Where Brains Meet Beauty

We were so thrilled to welcome skin and hair obsessed influencer Amy Chang to the podcast to discuss her career journey. As Amy’s 1.6 million TikTok followers know, Amy is refreshingly candid about everything from her skincare routine, motherhood, to her own adoption journey - she’s even an ambassador for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption!WBMB listeners at all stages of their careers will appreciate hearing Amy’s path from being in her 20’s, from not knowing what she wanted to do with her life to getting on social media, teaching herself photography, editing, lighting and slowly but surely connecting the dots: “I needed to go out there and make a lot of mistakes…piece together what I like and don’t to shape my future.” To hear more of Amy’s career journey, including her thoughts on what it means to “find yourself” listen wherever you get your podcasts!

Here at Where Brains Meet Beauty, we’re always fascinated by multi-hyphenates; those who do it all. So we couldn't have been more excited to speak with Madison Headrick, Model, Influencer, Founder & CEO of care.e.on. Discovered at a Walmart in her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina by a talent scout, Madison has been working as a model since she was 14 years old. She even had to put college on hold for fashion week! But after years of jet-setting around the globe, Madison noticed something was missing: clean, travel-sized skincare. “I pack the night before a flight and skincare is always the last thing going into the suitcase. The travel-size stuff wasn’t the greatest quality. My skin wasn’t good when I was on the road.” Madison took things into her own hands and created care.e.on; eco-friendly, travel-sized beauty kits.To hear more about Care.e.on and Madison’s journey from model to mogul, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!

We couldn’t imagine a better guest for Mental Health Awareness Month than Amy Keller Laird: Founder & CEO of Mental. We sat down with Amy to ask about her career journey from Editor in Chief of Women's Health Magazine to founder of the first digital mental health & lifestyle brand for women.As someone who had worked in the beauty and wellness space as Beauty Director of Allure, Amy had seen the world of mental health talked about, but not in the way she had personally experienced. Amy has lived with OCD, anxiety and postpartum depression and found that she wasn’t seeing her lived experience being reflected. We really admire how Amy married her experience in magazines and her journey with mental health to create something truly authentic: “I wanted to say, "Where's the publication that would speak to me?”To hear more of Amy’s career journey and her thoughts on how we can break the stigma of talking about mental health in the workplace, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!

As a career journey podcast with a passion for all things skincare, Dr. Dustin Portela is pretty much our dream guest. Dr. Portela is a dermatologist, skincare Influencer with over 2.4 million followers on TikTok, and we were thrilled to speak with him about how he balances his social media platform with day to day life as a father of three.Dr. Portela has a love for education which he credits to his father, a teacher, who distilled in him a love of science early on. While Dr. Portela maintains a successful dermatology practice in Idaho, he got into social media to combat misinformation during the pandemic, and his audience has grown like wildfire - it seems that smart skincare is more than just a trend.“If I had been a garbage man, I would be on TikTok as a garbage man, showing people the crazy things that are thrown away.” Clearly no matter the subject matter, Dr. Portela aims to empower people with knowledge. He tells us that his vision with social media is to be an educator, to “take social media to under

I was so excited to kick off our Influencer Journey Quarter by speaking with Teni Panosian, content creator and Co-Founder of skincare line Monday Born. Teni and I kicked off our convo chatting about her first job working in a theater box office, where she learned an important lesson that she carries with her to this day: “Early is on time, On time is late.” Is it just us or do most successful people tend to be early birds? We asked Teni what advice she would give to aspiring influencers and her answer was just as real as the woman her followers have grown accustomed to seeing on her feed: “bring forth your authentic self and don’t try to replicate what you’re seeing out there”. For more wise words from Teni including the latest on her very own podcast, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts!

Making the jump from a childhood spent working on a farm dreaming of being a paleontologist to founding a vegan hair care line might sound out there at first, but for Vegamour Founder & CEO Dan Hodgdon, it all comes down to a passion for our planet. “How do we create something that’s not going to hurt the earth?”During our chat, Dan explained to us how growing up on a farm inspired him to create products using only clean, natural ingredients in addition to “eco-friendly sustainable jobs, creating a fair living wage, and letting people participate in the businesses success.”A true environmentalist, Dan knows that we’re all sharing this one planet and notes that “We reinvest profits back into communities.”To hear more of how Dan and Vegamour are keeping hair care holistic, listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts! 

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Sneha Narahalli Head of Product at Sephora who shared her thoughts on effectively managing her time as well as her thoughts on the biases women face on their career journeys.Sneha revealed to us that she has trained her brain to think in the currency of time: “Why do we need to do this? Why now? And is it more important than other things that we're doing?”Sneha and I also dug into what more can be done to move the needle forward for women entering the tech world: “We should look at personalizing our own individual journeys, knowing that ‘I have done this, how can I share this with others so that people don't have to go through the same things that I have.’”To hear more of my chat with Sneha, including her advice for someone getting into the tech space, listen wherever you get your podcasts!

