October 01, 2022

Skincare Anarchy

Resources based purely on the science & stories behind skincare brands have become increasingly harder to find amongst today’s muddled media landscape. The podcast, Skincare Anarchy, was founded to provide audiences with greater understanding behind our beloved skincare brands through research-driven insight. Launched in 2020, the podcast has now aired over 352 episodes, been streamed in over 100 countries, and sees an average of 80,000 downloads per week. Host Dr. Ekta Yadav (MD MBA MS) seeks to provide an exclusive look into the beauty industry through the lens of entrepreneurs and various industry professionals. 107’s very own Chloe Kwak sat down for a recent interview with Ekta on episode 336: “107 reasons to feel beautiful”

Ekta: I want to ask how you got involved in the beauty industry and just what led you to becoming an entrepreneur?

Chloe: To tell you a little bit of my background, I have experience in the global cosmetic industry, a little over 17 years. Not just because of my job but because of the skin problems I had in the past. I started having skin problems in my 30s. Because of my eczema problem, I even got my aesthetician license during that time because I really wanted to know more about my skin, and I really wanted to find a solution. After I met Seyoung Shin, who is my partner and co-founder of 107, I got introduced to this vinegar that we are utilizing as a core ingredient. It really changed my life, so I wanted to share the benefits I experienced.

Ekta: I really want to learn more from you about the vinegar aspect because I know in Asian markets, it’s been a very tried and true ingredient for many years.

Chloe: I got introduced to this vinegar about 10 years ago. I met Seyoung at his charity event. During that time, I had severe eczema, my daily mood was all dependent on my eczema condition. I felt uncomfortable not because people were staring at me but because I felt I made people uncomfortable because they had to look at my eczema. However, Seyoung sent me this vinegar. It was something rare and at that time I tried so many things to cure my eczema, I even tried boiled onion water, so I wasn’t very confident but after talking to his mom, who was a pharmacist. I tried the vinegar and surprisingly, my wounds were healing. It was very noticeable and after a week, my wounds were completely gone.

Ekta: What are the real benefits of vinegar? Is it the acidity? What is it that it does for our skin?

Chloe: The vinegar itself and the fermentation process created not just probiotics but post-biotics: 7 essential amino acids, glutamic acids, acidic acids; those are all beneficial for our skin. The vinegar that we’re using is all naturally fermented so these ingredients are all naturally derived ingredients.

Our vinegar is unique because the fermentation process is from this family, from generation to generation. The pink line… we are utilizing 7-year aged vinegar. We tested our vinegar with different kinds of ingredients, and we found out that our essential amino acid is 20 times more than regular store-bought vinegar.

Ekta: I noticed on your website you guys have a lot of description of science and the innovation. Everyone in the skincare industry, as you know, everyone has been talking about the microbiome and pushing this idea of pro-biotics but they don’t really talk about the post-biotics.

Chloe: Since we started with vinegar, the longer it ferments, the higher the concentration of post-biotics. (Our vinegar) is all hand crafted and it’s brewed on this little island. The artisans, they harvest most of the ingredients at this vinegar brewery. This vinegar, they only brew once a year so this vinegar’s fermentation process is very unique. Some of this vinegar, they ferment up to 30 years. The naturally derived ingredients are all from this fermentation process. I love fermented ingredients because they are so helpful to our skin…it helps with exfoliation, firm(ing), brighten(ing), hydrate, providing anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory protection so it’s very important to your skin’s microbiome.

Ekta: You recently came out with this amazing shampoo. I want you to tell us about this new launch and what were your inspirations behind coming out with a hair care product.

Chloe: In Korea, during the Joseon dynasty, women would use vinegar to rinse out their hair to give shine and to purify their scalp so we got the idea from our ancestors. Shampoo, it took us 5 years to create this shampoo because we really wanted to make a shampoo that helps with all kinds of scalp problems. Due to environmental changes, covid, and all kinds of stress, I learned that many people experience scalp breakouts and hair loss. I experienced the same thing. I tried so many scalp focused shampoos or products and it made my scalp really dry and itchy. It made my hair so rough, dry, and frizzy. I really wanted to make a hair product that helps with scalp problems while feeling hydrated. Our team joined with scientists and hair specialists to make this shampoo. They told us that as we age, we lose elasticity on our facial skin (as well as) our scalp. If we lose elasticity on our scalp, eventually our facial line won’t look nice. They told me, just like facial care, the scalp needs to be treated very carefully because it can be irritated due to stress or products or environmental issues.

