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- [00:00]
A
Hey, guys. Welcome back to Skin Anarchy. This is Ekta. I'm really excited to be introducing you guys to a new brand today that is really focused on safe sunscreen options. I know this is a very hot topic for many of us that are very particular about sunscreen and making sure that we're applying every day using the best options that are available. I'm very excited for this interview. So without further ado, I want to introduce you guys to Arielle Moody, who's the founder of Mama Soul. Welcome, Ariel. I'm so excited to host you.
- [00:28]
B
Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
- [00:30]
A
Yeah, I'm really excited to learn about, you know, what led to the creation of your brand, because sunscreen is a very, very slippery slope. I feel like, you know, I think there's a lot of options definitely out there, but when it comes to understanding what's safe, what's worth our dollars, you know what I mean? What's worth coming back to, it can be really hard to, you know, kind of grasp for general consumers. You know, I'd love to learn about you and your career if you could walk us down memory lane and talk about what led to the founding of the brand.
- [00:59]
B
I've been in the beauty industry for over 15 years. I've worked for brands like Smashbox, Dr. Perricone by Beauty, and I was also head of product development and packaging for leading manufacturers. And while I was working at these companies, I noticed that they really were more focused on performance and not as much as on the ingredients. And I felt there had to be a way to prioritize both. And so when I was five months pregnant with my first son, I started researching ingredients to avoid when you're pregnant or nursing. And the list was just so long. And sunscreen is just one of the most toxic categories out there. Because I had so much experience and I had so many connections, I called a chemist up and I said, I really want to make a clean, 100% mineral sunscreen brand. And we got started, and it was a long journey. Many, many ups and downs. But I wouldn't want to be in any other category because sunscreen is so important.
- [02:05]
A
No, that's really interesting because that you brought up pregnancy safe. Because, you know, I think that especially during pregnancy, a lot of things come to light. Right. That you don't really think about before you're in that position, because everything now you need to scrutinize. And I think a of women especially, we don't really think about, like, our makeup products. Yeah. Like, for. In General, we want them to be safe. I would love to learn about the the journey of creating Mama Soul.
- [02:33]
B
Funny enough, I had a, you know, psychic reading and I don't know if your listeners are into the woo, but I love, love psychics and I've had some amazing readings in my life and it was actually probably eight years ago. It was before I was pregnant.
- [02:50]
A
Yeah.
- [02:51]
B
Had a psychic reading and she said to me that I was going to start my own natural skincare brand. And I was so thrown off by this because at the time I was sketching like makeup brands because I actually started my career off as a makeup artist. And so I was thinking I was going to be in creating high end fashion of high end fashion makeup line. And she said this to me and I'm like, what? And she's like, yeah, it's gonna be really successful. It's gonna be like the honest company. And I see you on Access Hollywood and she starts listing all these publications. Well, the cool thing was three weeks into our launch, we actually were featured on Access Hollywood. So it was really cool to have it come to fruition in that way. And of course, the whole idea really did come naturally to me. It wasn't forced. It wasn't like, oh, this psychic told me I'm gonna do this, so now how do I do it? It was really an aha moment for me when I was pregnant.
- [03:49]
A
Wow, it's really cool. I was really into psychics as well back in the day. I remember getting readings. I mean, that's really fascinating that she was so spot on. You know, I'm just curious, you know, when you were doing your homework, right, for crafting the brand and especially the ingredients, what were some of the most harmful ingredients that you found in over the counter sunscreen?
- [04:08]
B
It's a great question for your listeners who don't know the difference between mineral and chemical sunscreen. I'll just do a quick.
- [04:14]
A
Oh, yeah, that'd be great. Yeah.
- [04:15]
B
Chemical sunscreen absorbs into your skin. It takes about 20 minutes to work and it actually can get into your bloodstream because it is absorbing in their mineral sunscreen. Think of it as a physical shield. It sits on top of your skin and it works instantly. And the chances of it getting into your bloodstream are significantly less than a chemical sunscreen. Essentially, when you look at the active ingredients on a drug fact label you want to make, if it says anything other than zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, then it is a chemical sunscreen. So look for ingredients like oxybenzone and that oxybenzone was actually the ingredient that led me to start the company because at the time, although Oxybenzone is not in a lot of sunscreens now, but when I wrote the business plan, Oxybenzone was found to cause low birth weight. It's an endocrine disruptor. It's found in breast milk, causes skin allergies, cell damage, the list goes on. And I was like, how is this allowed in our skincare? And then octasolate and octinoxate. Ava benzone is a chemical filter that protects you from UVA rays. And now something interesting that I recently learned because I actually expert series through Mama Soul's wellness community. So if you follow us at shop Mama Soul on Instagram, you can follow along. But last month I interviewed a world renowned dermatologist named Dr. Kilgore. And when I asked him what he prefers between chemical and mineral sunscreen, he said that he preferred mineral because chemical sunscreens in the United States do not have good UVA filters. So Ava benzone is one of the most popular, popular ones and they degrade with UV exposure. So he felt like mineral sunscreens were just the most stable way to protect your skin from both UVA and UVB damage.
