S9 59: More Than Skin Deep: Creating a Life (and Products) with Purpose with Arielle Moody

"I think one of the biggest things to convey to anybody who wants to start a business is know what you're good at, know what you like, and know what you're not good at, and then outsource that. Because that's going to help get the business to where you wanna go." —Arielle Moody

Ever wonder if you’re settling for “good enough” when you could be living—and choosing—so much better? If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the choices you make for your body, your business, or your family, this episode is your permission slip to trust your gut, question the status quo, and demand more from what you put on your skin and into your life.

Arielle Moody, a seasoned beauty industry expert and co-founder of Mama Sol, turned her personal quest for safe, effective products into a thriving business that puts wellness and integrity first. Her journey from industry insider to innovative entrepreneur brings a fresh, no-nonsense perspective on why what’s inside—both products and people—matters most.

Hit play for a candid look at how intentional living, ingredient transparency, self-belief, and values-driven choices shape everything from entrepreneurship and family business to work-life balance, clinical testing, and creating wellness products that truly multitask.

Connect with Arielle:

While pregnant with her first child, shocked by how many toxic ingredients were lurking in everyday products, and after trying dozens of natural mineral sunscreens, Arielle was determined to create one that 1) didn’t make her immediately want to wash her face, and 2) didn’t leave a white cast on her skin. Oh, and it needed to be something she looked forward to using daily. No biggie.

As Mama Sol’s product development whisperer, Arielle has been immersed in the beauty industry her entire adult life. Starting as a beauty sales trainer for Smashbox, Dr. Perricone, and Bite Beauty, then rising to become the head of product development for Skinn Cosmetics and, most recently, the head of sales for a leading cosmetics packaging and formulation company, she’s always known one thing—that she would one day create her own product, something truly different that had never been seen before.

Episode Highlights:

03:19 Fulfilling a Long-Time Dream

06:16 Inclusive Formulations and Non-Nano Zinc Oxide

13:41 Bootstrapping and Business Growth

18:30 Work-Life Balance

21:20 Ingredient Philosophy and Product Development

28:11 Family Dynamics and Business Challenges

31:20 The Mamasol Expert Series Podcast

Resources:

Book

Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams: https://a.co/d/3wGFDX0 

Discount

Get a special discount when you shop at: https://www.shopmamasol.com/ 

Use code: EssentialMama15

Tweets:

What if your next big breakthrough started with a single, mindful choice? Tune in for candid stories on entrepreneurship, clinical testing, and creating products that truly care for you—inside and out this week with @justine.reichman and @shopmamasol Co-Founder, Arielle Moody. #podcast #entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #BusinessGrowth #TransparencyMatters #HealthySkinCare #MindfulChoices #CleanBeauty #WorkLifeBalance

Inspirational Quotes:

01:32 "Sometimes we forget about what we know and how to leverage it, and that we can do that too." —Justine Reichman

02:33 "When I couldn't find what I was looking for, I hired a chemist and created it on my own." —Arielle Moody

06:32 "Being inclusive was extremely important to us. We tested our formulas on all different skin tones." —Arielle Moody

09:51 "One of the biggest things to convey to anybody who wants to start a business is just know what you're good at, know what you like and what you're not good at, and then outsource that, because that's going to help get the business where you want to." —Arielle Moody

10:08 “It's really important as a founder to be able to surround yourself with the different experts and know where you need to lean in and where you need to bring in those people.” —Justine Reichman 

17:11 "If you have the opportunity to go all in on your business, don't wait for the timing to be right.” —Arielle Moody

24:38 "You want to give the top selling points to get across to the consumer." —Arielle Moody

33:07 "Whatever is going on with you, it's going to reflect in the business." —Arielle Moody

35:08 "You can't claim anything as safe for sensitive skin unless y

Transcription:

Justine Reichman: Good morning, and welcome to Essential Ingredients. I want to welcome our friends, our guests, Arielle, and everyone tuning in today. We're so happy to have you here. We're so happy to invite Arielle, and have her share her journey and story with you about Mama Sol, a little about Arielle. She developed this product while she was pregnant. It became out of a need for something that she really wanted at that time. She drew on her background in beauty where she was for many years and had a lot of experience. I think you're really gonna enjoy hearing from Arielle. I think she's got a lot to share with us, and a lot for us to learn about how we choose our products, and what the essential ingredients mean for that.

So welcome, Arielle. 

Arielle Moody: Thanks for having me.

