Dermalogica Founder Jane Wurwand Doesn’t Sweat The Small Stuff

Jane Wurwand is a force of nature. For those who may not know her by name, it’s safe to assume you know her by her legacy skin care brand, Dermalogica. The now 66-year-old founded the label back in 1986 in an effort to present a customizable, no-frills, results-driven product line to the world (as opposed to the ultra-fragrant, gimicky, “miracle” beauty brands that were rampant at the time). With a strong emphasis on in-person education, through Wurwand’s International Dermal Institute, the skin care gospel according to Jane quickly spread, thanks to her rigorous training sessions with estheticians and tireless PR and marketing efforts.

“Back in the day, there was no internet, no laptops, no Microsoft Windows,” she says on a recent Zoom call. “Literally word-of-mouth meant you had to meet somebody and tell them about it. I would have to fly to New York, where most of the magazines were then based, with my box of products and try to grab somebody in the lobby of Condé Nast to tell them about what we were doing.” Wurwand was also attending industry trade shows and teaching classes at the IDI on Sundays and Mondays, so days off were few and far in-between.

The sleepless nights, exhausting work hours, and blood, sweat, and tears truly paid off, as Wurwand and her team would go on to start a skin care movement with Dermalogica. In fact, the Scottish born entrepreneur (who juggled growing her business with raising two daughters) was once described as "the woman who started a cult" by The Sunday Times. At present day, the label is used by more than 100,000 skin therapists in more than 100 countries around the world.

Fast-forward some three decades later and life looks a bit different for Wurwand. Dermalogica was acquired by personal care giant Unilever in 2015, and the founder’s role — and day-to-day — suddenly changed. But her mission and vision for Dermalogica has not. “Even though it's a big global brand, it’s still important to see through the noise, see through the crowding, see through the chaos to what your voice is and who your brand is,” says Wurwand, referencing the ever-changing and evolving beauty industry. “I use the word ‘who’ because, to me, a brand is like a person that has a personality, has a viewpoint, has a voice, which is very different than just a product. My official title is Chief Visionary for Dermalogica, and I have to be able to see through the noise and the clutter to what our True North is and where does it point to all the time.”

Ahead, Wurwand discusses her new role at Dermalogica, her current passion projects and day-to-day routine, and how she’s learned to navigate the stress and challenges of an unpredictable and changing industry.

Can you walk TZR readers through a typical work day/week?

It used to be that I worked out at 6:00 a.m. when the kids were little. And I used to say to people, ‘Don't tell me you haven't got time to do it. You can do it at 6:00 a.m.’ People just would look at me like I was mad. I had to make time for physical exercise because, for me, if I'm not busy physically and I don't have a way of being in my body for a certain time every day, I get into my head. And then it starts to spin and then I start to think, ‘Wait a minute. What am I doing? Where am I going?’

Now, I get up at 8 a.m., which is so fantastic, and I still do something every morning. This morning I did Pilates. I alternate in the summer between either an hour of Pilates or an hour of swimming. Every other day I alternate. And in the winter I alternate with an hour of Pilates or an hour of spinning every day. I go to a class because if I do it at home, I can easily cheat on myself and just say, ‘I just don't want to do it today.’

I'm in a really fortunate place now because I'm no longer running the day-to-day part of the business, I get to really have the leisure and pleasure of saying, ‘How much do I want to do today?’ I typically have maybe four calls a day. I'll usually do at least a couple of Zoom calls. And then I'm working on stuff. I'm working on some [Dermalogica] marketing programs. I'm also on the board of UCLA Health. I'm working with them on the research work they're doing around human connection and human touch, which is really exciting. I'm doing something around it every day. I'm writing something, I'm doing something, I'm reading something, I'm watching something.

How does anxiety and stress show up for you now as opposed to 10-20 years ago?

I don't think I'm any more stressed out or anxious than I used to be, but it definitely shows up differently. So 20 years ago I think it showed up in my behavior and personality. I feel I was more short-tempered. I was more impatient. I was not as kind in my approach. I don't know that the people that worked with me would say it that way. I think they might say that I was a little more fierce. Also, [anxiety would show up as] insomnia, lack of sleep. And it used to make me crazy when I would wake up at 3:30 in the morning and could not get back to sleep because I knew the effect that would have on me.

