Podcast Summary: Biohacking Beauty – The Anti-Aging Skincare Podcast

Episode Title: Fady & Marina: How Real-Time Hormone Data Extends Longevity
Host: Amitai Eshel (Young Goose Co-Founder)
Guests: Marina Pavlovich Rivas (CEO & Co-founder of Eli Health), Dr. Fadi Hanashouni (Clinician & Medical Director at Eli Health)
Date: November 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores how real-time, at-home hormone monitoring is set to revolutionize longevity, stress management, fertility, energy, and especially skin health. Host Amitai Eshel interviews Marina Pavlovich Rivas and Dr. Fadi Hanashouni from Eli Health, innovators behind the “hormometer” – a device enabling users to track critical hormones like cortisol and progesterone with immediate feedback. The discussion delves into hormone rhythms, bioindividuality, actionable wellness protocols, implications for anti-aging routines, and the intersection of hormonal health and the skin.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How At-Home Hormone Testing Works ([02:52])

• Technology & Convenience: Eli Health’s hormometer is a saliva-based test; users place a sponge on their tongue for 60 seconds, then snap a photo with their phone. Results are delivered in minutes, anytime and anywhere.
• Comparison to Traditional Testing:
  • Third-party validation confirms >90% accuracy (specifically for cortisol and progesterone) compared to standard lab tests ([04:03]).
  • Key difference: rapid results, user independence, tracked over time and visualized via an app.
• Data Focus:
  • Emphasis on patterns and trends rather than single-point accuracy.
  • The app provides context—showing optimal ranges, highlights deviations, and generates personalized recommendations.

2. Reading and Acting on Hormone Data ([05:35])

• Actionable Feedback:
  • The app gives user-friendly interpretations (e.g., if cortisol is high/low at a given time) and recommendations.
  • AI-driven suggestions favor lifestyle changes (exercise, hydration, light exposure) over medication ([09:04]).
• Personalization:
  • “Everyone has a different response to those different actions… that’s the importance of testing to see, for your specific biology and your specific body, how those actions are influencing cortisol levels over time.” – Marina ([10:42])
• Impact on Routine:
  • Users can optimize behaviors around workout timing, hydration, caffeine, and more based on real data about their hormone rhythms.

3. Application Examples: Protocols & Scenarios ([11:54])

• High Cortisol Protocol:
  • Avoid late-day high-intensity exercise, prioritize calming activities, maintain hydration, manage other stressors.
• Low Cortisol Protocol:
  • Maximize morning light, avoid evening light, stimulate a healthy morning “spike.”
• Adjusting by Goal ([13:11]):
  • Whether aiming for better sleep, reduced aging, or athletic performance, balancing cortisol confers broad benefits.

4. Skin Health & Hormones ([17:01])

• Interconnectedness:
  • “The skin is actually the largest endocrine organ in the body. The skin not only responds to various hormones... but actually produces its own hormones, including cortisol.” – Dr. Fadi Hanashouni ([17:01])
• Aging and Hormones:
  • Hormonal imbalances—especially high/low cortisol, declining estrogen/progesterone/testosterone—directly affect collagen, thickness, repair, and overall youthful appearance.
  • Chronic high cortisol (via Cushing’s syndrome or long-term stress) leads to thinning, dryness, and increased risk of infection.
  • Dynamic between “internal” (hormone) and “external” (skin barrier) health is crucial.

5. The Value of Frequent Hormone Testing ([20:16])

• Changing Paradigms:
  • “With products like Ellie, we're seeing a new field emerge, which is the field of frequent testing that will give us an opportunity to analyze longitudinal hormone data that we've never had before.” – Fadi ([20:30])
• Suggested Frequency:
  • “At least four times throughout the month for cortisol, once in the morning and once in the evening to catch that diurnal curve…” – Marina ([22:23])
  • Particularly important for women, where cyclic hormonal rhythms influence biology and skin.
• Personal Data Empowerment:
  • Analogous to HRV or sleep tracking—a one-off lab test is inadequate.

6. Women’s Health: Menstrual and Life-Stage Implications ([23:36])

• Cycle Syncing:
  • Frequent, at-home hormone tracking enables actionable insights for fertility, perimenopause, athletic injury risk, and adaptation of beauty routines.
  • Future hormone panels: progesterone, testosterone, estradiol (estrogen), with LH and FSH to come.
• Test Development Focus:
  • “We decided to prioritize hormones like cortisol and progesterone, testosterone... based on the impact we believe we can have for the largest number of people.” – Marina ([30:07])

7. Notable Use Cases & Exciting Applications ([26:01])

• Unexpected Impact:
  • “We’re always finding new use cases… skin, hair, pregnancy, athletic performance—some we envisioned, many we didn’t.” – Marina ([26:01])
• Athletic Performance:
  • Hormone tracking for injury prevention and ideal timing of performance or skin rejuvenation treatments ([36:04]).
• Skin Interventions:
  • “[Athletic training and skin rejuvenation] is... equivalent... at the end of the day, the body trying to recover from very hard exposure or demand... That would also enable people to choose when they are undergoing... their monthly microneedling or... laser resurfacing treatment when their body is most able to recover.” – Amitai, paraphrased ([36:44])
• "Push" and "Rest" Days:
  • Inspired by Dr. Whitney Bowe’s “skin cycling” — hormone data can help time aggressive or restorative skin routines ([37:26],[38:01]).