I recently had the opportunity to chat with former KPOP star and current CEO of Matter of Fact, Paul Baek about his inspiring career journey that has taken him from the Deep South to South Korea and beyond! In this episode, Paul tells us about the tenacity that took him from his childhood home in the South to an internship in Korea pursuing a music career in KPOP! “I was like a moth to the flame. I needed to get closer to this music that meant so much to me.”Talking to Paul it’s clear that his passion, whether it be music or skincare lies in the creating; “I love being in the lab making things. There’s a more lasting satisfaction that comes from creating things and being creative. The process of creating that can sometimes lead to success is much more satisfying in the long run.”To hear more about Paul’s fascinating career journey, listen to this episode on your favorite podcasting platform!

Milani Cosmetics CEO Mary Van Praag was born with an entrepreneurial spirit that has served her well. We chatted with Mary about everything from her journey “selling Avon on the locker block” to being a leader who listens. “Sales teaches you to find the win/win in most situations…when you get a no, how do you find the win in those situations?” Mary’s positive attitude about turning the dreaded “no” in sales into a teaching moment is a refreshing take. “I try to listen. How do you get that person to be on the same path as you?”Mary’s winning attitude may have led her to a leadership role, but she doesn’t let that get to her head. “My job is to get the best out of everybody, CEO happens to be what my title is.” “I’m one of those leaders who likes a good turnaround story. I thrive when I see other people’s success. I believe in building relationships and fostering this growth together.” What does Mary think of the #quietquitting trend? How does she see the upside when hearing “no'' during a sale? And should you

In this engaging episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, I had the pleasure of interviewing Denis Asamoah, the Co-Founder of FORVR Mood, a luxury lifestyle brand he launched with his fiancée and influencer, Jackie Aina, in 2020. At FORVR Mood, Denis and his team strive to make self-care more accessible to consumers while emphasizing that quality products shouldn't come at a high cost. At the start of our conversation, we touched on Denis's childhood dream of becoming a soccer player and how he discovered his natural sales talent when he started selling sweets in school. We also delved into his early career journey, including his experience working in investment banking, which equipped him with valuable skills and knowledge that have helped shape his approach as a successful entrepreneur at FORVR Mood. It was intriguing to hear how each experience contributed to his overall leadership style, work ethic, and company culture. Our discussion covered various topics, including the significance of leadership and networ

In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, I had the privilege of sitting down with Jill Scalamandre, a seasoned industry expert with over two decades of experience in leadership positions at renowned companies such as Revlon, Shiseido, Prada, Coty, Fekkai, and Bare Minerals. As the current CEO of Beekman 1802, the world's largest goat milk body-care brand, Jill shared her journey and insights on the beauty industry. During our conversation, she talked about how her passion for fashion evolved into a thriving career in the beauty sector, the importance of having a "champion" in the workplace who supports and provides growth opportunities, the benefits of pursuing your passion over just a job title, and more!

As a young girl living in Korea, Yanghee Paik dreamt of becoming a K-pop star. As time went on, she discovered she also had a love for business. Yanghee eventually found a job that fulfilled both aspirations as an entertainment executive at Disney. She enjoyed her position there, but it wasn’t until she had lunch with her now co-founder that she realized it was time to change her career path. The topic of discussion was how difficult it was to find natural and organic feminine care products. After much research, Yanghee and her co-founder realized that the feminine care industry was dominated by big brands that offered no options for high-quality, high-performing, sustainable feminine care products. And that is how her company Rael came to be! In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we discuss how Yanghee integrated South Korean technology to differentiate Rael from other brands, what she learned from working at Disney and how that has helped her, how Rael is expanding, and so much more!

In 2015, David Gaylord graduated with a degree in Digital Marketing from Fairleigh Dickinson University. During his early years in the marketing world, his dad insisted on him using his technical skills to help the family business (Gaylord Hardwood Flooring) and create a website. David decided that a smart move for his family business would be to become a Shopify merchant. This ended up being a great move for the family business and  eventually David started working for Shopify to learn more about e-commerce and marketing. It was a short while after when a co-worker of his, after his honeymoon, came to him with a fresh (literally and figuratively) idea! Natural products to treat your sensitive areas. With his digital marketing background and everything he learned at Shopify, David saw an opportunity and recognized a white space in the market for these products. Bushbalm was officially created. A skincare line specifically but not limited to targeting areas that are commonly ignored. In this episode of Where B

When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Echo Sandburg responded, “an astronaut.” Since she was a little girl, she knew her dreams involved traveling far and wide. While her career path didn’t steer her to space, it took her to places such as California, Hong Kong, Texas, and Arizona! Today Echo Sandburg is the Chief Brand Officer of Colgate-Palmolive Skin Health. She is a talented marketer and industry leader who guides growth efforts for EltaMD and two other well-known skincare brands (PCA Skincare, the leader in peels, and Filorga, an innovative luxury skincare brand from France). In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we discuss pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to get further in your career, the value of being adaptable and flexible, and the importance of embracing the present. We also get on a more personal note with Echo, discussing her goals, her passion for skin health, her family, and more!  

