Podcast Summary: Coffee N° 5 with Lara Schmoisman

Episode: The Science of Skincare: How Pharma Innovation is Redefining Beauty

Guest: Mark Menning, PhD (Founder, Mark Los Angeles Skincare)

Date: September 9, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Lara Schmoisman sits down with Mark Menning, PhD, a chemical engineer with a rich background in pharmaceuticals and founder of Mark Los Angeles Skincare. Their conversation dives into the intersection of pharmaceutical science and skincare, highlighting how innovations in drug delivery and ingredients are fueling real efficacy (not just marketing fluff) in beauty products. Together, they explore ingredient science, the challenges of proving efficacy, immune response, running clinical trials, the reality of beauty marketing, and what the future holds for skincare, wellness, and longevity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. From Pharma to Skincare: Mark’s Journey

• Mark transitioned from pharmaceutical drug development—focused on precise drug delivery and combination therapies—to skincare after selling his pharma company and wanting to address his own hair loss with plant-based actives.
  • [01:38] "I have a background in chemical engineering, practiced in the pharmaceutical industry for 20 plus years and really focusing on drug delivery...Then I sold [my company], couldn't work in pharma, so I pivoted into skincare." – Mark

2. The Science of Delivery Systems

• The challenge in skincare is not just the ingredient but how to deliver it where it’s needed (e.g., to the dermis for inflammation).
  • [04:43] "With ingredients, it has to be paired with delivery as well. Just because something is water soluble...does not mean it's going to translate into penetration of the skin." – Mark
• Mark’s own patents involve self-assembling emulsions with no oil phase, using flavonoids that are notoriously hard to formulate for effective skin penetration.
  • [05:48] "We use a class of compounds called flavonoids...To date they've been difficult to penetrate into the skin, so that's where I use my background to both solubilize and stabilize them." – Mark

3. Efficacy over Hype

• Mark emphasizes that ingredients and delivery systems mean nothing if they don’t actually help the user—efficacy is the bottom line.
  • [07:05] "At the end of the day it's more efficacy...if that's your story and that's where it ends, then that's just kind of a marketing descriptor." – Mark

4. Origins & Pivoting: Listening to the Customer

• Mark started with a hair loss formulation for himself and saw success, but realized that proving hair regrowth clinically would take too long, so pivoted to acne, where results and endpoints can be registered more quickly.
  • [07:52] "I was actually losing a lot of hair and stress in that process...I wanted to come up with a method that didn’t contain finasteride or minoxidil, but using just plant actives." – Mark
• His serum, initially developed as a spot treatment, became a customer favorite as an all-over serum, leading him to rebrand its usage based on user feedback.
  • [14:20] "You have to listen. You have to make them part of the process...You could spend all this energy and effort saying 'no, you're using it wrong,' but when people are just getting great results, you have to take that in and reposition it." – Mark

5. Clinical Trials: Barriers and Realities

• Clinicals are expensive and uncertain, but a scientific background helps reduce risk—failure is not truly failure, just feedback.
  • [09:27] "There's no guarantee...Having a hardcore R&D background...it's okay, you'll learn something and how do you pivot? It's not a failure." – Mark
• For products like the lip treatment (targeting cold sores), Mark ran community-based studies, which saw high engagement and rapid positive feedback.
  • [20:02] "We had 50 people in our study, 25 respondents...We had 95% reporting a significant shift in their healing time." – Mark

6. Product Science: Cleansers, Serums, and Delivery

• Mark’s gentle cleansers use flavonoids for anti-inflammatory effects, opting for gentle rather than harsh cleansing approaches.
  • [11:31] "You don’t need to strip your skin and go nuclear...you can get a lot of bang for your buck with a gentle cleanser." – Mark
• Physical exfoliant (walnut shells) developed “for beard exfoliation—male naivete!”
  • [12:27] "The exfoliating cleanser is just for beard...to exfoliate the whiskers that are ingrown without using a harsh abrasive." – Mark
• Serums can have more than one purpose; user behavior can transform how a product is understood and positioned.
  • [13:13] "The serum was initially designed as a spot treatment...People started using it as a serum. So we had to reposition it that way." – Mark

7. Speed of Results: Lip Care Innovation

• Flavonoid-based lip product for cold sores: results can be seen in two to three days; early application can prevent lesions entirely, outperforming leading prescription antivirals.
  • [17:46] "It’ll take an average of two to three days to clear up...If you take it at the first time of tingling, it won’t even form a lesion." – Mark
• Mark is collaborating with pathologists to further validate and understand these effects compared to drugs like acyclovir, which perform well in lab tests but not as well clinically due to poor skin penetration.

