterful in this. And so you are masterful in the area of simplifying skin. And I think that message, whether people say it, a big company says it for, like you said, a month or a quarter or half of a year, the difference is when people think of Bare Faced, they think of the one thing. And when you think of other companies, they're probably going to name 5 different things. And so I think that is what is going to—

Just depends what their launch is at that time. And, you know, whatever. Yeah.

Exactly. That's lasting power for sure. So I love that you have that and your team reflects that back to you. Like, does it mean this? And that's a powerful thing to keep going back to.

When you are like, you're, I feel relate to that a lot because when you have this like entrepreneurial spirit, I want to make a business about everything because business is like so fun and it's really something. And, and so it's funny then also when I look back at my life, I'm like, that's so funny that I didn't think I was going to ever start a business one day. Like I have been literally starting businesses for so long and not really like putting it together. But you have to be okay with doing the boring, disciplined thing. And I actually think that's where my parents, which I love them so much, my dad, he is just the most consistent person I've ever met. I'm waking up, I know exactly what he's doing. 5 AM, he's in the gym. 6 AM, he's in his office, he's reading his Bible. Like, I know exactly what he's doing every single day of his, of his life. And then my husband is a former athlete and then went on to do surgery. So he is so disciplined. So I had these really strong influences in my life of just like showing up. Maybe you're not getting rewarded for it, but you're just like showing up and doing the same thing. And so I joke, I'm like, I have no problem suffering. You know, I'll show up. But I definitely want to start a business about everything. And I like started a business earlier this year. And then I pulled back. I didn't like launch it. I did the whole business plan, built it all out. It's honestly Fire idea, but it probably will never see the light of day because I sat on it for a little bit and I was like, there's no way. It's like you're— it's just, yeah, I gotta get back to it. So it's like I definitely get— can get like pulled and distracted because building is very fun. Like the build and the grind.

It's the scaling and continuing to scale that I'm like, somebody help me.

I know, I know.

It's the consistency, but I always talk about this because my career started in fitness, and whenever people throughout all of the years that I've had fitness memberships, gyms, all the things, the number one thing is you're not going to like the answer. It's the answers to having the health and body that you want is really boring. It's kind of eating the same thing almost every day. When I find people who are like, on Instagram, and they're cooking all these different things every day. I'm like, this is impossible for the average person. So we get really overwhelmed. And like, when you're first starting on a fitness journey, I tell people, let's just find the same menu for the next 30 to 60 days. Like, find some things that work and just same thing every single day. So we can get into a routine, it feels easy, your brain knows what you're doing, because the more that you add in those challenges, the harder it is to stick to it, you know. So the monotony is where the money is. And that is, like, number one.

