41. Forget Everything You Knew About Skincare—THIS Is the Future of Anti-Aging with Dr. Carolina Reis Oliveira

Welcome to Rooted in Wellness with me, wellness advocate and holistic nutritionist, Mona Sharma. Together we will take a journey to discover natural healing practices from imbalance to balance, guided by ancient wisdom and modern scientific insights. I was raised living summers on an ashram, so I learned early on that food is medicine and your kitchen is your greatest source of healthcare and prevention. After facing two heart surgeries, anxiety and weight challenges, I discovered that just because your symptoms are common doesn't mean that they are normal. Together with some incredible guests, we will explore the power of our mind, body and soul connection, returning to our roots to rediscover our greatest wellbeing. We're always chasing the next big thing in wellness, whether it's the latest skincare trend, the newest supplement, or that miracle ingredient promising to turn back the clock. But what if I told you that we've been thinking about aging all wrong? Today, I'm sitting down with Dr. Carolina Reis Oliveira, a PhD scientist and co-founder of OneSkin, to talk about skincare but beyond the surface. literally, we are breaking down why most anti-aging products don't actually target aging, what's really happening to our skin on a cellular level, and how we can start working with our biology instead of against it to age better. In this episode, we're also diving into the science of peptides, why collagen supplements might not be doing what you think, and how stress, lifestyle, and environmental toxins speed up the aging process. We're also getting real about the biggest skincare mistakes that people make, because more is not always better, and the simple shifts that can make a real difference in your skin's health and longevity. Dr. Carolina Reis Oliveira is a PhD scientist in stem cell biology and the co-founder of OneSkin. She's on a mission to redefine skincare with real science, helping people age better by targeting the root cause of skin aging at a cellular level. and trust me, you will feel a difference when you use these products. Carolina's work is changing the way that we think about skincare, and after this conversation, you will never look at your routine the same way. Wonderful. Welcome, Carolina, to Rooted in Wellness. I'm so excited to have you today. so that I can share a little bit about my past too. And I'm just, I get sent a lot of products and I always try everything so thoroughly before I give any opinion. And I am so impressed with OneSkin. So we're gonna dive into so much of this today. So, Carolina, this podcast is all about ancient wisdom in our modern world and how we can become more rooted in our health and our self and our happiness and our lives. So I'd like to kick off this episode with having you share two or three things that help you feel extremely rooted. Yeah.

Thank you so much, Mona, for, for having me.

Yeah.

Really excited about this topic. I think as a founder, as a scientist, I'm always, like, trying to combine, you know, modern science and ancient wisdom. And I think a lot of it, you know, this ancient knowledge is so important for us. For me, I think the things that really helped me is just staying, you know, close to Nature, grounding, you know, put my feet on the the ground and just like, you know, taking morning sunlight. I think this, you know, connects me with this kind of higher force and helps like calm down my stress. And it's a good way to start the day if I can, but as much as possible, I just, you know, love being nature and kind of connecting with, you know, this planet and and all the energy that comes from it.

That's why I also wanted to shed light on the opposite side. You know, a lot of us have these habits that we have every day we don't even understand or we don't even feel when we're drifting away from feeling our best. And those are the habits that cause us to feel uprooted. So can you share, do you notice what are two or three things that cause you to feel uprooted in your health and your body?

Yeah, I was reflecting about that because the beginning of the year started already so chaotic. And when I was looking back, we are super busy in the company. And I think one of the reasons is that why I'm feeling like a little stressed out, it's because I'm going into this autopilot mode that I'm not like reviewing my week and really trying to manage in a way that what I can delegate, how I can prepare ahead, and I just go and I'm like meetings after meetings. And the other piece that I felt, it's, you know, social media, how much I'm actually spending on social media. And as part of my work, I still needed to, you know, be on social media, but I've been trying to find that balance in a way that if I can delegate that and if I can plan ahead and be able to not take all of the meetings, and be more mindful, more grounded every day. I can already feel a little bit more present and relieved. So I'm doing this exercise currently right now.

And I was reading a study the other day too. It was talking about a woman's brain. We don't necessarily compartmentalize. It's like there's everything that's just right, rent forward. We don't necessarily compartmentalize or put things in a list. I think it's very easy and common, especially for women, to just get lost in the things that they have to do every single day, which impacts our health, which impacts our skin, which is a perfect segue to talking about this because, my gosh, when I'm stressed, when I'm overwhelmed, When I've been traveling too much or if I'm too tired, I see it, I feel it in my skin especially. So we're going to dive into to that. And what I wanted to say to our audience is in doing research for OneSkin, around OneSkin, it's not just the brand, like I really do feel that you're redefining skincare. And I say this because I was sharing with you before we started, I actually come from the cosmetic and skincare world. So I worked in that world for about 20 years and Here I was working for these, you know, massive luxury beauty brands. But as I learned and as I got sick, I, you know, suffered from anxiety. I actually stopped getting my menstrual cycle. And so that caused me to take a deep dive into the number of chemicals that I was inhaling through perfumes and perfume body lotions and perfume face creams and perfume eye creams every single day. So anyways, I miss skincare so much, and I'm always thrilled when I find a brand that I love. and one skin really caught my attention because of the concept of peptides. So I've been loving this. I would love for you to start by sharing what inspired you to even create one skin and how does it differ from the traditional kind of air quote anti-aging skincare brands that are out there?