Justine Reichman: Oh, I'm so pleased to have you here. I'm so pleased to learn more about your product. I'm excited to learn about your journey. It's so funny, because when I hear these stories, I was pregnant and I had this idea, or I moved and I needed to figure this out, like it comes from a sense of desire, want, need, void, and the ability that you had to connect it with your background in beauty. It was amazing how lucky I was. That might not be the thing, but it's the ability to see the connection. And I think that sometimes, we forget about that. We forget about what we know and how to leverage it, and that we can do that too. So if you would maybe just tell everybody about Mama Sol.

Arielle Moody: Again, thanks for having me. So when I started Mama Sol, 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 so long. And sunscreen was by far the most toxic category that I had seen. Specifically at the time, oxybenzone was found in about 90% of sunscreens on the market, and it was found to be in breast milk. It was destroying coral reefs, causing skin allergies and cell damage. And I thought, why is this in our sunscreens? So this was in 2017 when I first started researching. I started buying dozens of mineral sunscreens, looking for ones without oxybenzone that were a mineral, and they all just left a white cast. Smelled like coconuts. Made me feel greasy. And so when I couldn't find what I was looking for, I hired a chemist and created it on my own.

Justine Reichman: Awesome, that's amazing. And what's most amazing about that is that you actually decided to do something about it. You're not just like, oh, I'm gonna let me see what I can investigate. Let me find the best product. When you saw this void, you decided to take that leap of faith. So I ask, were you always an entrepreneur? Because I know that you worked in the industry for a lot of different brands. But working for somebody and being an entrepreneur is two totally different things.

"Sometimes we forget about what we know and how to leverage it, and that we can do that too." —Justine Reichman

Arielle Moody: I worked in the beauty industry for over 15 years. I've worked for brands like Smashbox, Dr. Perricone, and Bite Beauty. I was then head of product development for the number one brand sold on HSN called Skin Cosmetics. And then from there, I became VP of Sales for leading beauty packaging and formulation companies. So I essentially worked with brands to help them launch their lines. I always knew, I would say since the age of 16, that I was going to start my own business. I knew it was going to be in the beauty industry. My mom teases me to this day like, I never met a 16 year old that knew what they wanted to do more than you. But I just knew that this was my path, and it actually started with a psychic reading, which I can get into.

Justine Reichman: So curious, when you went down a psychic reading, were you looking for answers on something in particular? 

Arielle Moody: That's a whole nother story. I've always been into psychics, and I'm also very into manifestation, breath work and wellness, and so that's like a huge passion and part of our brand. But when I had this psychic reading, at the time, I was actually sketching makeup brand ideas because I started out my job, my career as a makeup artist, so I thought that that was going to be my path. But what ended up happening is I ended up having this psychic reading, and she said to me, no, you're gonna start a clean skincare brand. And she said, it's going to be really successful. I see it on Access Hollywood. I see it all over the magazines. She compared it to The Honest Company. Well, three weeks after we launched, we were featured on Access. It was organic. Of course, it was kind of nuts. I don't think that the psychic reading led me in that direction. It just validated it when it did come right to me.

Justine Reichman: That's super interesting. Well, that isn't a whole nother conversation, but I am curious. How did you get to the psychic? Why did you go to the psychic? I know that she helped validate the idea, but did you go because you were looking for validation because you were curious?

Arielle Moody: It actually had to do with my dog at the time. So I had her come in for a completely different reason. And then in addition to whatever I was asking her to help me with my dog at the time, she felt compelled to tell me what she saw for my future. And of course, yes. Who isn't curious about their future and what their path should be? So I definitely asked, what do you see? What do you see me doing with my career? 

Justine Reichman: Well, I'm so glad you shared that with me. We'll have to circle back on that psychic post-podcast, because I am really curious. But I do want to give you the opportunity, because I think our guests would be curious. I want you to talk to them about the struggles you had, if you had struggles to serve people with different skin tones. How did you tackle that head on in your formulation? I think it's important that it's been addressed. I think that it's important, it's a differentiator.

Arielle Moody: Yeah, for sure. Being inclusive was extremely important to us. We tested our formulas on all different skin tones. This is the thing. Zinc sunscreen on very dark skin tones may sometimes leave a slight white cast. I never want to be absolute when I say that. But our sunscreen is better than others that I've tried. Let's say that zinc dispersions have significantly improved. Technology surpassed so much of what used to be in the 80s and 90s when people look like ghosts, right? So it's very different now. And there's ways to really mitigate that white cast in formulations today, so we're really lucky. I'm glad that I waited because innovative technology has come out around non-nano zinc oxide.

