Meet the Beauty and Mental-Health Entrepreneurs Who Are Daring You To Shower Yourself With Care
These 2023 Changemakers know that looking good starts with feeling good—and are working to show you how to embrace your inner beauty, queen.
In today’s world, we’re finally coming to an understanding that how we feel is intimately connected to how we present ourselves. Taking care of ourselves is the secret to true beauty, and the mind-body-beauty connection is of utmost importance in an environment that often focuses on appearances. That’s why, when it comes to those who are changing beauty and health, we need to talk about care.
“Our post-pandemic-era bodies and brains are chronically stressed, which has left us in a state of dysfunction; we have to evolve the way that we care for ourselves,” says Stephanie Lee, founder of selfmade, a rituals-based skin-care and body-care brand that emphasizes the ways its therapeutic, sustainable products can lend a hand in self-exploration. “I built selfmade with mental-health experts to learn how to get back into our bodies and reduce disassociating with a social, mental, emotional, and physical approach.” With products like “secure attachment comfort serum+” and “true grit resilience scrub” as well as an app that fosters connection with selfmade’s community, Lee is really bridging the gap between emotional well-being and physical well-being.
When it comes to physical well-being, SPF is non-negotiable. But thanks (or no thanks) to sunscreen’s reputation for being sticky, gloopy, and chalky, many people have been reluctant to slather it on. With Supergoop!, Well+Good 2023 Changemaker Holly Thaggard has managed to make SPF an essential, integrated part of your self-care routine. “If you would have asked people 20 years ago about SPF, there would be little to no interest. Today, look how far we’ve come,” says Thaggard. “The conversation has now changed from ‘Why do I need it?’ to ‘Which one do I use?’ and it’s super exciting for me.”
Thaggard founded Supergoop! in 2005, but the brand’s growth and popularity has gained momentum in the last couple of years. Now with over 40 formulas and a majority investment from Blackstone Growth, a private equity growth fund, it’s poised to continue its sunward trajectory in 2023 and beyond. “As I always like to say, the best is yet to come!” says Thaggard.
While Thaggard is shining light on the dangers of skin cancer, licensed psychologist Joy Harden Bradford, PhD, hopes that by similarly moving the conversation about mental health out of the shadows we can address the way issues of the mind manifest in the body. “I am most looking forward to more resources being available to support people and their wellness and to [be able to put the] focus on prevention,” she says.
As the founder of Therapy for Black Girls, which is both a digital platform and a podcast, Dr. Joy makes clear how mental health can really impact one’s day-to-day life, particularly for Black women. Her debut book, Sisterhood Heals, which will be released in June 2023, will explore topics of friendship for Black women, including how to nurture relationships and heal after a rupture. “My biggest hope is that Black women and girls have the knowledge, skills, support, and resources to take care of their mental health,” she says. “My work is largely focused on making mental health more relevant and accessible and decreasing the stigma related to seeking support.”
As the founder of Therapy for Black Girls, which is both a digital platform and a podcast, Dr. Joy makes clear how mental health can really impact one’s day-to-day life, particularly for Black women. Her debut book, Sisterhood Heals, which will be released in June 2023, will explore topics of friendship for Black women, including how to nurture relationships and heal after a rupture. “My biggest hope is that Black women and girls have the knowledge, skills, support, and resources to take care of their mental health,” she says. “My work is largely focused on making mental health more relevant and accessible and decreasing the stigma related to seeking support.”
The old adage declares: When you look good, you feel good. We say it’s time to flip that on its head—when you feel good, you look good. (But most importantly, you feel good.)
—By Samantha Leal, Well+Good Deputy Editor
Stephanie Lee
Founder and CEO of selfmade
For Stephanie Lee, creating a beauty brand at the intersection of skin and mental health was a deeply personal endeavor. After a decade working across different industries (she was a makeup artist and product development specialist at MAC Cosmetics for six years, the director of First Lady Michelle Obama's White House office, and a project manager on the former First Lady’s New York Times best-selling book American Grown), she found herself dealing with deep depression and anxiety... and the skin concerns that came along with them.
In 2014, she left the corporate world to embark on a solo travel journey to speak with women and non-binary folks around the globe about their emotional well-being. In 2020, she took what she learned in these conversations and launched selfmade.