Yeah. So I'm a scientist by training. I got my PhD in stem cell biology and tissue engineering, and I joined with three other co-founders, also PhDs, women from Brazil. And one of the things that we learned how to do in our PhDs was to grow human tissues in the lab. So one of the tissues that we could grow is human skins. So when we started this project, we didn't start to create a brand or a product. We were actually using this ability of reproducing the skin in the lab to test products that were already in the market. mainly anti-aging products, because there are so many out there and we still don't know which products work, as you said, which are actually, you know, potentially causing some damage to our skin. So we start testing products and as you said, we realized that a lot of them were not causing real skin rejuvenation. Some of them could make your skin look better in the short term, But a lot of them were also compromising your skin health in the long term. And none of them were actually designed to target aging itself. They were targeting the symptoms of aging or basically like the surface level of the skin. And so we saw an opportunity to actually develop a new approach to address aging from within and start like looking for new molecules that were more effective in actually reversing aging. And that's how we founded this novel peptide after four years of research. And this is the first peptide that's validated to reverse the age of the skin. So there is a lot that we can talk about, but yeah, super exciting research.

Yeah, so exciting. Peptides have been around for a long time, but I think it's kind of been like a buzz trend worthy word that people are looking to hear without actually understanding the science behind it. And I love that you brought up that concept of, you know, a lot of these big beauty brands. When I work with clients and kind of supporting them and making better decisions for themselves, they're really addicted to that surface level. But look what it does to my skin. But I'm like, but look, look what it does to your insides, though. Right. So I think it's so important that we really merge those two worlds together. So, you know, in terms of the beauty concept, what was your journey to really combine the science with beauty and really tacking aging, but considering that it had to be done at a cellular level.

Yeah. As I said, this, I landed in this skincare world by, you know, by chance. But I think what we realized is that as we were testing those products and measuring if they could actually rejuvenate the skin, we started to learn a lot, a lot about aging, what's driving aging at the cellular level. And what we found is that the science has evolved so much in the past, like, 10-15 years and all of these products that are in the market, they were not utilizing this novel science that now understands better what's driving aging. And what we saw is that, okay, several companies were targeting aging to prevent age-related diseases and no one was using the same approach to target skin aging. So we saw this opportunity to bring this new science that is now focusing on the root cause and apply it to skincare, to skin health, and basically connect aging longevity and beauty because there is already like a massive market that's eager for products that are really effective, but the industry is still outdated in their approach to address aging. And that's why I think we have been, you know, successful in so many ways because we come from the highest, this hypothesis of, like, addressing the root cause at the cellular level, and therefore this can deliver better results. And not only near-term results, but long-term results and, and really focusing on optimizing your skin health so your, your skin can look like, help, you know, better and younger, but not the other way around. Like, I, I don't want necessarily to look younger and compromise my skin Health. I want to you know, merge these two areas. And so that's where we found like a new angle to bring to the customer today that it's more health conscious and they don't wanna sacrifice, you know, their look or their health in order to look better.

It's such a refreshing way to hear you speak about this because I think for women, we still, despite knowing better, understanding that we should get to the root cause, understanding prevention, We're still caught in this society where we're taught that younger is better. We have to look a certain way. And instead of the, you know, the pro aging aspect, so wanting to look your age, but just wanting to look vibrant and healthy. And I think that word prevention is just so, so, so key. So can you maybe paint a picture? I know you've studied skin on so many levels, but what would you say are the biggest drivers that age our skin? What triggers our skin to age faster?

Yeah. So basically we have two processes happening that are driving aging. One is the natural aging process, or what we call intrinsic aging. You know, your cells are dividing, and then eventually they accumulate, like, old cells, and that's happening internally as a natural process. And then we have the extrinsic aging process. That's basically all the environmental stressors that we exposed on a daily basis and UV exposure is the major one that can accelerate skin aging. So obviously we know the importance of, you know, not being overexposed or not like getting sunburn. And one of the ways that we actually mimic aging in the lab is exposing the skin cells to UV and then we can see how much damage they accumulate and how much faster they age. so in terms of environmental stressors, UV aging, pollution, obviously what we eat, our diet, our lifestyle, this has a major impact in our skin as well. So usually we say that our genetics about 10 to 20% and our lifestyle is about 80%. So a lot of, you know, what we can do to manage our skin ages. It's in our hands to control, which makes it more exciting because it shows that, you know, we are in charge.

Yeah, such a good point. When I think about, often I go back, I grew up living on this ashram, and whenever I go back, it's these same Swamis, these spiritual leaders who have been there, and I swear they age very slowly. And so every year I go back and I think about like, what are they exposed to? healthy levels of sunlight. They're not really eating a lot of processed food, no processed food actually, less sugar. There's none of these like inflammatory trans fats or like, those inflammatory oils that are found in foods. And, I would say stress, right? There's kind of this, I'm sure the Swamis do experience stress, but they have way less stress. So when we look at that as a trifecta, they're pretty hard to avoid in today's modern world, right? When we can't just escape and live peaceful lives eating the best food. You know, living in our modern world, we're just exposed to so many things. And alcohol, I'm guessing, is another one that's up there, right?

And alcohol, sleep, smoking, stress. I would say that this forest probably like, you know, major drivers of aging inflammation, which affects our whole body, but obviously reflects in our skin as well.

Yeah, absolutely. So there's this addiction then that we want to focus on these intense procedures that give us that surface level result, but it's not actually reversing the signs of aging. So can you talk to us why peptides then are so important in getting to that root cause?