Boring routines. We always say boring routines equals really great results because fitness and skincare are so similar. They're so similar. Even the results that you see. So when you start working out, it's probably going to take around 6 weeks to start seeing some changes in your body. The same thing applies with your skin. And it's like, are you going to be in perfect physical condition at 6 weeks? No. But you're going to start seeing something. And I always use that too. If you're not really sore, like you're sore a lot of times after your workout, after you're challenging your body, you will also with skincare, you might have some anticipated reactions when you're starting products that change the skin. Like it's so similar. And that's really what Bareface— we want to be like the foundation of your skincare routine. And so we have a core 4 set of products that everyone should start with. So it's very just like— but also it's one less thing. It's one less thing for the mental load that you have to think about. That was our biggest campaign this year. We didn't add a new product, we decided to just revamp some of our existing products. So to eliminate adding— we added this— I don't know if you ever heard of zombie cells, but zombie cells are senescent cells. They damage the healthy cells around them. So dead cells die. We don't really worry about them. But zombie cells damage healthy cells, which is a big problem because they're going to wreak havoc on your healthy cells. You see that a lot. You see a lot of senescent cells around the eye area, which is why, outside of being thin skin, why it ages more quickly. So if you can use skincare to target some of those surface zombie cells, you can reduce some of that like inflammation and premature skin aging that happens. So we could have launched a serum for that, but instead we went back to our product portfolio and we started like doing this in 2024 to just enhance our product portfolio so that it can include those ingredients without asking our customer to like buy more. We didn't increase the product, we just like— and we didn't increase the product price, we just like Wanted to make sure we were offering something that like we felt like was encompassing everything that the skin needed. And yes, we're going to launch more products. Absolutely. But that was before we did that. We wanted to make sure that like if there's a way we can enhance our existing products to eliminate adding anything and asking more, I just always want to do that. It's like business people are always so confused by me. They're like, I don't know. I don't know if that's the smartest, but I'm telling you it is. And it It has done nothing but serve us because all we do— we don't have investors, but I think of our customer as an investor. All we do is just think of ways to add more value to them. We are launching next week, and I don't know when this is going to come out, so it'll probably already be launched. We're— we have 2 product launches. One's a cleanser that's specifically for women in their 30s and 40s, which is incredible. And we— it's our very first cleanser we've ever launched. And it's truly around like the fact that the skin is shifting. And you need a different cleanser. You don't need to revamp your entire routine, but the skin does change really around that 30s and 40s range. You can use it and beyond as well, but it's like you're starting to see those like changes where you've got like 15, 20 years without collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid. So like the skin is shifting. But next week we're launching Bare Faced RX, which is a totally different business, but it's like an arm to Bare Faced. So, and this is another thing I think, you know, the business, the business people of the world are confused about, but I'm, I see it so clear that I just know this is going to serve one, our existing customer, and also be really good for customer acquisition. I think so many brands are looking for like more retail or distribution. They're trying to figure out like, what, what other rooms can we be in? Where else can we be to distribute our products? And I first, like, I just asked a different question. Like, where can we meet our customer where they're at? And ultimately, like, from there, our customer has become like one of our biggest mouthpieces, like to, to propel the brand. And so I want to make sure that we can offer skincare solutions for every step of the skincare, skin health journey. And so it's really— Bareface Rx is not for everyone. Not everyone needs prescription skincare, but it's for people who have concerns like acne, Melasma. There is no over-the-counter product that is going to be successful for melasma outside of a prescription. So like there's some that can help, but like you need a prescription. Really, really stubborn hyperpigmentation. Inevitably, like all of us are in the sun so much. So this is more for like an older, an older patient. And then rosacea and menopausal skin. So these are areas that like they're targeted personalized treatments. So It really goes hand in hand with now we can treat the skin as a whole. And I, I think that goes back to like in office all the time I was creating skincare routines, but I was also— some patients need prescription and I want to make sure knowing that there's 3 dermatologists for every 100,000 people. I don't know if you've ever tried to make an appointment. We're using like licensed dermatologists that are using this. So that's why it's not me that's like writing all these prescriptions. We have a team of dermatologists. We're going to be able to serve all 50 states. And it's going to be— I'm so excited about it because it's something I've dreamt about doing since 2020. But like, I just didn't know how. I didn't have the capacity. Anyways, I don't even know why I got on that. But I feel like it's going to be— oh, from the business people. From the business people that are like, they're like, I don't know, because you're seeing these other brands, they start in telemedicine and teledermatology. And then maybe they like have some add-ons, like over-the-counter products. I have never seen a brand do this, like, who is— we're an over-the-counter, obviously, skincare brand to then also add in Rx. But I understand it so well. And I know it's such a need for our existing customer. And it will also serve as a new customer acquisition channel that, like, to me, it makes so much sense. And most skincare brands are like going into makeup.

Hmm.

And I feel like this is just— we're just taking a different, different approach. But I It's like if we just follow the same playbook that everyone else is doing, it makes no sense. You got to make it like— but I— you also have to believe in what you're doing, even when, even when the business people are telling you they're not sure.

Yeah. No, it's, it's funny because I was just thinking of me as a customer. Number one, I'm your, I'm your dream customer because I hate— I actually hate doing skincare. Like, loathe it. Like, it's—

you're my dream.

Oh, it's a whole thing.

Like, I'm probably procrastinating every night.

I can't even tell you, like you'd be so ashamed of my skin routine. I can't even tell you, like embarrassed to say it out loud. So with that said, well first I want to go back and just say I see the progression of that because what happens is even though I hate doing skincare, you just piqued my curiosity where I'm like okay if I'm going to do something prescription because I'm 45 now and let me just tell you the change has deeply set in this year specifically where I was like oh overnight. It feels like, you know, I've watched a lot of just like certain things change— crepiness, sunspots— but for some reason this year, just like collagen is like, you know.