8. Industry Trends: Longevity, Wellness & “Inflammation is the Enemy”

• The industry is obsessed with “longevity,” but Mark is skeptical about its precise scientific meaning or measurable endpoints.
  • [21:56] "Everyone is talking about longevity, but nobody knows what it means...more importantly, what is your clinical endpoint?" – Mark
• There’s a shift toward in-office aesthetic treatments for visible anti-aging rather than relying just on topical products. Modern regimens mix treatments at Medispas with maintenance from home care products.
  • [23:28] "Right now you need to get treatments in spas or Medispas, and then you need to complement or maintain with the right products." – Lara (with Mark’s agreement)
• Mark positions his brand around combating inflammation, linking it to aging and a host of skin problems.
  • [24:03] "Inflammation is becoming kind of the enemy...That's kind of where we're positioning ourselves...flavonoids...are potent anti-inflammatories." – Mark

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Delivery Systems:

  • [04:43] "With ingredients, it has to be paired with delivery...Just because something is water soluble does not mean it's going to translate into penetration of the skin." – Mark

• On Efficacy:

  • [07:05] "If [efficacy] is your story and that's where it ends, then that's just kind of a marketing descriptor. At the end of the day it has to help patients with whatever conditions they wish to solve for." – Mark

• On Product Repositioning:

  • [14:34] "It's important as a brand to take that feedback...You have to make them part of the process...You have to listen." – Mark

• On the Noise in Beauty Marketing:

  • [20:56] "We have this amazing product for cold sores now...it's really how do we fight the noise and get that messaging out." – Mark

• On Longevity:

  • [21:56] "Everyone is talking about longevity, but nobody knows even what it means. What is your clinical endpoint?" – Mark

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Mark’s pharmaceutical background & pivot to skincare: [01:38] – [03:42]
• The science & IP of delivery systems: [04:43] – [06:54]
• Brand origin stories – solving hair loss and acne: [07:52] – [09:23]
• Clinical trials: hurdles and attitude: [09:23] – [10:28]
• Routine size & the reality of skincare steps: [10:28] – [11:00]
• Purpose and design of cleanser & exfoliating cleanser: [11:22] – [13:08]
• Serum usage evolution – customer feedback: [13:13] – [15:35]
• Innovating lip care & the promise of flavonoids for cold sores: [15:35] – [19:11]
• Community trials & marketing challenges: [19:19] – [21:30]
• Industry insights – longevity, in-office treatments, inflammation focus: [21:42] – [24:43]
• Coffee preferences (fun closer): [24:49] – [25:20]

Tone and Language

• The episode mixes deep scientific insights with engaging, sometimes humorous, anecdotes and plain-language explanations. Mark’s scientist’s humility and curiosity meet Lara’s practical industry mindset and energetic hosting. The tone is direct, open, and focused on genuine problem solving, not hype.

Summary Takeaways

• Breakthroughs in skincare don’t just rely on trendy ingredients, but on how those ingredients are delivered to where they can take action.
• Real innovation means proving efficacy—via clinical trials where feasible, or through well-documented community feedback.
• Building a successful skincare brand requires agility, the willingness to listen to customers, and a scientific mindset that treats “failure” as a stepping stone.
• Inflammation is increasingly recognized as both a visible and an unseen driver of skin aging and irritation, helping define new brand narratives.
• Beauty’s future will blend science-backed innovation, strategic user feedback, and a pragmatic approach to marketing in a noisy world.