Why skin care relieves stress, according to Skyn ​​ICELAND founder Sarah Kugelman

Skin care is a stress reliever. This is the mantra that Skyn ICELAND founder Sarah Kugelman Her beauty brand is based on natural healing Icelandic ingredients. Ahead, we spoke to the entrepreneur about her life as a mom. how does she take care of herself weekends and why everyone should use their skincare as an outlet for stress relief. 

Tell us a little about your background and how you got started in the beauty industry? 

I have always been a big beauty junkie and obsessed with my skin. Even when I was a teenager, I used millions of products and spent hours studying my skin. This was destined to be. I ended up going to business school and when I went to business school I looked at fashion and beauty. The employment department was wondering why I wanted to waste my MBA in the beauty industry, but it was my passion, so I found my way there. My first job was at L'Oréal. [Note: Skincare.com is owned by L'Oréal] I was an assistant brand manager for skincare. 

After L'Oréal, I got a job at the Bath & Body Works and I lived in Columbus, Ohio. I was born and raised in New York, so this was definitely a big change for me, but as a marketer it was interesting because I realized that women don't have the same access to beauty in Columbus, Ohio as they do. . was in New York and Los Angeles. This was in 1994. The internet was just starting to emerge and people were talking about it. Some said "you know someday everyone will do their banking online" and other people laughed at it but I thought "If you can talk about beauty online and buy it online, it will really revolutionize in beauty."

What was the concept behind Skyn ​​ICELAND? Tell us what inspired you to create the brand. 

Concept Skyn ICELAND rooted in my own stress-related health issues. I became very ill and took a leave of absence from work to recover. During this time, my doctor told me that if I didn't learn to manage my stress, I wouldn't live to be 40 years old. stress and skin. I quit my job and worked with a team of doctors and experts for a year and a half—a dermatologist, a cardiologist, and a nutritionist—and we studied research on how stress affects you and your skin. I worked with a dermatologist who had a lot of access to research and I collaborated with American Institute of Stress. We have identified five symptoms of stressed skin: accelerated aging, adult acne, dullness, dehydration and irritation. As soon as we categorized the symptoms of stressed skin, I began to develop products aimed at eliminating these symptoms. At that time, I went to Iceland with my sister. I completely fell in love with Iceland. It's so pure, beautiful and natural. It represented what I was trying to do with my brand. Skyn is an Icelandic word meaning "feelings". In the end, I took Icelandic glacial water for groceries, and that's how it all started.

What does a typical day look like for you? 

There is no typical day, but I usually wake up at 6:45 am, get my daughter ready for school, then drop her off at 8:10 am and head to the office. Often I run from meeting to meeting, either in my office or around town. I also usually travel frequently (although obviously not during social distancing!). I try to do cardio either in the morning or in the evening, but I like to be home by 6pm so I can cook dinner for my daughter and help her with her homework. I try not to go out during the week so that my time is focused on it, but I often have to go to business lunches and work events. I'm a night owl, so I usually do some work after my daughter goes to bed and then go about my own personal care routine (this could include my daily skin routine and facial massage, or using a foam roller to fix skin breaks) . my body, warming neck pillow, warm shower and body oil, etc.). Then I take all my supplements (vitamin C, B1, probiotics, anti-inflammatories, magnesium for stress) and meditate. I try to go to bed by 12 noon. I need my sleep!

What does your skin care look like and what is your skin like?

My skin is dry and aging so I use a routine to address these issues. In the morning I use our Glacial Facial Wash, Icelandic Youth Serum, Pure Cloud Cream and our eye cream. In the evening I use Glacial Face Wash, arctic elixir, A brightening eye serum, Oxygen night cream and our Icelandic Soothing Eye Cream.

I am also using Nordic skin peeling about three times a week for exfoliation. And I regularly use all of our patches; They best! I love to indulge once a week with a good mask like ours. Fresh start mask or our Arctic Hydrating Rubberized Mask. On weekends, I often wash my face, apply serum, and then smear my face with our arctic facial oil, which is 100% natural and just nourishes/nourishes my skin, bringing it back into balance.

How has working on Skyn ​​ICELAND affected your life and what moment in your career are you most proud of?

Like this not affected my life? I live and breathe in ICELAND and it's part of everything I do. This is my story, my experience and my desire for a healthier life. It has made me smarter, healthier, more confident, satisfied and fulfilled. It made me a role model for my daughter and gave me the ability and skills to lift other women. I am most proud to be one of the 2% of women in this country who run a business that is in excess of $1 million a year. We need to increase this number!

If you weren't into beauty, what would you be doing?

I trained as an actress for many years. I would probably do that or something else in the area of ​​wellness.

What is your favorite skincare ingredient right now? 

I would say Astaxanthin. This is a super powerful antioxidant that we get from Iceland. We grow microalgae there that turn red when they release this active, so the serum we use it for is red and very potent. It is truly magical and has incredible skin care benefits.

How do you see the future of Skyn ​​ICELAND and the beauty landscape?

Being pure and vegan has always been at the heart of our business, so we were way ahead of our time and now is our moment. I feel like we've reached a tipping point to truly attract overworked, overscheduled, stressed customers who want healthy, clean, vegan, and organic products.

In terms of landscape beauty, there will be a huge movement around DIY (especially with COVID-19), so you can do very effective things at home that you may have had to go to a spa or salon for. in past. In addition, purity and safety will be of paramount importance for products, testers and use. Customers want options that are guaranteed to be safe and healthy. I also think that the distribution matrix will change. There will be many stores/chains that will go bankrupt and people will want to shop in different places. Finally, I feel there will be continued focus on the growth of digital spending. 

What advice would you give to an aspiring beauty leader?

This is a crowded market, so make sure you have a product or idea that has a very strong difference and really fills a niche in the market. Make sure you have enough money to bring your idea to fruition and scale it up. Finally, never give up!

And finally, what does beauty mean to you?

It means confidence combined with a personal aesthetic. It's about taking care of yourself and looking/feeling better. "Beauty" is created by both inner and outer beauty, and it is individuality, individuality, sensuality and energy that merge together.