Justine Reichman: So for those that are tuning in, maybe not familiar with non-nano zinc oxide, can you talk a little bit about that? Why are things changing? Why is that an important part of the conversation?

Arielle Moody: Yeah. Non-nano just means the particles aren't so small that they're going to penetrate into the bloodstream. Non-nano zinc in my opinion really is important for sprays, because you can inhale the zinc. So with lotions, it's not as dangerous to use nano zinc oxide. But in addition, non-nano zinc oxide is also better for the environment because it gets into our waterways, and it can penetrate all types of things. But we don't want it to. But I also think it's important for your listeners to understand the difference between mineral and chemical sunscreen. So if you don't mind me just explaining that for a minute? Zinc sunscreen, you want to think of it like a physical shield that sits on top of your skin physically blocks UV rays from penetrating your skin. Chemical sunscreen has to be applied 15 minutes before you go out in the sun, and it's going to absorb the UV rays, and then convert them into non dangerous phrases. So that is the difference. The biggest difference is that chemical sunscreen is much more likely to end up in your bloodstream. So we can't ever say that mineral sunscreen will never, zinc oxide will never end up in your bloodstream. It's extremely unlikely, because it sits on top of the skin, and it's also just not as detrimental for endocrine disruptors and for your hormones.

Justine Reichman: I think what I'm curious about is, I want to start at the beginning, and I want to start where you had all this experience. You wanted to create something that you would want to use. Because when you were pregnant, you didn't want to use those, for my understanding, right? You didn't like what was in them. You didn't want to put that. You didn't want that to go into your bloodstream. You didn't want to have the impact that it might have both on you and on your baby. So when you decided to do that, and from your experience with all those different companies, how did you use that experience to be able to build Mama Sol?

"One of the biggest things to convey to anybody who wants to start a business is just know what you're good at, know what you like and what you're not good at, and then outsource that, because that's going to help get the business where you want to." —Arielle Moody

Arielle Moody: It helped me immensely, because I learned how to create a product. So I helped customers find their packaging. I helped them create their formulas. I work directly with ingredient suppliers and chemists, so I learned from the ground up how to get a concept to market. I didn't have experience in marketing. That's not my wheelhouse, so I had to outsource that. So I think one of the biggest things to convey to anybody that is wanting to start a business is just know what you're good at, know what you like. Know what you're not good at, and then outsource that because that's really going to help escalate, and get the business where you want it to go.

Justine Reichman: We can't know everything. I think it's really important as a founder to be able to surround yourself with the different experts, and know where you need to lean in, and where you need to bring in those people to help you with the things that are not necessarily your core competency, or going to hinder you, because you're going to take too much time to be able to learn that process, or that skill. And I know that oftentimes, building a business could be very scrappy, and it can be very hand to mouth and all these different things. So when you started your business and you realized that you did not have the marketing expertise, how did you decide to integrate that into your business? What was the landscape that you were looking to build?

Arielle Moody: So you have to be clear on your go-to-market strategy when you're launching a business. So our original go-to-market strategy, we thought, was going to be straight into retail. But what we learned very quickly was it's not as easy as you think to get right into retail. Our formulas, we can talk a little bit about them because that's actually what led us into the market that we're currently in. Our formulas smell like a set hint of lavender essential oil, and it encourages you to take a deep breath with each use. And one of our taglines is, if sunscreen and a spa day had a baby, and so what that led us to was spa. And so now, we're currently sold in 11 Four Seasons. We're in Fairmont Hotels. We're in a ton of height and spas, and resorts, and that led us into our market, which is spa. And that really dictated our marketing strategies around wellness and relaxation, and then also where skincare needs sun care. So that really helped dictate our marketing strategy for Mama Sol.

Justine Reichman: That totally makes sense, and you're working on that, and you're doing all that. But you realize that maybe you're not the best person, let's just say, to do the marketing strategy, to figure it out. You got the overall idea, you got the vision for it. So where were you in the business when you decided, okay, I need to bring this person in.