Do you think that you're in perimenopause?

Potentially. I— it's like, I— it's also interesting because I'm so healthy that I don't have any of the signs yet that I, I feel— that sounds terrible. I just don't feel them yet, so I don't know.

No, that's, that's great. But, but I'm just thinking from your age, like I always think about where your skin is past 20 because that's really when the skin starts to lose those— we start to kind of trend downward with a lot of the things that the skin needs to function properly.

Yeah.

And at Bare Faced, all of our skincare routines are around protect, prevent, repair, correct to get the skin to function optimally. You don't have to have this long routine. And I would say a lot of people are like you. A lot of people don't like skincare. I will procrastinate Putting doing my skincare at night, so it's just like. But even though it's two minutes, but I still yeah. But with Bare Face Rx, I wanted to make sure we could treat that dip. So after when you're in menopause or getting in that perimenopausal time period, you're all of a sudden there's a shift, and you can learn about lose about thirty percent of your collagen. So twenty twenties, you start to lose one percent around a year. The the menopausal time is when like all of a sudden you have this like massive dip. And that's, and that's really like the plumpness of the skin. So when you think about collagen, it's like the plump, elastin elasticity, and hyaluronic acid is the hydration of the skin. So you would probably be a good candidate. And I've talked to several OBs about this, where you should start to use some estrogen on your skin.

Interesting. So that's where my curiosity just piqued is I'm like, okay, I could get away with this because I had naturally decent skin for a really long time. And I could just get away with murder. And now I'm like, oh, can't get away with that anymore. So now my curiosity is piqued. So I actually think you're going into a market of a lot of women who are also like me going, okay, you've already attracted me with this simplified routine. Like, because if I'm going to do anything, it's going to be something that states that like, this is very easy. You only need this 1 to 2 things. Well, I know you do 4, but I could maybe think—

No, I got a 2. I got a 2 one because we call it the Minimalist Kit for people exactly like you.

Okay, perfect. But then you just made me realize, okay, I am seeing a lot of change. What could I do? And now I have a motivation. I did not have the motivation before, but now you're hitting women between 40, 45. Now we're motivated because we're seeing the difference. And sometimes, I wouldn't even say sometimes, a lot of times we have to be motivated by something we don't like, right? We're either running towards something, but an even more motivating factor, which is proven, is running away from something we don't want. Instead

of

towards something that we think we want, right? Like, it's the—

Okay, think about this from a fitness perspective, because,

yeah,

you probably— you're doing a lot, I'm sure, of preventative things in your life for longevity. I have no doubt. Like, I don't know your daily routine, obviously, but it goes back to, like, the more you know. And I feel like people always would joke around with me because I've always been, like, trying to protect my skin from the sun. But I'm like, but I've seen too much, guys.

Like,

I might not see this in myself, but, like, I have seen thousands of patients and you see what the sun has done to their skin. And I'm like, I just— it's so annoying. Like, I would love to enjoy the sun, but now I can't because I've seen too much. And I feel like in any area that you're like an expert in, and especially in like the health, wellness, beauty, if you know and you don't— like, to me, everyone, I'm not going to ever complain about aging. I think it is the biggest gift. And we— the goal is like really to just look and feel Look how we feel, right? Like, I want to— I don't want to look tired. I don't want to look, you know, aged in the sense where like that makes me look lifeless. I think that's more of like the concern, right? Is like, yeah, I just feel like lifeless kind of, you know, like that's not— that's not the goal that we have. But if you know these things, you can also, yes, treat so that you're getting a better result and you're gonna have a better result. Prevention is always better than correction. Always.

