I recently met Allie Egan, the founder and CEO of Veracity, a wellness brand that uses hormone testing to formulate clinically backed skincare. Before beginning Veracity, Allie was CEO at Cynthia Rowley. She brings expertise from working with global cosmetics companies like Estée Lauder, La Mer, Clinique, and Origins.
As a fan of Veracity’s gentle Blemish Calming Cleanser and Hydrating Cleanser, I couldn’t wait to chat with Allie about her vision and plans for Veracity.
So starting off, Allie, can you tell us a bit about your background and what inspired you to create Veracity?
My background is at some of the best beauty brands in the world. I actually started my career investing in beauty brands, but then I spent several years at Estée Lauder. I worked at La Mer, Clinique, and Origins doing product marketing for them. Then I was CEO of Cynthia Rowley apparel brands. But what inspired me to create Veracity came from my own health experience.
When I when I was in graduate school at Harvard, I broke out into eczema on my face [and] around my eyes. So I call a dermatologist, who assured me it was nothing. It was just something irritating my skin, and I [should stop] using products. I followed all the directions, but it still didn’t work. I ended up dealing with this problem for years. I always chalked up to stress, like we all do.
Then years later, I was at Cynthia Rowley and finally in that place where we wanted to start our family. We ended up going through a really long and really painful infertility journey. And it was only through that experience that I got my hormones tested and I was diagnosed with Hashimotos, which is a form of hypothyroidism. Even then, I was just given a pill and told to start IVF. I had an ectopic pregnancy; I had failed IVF transfers; I had a miscarriage. I started looking at my lab results, Googling everything, trying to look at actual research.
The first thing I pull up is this overview of Hashimotos and one of the telltale signs is dry, flaky skin. That was the moment I was like, wow, I cannot believe like these are the same root causes. I wish I had had this information years before. That was the inspiration behind Veracity. Bringing [a] root cause, integrative health approach to the world of beauty and through looking at hormones.
It has a happy ending, and this is why I’m so passionate. Once I was able to understand what was going on, I’ve never had my skin problem again. I have two beautiful children. I’ve healed my Hashimotos. I have normal thyroid levels, no antibodies. I’m passionate about bringing resources to more women.
How did Veracity get its name? And what do you hope customers feel when they see the name Veracity on products?
Veracity means a commitment to truth, or habitually truthful. It’s our brand’s promise to our customers that we [use] science and transparency around what we know, what we don’t know, and what we can help you with. We are not physicians and [there are some things you] should seek external care for.
But it’s also about your own truth. So much of the world of beauty is based on weird marketing claims and trends. Everything should start with your own truth and that truth is what’s happening physically in my body and how is it manifesting in my skin, my hair, my mood, my cycle, my sex drive, [etc.].
Unlike other science-backed brands, the brand is beautiful and l aspirational. I want it to [feel] like you’re excited to invest in yourself and your health and not this cold, clinical experience.
Veracity’s Hydrating Cleanser has this gorgeous emerald green and gold packaging and it’s reminiscent of the vintage beauty products I used to see on my grandmother’s vanity. Can you tell us about the design process for the bottles and the packaging?
First came the green color, which is the color of health, and also the color of empowerment. That’s what I wanted the visuals [to] stand for.
The other important thing is all of our packaging is glass because all our products are free of any known or potential endocrine disruptors. Plastic is the number one endocrine disruptor, so even in clean beauty when you have plastic packaging, [it’s] getting into your product, face, and body. We started with packaging standards of what materials we needed to use. Then, shape wise, the physical packaging needed to embody power [and] empowerment.
[It’s a] “I’m taking care of myself” kind of mantra. That’s what health and wellness and beauty should really be. [You should] feel good about taking care of yourself.
How does your team approach research and development for product formulations?
This is the exciting part for me coming from Estée Lauder, where the process [involves] social listening. You’re looking at Instagram, doing customer interviews, and trying to think about how people are talking about their skin.