Arielle Moody: We always had somebody that was helping us with our social media, but we didn't have somebody really overseeing all of our marketing strategies, meaning like our email blasts, not also including social media events, influencer outreach, all of those things was something that we really didn't have. And so I was at a networking event, and I met our CMO there, and I went to this event to talk about manifestation. I had gone to the event, and I set an intention before going, as I do in every networking event that I go to. I highly recommend everybody listening to do the same. But I said, I really wanted to meet my head of marketing, because I knew that's where we needed the most help. I have a co-founder. She's in charge of all the operations and logistics. I'm in head of sales and product development, but the marketing really was this outlier. We needed help. So anyway, I met her, and we immediately hired her. She was so great. She used to run marketing for tender greens, and so we really scooped up a good one. And she's been phenomenal. And she's been with us now for over a year. She really helped our brand awareness, I would say, the most. And really nailing down the social media brand esthetics, and how we want to look to all of the people visiting us for the first time.

Justine Reichman: First of all, it's a beautiful product. All the branding, it looks great. I love what you're doing with it. And I think those were natural next steps. When you built your business, when you started from the beginning, was this something you're like, okay, I'm going to fund, or I'm going to go raise money. Because I think that plays a big role in resources, how they get allocated, and how you can move forward, and when you can move from scrappy to strategic.

Arielle Moody: Okay. I'm gonna get into something that I think it's personal, and I think will be very interesting to everybody listening. So we are completely bootstrapped. We have no investors except for the founders. One of the founders is my mom. She is a world renowned eye surgeon and laser cosmetic surgeon, and so between her and me. And then also my sister who's our creative director. We have completely financed the business on our own. Mainly, my mom has been our main investor up until this point. We are definitely at a point where we're considering getting an outside investment. But for anyone that is starting a business and in the same predicament, what I would say to them is, wait as long as you can. You want to make sure your valuation is going to be the best. You want to make sure that you have all of the opportunities lined up, and maybe even converted before you bring in an investor. So for us, the way that I've made this work is the Palisades Fire that happened on January 7. 

On January 3, I had actually quit my job to go all into Monticello. So that was four days later that the fires happened, for those listening. And I live in LA. So when that happened, I said, okay, I'm going to get an investor. I want an investor. I want an investor to help pay my salary, and then I can go all into this business well. And getting an investor takes a lot longer than a couple months, of course. And so I'm very serious about this business. I believe in it with every ounce of my being. And so we decided to move our family to Newport Beach. We're staying with my mom right now. We're renting at our home in LA, and I am giving this a full year of running out of a home, and going all into the business so that I don't have to take an outside investment right now. So that I can be the one to just put every ounce of my energy into this business, and not worry about getting a job. I've been extremely fortunate. It was really, really hard to move our whole family. I have two little boys, 4 and 7, to take them away. There were many reasons why we decided to do this. It wasn't only because of Mama Sol, but I would say that was probably 80% of the decision. And so now, that's where we are.

Justine Reichman: Wow, that's an amazing story. I'm so happy that you shared that, because it talks to your character, talks to the ability to go all in, and what that means, and what you're willing to give up. And if we're not willing to give it up, who else is going to be willing to give it up? And I always say that at the end of the day, it's the founders that care the most. It's the founders that are going to work at 3:00 o'clock in the morning, during dinner or whatever. There's so much pride, joy and ethics around building a business, especially when it's your own. I commend you for doing that, and your whole family. What was that like for you and your husband to decide to do that? 

Arielle Moody: It was extreme. It was devastating to leave. We left initially because the smoke was so bad, and I got sick for a month from the air quality. So we had to leave initially, but we weren't planning to leave longer than a couple weeks. Maybe a month. What turned into a couple weeks to a month, turned into a year. And it was really hard. I never felt like I got to say goodbye, a true goodbye to my neighbors and my friends. And because it happened so quickly, we were forced out of it, which I believe was this divine intervention in the universe. It pushed me out. It forced me to do this. Because if it hadn't happened, if this fire hadn't happened, I would still be living in my home in LA. I probably still have two jobs so that I could do Mama Sol. And because I don't have two jobs, our sales are up 165%.

Justine Reichman: Congratulations. 

Arielle Moody: Thank you.

Justine Reichman: It's extremely personal. You really share the heart of your business, how dedicated you are, and it's really inspirational and aspirational. Because when I sit there and I think about it, there's something so special about a founder and how they build their business. Not to say that somebody's going to get funding isn't inspirational. That is inspirational. It's a completely different mindset, and maybe even trajectory. But it doesn't have to be. And I think it's really important for those that are listening today and tuning in to take something from this, to say, you know what? I can invest in my business too. I can be clever, and I can figure it out. Maybe they don't have a house to rent or something like that. But to think within themselves what they have tapped into their resources so they can make sure to give it all that they have. There's so many options, and that's what I got out of that, I guess.