Yeah, and maybe let's talk about what is the root cause, at least the way that we see it at one skin. Recent studies have shown that the accumulation of old cells in our bodies, also called the senescent cells or zombie cells. It's one of the major drivers of aging in our whole body and also in our skin. So basically, these old cells accumulate in our skin and they start secreting inflammation. And this inflammation will lead to collagen degradation and will also cause the cells around that are healthy to age faster. So that's why the more aging cells that you have in your skin, you know, the more signs of age wrinkles, fine lines and sagging you will experience. So what one skin is doing that's differently from any other products out there, it's finding peptides and one more specifically that we found OS1 that can specifically decrease the load of these aging cells in the skin. So with fewer old cells, the healthy cells can proliferate, they can produce more collagen, so the skin can maintain that younger and functional state for longer and we have less inflammation. So your skin is functioning well and works in a very targeted way because we're not disturbing the healthy cells. So that's why it goes to the root cause because it's addressing what is propagating inflammation internally in our skin and it's not disturbing the healthy cells. We are actually allowing them to thrive. And OS1 more specifically, we have actually tested 900 peptides to find OS1. That's this novel peptide that we discovered and it reduces up to 40% the load of those aging cells. And in turn, what it does, it also reduces what we call the skin's biological age by 2.5 years. And this is really exciting because as a scientist, and we know that we can manage aging, but this is the proof that we can actually reverse aging and we can quantify it. And this is done in the lab, in lab skins that we grow. But it's already like a proof of concept that if this can be done in the lab, it can be done in humans. And we are now running studies to show that in humans.

Yeah, I'm smiling because for so many years we talk about inflammation. and cells within our body that cause inflammation and how that can lead to systemic inflammation. And I'm thinking that, you know, recently the word inflammaging also, right? Which naturally disrupts all of our body's functions, but we've never put that through the lens of skin care. And I want this to really land for the people listening because if you were to go to see an Eastern medicine doctor, Ayurvedic, medicine doctor or a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, one of the things that they look at closely is your skin because they say that your skin is a direct representation of what's happening inside you amongst other things. So I think that this is so key because our skin is our largest organ. And maybe in all this talk about, you know, anti-inflammatory foods and all the benefits for our insides, the conversation really needs to shift about the outside as well. So that's why this is so fascinating to me and it's just so important. So When you think about, if you can just break down then for listeners at a basic level, then the concept of a peptide and what makes OS1 like really revolutionary in the anti-aging space compared to all the other peptides in the market.

Yeah. So a peptide is basically a piece of a protein. It's a chain of amino acids. It can vary from a few amino acids up to 50 amino acids, usually to be able to penetrate the skin we should have a molecular weight that's like under or around $100,000 or 1000 Dalton's. And these peptides basically are these small molecules that can enter in the cell and can give a signal to that cell. So in our case, what we found that OS1 does, it basically activates the DNA repair capacity. So for example, when we expose these skin cells to UV damage. The ones that are treated with OS1, they don't accumulate damage because they are more efficient in repairing damage as they are, you know, induced. And that's what prevents this aging process, because in the end, like, aging is nothing more than an accumulation of damage that we are not able to repair over time. And how OS1 is different. One is that specifically It's validated to reduce senescent cells, so has a mechanism of action that in the end leads to lower amount of aging cells. Also has a size and a confirmation in terms of the chemistry that can penetrate the skin. So we don't know if a lot of the peptides that are in the products out there, if they're actually getting delivered into the dermal layer, if they don't get to the dermal layer, they're not going to deliver the effect. that you expect. I think the other piece is in terms of stability, how stable they are in terms of different temperatures, shelf life, and all of these we make sure to test in our products and make sure that we are delivering the right amount. The peptide is stable after months in the product and it's not causing any unexpected effect, any toxicity. so checking all of these boxes, it's really hard for, because we test so many peptides, we knew how hard it is to find one that's like really effective and that also again, it's reliable for the long term. So I'm not saying that ours is the only one that works. I am saying that we have validated how it works and we know that this is a statement effective and that's why I usually, you know, tell people, hey, ask the brands like, you know, how this should work and how you have tested this, because a lot of people, they just load the product with a bunch of peptides and who knows if it actually penetrating their skin. So I think that's where there could be a little bit of misleading marketing if they have not done all the studies.

Yeah, you got to read the ingredients and see what else is in there. I love the fact that, you know, I think listeners should know the amount of years and effort that you guys put into this before you even went to market. So that's what really impressed me is the data and the science that you have to back up all of these ingredients, which you won't find with most brands. The word accumulation, we use that a lot on this show because I really think that our bodies are so resilient, our skin is so resilient. But we live in a world where perhaps the kind of external, we're kind of being attacked by the air, the wind, the sun, the chemicals, the fragrances, everything that we're consuming in this world today. Gosh, and here in LA after the fires too, just like everything that's changed around us. So it's really important to take this to heart because your skin also has to digest everything. And the concept of senescent cells is really key. So you said that a senescent cell will not only become senescent, it kind of sends out a message or it will impact everyone around it. So let's just call that like negative energy that goes out to all the cells around it to speed up the aging process, which would speed up the process of DNA, just kind of destroying DNA, right? Or impacting, impacting DNA. So can you take us through that process on how How will our listeners really feel the long-term benefits of switching off senescent cells?

