Career Diaries: Meet Rachel Roff, Founder of Urban Skin Rx

Having endured severe bullying as a child, Rachel Roff made it her mission to make others feel beautiful and confident. And after noticing a gap in services for darker skin tones, she wanted nothing more than to promote inclusivity and diversity in the skincare industry as a whole. She is now the founder of skin care brand Urban Skin Rx. We recently spoke with Roff about what inspired her to start her own brand and how she plans to bring more diversity to the skin care industry. 

How did you get started in skin care?

When I was younger, I was severely bullied because of a large nevus on my face, I struggled with acne and being overweight. Growing up with these issues, I realized that I wanted to help others feel beautiful by becoming a beautician and owning my own spa. Starting as a beautician, I saw the lack of education and services available for darker skin tones and this pushed me to create products that would promote inclusion for all. Now that my company is getting more and more popular, we continue to make sure our products can help people with different skin tones and skin problems, which really helps us keep growing.  

What inspired you to create a skincare brand focused on colored skin? 

I created Urban Skin Rx to treat skin problems I personally experienced at my North Carolina medical spa, Urban Skin Solutions. As a brand, we are committed to creating products that target, but are not limited to, melanin-rich skin. We listen to the needs and create products for everyone that are tailored to specific skin concerns and types. When I first started working as a beautician in 2004, I found inequalities and a lack of service and product offerings for tanned and darker skin. I come from a mixed family and I have friends with darker skin tones so this horrified me. Even though I didn't have darker skin myself and that people repulsed my idea, I knew my life's calling was to serve a forgotten demographic that faced the same challenges I had growing up. . 

How does a typical day look like for you now? 

I wake up and check my email for about 15 minutes, then I get my daughter ready for school. Sometimes I go to the gym as soon as I drive her up (sometimes I go after work). Usually I am in the office from 10 am to 6 pm. I spend most of my time meeting with my amazing team, interviewing potential new hires, and on conference calls. At 6 pm I go home to spend time with my daughter until she goes to bed around 8:30. Then I go to Instagram and check my private messages and comments, check my email for an hour, watch TV and go to bed. 

What is your favorite part of your job?

 I love being creative - coming up with new ideas for new product marketing campaigns, researching new ideas for product formulations, designing new packaging, choosing new product names. Of course, creativity is the best part of my work.

What advice can you give to women entrepreneurs? 

Don't be afraid to be assertive, aggressive and speak your mind. Yes, sometimes women are unfairly called "bitch" when they do it differently from men, but you can't let that injustice hold you back.

The adage "closed mouths don't get satiated" really applies; if you want something, you must ask for it. I recently read an article about Steve Jobs and how he thinks the most important quality successful people have is to ask for what you want. You would be surprised how many extremely intelligent, educated people in the world pass by simply because they are too afraid to ask for what they want or need. 

While shifting gears, tell us about your daily skincare routine? 

I wash my face with Urban Skin Rx Combination Skin Cleansing Bar or Lactic Glow Micropolish Gentle Cleanser. In the morning, I apply a blend of Super C Brightening Serum and Hydrafirm+ Brightening Serum. I then apply Revision Skincare's Nectifirm Moisturizer to my neck area, followed by face protection SPF 30. I do the same at night, except I replace the Super C Brightening Serum with my Resurfacing Pads and Mega retinol pads. Moisture, which will soon enter the market. Complex night cream.

What is your favorite product from your line?

We have a lot of really great products out there, but if I had to pick one, it would be our cleansing bars. If I have a client who doesn't know where to start, I always suggest our cleansing bars. It's a "health bar in a jar" that also works as a daily cleanser, mask, and exfoliator. My favorite is the cleansing soap for combination skin. It works great for both dry and oily skin and helps reduce the signs of skin aging by smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles. It also exfoliates to prevent a dull complexion and provides extreme hydration. 

What's next for Urban Skin Rx?

I am thrilled with our new Clear and Even Tone Body collection which just came out this month. The collection includes a cleansing body soap, body spray and body lotion that combats the appearance of dark spots by exfoliating dead skin cells for a flawless complexion and provides a solution for consumers experiencing rough and uneven skin texture on the body.

What does beauty mean to you? 

Confidence in one's own skin.