Arielle Moody: Yeah. I think the moral of the story is, for me, at least it was now or never. Anything to make this happen had to happen now, because I don't want to look back and have any regrets. And so if you have the opportunity to go all into your business, don't wait for the timing to be right. That's my biggest, biggest lesson I want to leave with your audience. Because I had two jobs for, I want to say five years while I started this business. We launched two years ago, but I started the business many, many years ago, and I have never had the chance to just focus on Mama Sol. I was always distracted, and I had two kids on top of it. And so I kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the timing to be right. And then I finally just said, no, this is the time. And then look what happened? Look where we are. We've won three national awards in the last three months. Our body sunscreen just won Best Body SPF from Shape magazine. Our tint, our 100% mineral tinted lip oils just won Best Lip Gloss with SPF from New Beauty, which is one of the top beauty publications that you can receive an award from. And then we also just won Best Tinted Lip Oil from Shop Today Awards, The Today Show. We're rolling, and we're really excited. The sky's the limit right now for us.

Justine Reichman: You moved in January, right? It's July now. It sounds like the ability to be able to just do one job, and I don't say just one job and doing two jobs. What do you think are the three biggest benefits you have now that you can spend and focus your time specifically here?

Arielle Moody: Oh, my God, there's so many. It's endless. I would say, first of all, the work life balance that I have now before I left my job, I was so spread thin that I wasn't being the best mom that I could be. I didn't have enough time to spend playing with my kids. I was working around the clock so that I could work my 9 to 5 job, and then do Mama Sol. And so now, being able to do that, I'm able to go get my kids from school at 3:00 o'clock. Or home sick from school, I can be with them. There's so many things that have changed in my life, in my personal life. Number two, I'm now able to travel. It's been my dream to travel to Mama Sol. And now, I'm going all over the country, and out of the country. I'm going to Mexico in October for a Spa Conference. I've been all over the country this past year showcasing and exhibiting at trade shows, Spa conferences. I would never have been able to do that if I had another job. So that in itself, I would say, has been the number one game changer for me, because that's what has allowed our business to grow because I'm meeting so many leads at these trade shows. And then I would say, my mind doesn't feel cluttered. My mental wellness,I'm so much happier. I am able to focus on meditation every single morning. Probably the number one change in my life has been my commitment to myself, and really believing in myself, and believing in my purpose. I've read so many books about manifestation, about changing, rewiring your brain. I can share those recommendations with you and your listeners, because they've been life changing for me.

Justine Reichman: I would love that. And if you don't want to do it now, we can include this in our newsletter as a little bit of a dig deeper section just to encourage people to learn more. 

Arielle Moody: I can share one book that I think gets people started. It's called Infinite Possibilities by Mike Dooley. That is what got me so into manifestation and changing the way that I think. I would say that if anyone reads anything for their next book, pick that one up.

Justine Reichman: We'll make sure to add a link for it in the show notes, so that people can, after they listen to the episode, get the book, see what you're talking about, learn more, and be curious. There's so much to unpack here, and there's so many things that I want to go over. I want to talk about the family connection for the business. I want to talk about working behind the scenes, and the things that maybe you're not willing to compromise on. So there is so much. I want to go back to a little bit about things you're not able to compromise on, and then we'll jump to the family dynamic, and what that looks like now. Both before you took your time off, and as well after. So let's just dig in right now. And if you can tell me a little bit more about the ingredients, anything that is a deal breaker for you, something that you won't compromise on that really differentiates you from others.

Arielle Moody: I would say the number one thing that differentiates us is we are completely silicone free. Silicones tend to clog your pores, and they are not biodegradable, so they're not great for the environment. Our brand is super sustainable. So every decision we make, it has to be okay for Mother Earth and for mamas. Our original tagline when I launched the brand was for all mamas, Mother Earth included. And so every single ingredient is vetted to be safe enough for pregnant or nursing women, and safe enough for our environment. So silicone suspends zinc oxide. So many formulators use this to create stable formulas, and it's an easy way to do it. It's a reliable way to do it. But it's not the best way to do it, in my opinion, because I feel like we can do better. I want every ingredient to be nourishing to the skin. It took me five years to develop that first formula, because it really hadn't been done before. Silicones in sunscreens, that's just the way it is. And when I challenged my chemist to make it without, it was hard, and it took a long time. But now, we figured it out. And I would say that that's probably the number one thing that differentiates us from others.

