Career Diaries: Ada Polla, CEO of Alchimie Forever, talks about the importance of "pure" beauty

Here at Skincare.com, we love shedding light on the female bosses around the world who are making their mark in the industry. Meet Ada Polla, CEO of skincare brand Alchimie Forever. Polla got her start in skincare thanks to her father, who was a dermatologist in Switzerland. After he created the Kantic Brightening Hydrating Mask, the brand's most popular product, Polla made it her mission to bring her father's legacy to the United States. Now, more than 15 years later, the brand offers 16 skin and body care products found at some of our favorite retailers including Amazon, Dermstore and Walgreens. To learn more about Polla's journey and what's in store for Alchimie Forever, read on. 

Can you tell us about your career path and how you got started in the skin care industry?

I grew up in Geneva, Switzerland and started working with my father in his dermatology practice when I was 10 years old. He worked 15-hour days, seven days a week, and couldn't find anyone at his front desk early in the morning, late in the evening, or on weekends, so I filled in for him during my school days. I moved to the United States in 1995 to attend Harvard University, and what should have taken four years in the States has since become a lifetime. After graduating from college, I worked for a consulting firm and then for a medical device company, slowly returning to my family's beauty industry. I moved to Washington DC to attend business school (I got my MBA from Georgetown University) knowing I wanted to work in the family business. At first I thought about opening a medical resort here, like our Forever Institute in Geneva, but I'm not an M.D. and was afraid of real estate commitments. So instead, while in business school, I developed our Alchimie Forever product brand and started selling it in the US in 2004. And the rest, as they say, is history.  

What is the history behind the creation of Alchimie Forever and what was the initial inspiration? 

Believe it or not, the beginning of Alchimie Forever has to do with crying babies - really! My father (Dr. Luigi L. Polla), a leading dermatologist in Switzerland, pioneered laser technology in Europe back in the mid-1980s. At the time, lasers were used to treat port wine stains and hemangioma in infants and toddlers. Parents from all over Europe brought their children to my father's clinic for pulsed dye laser treatment. Although they were extremely effective, the treatments caused pain, swelling, heat, and irritation (as with lasers) on the children's skin, and they cried. My father is a soft man and cannot stand the pain of a child, so he set about creating a product that could be applied to the child's skin immediately after treatment to heal the skin and subsequently stop the tears. Thus, our Kantic Brightening Hydrating Mask was born. Parents of my father's patients used the cream on their own skin to encourage their children to try it and loved the texture, the soothing factor and most importantly the results. They started asking my father to produce more and more batches of the mask as well as other products and that was the real start of Alchimie Forever. More than 15 years later, here we are, with 16 skin and body care SKUs (and more in the pipeline!), amazing retail partners (Amazon, Dermstore, and Walgreens, as well as select spas, pharmacies, and beauty boutiques), and a prolific professional. spa business. 

What challenges did you face when launching Alchimie Forever in the US?

How much time do you have?! In full disclosure, there were a lot of them. First, at the beginning I had no idea what I was doing. I have never created or promoted a cosmetics line before, not in the US or anywhere else. Secondly, I was in business school, getting my degree and simultaneously starting a business—ambitious to say the least. Thirdly, the European consumer and the American consumer are completely different and I had to adapt everything we did at home to our new market. And I started alone, which means I did everything, no matter how small or how big the task. It was overwhelming and exhausting. I could go on. However, all these hardships were an amazing learning experience and made me who I am and made Alchimie Forever what we are today. 

Tell us about the ingredients in your products and why it's important to be clean, vegan, sustainable, recyclable and PETA certified.

I was raised with values ​​that included caring for the planet we live on and for animals. My father's parents were farmers. He was always very close to the Earth and loved animals. It was natural for us to create products that we could use and for which we could personally support. It has always been interesting to combine this with our clinical experience. Our positioning on cleanliness and clinical cleanliness (as we call it cleanliness) really comes from our background and past, not from a consultation report or a focus group. For us, clean means the absence of a number of ingredients that [we believe] are harmful to you. We develop according to European standards - AKA free of 1,300 common [potential] toxins. But we also believe in purity in terms of production methods, such as being cruelty-free, and packaging methods, such as being as environmentally friendly as possible. We define clinical as result-oriented, developed by a physician (preferably a dermatologist) and effective. Our ingredient philosophy focuses on safety and potency, not source. We use both safe botanicals and safe synthetics to create products that will visibly transform and delight your skin. 

What is your daily skin care regimen?

I take my skincare very seriously; this is what happens when your father is a dermatologist. In the morning, I use Alchimie Forever Gentle Cream Cleanser in the shower. I then apply the pigment brightening serum, the eye contour gel, the Aveda Tulasara serum (I love them all!), the Kantic+ Intense Nourishing Cream, and the SPF 23 Protective Day Cream. In the evening, I use the Purifying Gel Cleanser. and then it depends. Twice a week I use Advanced Retinol Serum. I am currently testing Trish McEvoy At-Home Peel Pads. I use them once a week. I love Vintner's Daughter serum and have recently started using it with a jade roller. I was very skeptical about these videos, but I really love mine. I then use Kantic's anti-aging eye balm and soothing cream.

What is your favorite Alchimie Forever product? 

Although I don't have children, I think this question is similar to asking parents who their favorite child is. I love them all and design most products for somewhat selfish purposes (read: my own skin). However, as I write this, I have to admit that our Advanced Retinol Serum is something I can't live without. I use it twice a week and see immediate results in terms of radiance and skin tone. I also notice that my fine lines and brown spots are less visible. This product is a must for any non-pregnant or breastfeeding woman over the age of 40.

What advice would you give to aspiring women entrepreneurs and leaders? 

First of all, work hard—harder than anyone else in your class, office, department, etc. Second, support other women in and outside of your field. The success of one woman is the success of all women. And third, discard the idea of ​​work-life balance. The balance is static. Instead, embrace the concept of harmony. Does your schedule align with your priorities—whether it's starting a business, running a business, having kids, going to the gym, making time for friends? This is an important question. 

What's next for you and the brand? 

We do everything to make people feel better about how they look and how they feel. To keep doing this, and looking forward to the near future, we're working on two new products that I'm so excited about, both targeting acne-prone skin, which is a definite gap in our offering. I am also working on expanding our distribution, both retail and professional. 

What does beauty mean to you?

Looking good means feeling good and doing good. This is one of our guiding principles. A reminder that beauty is about more than skin and it's all about being the best version of yourself in terms of how you look, as well as how you feel and how you act. Read more: Career Diaries: Meet Rachel Roff, Founder of Urban Skin Rx Career Diaries: Meet Gloria Noto, Founder of NOTO Botanics, a natural, multipurpose, gender-based liquid beauty brand Career Diaries: Meet Nicole Powell, female founder of Kinfield