One thing I've learned from launching Glossier is that you can have an amazing product, but if you have a bad buying experience, your customers are going to bounce. We use Shopify for Glossy, and one of the things that I love is that you don't have to be an e-commerce expert to get your store launched and start selling. Shopify gives you the tools to get up and running in a few simple steps so you can focus on your actual business instead of becoming a website developer overnight, which, let's face it, you have a lot more important things to focus on in order to sell your product. And once you're running their mobile app, makes my life so much easier because I can manage key parts of the store from wherever I am, including inventory, customer support, and payments. And if you know me, I'm rarely in one place all day long. If you've been sitting on a business idea, this is a really good time to stop sitting on it. Launching before Black Friday means you can take advantage of the extra online traffic when people are already shopping and ready to buy. If you're ready to launch your business before Black Friday, go to shopify.com/happy to start your free trial. One of the biggest traps I see entrepreneurs fall into is that the more successful the business gets, the less time they have to actually do the thing they started the business to do. And if you own any business that runs on appointments, you know exactly what I mean. You're serving clients while also trying to manage scheduling, payments, follow-ups, marketing, staff, and a million little things behind the scenes. That's why I think Gloss Genius is such a smart solution. It's an all-in-one system built specifically for service businesses. That helps you get more clients, increase what you're earning, and bring clients back while automating so much of the admin that's eating up your time. Clients can book in seconds without creating a login or downloading an app. Their AI can answer calls and texts 24/7, help fill gaps in your calendar, and bring back clients who haven't booked again. And the results really got my attention. Businesses using GlossGenius grow revenue 26% in year 1, have an average 75% rebooking rate, and save about 40 hours a month on admin. Can you imagine getting that time back? That's an entire work week back. And for an entrepreneur, time is one of the most valuable things that you can get back. Ready to earn more and get your time back? Go to glossgenius.com/earnyourhappy and use code HAPPY for 50% off your first 2 months of a premium plan. That's glossgenius.com/earnyourhappy, code HAPPY for 50% off your first 2 months of a premium plan. Okay, so tell me, for all of the women listening, like, what are the things we should start with? And then if we are getting into the big hormonal shifts, what should we be thinking about and looking at?

Okay, so first, I always start with the core 4. And this, the core 4 might surprise you because you're gonna be like, oh, it's a cleanser and a moisturizer. It is not. So every routine needs A cleanser and a moisturizer. They are not a part of the core 4 that we talk about because they are the bookends of your routine. You need them. You need to have clean skin. But in that case, you can start with a— if you're like so big, like you want to start really, really simple, you can start with a drugstore cleanser if that brings you joy. If you're like— that's not the area that I recommend people investing in first. Same thing with the moisturizer. The core 4 are the 4 core products that are the workhorse of your routine. So that means the products that are going to help prevent Protect, repair, and correct. So no one likes this, but it's one of them is a daily SPF. It is essential. Like sun exposure, we know it causes premature skin aging, it causes collagen degradation, and obviously it causes skin cancer too. But like if you're investing in skincare and not using daily SPF, it's such a— it's honestly a waste of money. So your SPF, you need a gentle— some sort of exfoliant. I always— we use toning pads for ours. It's a gentle daily exfoliant. Mm-hmm. You need an antioxidant like vitamin C. We have one called Liquid Gold. And you need a retinoid. And we have one called Retinol Skin Therapy. If you are not using retinoids, if you can't tolerate retinoids, we have an alternative called Overachiever. Those are your core 4. Okay, then that's where you start your routine. That gets your skin to function optimally. Once your skin's functioning optimally, then you can add in treatments to target— maybe you're targeting acne, or maybe you're targeting melasma, or any type of like skin condition, but you have to get the skin to function optimally first. And I think what happens and why people are so frustrated with skincare is that they have dark spots, so they get a dark spot serum. Okay, well, that's great, but like, if your skin's not functioning optimally, you're not going to see the results that you want. And so it's all about like building that foundation, and then to get the skin to function properly, then you add products on top, like on top of that. So That's why I say, like, when you get the skin to function optimally, then you're going to be so impressed by what skincare can do. 80% of your results from your skin can come from your skincare. And then if you need extra treatments, that can be an office treatment, a prescription treatment, depending on what that is. So if I'm talking about— if I'm talking to you and you're like, I can just only use 2 things, I would say to use toning pads. Toning pads are a gentle exfoliant. And the reason I love them is because they're going to exfoliate the dead skin, wash out the pores. They help with redness, they help with fine lines. But you also, if you're applying product to dry skin, you're just not seeing— you're not going to see great benefits. You need to, you need to get the dead skin off. And then the Overachiever is our 10-in-1 serum, and it's literally intended for people exactly like you. So if you're like, I don't want to use an antioxidant, I don't want to use the retinoid, I just want one thing, you can use it morning and night. Also has amplified Argireline, which is like liquid Botox. Nothing does what like injectable Botox can do, but that's like it's supposed to help with those expression lines. So that's a great like That would be your core 2. Okay. That would be like your core 2 products outside of cleanser and moisturizer, of course. And I don't even like to— the SPF. Okay. But the core 2 that are changing the skin. Now, if we're talking about more perimenopause, menopausal skin, that I look towards prescription for. There's different treatments for increasing the estrogen in your skin, which is one of the things that is very beneficial in that you also start to lose as we go through these hormonal shifts. The nice thing about living right now, living in 2026, is that, you know, 10 years ago hormones were like all considered terrible. And now all that has been debunked. And there's 25 years of women who just like— honestly, it's very sad. It's very sad that they missed out on like what the benefit of hormones— now I'm not talking about— this is not hormone therapy that we're doing at Bare Face, but Bare Face RX. But like you can use topical estrogen on the skin and that's going to really help increase the skin. Now you still need To boost the cellular turnover with your retinoid or your retinoid alternative. So it doesn't replace anything, but that is something that's really beneficial, I think, for women. Also, there's prescription copper GHK. You've probably heard of that, that people are using injectable peptides. You can also use that topically to really directly hit the skin. The over-the-counter stuff like that is not great, but the prescription stuff is. So those are like 2 products that I really, really love for That perimenopause, menopausal time.