Justine Reichman: I'm curious, just to digress for one second. As you're developing this, and as you are standing firm on, let's try to do this without silicones. Where was your mom? What was your mom's part of that conversation? Was she part of that conversation? I can only imagine that as a doctor, she is really knowledgeable and experienced in all these different ingredients, and the impact that they have.

Arielle Moody: Yeah. My mom really was a value for us. There's millions of people in the world that suffer from dry eyes, and she has done some research and found that chemical sunscreen exacerbates symptoms for dry eyes. And it's not the best option for dry eyes. So where my mom really came into play was making sure that we're not using any ingredients that we're going to sting the eye, irritate the eye. If you haven't tried our sunscreen, especially our face sunscreen, and you use it, I rub it all over my eyes. I've gone to sweat yoga, I worked out outside in the boiling heat, and it gets into my eyes, and it doesn't sting, whatsoever. So I think that is another game changer for her, for our formula.

Justine Reichman: And do people know when you're educating them and marketing to them the extent of what went into that to create that kind of option for people?

Arielle Moody: We've gone into it, but probably not enough. There's so many talking points about our line. We have so many amazing ingredients in the formula that it's, honestly, it's hard to cover every talking point. And so what we've learned is you want to give the top selling points to get across to the consumer. And so the face sunscreen, for example, it's not just a sunscreen. It's also your daily moisturizer, which is anti-aging. And it's also a skin smoothing makeup primer. All in one body, it is also multitasking. Everything is anti-aging. It's going to smooth the look of uneven skin texture. It's going to hydrate your skin like a lotion, and then it's also going to protect your skin. And then finally, the lip oil is going to plump the look of your lips with sesame seed oil. And it also hydrates the lips with so many amazing oils. It has sunflower seeds. It has vitamin C and E. It has borage oil, primrose, castor seed oil. So what I want you to take from that is that everything in the line is multitasking. It has more than one purpose.

Justine Reichman: I don't know about you, but I'm at my best when I'm multitasking. So clearly, the products are too.

Arielle Moody: Yeah, for sure. I'm so glad you just mentioned that you're at your desk, and that made me think about the people who talk about not needing to wear sunscreen every day because they're maybe sitting in front of their computer. Well, guess what? Our sunscreen actually blocks blue light from your screens and devices. So it's blue light from your screens and devices, and blue light from the sun actually causes hyperpigmentation. And so whether you're indoors or outdoors, you're getting protection.

Justine Reichman: Well, that's really good to know. Because the truth is, coming from New York City, you would think that I was in the sun less, but I was in the sun more. I was in the sun more because you're going everywhere, and you're walking there. You're not in your car in a small town in California where you need to drive everywhere, right? Or I drive around with my top down in the summer because it's nice. And always at the beach. I don't go to the beach here because, well, you've been to San Francisco, it's cold. I always think, oh, I'm not even out there. I don't need to put that on. But the truth is, I sit here in front of my computer on Riverside having conversations like this all day long so that we can have a great podcast, and so that we can have people use the platform. And now, I realize that I should be using sunscreen.

Arielle Moody: Even just sitting next to a window, your windows are not blocking the UV rays, and so it's really important to protect your skin whether you're indoors or outdoors. I have a mini podcast on my own. I just interviewed a world renowned dermatologist, and he was just going out on a walk for five minutes a day, which caused cumulative damage. You're not realizing that that is going to wreak havoc on your skin. So the other thing that I think people don't realize is that, even when it's cloudy outside, you need to wear sunscreen because there's a difference between UVA and UVB rays. So UVB rays are the ones that burn, and UVA are the aging rays. And those ones penetrate deeper, it causes melanoma and aging. They're not going to necessarily burn your skin, but they're there, and they're dangerous. And so even when it's not sunny, even when it's not hot outside, you still need to be wearing sunscreen every single day.

Justine Reichman: Wear sunscreen all the time, whether you're inside at your computer, window, in a car, or taking your dog for a walk.Message received. We were sitting here talking about your products, how you developed, and the role that your mother had, and her research that really played and had an impact on it, specifically around face cream, and the impact it could have on eyes. So now, I want to talk about your sister. You're a creative director, and the impact that she's had on the company.