We are very careful, we take step by step when we make products…this slow step philosophy comes from our artisans at the vinegar brewery because throughout the year, they harvest and search for ingredients and if they are not satisfied, they don’t brew the vinegar. That philosophy that artisans have and how they treat each ingredient is so holistic so that is rooted into the brand as well.

Ekta: Great job to your team for keeping the sheet mask alive because people don’t understand, it’s a phenomenal product to have in your skincare routine.

Chloe: It’s one of my home care routines with sheet masks. When I was creating this mask, I really wanted to work on the right material because (the) sheet is very important for sheet masks, of course. So, I wanted a sheet mask that was the right fit (to) wrap around your face and give nourishment. Also, our sheet is a 100% cellulose vegan sheet so it will hug your skin but is also environmentally friendly.

Ekta: It’s a rare kind of thing where we have a brand that is fully focused on eczema prone skin, on sensitive skin. So, when you were crafting the skincare products, I noticed you have a toner, you have a wonderful cleanser that is pH balanced, you have a wonderful moisturizer which is very light and works very well. What were some of the things that in terms of ingredients that you had to keep in mind?

Chloe: When I create each product, we put ingredients that are synergistic to each other but also gives soothing (effects). You know our essential line, the pink line, is (for) daily skin care that helps with hydration which is a basic of skincare. This line really focuses on hydration but is very gentle. You mentioned our cleanser, I wanted a cleanser that cleans well but is gentle, gives nourishment, but doesn’t strip away from the natural oils of your skin. People with acne, they don’t like cleansers that take away everything and makes your skin super dry because it will cause inflammation, more than before. I wanted to create a cleanser that is very gentle after cleansing. To me, cleansing is a very important step of skincare. Makes your skin surface ready to absorb hydration and nourishment from your next skincare steps. I wanted it to be low pH so it balances the pH level of your skin and retain hydration. Each (of our) products are carefully designed and we are arranging ingredients so they are gentle but synergistic to each other so they are helpful for our customers.

Ekta: That’s lovely, and I really want to learn more from you about the vinegar aspect because I know in Asian markets, it’s been a very tried and true ingredient for many years.

Chloe: I knew vinegar was utilized as a skincare ingredient in the past but I didn’t really know about it. So, I got introduced to this vinegar about 10 years ago. I met Seyoung at his charity event, (he) has been operating an NGO for almost 20 years. During that time I had severe eczema…at that time, my daily mood was all dependent on my eczema condition so when I met Seyoung of course he was staring at my face and I felt very embarrassed. I felt uncomfortable not because people were staring at me but because I felt I made people uncomfortable because they have to look at my eczema. However, Seyoung sent me this vinegar. Drink this vinegar, put the vinegar on my eczema spots. It was something rare and at that time I tried so many things to cure my eczema, I even tried boiled onion water so I wasn’t very confident but after talking to his mom, who was a pharmacist. Looking at her skin, looking at her wonderful health condition, I tried the vinegar but surprisingly, my wounds were healing. It was very noticeable and after a week, my wounds were completely gone. Seyoung’s family has this secret vinegar recipe, (passed down) from generation to generation. This recipe was based on traditional Asian medicine remedies.

Ekta: What are the real benefits of vinegar? Is it the acidity? What is it that it does for our skin?

Ekta: I just have a hard time understanding, the multi vector real role that a lot of natural ingredients really have in terms of what their targeting but I think vinegar is definitely one that I’ve heard about so much and I’ve seen the benefits of it and it’s interesting to me that you are using it for skin that is prone to eczema and is very sensitive.

Chloe: I didn’t have eczema when I was young, it started in my mid-30s and I tried so many things. I think our vinegar is very unique because the fermentation process is from this family, from generation to generation. The pink line… we are utilizing 7-year aged vinegar. We tested our vinegar with different kinds of ingredients and we found out that our essential amino acid is 20 times more than regular store bought vinegar so vinegar gives so many benefits to our skin.