And something happened in 2018, which really impacted my whole life. We lost what we thought was our forever house in Santa Barbara, in the catastrophic mudslide that happened here. I was diagnosed after that with PTSD because, not only did we lose our house, but 26 people died in that mudslide.

I went to the UCLA sleep clinic because I couldn't sleep, I was sleeping three hours a night. [The doctors said] ‘You have PTSD. You don't have insomnia.’ I felt really guilty saying PTSD because I always associate that with people who have been in war scenes, et cetera. So in no way was it anything that dramatic, but still it was interfering with my everyday thinking.

I started seeing a great therapist, and it really helped me unpack a lot of things that I'd allowed to trigger my anxiety, like pressure, loss, and change. Now I'm happy to say that I'm much less anxious than I used to be because my life has changed in my circumstances. I'm now not running the day-to-day at Dermalogica. I get to be the consigliere to the CEO who does run it — who's fabulous — and I get to focus on the things that I do best. And I'm really grateful to have had a life where I got to experience that arc. And now I'm 66 and I have to say I find it more exciting than ever because I've learned behaviors that help me handle my stress.

What are some common or typical anxieties or concerns you face these days?

I think what triggers me is not as much things from the business. Although if I see us doing something that I feel is off-brand or I feel is taking us down a road that I don't think is the destination we want to be, then I'm very quickly on the phone or on a Zoom call to express that to the senior team. But that doesn't really stress me, I get quite excited about things like that.

What stresses me, I think, is when I see unkindness. It sounds a bit trite to say that, but unfairness, unkindness. After Dermalogica was acquired by Unilever we started a nonprofit called FOUND, which is about helping to fund small businesses and local entrepreneurs in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. And we have a goal to fund 25,000 people into their own business by 2025, and we're at 21,700 right now, so we'll get there by next year.

Women get less than 4% of any funding available. And if you're a woman of color, it's less than 1%, although women of color are starting their businesses at between seven and nine times the rate of anyone else. And we know the data shows us that women's businesses are more successful, and yet it hasn't moved the needle on how we get funded. So my focus now, my stress is really about how do we tackle that? How do we get the word out? How do we make sure that no one is overlooked or left behind, because if we are all born completely unique with a unique purpose, which I believe we are, our fingerprints are completely unique, so why would our fingerprints be any different than the rest of our body in terms of originality and uniqueness? If that is true, then surely it is because every one of us is meant to contribute in a way that is authentic to us.

Any secret power product or practice you turn to to combat anxiety?

I do a lot of breath work. I work out every day. If I have coffee, it's maybe one cup every so often, but I switched to things like Four Sigmatic, the mushroom elixir, which I really love. If I do have coffee, I'll mix half a teaspoon of coffee with [on of its supplements]. I’m also a big fan of dry brushing. And, of course, I love all Dermalogica products too, but my eldest child gave me this Palo Santo water spray by Anima Mundi. In the morning when I get out of a shower and I'm drying off, I spray it all over myself. It smells amazing. And then I do some breath work and that really helps.

I'm a big fan of the Esalen Institute. When I was up there, I learned about sound healing and sound bowls. I now have three of my own. I play them and I give myself a sound bath when I want to give my mind some clarity.

What does your Sunday evening routine look like? Do you do anything in particular to mentally prepare yourself for the week ahead?

Sundays are the evenings I do what I call my hammam, because I love Turkish hammams. I do a full body brushing. I have a great shower. I use essential oils. I put a deep conditioner on my hair — I use K18. I do Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Recovery Masque. I do exfoliation and then a mask. I do my nails. I do my sound bath. I usually start this ritual about 4 p.m. in the afternoon, and that’s my Sunday. That's what sets me up with the intention of how I'm going to live my week, or remembering that self-care is a part of health care and mental wellness.

Do you have any strict rules you abide by to avoid working or thinking about work?

I'm really strict about not being on my phone all the time. I have a limit on it, so the apps switch off [at a certain point]. I don't look at my phone after about 9 p.m. I do not have my cell phone or my computer in my bedroom or where I sleep. Even if I'm traveling, I won't have it in the bedroom. It's too tempting. I don't want it in my room. I leave it in the kitchen, I go to bed. I also don't watch TV in the bedroom. The last sort of 45 minutes before I turn the lights out, I read. That to me is a real help. I know screens are addictive. They're fun, but they can also be triggering for anxiety. And I think they're incredibly damaging when it comes to terms of self-image, especially for young people and especially for young women. And I think that we have to be very aware of that.