Arielle Moody: My sister is my best friend. I'm so lucky to have her. She goes with me to every single trade show, and I just don't even know what I would do without her. She's our creative director. She's created all the artwork for all of our packaging, our website, for a lot of our social media. She is the most generous. She gives back so much of her time to the brand. She's actually part owner of the brand, and she's between me, my mom, and my sister. We are a fearsome trio.

Justine Reichman: It sounds small, but mighty. Does she also work another job? 

Arielle Moody: She's a freelancer on the side. She's also a children's book author, and she is also a healer. She does Reiki and breath work for others as well. Her children's book actually relates very much to what she does with healing. It's very cool, and I love having her perspective because we're all so much into wellness at Mama Sol, so it really helps balance the team.

Justine Reichman: I know it's balanced, and I know you guys are a great close knit family. What are some of the challenges, though, of working in a family business? Maybe you could just name three. 

Arielle Moody: My mom's the financer, so I think that's been hard. I'm constantly having to explain a lot of decisions, why I'm making certain decisions, and why we need more money for this or that. It's hard. It's not like I'm asking a bank. I'm asking my mom. I'm very close with her, but there's a fine line. You don't want to put a strain on your personal relationship, so you have to be careful how to navigate that. So we, fortunately, have an extremely strong relationship, and really nothing could break us. So even when we've gotten into it about the business and I get frustrated with her, we always come out the other end with a nice hug. 

Justine Reichman: That's great. And so what are some of the tools that you've used to make sure that you manage that expectation or that relationship, and make sure that you don't do anything to compromise it?

Arielle Moody: I think getting our CFO heavily involved, we've set boundaries on the financing, so we have agreements in place now. In the beginning, it was kind of a free for all because she's also a founder, and we all want this business to succeed so we're putting in as much money as needed. But we also know that when something isn't working, I communicate it with her, and we pivot immediately. And she's been right about a lot of things. Everything from our meta ads to social, checking me at times and saying, is that going to get us the ROI? Because if it's not, then we need to cut it. She's a really nice business acumen, and she is an investor in many other businesses as well. So that's really helped me, because I'm learning from her.

Justine Reichman: That's nice. I know that working with family can be challenging, but it can also be really amazing. I've worked with my family as well. I worked in my mom's business for a while, and that was a challenge, too. My biggest challenge was what to call her in front of people. I know it sounds silly. What do you call your mom if you're in front of people?

Arielle Moody: I just say mom.

Justine Reichman: So if you were talking to clients or a potential Spa or four seasons, you'd say, mom, come here. I wouldn't do that. Maybe because I was so young, like I was in my 20s, right? And it just felt like I needed to stand on my two feet. I don't know. I just found it really hard sitting in a meeting with five people. Like, excuse me, I wouldn't even say her name.

Arielle Moody: I probably don't say mom often when I'm in front of others, but I still call her mom. I couldn't imagine calling her anything else. She probably prefers that, because I used to call her mom so many times. You probably prefer being called, excuse me.

Justine Reichman: I'm really pleased that you shared that, because I think family dynamics and how people work together can be challenging. So understanding a little bit about how you guys navigate that, I think is great for our listeners and our viewers, so thank you for sharing that. I know that you mentioned it, but I also wanted to tap into it. You have a podcast. Can you talk to us a little bit about your podcast?

Arielle Moody: Yeah, it's called the Mama Sol Expert Series. And every month, I have an expert come on that specializes in something in wellness, whether it's a hormone. We had a functional medicine doctor, we had a dermatologist, we had a psychic,we had a breath work specialist, and we had a manifestation coach. We actually even had a child psychiatrist and psychologist from Stanford come on. So anything to do with wellness for yourself and for your family, I interview.

Justine Reichman: That's really interesting. I think of you in a way that says, okay, I trust these because they were created by a mom, and that seems trustworthy. And then, of course, you bring together all these other people with insights on how to tap into our ability to be mindful of these things, and make sure that whether it's a product that we're using, whether we're spending our day meditating, tapping into ourselves, or just taking care of ourselves, I don't know if I'm explaining it right, but it just seems like it's all related already, but it's all coming from Mama, like the mom. It just seems like it's trustworthy. You and I are on the same page. And if you want to hear that person, so do I, because everybody trusts their mom.