Yeah. So if we can, and as you said, like the main detrimental factor of those senescent cells, it's this inflammation that they are secreting. So one of the ways that our peptide works is by shutting down inflammation pathways so they are not spreading out this inflammation in the tissue and inducing other cells to spread more inflammation, creating that snowball. So by reducing inflammation, again, we can maintain the skin in that healthy homeostasis state that the skin will continue to produce collagen, you'll maintain a healthy skin barrier. So in the long term, you're going to see your skin firm, supple, more resilient against all of these environmental stressors that we are talking about. and with the continuous treatment of the peptide, in the end, you can even rejuvenate the skin, bring the skin to that younger state. So I, what I love about this concept that, you know, comes from within is that we're not here promising, you know, short results. Like, we are here to help your skin to be more functional, more resilient, like, for the long term. And in five, 10 years from now, you'll be thanking yourself for investing in that kind of treatment because it's working to, you know, protect your skin, to maintain your body healthy. And again, in a very gentle way, which I think that's very important because you can do things that are not very gentle and then for the long term is not, you know, beneficial for you.

You use the word resilience. I think it's one of my favorite words. Just build back the resilience of your body and of your skin. That's the whole purpose. Let's take a quick break from this episode to talk about something that's made a huge difference in my cellular health lately. It's a product called Fatty 15. If you're like me, always on the hunt for science backed solutions for optimizing your health and longevity, Check this out. Fatty 15 contains a pure bioavailable form of C15, which is a saturated fatty acid that's been coined the longevity nutrient by scientists. C15 was discovered by Dr. Stephanie Van Wassen, a veterinary epidemiologist who is studying healthy aging in dolphins. What she found was game changing. C15 had a remarkable impact not just on the dolphins, but on human health too. Here's what got me really excited about taking Fatty15. The clinical research behind it has shown that it strengthens cell membranes, it boosts mitochondrial function, and it activates key pathways that control aging. It outperformed leading longevity compounds in providing over 36 clinically relevant health benefits. And get this, 72% of users in a trial reported better sleep, better mood, better joints and energy within 16 weeks. I've been taking Fatty Fifteen religiously as part of my wellness routine, and I have to say, I feel a noticeable difference. My energy is more stable throughout the day, my sleep is deeper and more restful, and I just feel more resilient overall. Like my cells have this extra layer of armor against stress and aging. The capsules are small and have a neutral smell and taste, and the refills come in a beautiful, eco-friendly glass jar. I love that Fatty Fifteen is vegan, pure C15 without any fillers or preservatives. It feels like such a clean, potent way to give my body this essential nutrient it needs to thrive. Fatty Fifteen is on a mission to optimize your C15 levels and help you live a healthier, longer life. You can get an additional 15% off their 90-day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.com slash Mona and using code MONA M-O-N-A at checkout. I really believe that this is something that can benefit all of us in our journey to optimal wellness and longevity. Definitely check it out and see the difference that it can make for you. Again, shop at fatty15.com that's F-A-T-T-Y-1-5.com slash Mona and use code MONA at checkout. so the other thing that's very unique, I would say, to the studies that you have, often when you go into a bigger chain and you're reading, you know, the clinical studies that you find, if you read the fine print, it will say users reported feeling a difference in their skin within four weeks. What does that even mean? Reported feeling a difference in their skin within a few weeks. Right. I'm sure they're not actually looking at the depths of their epithelial cells to see what's happening at the surface and Beyond. Yeah, there's a big difference.

Yeah, and I think that's a very good point. A lot of the brands, they'll do only consumer studies that evaluate subjective analysis. And we all know that first, there can be some initial benefits that are more like quick fixes or surface levels, but obviously we are always biased. so it's important to quantify in ways that are more accurate, that are not only relying on subjective perception. So whenever we do a clinical study, first we make sure that's ran by a third party organization. We measure, yes, the subjective perception, because in the end, this is also important, but we have like a clinical grade evaluation that a professional will evaluate your fine lines, wrinkles, and we quantify this in a blinded way. They don't know which product or who is using what? And third, we use instruments because the instruments will give you more quantitative measurement. And in the end, you combine all of that to get to a conclusion. And if you have, like, significant improvements, because otherwise you can just be, again, misled by this subjective perception that is not really, I would say, data backed.

Yeah, exactly. And, yeah, good point. It definitely does matter how you feel in your skin and how you feel after a few weeks, but. backed with the clinical studies, I think is what's really going to give us the long term advocacy for using products. And speaking to, you know, I love the sun. Carolina, I love the sun so much. I try to be good. I'm very good with, you know, using a great quality sunblock. I love yours. I actually used it on my kids this weekend also. And I love the way that it feels on my skin. It doesn't feel like I need to take a shower, wash my hands right after, which is so special. But as a result, you know, now in my forties, looking at harsh treatments like retinols and chemical peels and all the things that exist out there, I get asked by my clients about these all the time. But what are they really doing to the skin?

Yeah. So and I agree with you. I love the sun as well. I'm Brazilian and I think there is a way that we can still enjoy the sun and and that to bring so much again good energy that in the end, I think relieves this inflammation and help us to look like better and using a good sunblock, it's a way that you can, you know, have both. My main, obviously, advice is never get sunburn, so when I avoid that point. In terms of chemical peels and acids, what they usually do is basically ripping off like the upper layers of your skin. So retinol, for example, retinoic acid, it's one of the key ingredients in anti-aging products. works by inducing the cell renewal in which you induce the upper layers of your skin to come off and you're gonna grow a new layer, a fresher layer. So during this process, first you are removing your barrier, the barrier of the skin because you're inducing this renewal. So your skin is temporarily exposed. So you need it to be, you know, more careful about the sun, about all the potential environmental stressors. So sun block is super important. But I think the other differentiator of this, you know, this approach is that, again, you are inducing the cell renewal. So removing the good and the bad cells, the ones that are already old, but also the healthy ones, because it's basically peeling off all of the layers. And it's okay. It's. I mean, it's okay if you do in a way that's not super aggressive. If people are not over irritated, if they are not feeling red, you know, having the redness all the time. some people can tolerate retinol well, but if you are constantly irritated, I would say that either you need to dial it down or pair with a product that is actually calming down your skin while your retinol can be potentially inducing that redness. So we usually say that for people that can tolerate, you can pair with a product like one skin that basically counteract the side effects. the potential side effects of retinol. And for those that who cannot tolerate that have sensitive skin or just want a more gentle treatment to their skin, one skin is an alternative that can deliver the collagen production at similar levels that retinol, hyaluronic acid production doesn't disturb your barrier and doesn't have any of the, you know, redness or irritation. So there is the option for both type of customers in terms of what they like to approach their skin.