We start now with actually understanding what is happening in people’s bodies and what are the symptoms. Now we’re approaching our two-year anniversary, and we’ve been doing our hormone tests for two years. We have this plethora of data. Are they getting acne? Are they getting hyperpigmentation? Are they getting dry spots? What is happening in their bodies to cause that?
Then we work with our physician team, which is this integrative health team across endocrinology, OBGYN, dermatology, functional medicine, and nutrition. We say, here are the problems. What’s the research and what are some actives that we can look into that are going to help solve these problems in a hormonally safe way? Then we work with a chemist partner, who will work on the actual formulations. We do a bunch of testing both internally and then with our community to make sure there’s clinical [and] experiential efficacy.
It’s like an East-meets-West medicine, which I love. Our Western medical system doesn’t have all the answers. Especially for women, the research hasn’t been done. You have to be open other avenues [for healing], like functional [medicine]. A lot of our ingredients are adaptogens and those have been used in functional medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. So it’s fun to bring those worlds together.
Your website has this section that’s called “The Knowledge,” and it’s dedicated to hormone and wellness education. What do you hope your customers will take away from reading “The Knowledge?”
We want that [to be empowering]. Now people have a start [and] real practical tips on what to do, and then [they can] think about the right choices for themselves. We try not to be overly prescriptive. We lay out all the facts. Here’s what’s actually known and here’s what physicians, both our internal ones, [and] external physicians that we have interviewed [have said]. Here’s how you can either make the best decision for yourself or take this information to your health professional.
It’s to empower you with some [information] to ask good questions. We’ve found so many women go to their dermatologist for or their [OB/GYN] for acne and they’re given prescriptions right away and they don’t know what to ask. One of our top-read articles [is], “What are the most common dermatological prescriptions?” [The article tells] what they do and how to talk to your doctor about them.
What does a balanced approach to skincare look like for you?
I love the ritual of taking care of your skin. I am a founder of my company [and] I have two small children. The rest and reset is hard to achieve, but I know that your body develops neuroplasticity around signals that you give it to rev up or to rev down. I think having a good skincare routine is helpful, [for] more than just the topical side. It’s giving your body the right sort of signs and signals [that] this is my routine to tell me what needs to happen next.
I love using our products. [Veracity] made a huge difference in my skin, post-eczema and dealing with the hormonal shifts of having two children and breastfeeding.
In the morning, I usually exercise. I’m a big runner, so I have sweat coming off. I start my morning with the Blemish Calming Cleanser, which is a really great, deep cleanse [that] helps get all those impurities out from sweat and pollution. We [also] have our targeted treatments, which is our vital concentrates. I use my hormone test that I take every quarter to see what’s happening in my body and how I need to support it. Sometimes [my skin has] seasonal needs. For example, if it’s really dry in the winter, I’ll use our Hydration Balance.
Right now I’ve been using our inflammation response because I’ve been doing a ton of traveling, [so] my skin has been oily and inflamed. Then I use our BioEvolve Serum, which is a great daily protection and anti-aging retinol alternative. Instead of using retinol, which is a hormone disruptor, we use two types of copper peptides, as well as mushroom adaptogen. Then I follow with the BioEvolve Moisturizer, which provides pre and postbiotics, moisture, [and] a hydrating seal.
What is the best beauty or skincare tip that you’ve ever received?
One is more practical; it’s really making sure your face is clean. It’s thinking about beauty holistically and not trying to [burn] your face to get results. [Current beauty products] are chock-full of benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid or, whatever the accent of the day is. [Skincare] is actually nourishing your skin from the inside and out [by] eating foods. Eating healthy fats [like] salmon, avocado, [and drinking] lots of water, all those things make the biggest difference.
Is there anything else that you would like our readers to know about Veracity?
I want people to know that they can get amazing clinically backed results while also treating their health and hormones. Our line and clinical efficacy is focused on how it’s going to make a difference in you. Also, how is what you’re using in your skincare routine going to support your body’s ability to heal itself? That’s the message that we want to send to the world.
Shop Veracity’s skincare line, hormone test, and supplements on the brand’s website.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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