Arielle Moody: I'll say something that has resonated with me since it was said to me. I'm very into psychics. It's kind of like my therapy. So I had another psychic reading several months ago, and she said, Mama Sol is an extension of you. Whatever is going on with you, it's going to reflect in the business. It's just so true. Right now, I'm so happy, I'm manifesting, and I'm meditating, and so the business is doing well. It's all connected. Like you just said, it's just all coming from mom and Mother Earth, and the oneness. And I think that's really important.

Justine Reichman: Yeah. I definitely think so. And I just love the ethos of it, and where it comes from. I think it comes through from the beginning to the end. From the infancy of it, to the creation of the product, to all the resources that you're putting together. And it's a trusted product. Everything we hear from you is about the efficacy of it, what's in it, the research that was done for it. Your mom who's a doctor does research on one end so that it can be integrated into this in another way, to another multi purpose function. 

Arielle Moody: Our formulas were tested on over 100 people. 50% who have sensitive skin, and we've had zero skin reaction. So this is safe. We've done clinical trials. This is safe for people who have sensitive skin. The body sunscreen can be used on kids. The face and the lip is for you, maybe for your teen daughter as they would love it too. We've tried to think of everything.

Justine Reichman: I love to hear that you're doing trials, and I know that trials are often a little aspirational for many people because it's expensive to do. I'm just curious, what was the impetus for you guys to do it? Given that you're self funded, it became a priority because you did it. Can you talk to me a little bit about that?

Arielle Moody: Well, if you don't do some type of clinical, like a dermatologist test, then it would concern me, for people trusting, whether or not it's safe for sensitive skin. You can't claim anything as safe or sensitive skin unless you put it through the testing. That was a really important claim for us. Because one of the one of the most amazing testimonials we received was from a mom whose daughter had eczema, and she was an infant at the time, and couldn't find a sunscreen that didn't flare up her eczema. And she tried Mama Sol that I gave to her, and she said that this was the first sunscreen she'd ever used that didn't flare up her eczema. It was so life changing for her at the time because she was rarely taking her daughter outside in the sun because of not being able to find a sunscreen that she could use. You hear something that it's like, okay, I'm so glad I did put it through that testing. 

Justine Reichman: I think it makes it really meaningful, and it just adds to the efficacy of the product, especially when you hear that. I have a terrible issue with any products that I put around my eye. When I say any product, it could be eye makeup, eye cream or mascara. So as a result, I really stick to what I know that works. I don't wear a whole lot of eye makeup ever. And then when I do try it, it always happens. My eyes get puffy, and they get watery, and just can't do it. So the ingredients in these products are really integral. What's really important is that you can rely on this product, because there's so many products out there that impact us in different ways. I love the fact that your mom has dry eyes, I don't have dry eyes, but that is one of my biggest complaints with things that I put around my eyes. 

Arielle Moody: I'm excited. I would love to have you after you try to report back. Let me know.

Justine Reichman: I will. Remind me the name of your podcast so we can make sure that people that are tuning in today can also make sure to download, like and subscribe to your podcast.

Arielle Moody: So we actually are just on YouTube right now. It's Mama Sol Sunscreen. It's called Mama Sol Expert Series on YouTube, but you can find us under Mama Sol Sunscreen. You can really follow us on Instagram at shopmamasol, M-A-M-A-S-O-L. and then you can get us on our website, at shopmamasol.com. I'm so excited to share a promotion for your listeners, a promo code. It is EssentialMama15.

Justine Reichman: Thank you so much for that. We'll make sure to share that. We'll make sure to tag you in our YouTube video so that people can go to your YouTube videos too.

Arielle Moody: Yeah, that's great. If you want to learn more about that psychic, she's on there.

Justine Reichman: I do want to learn more about that psychic. There's a lot of things I want to learn more about, but that's for another day, and another conversation. I want to thank you for joining us. I want to thank our guests for tuning in today. This is jam packed with so much information, enabling people to make better decisions for themselves around this product, and around any product. Because understanding what you're putting on your face, whether it's entering the bloodstream or not, and looking at those ingredients really impact us and how we respond to them. So I think this is really an opportunity to take a pause and read the ingredients in whatever you're using. So thank you again for those tuning in to the podcast. Don't forget that you can watch us on YouTube. If you would prefer to see the video podcast, that's at Essential Ingredients. And if you're not already subscribed, don't forget to subscribe to our podcast at Essential Ingredients with Justine. And you can follow us for different behind the scenes tips and deeper dives on our Instagram at essential.ingredients. Thanks so much for tuning in.

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