Yeah, I'm sure you guys get asked that question all the time. If you were to pair it with other modalities, what would they be? And I have a lot of clients who are trying to make the transition from a lot of the more inflammatory products or treatments that you and I talked about. And it almost takes this transition period. Like you've got to just allow your skin to almost detox the products that you were using until you adjust to a new skincare line. Like, you have to give yourself the time to actually see and feel the results.

Yeah, I usually say that in skincare, my approach is that less is more. I think we've gone like way too far in trying to overload our skin with actives. And we clearly see this in the lab when we're developing a new formula. We start with a basic formula and we add the peptide and then we add, you know, add new actives and we are always measuring the impact in the skin. And a lot of times more actives is not always better. The actives, they can cancel each other or they can induce like more overreaction in the skin, kind of more inflammation. So there is a balance in the amount of actives and the amount of like stimulus that you want to deliver to your skin. And so whenever people want to basically start over, refresh, I would just say like, you know, less is more and stick to a product for like three months and see if you, you know, if you want to add other products. But today there is a way that we can have like a healthy skin without overwhelming, you know, our skin or ourselves with like so much time and products that we needed to apply. So that's that's our philosophy. And that's also, you know, a reflection of what we have seen in the lab by sometimes testing, you know, different combination of actives that not always lead to a better result.

Yeah, I love that you pointed that out. A full transparency. When I made the transition to one skin, I simply had a microdermabrasion, Or sorry, a microneedling appointment, which felt really good. But I will say that in the few days after, because obviously it causes inflammation at the surface of the skin, my skin healed really quickly after using one skin on top of it, like a noticeable difference afterwards.

Yeah. A lot of customers have reported that both with microneedling, but also with laser, because if your skin is, as we said, resilient and healthy, it will bounce back from that like mild injury really fast while if your skin is fragile because you're already doing a lot of exfoliation or acids or peelings then it's gonna be slower in kind of regenerating itself. So that's why I think we can pair one skin with these procedures and you will recover fast But a really reflecting again, the resilience of your skin. And I love seeing that.

I love seeing that too. And there's so many women who I'm now noticing, like you really, I'm going to point out, you know, I'm always concerned about sunspots as I age or age spots. But again, I think it's a construct of aging that I just, I don't have to believe. Like I'm taking that as a cue on some inner work that I need to do for that resilience. I can use that word again and again. And the other thing that is such a buzzword these days is collagen, right? We're looking for, to consume collagen, to use collagen based products, to use collagen serums, you name it. So can you talk to us a little about your opinion on trends like collagen? And the other one's hyaluronic acid. And I feel like hyaluronic acid you can get from a natural source, but you're the expert.

Take it through, take us through collagen and hyaluronic acid. Yeah. so both are really important for our skin. It basically, you know, hyaluronic acid will hold a lot of water moisture, so it will help your skin to be plump and the collagen is going to give the firmness the structure. To me, the best way is to activate your skin cells to produce those molecules. So as much as possible, make sure that the products that you are using have some data showing that it can activate collagen production and hyaluronic acid production. Applying collagen topically, unless they have studies showing that it can penetrate in the skin or some of the metabolites can be, you know, active in the skin, it's a large molecule, can a lot of times just sit on top of your skin, so may not like work in that way. Consuming collagen orally can be a way that you can help your skin to, again, having the building blocks that it needs to produce its own collagen. There is no guarantee that the collagen that you're taking is going to go to your skin. It can go to your tendons, it can go to many other parts of your body that's also made of collagen. So there are studies showing that collagen supplementation can improve skin, but I would say that will depend on your health. If you have other needs and for those participants in the study worked, but depending on what's going on in your body, your body will basically designate the best use for that collagen. But if the collagen has a good source and it's like a pure of, you know, kind of other impurities, it is a good molecule. It's usually antioxidant, so it's not that taking collagen can be bad for you. as long as it comes from a good source.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Look for an amazing Source. That really matters. I've yet to see anyone who takes a collagen supplement who feels like they got a facelift or anything like that. Right. But I do.

Everything is, you know, it's mild, it's complimentary. So for those who want to, you know, take a step further, I think for me, I mean, protein intake is very important, and we want to make sure that we are keeping our lean mass. So as, you know, we're growing older, super, super important. So I, I always like very careful about, you know, protein intake and make sure that I'm exercising to maintain this. It will also affect your skin and collagen. If you want to go a step further, you know, it is up to you. There are some studies that support that it's not like 100% conclusive.