- [06:07]
A
Yeah, I've heard that as well. I think a lot of dermatologists recommend that as well. Chemical sunscreens never sat well with me in general. I understood the concept and the science, but it just never felt as protective.
- [06:19]
B
Not to mention like mineral is also really better for sensitive skin. So even if you don't have sensitive skin, it's just a safer option because we don't want the ingredients being absorbed into your bloodstream. Our formulas have been tested on over 100 people, 50% who had sensitive skin. And we've had zero skin reactions. So if you have acne, skin, eczema, you're pregnant, you know, any, anything like that, I would highly recommend mineral. Doctors always say use. So so few people wear sunscreen every day and it's actually a problem. So, so that is a big reason why I we created Mama Soul and we can talk about the unique features of it and why it's different than others. But you want to use what you look forward to using something that's going to protect your skin. So I don't want to discourage people from using chemical sunscreen if that's what they prefer. I just want to educate them on the, on the, on their options, of course.
- [07:16]
A
I mean, I think that there's definitely a lot to learn though, you know, from a consumer Standpoint, I don't think it's really about fear mongering. It's more about the idea that you have to understand the data and the science behind how these different, two different categories work. I think with mineral, it's just a more, I would say, tried and true because it's been around longer. I'm, I'm curious because I know that minerals also have some like, you know, downfalls that kind of deter consumers. Like, for example, the, the white cast is a big one. You know, a lot of women of color, men of color, they don't like that. And I know sometimes I've even heard dermatologists say, well, you need to just get over it. You know, you need to just let it sink in and let it sit there and, and do its thing, which I understand. But how did you come, you know, go around these problems, these common problems that we see with mineral sunscreens?
- [08:06]
B
That's a great question. Technologies have significantly advanced over the years and there are many more ingredients and dispersions that are available to us now to make zinc sunscreens that don't leave a white cast. Um, so I mean, that played a big part and it's really just working with amazing formulators that can, that can do the job. That being said, a lot of sunscreen, a lot of mineral sunscreens that you find will contain silicones. And for those who don't know this, and many don't know this, silicones help to suspend zinc oxide, so it actually helps prevent separation. So a lot of chemists will use this ingredient for, to create stable formulas. But there's some downfalls of silicones. And silicones was something that I just did not want in my formulas because silicones tend to clog your pores and they also are not biodegradable. And our formulas, from soup to nuts, are meaning the ingredients to the packaging are sustainable. So that is a big reason why it took five years to launch our first formula. Because the, the difficulty in creating a sunscreen without silicone is, is so complex. And I think that's one of our unique features of our brand. And then there's others. Mama Soul is all about creating a self care ritual. And it was really important to us to create a sunscreen that people really, really love to use. And what are some reasons why people don't wear sunscreen? Number one, yes, the white cast. So ours, our formula was designed to go on white and blend in clear. And the reason we designed it to go on white first is so that you don't Miss a spot, because a lot of times people will put it on and they just don't even realize that they missed, like, a whole area of their face. So that. That was important to us, but it does seamlessly blend into the skin. Another feature was the smell. So we incorporated a subtle hint of a lavender essential oil, and that was to really, you know, I'm a busy mom of two, and when I'm getting ready in the morning, I want to take a deep breath and give myself health, a mental health moment before my kids start coming after me and asking me a million questions. And so when I use our sunscreen, I like to take a deep breath and really have a moment to feel my skin and touch my skin. And then lastly, we wanted to create an experience where the. The packaging was lux because it's not.
- [10:37]
A
Our.
- [10:37]
B
Our face formula is in glass. Our lip, our tinted lip oils, 100% mineral tinted lip oils are in glass. And our body Sunscreen is in 100% sugar cane tube. And we wanted it to look beautiful so that you would leave it on your vanity or your bathroom counter, and you're reminded to use it every day. It's really important.
- [10:54]
A
I mean, that habit formation part is really important. I think those kind of aspects help a lot, you know, with us being able to just readily grab something, utilize it day in and day out. I mean, I think one of the questions I have for you and this. You brought this up earlier, is this whole idea just rubbing in your sunscreen. I've seen a lot of people kind of do this, and it always irks me when people rub their sunscreen in way too much. That's a big thing I've noticed is where you'll put it on. And because of the white cast and conventional sunscreens, they'll keep rubbing and keep rubbing. And it's like you don't understand what you're doing there. You're actually destroying the filter. So, like, you're not really allowing your skin to have that barrier. You know what I mean? That's what sunscreens do. And I always wondered, like, with a lot of mineral products, was this. Was that, you know, although it's the superior product, how many times do people actually apply it correctly? So in terms of, like, spread ability of your product, how much should you be rubbing in your sunscreen?