Okay, love this. Need to do all that.

It's like, you can't just do that. You got to get back. You got to, like, you know, it's like you got to at least be wearing your sunscreen and wash your face.

Okay, I'm doing that. Okay, most of the time.

Yeah, honestly, I was never— I have so many friends like you that are like, they are just starting to— they're, you know, we're about to be 40 and they're just thinking about their skin. That is crazy to me because if you're listening to this and you've had skin issues, I've been thinking about my skin since I was 15, 14 years old. And it's like something that I've had to work so hard and I'm still prone to breakouts. I'm still prone. It's one of those things where you don't start thinking about it till you see the change. And so if you start that earlier, I've been thinking about skin and how to protect it and how to have better skin for years. Because that was an issue. So honestly, we all need to hear you. Yeah,

we, we all need you to remind us that it's important. And now we have someone that we can say, oh crap, we need your help. So this is amazing. Um, okay. So the Core 4, where do people go to? Um, and is the RX, do you have that on a separate website? A separate website. Okay.

Yeah. So barefaced.com and then barefacedrx. And that officially launches October 15th. And it's 2 separate websites because it's teledermatology. So like, it's very HIPAA compliant. You're gonna get prescriptions. It's, um, it's a whole, you know, it's a whole thing. You got to be legit.

So I will make sure that's all in show notes. But I would love to know, like, for you, because you're back, you're, you're literally balancing so many different things. And you had said, I hadn't ever set out to be an entrepreneur. And this show, we talk so much about mindset. What would you say for For you, how have you been able to just kind of work through all of the things that come with a large business? I know that there's probably a fire every single day in your business, things that are going on right now that we don't know about, that you just have to focus on the most important things. How have you learned to compartmentalize, deal with the stress, still have a life, show up so present? What does that look like for you?