Yeah, absolutely. I love that. I do see a difference. If I'm taking collagen, mostly in my nails, they feel a little bit more firm. Yeah, that's about it. Let's take a quick break to talk about something that's made a huge difference in my skin health lately. A product called OneSkin. If you're like me, always on the hunt for a wellness solution for optimizing your skin's health and longevity, you need to hear about this one. Most skincare products focus on surface-level results, but OneSkin goes way deeper, working at a cellular level for lasting results. Their amazing all-woman team of skin longevity scientists developed OS1 after testing over 900 peptides. It's the first ingredient scientifically proven to interrupt cellular senescence, a core aging process. As we age and get exposed to UV rays, our skin cells enter senescence. They stop rejuvenating and producing collagen and elastin like they should. And even worse, they release harmful inflammatory chemicals and cause neighboring cells to become dysfunctional too. It's like a domino effect that makes our skin age faster with deeper wrinkles, thinning, and sagging what we all want to avoid. But one skin's OS1 switches off these senescent cells, getting to the root cause of skin aging. It helps our skin stay younger and healthier, and since skin is our body's largest organ, The health of our skin is absolutely critical to our overall health. That's why I personally love OneSkin. I've noticed a real difference in the resilience and youthfulness of my skin since using it regularly. As a Rooted and Wellness listener, you can get 15% off your first order with code MONA at oneskin.co/M-O-N-A. I really believe OneSkin is something that can benefit all of us on our journey to optimal skin, wellness, longevity, and just Is aging feeling our best? Definitely. Check it out and see the difference it can make for you. Remember, go to oneskin.co slash Mona. That's O-N-E-S-K-I-N.co slash M-O-N-A. Use code Mona for 15% off. Trust me, your skin will thank you. and, yeah, food is such an important piece.

Right.

So when I think about oxidative stress, and often, if I'm talking internally within the body, I think it's interesting that no matter what part of the body you're really talking about, and even the science that's there to prove things like foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids or high in vitamin C or polyphenols, like, like green tea, especially, right? These antioxidants, I think that those are the foods, like, if you're looking to complement your skincare with anything, focus on what you're consuming from that aspect, but also hydration, right? Like most people are chronically dehydrated. I think that there's a good way to hydrate the skin. And in today's world, we're over caffeinating, we're drinking sugary drinks, we're drinking alcohol, which the analogy I always use is like, it just sucks all the moisture out of your skin, which is gonna make you look older. So yeah, hydration is so essential. I'm curious on that. Do you have specific practices, like your skin is glowing and gorgeous? Do you have other lifestyle and diet practices that you are often asked about?

Yeah, I think, you know, going back to the diet, I think some of these nutrients that you mentioned, they are definitely super important, the omega-3s and the antioxidants. We know that a lot of the aging comes from the free radicals and the antioxidants. like neutralize the free radicals. So consuming this with like a healthy diet and, and, and less processed food and you can supplement like omega threes, for example, sometimes it's harder for you to have the right balance there. So for me, I, I try again to have this more clean diet and more Mediterranean kind of diet. And, and I supplement with like the basics, I'd say more of multivitamins that supplemented the Omega-3s I do add, you know, a little bit of collagen here and there. Not very consistent, but I'm trying to, to be better. Other Lifestyles for me. So hydration, we're talking about hydration. I think one important thing is also adding electrolytes. Right. Because a lot of times not only drinking a lot of water will help you to be hydrated. So. And now in the winter, super, super important. Be mindful of the heaters, be mindful of the hot showers and having humid fires. And even when you're applying your skincare, one trick that you can use is like make your skin a little dump and then apply the moisturizer. So there's already water there. So it's going to hold up that water better. But I think in the winter, primarily we needed to be kind of extra careful with the dehydration because that's when your skin is gonna get irritated, your skin barrier will be compromised so you can have more issues. And, and the other thing that, to me, is super key is this sleep. And I'm trying, you know, to master my sleep as much as possible, kind of tracking it. But to me, also, magnesium supplementation helped me a lot in increasing the quality of my sleep. And that's something that very, very mindful. It impacts my whole day, my mood, my everything.

Yeah. I treat my morning hydration like a ritual. I'm a big fan of minerals. And as I was thinking about that in my morning ritual, everything you're talking about essentially is building a foundation, right? Even the way that OS1 is building up the foundation for epithelial layers, for the, you know, as a peptide, is so important. And if we think about our skin, do you see there was like a picture floating around on social media of a flower out in the sun and immediately like we can't just put a cream on the flower and expect it to heal if it gets dehydrated. You go straight to the roots and you build the foundation and you're speaking to the foundations that we love, sleep, food, hydration, rest, stress management, amino acids, electrolytes, protein, all of the really, really yummy things then. we're integrated. Everything is integrated together. So I think it's so important that we kind of connect the, the dots for everyone listening as well.

Yeah. And I think one thing that we talked a little bit about less is, is more. But also being mindful of, even if you're a few products, like the ones that you're putting to your skin. Right. Like, in terms of the, the ingredient list, like, are there toxic, like, do they have, you know, some fragrance? or essential oils or there are a lot of irritants out there that people needed to be very careful to see what they are actually applying their skin. There are several organizations that can help you to evaluate the safety. We usually talk more about the safety than if the products are clean or not because this can be a little misleading. But for example, for one skin and in other brands obviously approved as well. There is the National Eczema Foundation that really evaluates the ingredient list, the concentration, and gives a seal of approval for sensitive skin. So we know that that product's not gonna cause any toxicity. There is also the Skin Safe products. There is other organizations that can help you really evaluating if a certain product, you know, contain any ingredient that can be causing some toxicity. because at the Dis4One skin, we are free of like 1500 potential irritants, but it's hard for the consumer to know, like, what are the 1500s that I needed to know about? So I think that's another important point that people needed to be aware when, you know, picking their skincare.