- [11:51]
B
Ours blends in pretty quickly. So I. Essentially, what I do is I pump it twice. The face sunscreen. I'll pump two pumps in my hand. I rub it into my. I rub it into my, you know, in my hands, and the palm of my hands, my fingers, and I warm up the formula, and then I. And then I blend it all over my skin. And that really helps the spread ability because you're warming the formula, and it blends in really in seconds into the skin. So for us, that's not really an issue.
- [12:18]
A
I think it's a big topic, and especially for people who wear makeup, you know, it's something that you do have to keep in mind. You know, in general, I'm so glad.
- [12:26]
B
You just brought up makeup, because that brings me to another point that I. So there's two points that I want to bring up. So one, our face sunscreen is actually. It's 100% mineral moisturizing sunscreen SPF 30, and it's actually a three in one. So not only is it your SPF 30, it's your daily moisturizer with youth preserving, with a youth preserving complex, but it's also a skin smoothing makeup primer. So whether you're a man or a woman, you can use this because it's smoothing the skin, but it really allows, like, a beautiful canvas, a glowy canvas to apply your makeup. The other question I get a lot is what? You know, do you have a tinted sunscreen? And although this is something that is in the pipeline, there's. It was very intentional that we launched a. A formula that was not tinted. And that's because when you wear a tinted sunscreen as your only form of sunscreen, you're typically not getting the protection that it says you're getting, because you would have to apply a ton of layers of makeup onto your skin. And a lot of people really put very little because they don't want to look like they have caked on makeup. Again. I always tell all of our customers, put on the face formula first and then apply on top your favorite tinted sunscreen or your foundation or whatever it is that you like on top.
- [13:44]
A
I like that. I like that you made that point, because I feel like I feel exactly the same about tinted products that are supposed to be sun protection. And, you know, a lot of times, if you think about how we all do makeup, what are we doing? Most of us are not putting on this thick layer of, like, whatever that is. Even if you look at foundation, how many times do people put on a really thick layer of foundation on a day to day basis? We don't. You know, that's just the reality of it. Don't do that. So when you're doing that, you're almost like spot, spot. You Know, correcting or something or whatever you're doing with your makeup. And that cannot be how sunscreen goes on in terms of just overall sun protection. I mean, I just would like love to see your opinion on what you think people usually do wrong in this category.
- [14:27]
B
There's a lot. But I will say I think the biggest thing that people do incorrectly is that they think they only need to wear sunscreen on warm and sunny days. As I mentioned earlier, I host this expert series every month, and Dr. Kilgore had said something really interesting, and he talks about something called cumulative damage. And that is just like if you walked your car every day, you sit by a window working for an hour, you take the dog for a walk, and anything you do consistently like that, it actually adds up to a lot more damage than you realize. It's cumulatively adding up in your skin. It's really important to protect your skin whether you're indoors or outdoors. In addition, we go one step further. So Mama Soul's formula, particularly the face formula, has blue light protection from your screens and devices. So hyper blue light can actually cause hyperpigmentation. So it's. Yeah, there's no excuses not to wear your sunscreen if something's like, oh, I'm just sitting at home all day. I mean, honestly, unless you're in a dark room all day, then I would advise that you put on sunscreen. And I advise you put it on even in the winter. Cover your. The tops of your hands, your forearms, your ears, the back of your neck. The places where people don't. People really forget. And then in addition, your lips. Your lips. The number one reason that your lips start to age and get lines is because of beauty damage. And that's why we launched our 100% mineral tinted lip oils SPF 20, because we call it the love them they love child. Between a lip balm and a lip gloss, they come in two shades, Rise and shine. And they're very subtle and they're beautiful everyday shades, like a warm, toasty nude and a soft petal pink. And it's really going to just be a really good reminder to protect those areas that we all forget about every day.
- [16:18]
A
One of the big things, and I want to discuss this because a big deterrent to people actually utilizing sunscreen is the texture. I know I've definitely experimented with a lot of sunscreen products. Where you put it on, everything seems to be going fine, but then you leave it on for like a minute or two and it feels like literally like I smeared butter all over My face. How did you work with that? How did you. How was that for you? From that formulating aspect, finding the right texture and the right amount, you know, so it doesn't weigh people down.