In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, I talked with Dr. Rolanda Wilkerson, Senior Director at Procter and Gamble! She has worked with many notable brands, such as Olay, Secret, Pantene, Head and Shoulders, and My Black is Beautiful. Dr. Wilkerson is responsible for working behind the scenes with dermatologists, clinicians, and P&G beauty scientists to develop and report on the latest and emerging skin and hair technologies in the industry. As a young child, Dr. Wilkerson experienced the trials of not feeling positive about her own hair or skin. That is why today, she has such a passion for helping others with their hair and skin journey. While creating these products is her job, she reminds us that the people behind the scenes are consumers as well, therefore humanizing the industry. Please tune in to hear about her career journey, the importance of educating and being transparent regarding products, what she wants to see more of in the industry, and of course, her definition of success! 

In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we get into it with BioHack-HERS, Lauren Berlingeri and Katie Kaps, Co-Founders of HigherDOSE. Their company has cultivated the hottest at-home wellness tools using nature inspired technologies to release feel-good chemicals such as Dopamine, Serotonin, Endorphins and more! Originally they were put on the map for their infrared Sauna Blanket and celebrity favorite PEMP Mat. They also offer a collection of ingestibles and topicals that boost the benefits of their devices. Tune in as we discuss with these business partners and best friends their career journeys, new products, how they define success, how different treatments and technologies can push you to perform at a higher level, their favorite wellness procedures, and more! 

From a young age, Board Certified Dermatologist Dr. Michelle Henry knew she wanted to be a Physician. Her interest in the field was piqued when her mother, a nurse at the time, brought her to a "Take Your Daughter to Work" day. All it took was a little white coat and stethoscope for young Michelle, and that was it; her path was set. Today Dr. Michelle Henry is a Harvard-trained Mohs Surgeon and owns a practice, The Skin & Aesthetic Surgery of Manhattan. In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, Dr. Michelle Henry and I discuss the theme of artistry regarding aesthetic medicine; How one millimeter can really change the way one walks through the world. She discusses the importance of recognizing that there isn't one type of beautiful only "your kind of beautiful." We also chat about her favorite treatments, the importance of learning to say "No", how she proactively schedules to make time for work and personal life, and of course, her definition and way of dealing with success. #wbmb #careerjourney #derm

Both being in the hair industry, it was inevitable that Chris Appleton, Celebrity Hairstylist/Global Creative Director of Color Wow, and Gail Federici, CEO of Federici Brands, would eventually cross paths. With his creativity/knowledge about products and her marketing vision/innovative thinking, there is no stopping them. Together they have created professional, quality products that have become the solution to many everyday hair care troubles. In this episode of Where Brains Meet Beauty, we discuss how they became power partners, their rise to the top, and how important it is to stay present, grounded, and grateful despite being in the limelight.  #wherebrainsmeetbeauty #colorwow #hairindustry

From Poland to New York City, Esthetician and Founder of her own skincare line, Joanna Czech has had quite the career journey. She has had over 35 years of experience in the industry and her treatments are a mix of timeless techniques and innovative technologies. To top it off, she has a very impressive list of notable celebrity clients. Tune in to hear how her athletic background and competitive nature in Poland helped her get to the top of her game here in the United States, how she personally defines success, and how she makes time for the things that are important to her outside of work. Her bubbly persona, wisdom of the industry, and motivation is something that you do not want to miss out on hearing!  #wherebrainsmeetbeauty #joannaczechskincare

Training and Education Manager Kim Bogash is comfortable being in the spotlight. Whether onstage singing or educating spectators for HydraFacial, she always brings the energy. She’s a highly accomplished and trained esthetician with over ten years of experience making skin glow. She started her journey into the beauty industry as a makeup artist and eventually found herself at a desk coordinating job in a dermatology office. It is there where she realized her love for skincare and immediately decided to go to esthetics school. Fast forward ten years later, with various jobs in between, Kim found herself at a HydraFacial on-the-road training program and knew that was where she wanted to be. Two years later, she applied for a job at the same company that hosted the training and got it! Tune in to hear more about her pitstops along the way to HydraFacial, how she deals with work/life balance, and more information about one of the most powerful, non-invasive skin resurfacing treatments available today. #wbmb #car