Such a good thing to call out. That's so important. I remember when I worked in cosmetics, the FDA can create umbrella term words for ingredients that can include 1, 10, 20 ingredients under one name. So you might have a safer brand. I'm not going to say clean because I think even that concept clean beauty is like, no, it can't exist. It has to be safe, clean ingredients. You know, walk into Sephora and look at their clean beauty, read their ingredient labels, and you will see for yourself that it's not necessarily clean. Right? So safer is a great word to use. And something that is so special too. I was so impressed at the fact that one skin that you guys as a brand created a very simple skincare routine. There's not 27 products that I need to buy into. It's not taking me 20 minutes at night to go through my skincare regime. I feel like what you've given me as a woman, as a consumer, are just the essentials. And it's the essentials that I love. So two products where I feel like I really notice a difference is with your topical face product and your eye cream. They're a game changer for me. Like I instantly feel hydrated, but then I love that there's not ten more steps after that. So was there, was that intentional?

Yes, definitely intentional. One, because I personally, I also don't have time or the patience to have like 10 skincare products. And I think for the consumer, the consumer in general is trying to again simplify and find the ways that they can have like a good skin without spending too much or taking too much time. So for us, it's really, and we call our products like essential moisturizer for a reason. We want to find like develop the main products that someone needs to have like very healthy skin. And obviously, if you want to add other layers, a serum or a deeper moisturizer, you can layer that. But this provides that foundation that will guarantee that your skin is in a good to place in terms of health, resilience and fighting aging. So I love the two that you mentioned. And I think one interesting data that we had about the eye product and why we decided to develop an eye product, because a lot of people can say, oh, an eye product is just like a more expensive moisturizer in a smaller bottle. But we found from our research that the skin around the eyes, just underneath or above the eyes, 20 to 30 years older than the skin around the temple or the, you know, your cheeks. And for us was like, okay, yes, we do see that age faster, but we didn't know how much faster. So we know that the skin is five times thinner and it's more delicate, so it's more sensitive. So we actually developed this formula by testing in eyelid skins that we got from, you know, blepharoplasty surgeries. And so we could really develop a formula that was more potent in terms of the actives, but at the same time, very gentle and not like reactive to the delicate skin of your eye. So from the studies that we developed, we saw that it produced collagens like two times more than the face product and also the clinical studies in terms of the hydration and the elasticity. It is the strongest data that we have for all of our product. So this product is kind of like the most, you know, concentrated potent version that we have. So for those that, again, want to give a little extra care to their eyes, it's one that we have amazing results. And I just want to share about the body because the body, people are so obsessed. And I think it's one of the area that we forget about. And we always, you know, our face and neck and our neck, but the body is again, as we get older and get closer to menopause, our skin is gonna get thinner and we will experience the crepiness and our body can not only promote a very beautiful effect in reversing some of that crepiness, but it strengthens the skin in a way that maintain your skin like strong and resilient for longer. So we also see like a lot of customers that maybe have a very fragile skin when the skin really starts to tear and break and now they can recover that resilience. So for older people, this is incredible for people that want to prevent any kind of, you know, crepiness and get, you know, getting close to menopause of women that are going to, you know, pregnancy, it's an incredible product. And yeah, I just really like to share because people have seen so many amazing results.

And I love that you called that out. We cannot forget about our bodies. The changes that happen in your forties as a woman, I was always like, yeah, yeah, it's not gonna happen. It's not gonna happen. And here I am wishing I just had a screw at the top of my head that could just tighten and lift. everything. But whether you're in your 40s or not, if you're in your 20s, prevention is everything. So the earlier that you can start, I think the better. And again, you're building back the resilience of the skin. So you're just supporting your skin and functioning at its best. I love that you brought that up. Yeah, thinning skin. It's a thing. It's a real thing. And I think a lot of those chemical treatments that you were talking about also I know for me, a couple of years ago, I did a round of retinol creams and it was just thinning my skin. I just, for me, I had to stop. It didn't work for me.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And, I think that's an important topic because you can obviously over induce that, you know, cell renewal and causes some exhaustion of your skin. So make sure that, you, you are careful with like not, doing too much that you can cause that, thinning effect.

Yes, absolutely. When we think about anti-aging products that are out there, you know, I remember working for brands and, you know, we were part of the marketing team. So coming up with these stories to tell a story from this beautiful grape that was found in the south of France, and there's molecules that are going to work as antioxidants in your skin to help you age slower. And then you look at the ingredient labels and there's like 50 ingredients, and then the antioxidant that they mentioned is literally the last ingredient that's on there. So this isn't about bashing other brands. There's so many beautiful brands out there, but it's really about becoming an expert in what you're using and understanding why. I think that that's so important. So for our listeners, if they're in this world of looking for anti-age products, what is something that people should look for in the products in terms of what will be effective and what won't? Can you make umbrella statements like that? I can imagine we talked about a few of them, things like fragrances and I'm sure, you know, phthalates and parabens and all those nasty things that we used to hear of. But do you see a lot of other sales gimmicks that happen?

Yeah, I think, as you said, like a lot of times you can have like an amazing and potent active that by itself can work, but when you load the product with a lot of these other potentially toxic ingredients, and that's what we have seen in these schemes when we were testing the lab and we started testing these best sellers anti-aging products that cost like $300, and we apply it to the skin and the skin literally starts to degenerate. Like it is visually shocking. And at first we thought, okay, this is narrow and repeated over and over and was very consistent. So in the end is all about the full formula, what the product is delivering. And ideally you want to see some kind of studies showing that, you know, that product, that full formula is not causing any toxicity. It's not promoting that internal inflammation. That's what we saw a lot in our studies. And, and so it is the combination of the ingredients. And that's why you needed to look the whole thing. You can have a very potent antioxidant that could work in very small amounts. Sometimes it's not like the, the, the dose. I mean, it's not the amount, but, like, the dose can work. But it, depending on what else sits in that formula. you may not have the benefit that you would expect.