Ekta: I noticed on your website you guys have a lot description of science and the innovation. Vinegar is… the higher concentration, the higher the amount of post-biotics are available. Everyone in the skincare industry, as you know, everyone has been talking about the microbiome and pushing this idea of pro-biotics but they don’t really talk about the post-biotics. They don’t really talk about what we need for a balanced micro-biome… Post-biotics have a very important role when it comes to our health.

Chloe: Since we started with vinegar, just like you said, the longer it ferments, the higher the concentration of post-biotics. (Our vinegar) is all hand crafted and it’s brewed on this little island. The artisans, they harvest most of the ingredients at this vinegar brewery. This vinegar, they only brew once a year so this vinegar’s fermentation process is very unique. Some of this vinegar, they ferment up to 30 years. The naturally derived ingredients are all from this fermentation process. I love fermented ingredients because they are so helpful to our skin…it helps with exfoliation, firm(ing),brighten(ing), hydrate, providing anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory protection so it’s very important to your skin’s microbiome.

Ekta: You recently came out with this amazing shampoo. I love your scalp purifying microbiome shampoo, I think it’s wonderful. I want you to tell us about this new launch and what were your inspirations behind coming out with a hair care product.

Chloe: In Korea, during the Joseon dynasty, women would use vinegar to rinse out their hair to give shine and to purify their scalp so we got the idea from our ancestors. Shampoo, it took us 5 years to create this shampoo because we really wanted to make a shampoo that helps with all kinds of scalp problems. Due to environmental changes, covid, and all kinds of stress, I learned that many people experience scalp breakouts and hair loss. I experienced the same thing. I tried so many scalp focused shampoos or products and it made my scalp really dry and itchy. It made my hair so rough, dry, and frizzy. So I really wanted to make a hair product that helps with scalp problems while feeling hydrated. Our team joined with scientists and hair specialists to make this shampoo and one thing that I learned from the experts is that our facial skin is connected to our scalp so taking care of our scalp hydration, including firming is very important. They told us that as we age, we lose elasticity on our facial skin (as well as) our scalp. If we lose elasticity on our scalp, eventually our facial line won’t look nice. So they told me, just like facial care, the scalp needs to be treated very carefully because it can be irritated due to stress or products or environmental issues. So it is important to clean our scalp without irritation but (also) put hydration back into our scalp so it’s firm.

Ekta: Great job to your team for keeping the sheet mask alive because people don’t understand, it’s a phenomenal product to have in your skincare routine. It’s so easy to put on a good mask. I don’t know how people don’t like them anymore.

Ekta: It’s a rare kind of thing where we have a brand that is fully focused on eczema prone skin, on sensitive skin. So, when you were crafting the skincare products, I noticed you have a toner, you have a wonderful cleanser that is pH balanced, you have a wonderful moisturizer which is very light and works very well. So what were some of the things you wanted to make sure you incorporated so that people who do have the eczema kind of skin, they are not having a bad reaction. What were some of the things that in terms of ingredients that you had to keep in mind?

Chloe: You know eczema causes great inflammation. I ended up having post inflammatory hyperpigmentation on my face and body. I went through eczema when I was 30 but I see some children going through eczema which is very stressful and having a hard time. When I create each product, we put ingredients that are synergistic to each other but also gives soothing (effects). You know our essential line, the pink line, is (for) daily skin care that helps with hydration which is a basic fundamental of skincare. Since, I have severe skin condition, this line focuses on hydration which helps with many skin problems. Hydration can solve a lot of skin problems that everybody has. This line (also) focuses on soothing. I believe, oily skin doesn’t mean skin is hydrated. This line really focuses on hydration but is very gentle. You mentioned our cleanser, I wanted a cleanser that cleans well but is gentle, gives nourishment, but doesn’t strip away from the natural oils of your skin. People with acne, they don’t like cleansers that take away everything and makes your skin super dry because it will cause inflammation, more than before. I wanted to create a cleanser that is very gentle after cleansing. To me, cleansing is a very important step of skincare. Makes your skin surface ready to absorb hydration and nourishment from your next skincare steps. I wanted it to be low pH so it balances the pH level of your skin and retain hydration. Each (of our) products is carefully designed and we are arranging ingredients so they are gentle but synergistic to each other so they are helpful for our customers.

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