“My personal philosophy is emotional integrity: Show up in the world in the way you want to be accepted, even beyond feeling that fear of judgment.”
—Stephanie Lee
In 2023, psychodermatology emerged as one of the beauty world's biggest buzzwords, and Lee is a leader in this space. Psychodermatology is a burgeoning field of study that examines the mind-skin relationship, and Lee partnered with experts in the field to create a ritual-based line of face and body-care essentials to help manage stressed-out skin. To date, the selfmade line features four products (a scrub, a facial serum, a moisturizer, and an intimacy serum) formulated with “neurocosmetic” ingredients designed to lower stress levels when applied topically.
Beyond offering (really, really good) products, selfmade is also committed to fostering a positive conversation around mental health and has plans to launch a community-based digital platform in 2023 where users can learn to care for their emotional well-being.
What is your biggest hope for selfmade?
“I built selfmade with mental health experts to learn how to get back into our bodies and reduce disassociating with a social, mental, emotional, and physical approach. We use psychodermatology as a lens to view our skin as a window to our internal world, so we are better able to define needs and meet them, rather than defaulting into a feeling of shame when our appearance is so tied to our feeling of worth by society. Eff that.” —Stephanie Lee
Joy Harden Bradford, PhD
Licensed Psychologist and Founder of Therapy for Black Girls
Joy Harden Bradford, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and the host of the wildly popular mental health podcast Therapy for Black Girls, which launched in 2014. Her work focuses on making mental health topics more relevant and accessible for Black women and she often uses pop culture to illustrate psychological concepts.
Dr. Joy received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Xavier University of Louisiana and her master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation counseling from Arkansas State. She then got her doctorate in counseling psychology from The University of Georgia. Her work has been featured in publications like Essence, Refinery29, Teen Vogue, and, of course, Well+Good.
Dr. Joy is excited to continue to support Black women on their mental health journey this year (and beyond), and is focusing her efforts even more on preventing mental health disorders in the first place. In June 2023, Dr. Joy will release her debut book, Sisterhood Heals, which she describes as “my love letter to Black women and the transformative nature of sisterhood.”
What do you think most needs to change in the wellness industry for people to be well?
“I think the ideas that there are shortcuts to wellness and that wellness is something that you must pay a lot of money for are both sentiments that have been incredibly damaging and exploitative. I also think there should be more focus on how the systems of capitalism, white supremacy, and racism impact wellness and keep people unwell. There is no therapy practice, yoga class, or breathing exercise that can compensate for an oppressive system.” —Dr. Joy Harden Bradford
Holly Thaggard
Founder of Supergoop!
Holly Thaggard founded Supergoop!, a skin-care brand that’s 100-percent dedicated to suncare, back in 2005, after a close friend was diagnosed with skin cancer. While supporting her friend, she learned that skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the U.S. and that it’s largely preventable with the use of daily SPF. Thus, Thaggard set out on a mission to change the way the world thinks about sunscreen.
Fast forward to today: With the help of her team, led by Supergoop! CEO Amanda Baldwin, Supergoop! is one of the most popular sunscreen brands on the market.
With over 40 formulas, a majority investment from Blackstone Growth (a private equity expansion fund), accolades such as EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2022, a growing—and super successful—retail presence (including Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, Kohl’s, Anthropologie, Selfridges, and others), and the brand’s own multi-million dollar direct-to-consumer business, it’s clear that Supergoop! has challenged our collective attitude about sunscreen. It isn’t just a necessary skin-care step—it’s a joyful one.
“I think the wellness industry needs more positivity. One thing we knew from the very start at Supergoop! is that you can’t inspire people to change their habits if you’re coming at it from a negative place or using scare tactics. We follow the idea of being very serious [about the importance of SPF]—with a smile. And I think that approach has been really powerful.”
—Holly Thaggard
What do you think most needs to change in the wellness industry for people to be well?
“If you would have asked people 20 years ago about SPF, there would be little to no interest…I'm incredibly encouraged by the change that's happening with SPF in our industry. The conversation has now changed from ‘Why do I need it?’ to ‘Which one do I use?’” —Holly Thaggard