So during Before I launched Bare Faced, I had my first daughter. I now have 4 children. So it's an interesting— and I feel so grateful because the rest of the pregnancies weren't planned. And at the time, that was really hard because I was building Bare Faced and I was feeling extremely overwhelmed. And I was like, oh my gosh, how am I going to also have a kid? And then my third pregnancy, I had twins. You know, I didn't take like maternity leaves or anything like that, which is like, I just didn't have the bandwidth and the capacity to do that at those times. But what I will say about that is, I really believe looking back, so my youngest twin, my twins right now are 4. Having all those children and pregnancies while building the business could not have been better for me, because it allowed me so quickly to see what's important and what's not. And I really think that if it was just me and I didn't have that, like, I feel like I could have really gotten into the minutia and really gotten stuck. And I just didn't have the time. And I didn't have the time or the bandwidth to like manage that. And I also had to quickly get very good at delegating. And so I feel like situation, like that situation forced a lot of things in my life. I've like, they've Certain situations have like forced me into this, like, okay, I've got to figure this out. I do know, I, I do believe like I can always figure something out. Now it doesn't have to be me doing it, but I know I am very resourceful and I can like figure that out, figure things out. And I have learned to like let go of a lot. Hmm. And I really think it's because I just had so much on my plate and the business was growing so fast that I just, I had to quickly like filter through like, what is the most important thing? And Things are just not going to be perfect. And I watch myself. We had, you know, speaking of things going wrong constantly, that is always happening. Like things are, but the good thing is more things go right than go wrong. And that's all you got. You just got to make sure that more things go right than go wrong and you can figure it out. But like there's several things that don't come out how we want or design, you know, and it, I can see such a growth in myself from the way I would react 6 years ago to now because. It's just not that deep. And it's so easy to take this stuff so personal that, like, I think honestly, my advice to you is put more on your plate and you will figure it out. Because the more time you have, the more you dwell and you ruminate. And if you don't, you just got to move to the next thing and you just got to keep the momentum going. And so I don't get stuck. I really am a really strong believer in self-talk. Mm-hmm. And I try to teach this to my kids, like the way And I catch myself like sometimes talking to myself in a negative way and I'll quickly like get myself out of it. I remember when I went to my OB, I knew I was pregnant. I didn't know I was pregnant with twins. And it was my third kid. I had an appointment at 8. I had a very important meeting at 9. I was like, all right, squeeze this appointment in. Gotta go. Gotta go to the next, like, you know, whatever. I've done this before. And I was already like late in the appointment. I think the appointment was like at 13. It should have been at like 8 weeks. And I went at 13. I was like, I've done this. I got this, you know, whatever.

Mm-hmm.

I go in and she said, you're having twins. And I was like, In absolute hysterics. All I did was take a picture of the screen and I sent it— or the little 2 sacks— and I sent it to my husband because he's not with me. You know, we've had this— our— this is our 3rd time. Like, he's got stuff to do. And I just said, we're having twins, period. And I like was crying so hard, and I almost was like— I was like, not aggressive, but I was like, to the, to the ultrasound tech, I was like, why would this happen to me? Like, do you have kids? And she was like, No, not for lack of trying. And I was like,

oh,

I could cry. I could cry thinking about that right now. I was like, so annoyed at myself. I was like, oh my gosh. Like, and it was like quickly, I mean, like, quickly I was like, oh my gosh, this is a blessing. What am I, you know, we can get in our own way. Like, oh my God, this, why did I get this? And I'm like, what am I doing? And now having twins is the biggest blessing of my life. But I do remember sitting in the car and I was crying so hard because I was like, I just can't manage this. Like I had 4 kids, my In three and a half years, and I was just like, and then the twins. I was feeling so bad. I was like, I think I'm gonna die. And uh, I just remember sitting in the car, and I was like, get your shit together. And I just said to myself, probably no less than two hundred times. And I then I had to go to this meeting. I was like, I can handle this. I can handle this. I can handle this. I didn't believe it, you know, but I was just like, I can handle this. I can handle this. I just like kept saying it over and over and over. And then at the end, I was like, all right, I can handle this. And then. We did it. And I just really feel like you can be the most powerful person to speak life into yourself. You can't wait for other people to do that. You have to take the reins and you can handle it and you have what it takes. And I think you have to convince yourself of that. No one else. I mean, yes, affirmation is great. And yes, you want to surround yourself with amazing people. And I think what you listen to and know, the people that you're around obviously is extremely important. But at the end of the day, it's you and you.

That's it. Oh,

so

that is such a good story. Oh my God, I love it. All right, you guys, I am going to put all of the info into the show notes so that you can go and get all of her goods because now I'm so inspired to see if my skin can get better as I get older.

Okay, always. It's never too late.

Okay, I love hearing that. That's like the best thing I could possibly hear because I'm the person who's like, what was I doing? Seriously, before this. Okay.

So

we'll put that all in the show notes, the, um, both links for the 2 different websites. And then I know you have your launch of your new product, which will also be all linked up down there. Um, thank you so much for coming on.

Thank you, Lori.

This is so fun. Yeah. And I hope to see you in Miami and you guys go.

Can't wait.

Yes. And until next time, everyone, earn your happy. Bye-bye.