For entrepreneurs and aspiring founders, skincare entrepreneur Sarina Pilaroscia shares how her dad’s struggle with psoriasis led her to build a lab and launch a skincare brand.
Watching her father struggle with severe psoriasis pushed Sarina to research ingredients, explore different approaches, and eventually hire a chemist. She wasn’t a chemist herself, but she had a clear reason to keep searching—and a vision for what she wanted to create.
Jennifer Loehding sits down with Sarina, founder and CEO of Phoilex, to explore how a family need became a self-funded skincare business that launched online with Ulta Beauty.
They discuss developing products from scratch, funding research, navigating regulatory delays, and building through COVID. Sarina also shares how she approaches customer education, combines plant ingredients with scientific formulation, and stays focused through the uncertainty of entrepreneurship.
What You’ll Take Away
How a personal problem can become the starting point for a business.
Why you don’t need every technical skill yourself—and how the right expertise helps move an idea forward.
What Sarina learned about funding product development with her own money.
How regulatory requirements and unexpected delays shaped her launch.
Why customer education became central to Phoilex.
How she balances persistence with focus and avoiding burnout.
What she learned on the path to launching with Ulta Beauty.
About the Guest
Sarina Pilaroscia is the founder and CEO of Phoilex, a skincare brand inspired by her father’s struggle with psoriasis. She worked with a chemist to develop the brand’s products, funded the business herself, and navigated development and regulatory hurdles before launching with Ulta Beauty.
Connect With Sarina
Website: phoilex.com
Instagram: @phoilex.releaf
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