Yeah, such a good point. Yeah, just because it's loaded with so many ingredients doesn't make it more effective. Well, you know, one skin is definitely on the list of brands that I just, I love for my clients. When I start working with people, the first question is always, you know, tell me about what I should eat and what's the supplement protocol and often on our first call, I'm going through all of the products that they're using. We're throwing so many of them into the trash because they're not effective or they're just generally not safe. So I love that you brought that up. And I love that as a brand, one, all of the female Founders making it a badass company. And I'm also in love with the fact that on your website, you offer refills. Yeah.

Yeah. Sustainability is super important for us. so for almost all of our products, if they are not refillable, they are recyclable. And that's something that we invested that really heavily in terms of developing these customized bottles that can be refillable, because in the end, again, we needed to take care of our skin, but also take care of our planet. So, yeah, we have also partnership with another company called I forgot its purpose. I didn't blank out the name, but we make sure that we are neutral in plastic footprint. So that's something that if we cannot offset ourselves, you know, as a company, we will make sure that we are working with another partner to neutralize any plastic footprint.

And is there anything exciting? I love that initiative because it really matters as a brand, especially today, and as a consumer. It's something that should be, you know, a standard for us to look for. Can you tell us, is there anything exciting in the works that you're working on that you're studying?

Yeah, there are a lot of exciting new products coming up. So this year it's going to be filled with like news and exciting news. So I cannot like share them right now, but I would, you know, invite everyone to subscribe to our newsletters where we let the people know like, firsthand when something new is coming up. And we also share so much of like our data, how we run these studies, we invite people to be beta testers when we are developing something new, which is really exciting. We also share a lot of content in terms of longevity and all the new things that are coming in terms of health and interventions and technologies. So yeah, this year there'll be a lot of things that we are bringing and we've been researching it like for over two years a lot of this product. And the other piece that we continue to invest in, in discovering new molecules, like we know that science is evolving and we want to be the company that you can trust that whenever there is something new, we will be the first ones to translate it and bring it to consumers because we are not aesthetic in terms of, you know, we founded this peptide, it's amazing. But, you know, science is evolving and we want to evolve as a brand. So we'll continue to upgrade our products to bring something new to the customer so they can, you know, feel sure that we are on the forefront of like the innovation when it comes to addressing skin aging.

So cool. I fully put you on the spot with that one. Thank you so much. I got really excited. I just love you guys as a brand. I think that's so, you know, for our listeners, if you'd love to give this amazing product a try, go to oneskin.co and slash Mona M-O-N-A, you'll get 15% off to give it a go. Unlike a lot of the other products that are out there, I'm just so obsessed at the fact that this is designed to really work from the inside out, that it penetrates the skin, that you're working on, you know, boosting collagen production and really it's a product that works at a cellular level to Help us age better. So thank you for that. I'm excited to stay connected with you. And in closing, I'm going to take you through some rapid fire questions. Is that okay?

Yeah, of course.

Great. So I guess the first one would be, what are the most common mistakes or misconceptions that you're seeing people make, let's say, with their skin?

Yeah, I think we talked about it. It's about overloading your skin with too many instead of going back to the essentials and finding the fewer products that can work the best for you. And in the same way, I would say that in the past we had this approach that was like a more near-term results. And now we are thinking better about like what are the long-term impact in your skin and how I can support my skin. for the long term. So I think that's an important shift that we are seeing and we are happy to be contributing to that shift.

I love it. Focus on the foundations. What would you say your favorite ancient healing remedy is?

I think we talked as well. So, you know, nature and grounding sunlight and just gratitude in general, I think trying to have this positive, optimistic way of seeing life as we go through the many challenges that we face in our lives. It doesn't mean that life is easier. It's just that if you keep that positive mindset, and we see this with aging, like people that have this positive mindset about aging, they are more free of diseases, they age slower, they look better, So it's so beautiful to see the impact of our mindset in our, the way that we look, but also in our health as well.

So good. And for you, I'm curious with this question, what's something about modern science that is really exciting you?

I think to me, it's really this ability of diagnosing things in a very early stage. So going being able to assess our biological markers and having this ability to be more preventative. So in the past we had this, you know, like you do your labs and you think that's you're healthy, but no, there's so much underlying that now you can assess and you can predict or can catch things earlier. I also love this, you know, kind of full body kind of diagnostic options that we have right now that we can detect or you know, cancer earlier. So I think all of these technologies, some of them are still more expensive, but some of them are really becoming more accessible will just allow us to be more proactive and catch things early on so we can stay healthier for longer. That's, you know, my goal as a person, as a founder, and yeah, and just like prevent the the diseases of aging and enjoy our life, our age the best we can.

And how perfectly aligned your values and how that's representative of what you've created. So the next time I see you, I think I'm just so confident at the fact that you're not only helping me extend my skin's health, but also my skin's longevity, rather than just focusing on simple signs of aging. So for that, I'm grateful. And today was such a pleasure. I can't wait to meet you in person. Yeah, likewise. Thank you, Carolina.

I know, this was such a delightful conversation, Manna. I think it's so beautiful when we find people with the same mission and alignment. And thanks for the opportunity to share our science and our work with your community. And thanks for the work that you're doing in supporting, you know, women and everyone to like achieve like a better health.

We're on a mission. Thank you, Carolina. You too.

Thank you.