8. Behavioral Impact of Real-Time Data ([39:12])

• Data as Motivation:
  • “Once people see data, do they actually change their behavior?”
    “Yes, we've seen it again and again… For example... executives... many expect to have cortisol that is higher... but for many, they discovered that they have cortisol that is lower... that's a dynamic that can occur after prolonged stressors and that's often an eye opener to take actions.” – Marina ([39:28])

9. Privacy, Business Ethics, and Data Ownership ([43:11])

• Ethical Business Model:
  • Eli Health is deliberately designed to be sustainable through products, not data sales.
  • “We are not even tempted to be in a position like those companies… where ultimately we're here to serve the customers and nobody else.” – Marina ([43:42])
• User Control:
  • Users can delete their data or limit sharing at any time; all data may be anonymized; research participation is opt-in ([45:21]).
• Hormone vs. Genetic Data:
  • Hormone data is more transient and less “discriminatory” than genetic data, reducing risk of misuse ([47:33]).

10. Looking Forward: The Mainstreaming of Hormone Tracking ([48:57])

• Adoption Trajectory:
  • “We see it as becoming as mainstream as smartwatches are today… We believe that people can benefit from it at scale.” – Marina ([48:57])
• Integration Potential:
  • Envisions hormone data feeding into wearables, health apps, care platforms.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Individual Biochemistry:
  “Everyone has a different response to those different actions… that’s the importance of testing to see, for your specific biology… how those actions are influencing cortisol.”
  — Marina Pavlovich Rivas ([10:42])

• On the Skin as an Endocrine Organ:
  “The skin is actually the largest endocrine organ in the body... The skin actually produces its own hormones, including cortisol.”
  — Dr. Fadi Hanashouni ([17:01])

• On the Value of Patterns over Single Data Points:
  “Know your numbers and know your numbers serially because hormones dance all the time.”
  — Dr. Fadi Hanashouni ([54:13])

• On Business Ethics:
  “...if you’re not the client, you’re the product.”
  — Amitai Eshel ([45:21])

• Real-Life Use Story:
  “For me... it was very, very powerful... to enable me to catch early dysregulation that I could act on to avoid potential short and long term [harm].”
  — Marina Pavlovich Rivas, describing discovering low cortisol during a period of high stress and frequent travel ([51:45])

Timestamps of Key Segments

• 02:52 – How real-time saliva-based hormone testing works
• 04:03 – Validation studies and accuracy versus labs
• 05:35 – How the app guides users and interprets data
• 09:04 – Example lifestyle interventions and AI suggestions
• 11:54 – Protocols for different cortisol patterns
• 13:11 – Customizing recommendations for health, sleep, or skin goals
• 17:01 – The role of hormones in skin health and beauty
• 20:16 – Frequency and advantages of longitudinal hormone monitoring
• 23:36 – Menstrual cycle tracking and health optimization for women
• 26:01 – Broad potential applications and user stories
• 36:04 – Hormone data’s relevance for timing athletic events and skin rejuvenation protocols
• 39:12 – Changing behavior via frequent, personalized data
• 43:11 – Privacy considerations and ethical commitments
• 48:57 – The anticipated future of hormone bio-tracking
• 51:45 – Personal insights from using the hormometer
• 53:53 – Final takeaways for listeners

Final Takeaways

• Hormone data is dynamic and essential for optimizing health, longevity, and appearance. One-off lab draws are not sufficient—frequent, individualized tracking yields actionable insights.
• At-home, real-time testing is democratizing hormone data, empowering users to match interventions to their unique biology, cycles, and lifestyle.
• Skin health is inseparably linked to hormonal rhythms. Monitoring hormones improves not just inner wellness but also outer beauty and resilience.
• Behavior change accelerates with good data. Users adjust routines and interventions with newfound clarity.
• Integrity and privacy matter. Eli Health is building a sustainable business model that puts consumer interests and control first.
• The future is bio-individual: hormone tracking will soon be as common as fitness trackers. Data will be central to personalized longevity and beauty routines.

For more information or to purchase hormone test kits:
Visit elihealth.com or younggoose.com

Key takeaway:
“Know your numbers—serially.”
—Dr. Fadi Hanashouni ([54:13])

“Hormone data is data that you should have access to frequently… Similarly to sleep, we wouldn't test it once a year.”
—Marina Pavlovich Rivas ([53:53])