- [16:48]
B
I think what's really. What's so great about my background is that I've spent years working in product development, and I worked with all types of different textures and scents and after fields. And one thing that I knew I wanted was I wanted this formula, especially the face sunscreen, because that's the one most people are going to use every day, is to feel like. Like skin care. When I put it on, I honestly, my skin craves it every morning. My skin just feels dehydrated. And, you know, I live in California, and it's really dry. And, you know, this really quenches your skin. It blends effortlessly, doesn't leave any film, that layer of film. And also it doesn't cause any pilling when you apply multiple products on top, which a lot of sunscreens do that. And your skin, after you apply it, feels just hydrated, soft, glowy. Doesn't feel like you have anything. There's so many sunscreens that make you want to wash your face. And that was a huge reason why I wanted to create Mama Soul. I wanted. I wanted there to be no more excuses. I wanted people to look forward to using their sunscreen. I know I do now. I. You know, I was not an avid sunscreen user before I created Mama Soul. When I was younger. I. It was not a priority. And so I asked myself why. Why didn't I use it? And so I think Mama Soul checks all those boxes. And like I said, no more excuses.
- [18:11]
A
Yeah. No, I love that. I love that you did that. I think it's so, so important. I think people look for options. You know, we always try to find reasons to use sunscreen, but I'm not even going to lie. The way the industry is now, there's just a lot of talk and a lot, Not a lot of action. It's like an afterthought almost. Sometimes that's what it feels like for a lot of brands, that you're now coming out with a sunscreen. I always tell people on this podcast, if you guys are shopping a brand and they don't have a sunscreen, what are you even doing? You know what I mean? Because, you know, seriously, like, if you're a skincare brand and you're not creating a sun protection product, I just wonder, you know what I mean about, like, what. What you're doing with Your time and.
- [18:46]
B
Your money will say this. Yeah, you know, sunscreen is extremely costly and yeah, kind of testing involved and we didn't want to just launch a skincare brand. And there are amazing skin care brands out there and we need our skin care. Right. But sun care is very complex, it's difficult, it's very costly. You have to have a lot of capital to launch it. And that's what I think makes us so unique is we are coming out as only sunscreen and you can go to us and trust us that we got you. We're protecting your skin. We thought of everything and I think that's what makes us different from the brands that you know, have a million different skus and then they decide to launch a sunscreen. Of course it's great they have one but again, like you said, it's almost like an afterthought. And so for us it's, it's everything.
- [19:37]
A
At the end of the day you do need nourishing ingredients to help your skin on a day to day basis. Right. With Excel, turnover and all those things. However, that does not mean that you can compromise on actual protection. That is the number one thing you need is protection. And so I really love that you have ingredients in your formulas.
- [19:55]
B
Each formula was designed minimal but we pack a big punch in each formula. So each formula is a three and one. They all do three things. So you can get rid of a lot of steps when you're using our formulas. The face sunscreen we have kakadu plum, green tea, arnica Montana flower. We also have ectoin which helps protect you from the blue light and has clinical data for anti aging claims the the arnica is soothing. The green tea is a powerful antioxidant. Helps a smooth look of fine lines and wrinkles. And then the Kakadu plum is 100 times more brightening than or even more than vitamin C. So it's really, really brighten your skin. Then our body sunscreen, we have taminu and pomegranate and rosehip and acai and the lip we have sesame seed which helps to plump the look of your lips without that irritating feeling and sunflower and vitamins C and E. So like you said, our, our formulas are so much more than sun protection. They are skin care.
- [20:59]
A
I love that you have that. See, that's what I meant. I like that you have really thought about these other ingredients because when it comes to skin minimalism, I feel like sometimes what happens with consumers, they'll put on that one serum or like that one moisturizer. And they're like, well, that's good. I'm good now. And it's just not enough. Sun protection is absolutely first and foremost. And then the fact that you have all these amazing ingredients in there, that's so reassuring.
- [21:24]
B
Think of us as a skincare brand with amazing sun protection. You know, we combine sun care and skin care in one.
- [21:33]
A
I love the formulas. I love what you've done. And I'm really curious, is there any technologies or anything on the horizon that you're really excited about?
- [21:40]
B
Yeah, we have two really amazing formulas in the works. I'm not going to give too much information, but I will say they have some tint to it. We have been. People have been begging us to come out with something with a tin. And so there's two different ones and people are going to go crazy because there's very little like it out on the market. So we're really excited. It takes time to launch OTC formulas, so they won't be launching until spring of 2026.
- [22:09]
A
Well, I'm excited to see, you know, how you do the tinted aspect of everything. I really, really love the products. And for everyone curious, we'll be linking everything in our show notes for this episode. So make sure you ch. Mama soul. You can shop the brand@shopmamasol.com and let us know what you guys think and act.
- [22:26]
B
I do want to mention for your listeners, we have a discount code, anarchy mama 15. We get 15 off the entire line and we really hope that everybody gets to check us out. Mama Soul.
- [22:40]
A
Wonderful. So we'll be putting that in our. In our notes as well, guys. So keep an eye out for that discount code and definitely check out the brand and we'll be back next time. Thank you so much.