It’s not every day you walk into work thinking to yourself, “Wow, how can I look like my boss who is ten years my senior?” SLFMKR founder and owner, Kait Turshen, has made it clear that your skin can in fact get better with age. She will proudly shout it from the rooftops, too! 

After posting a selfie at the age of 39.97 (yes, every decimal and day in her 30’s counted) she wanted to let her followers know that she was heading into 40 with no fillers, injectables, minimal makeup and alllll the skin care and self-care. Did I forget to mention that her selfie didn’t even include a filter? Yes, that’s important to note. 

I consider myself to be pretty lucky to have a boss who can teach me all the things she’s dedicated her last decade to - clean beauty and self-care. She’s on a mission to help others take action when it comes to improving their health and well-being.

If you are eager to embark on your own clean living and self-care journey, you’ve come to the right place. I had the chance to sit down with Kait and ask her a few questions that will make you feel a little less guilty about when (if you so choose) and how you take the plunge into a cleaner world.  

1. What led you to your self-care journey?

Answer: After thirteen years in the fast-paced fashion and beauty industry, I wanted to pursue a different side of the beauty industry - health and wellness. Once I returned to my Ohio roots and resettled in Cleveland, I started to overhaul my lifestyle inside and out from food and makeup to mental health and movement. Having experienced personal health challenges, from gut issues to fertility, I knew it was time to get my $h!t together. It wasn’t until I was in my 30s, yes 30s, that I decided to steer my ship in a new direction and embrace the changes I so needed to make decades before. 

2. What was life like for you during your high school years and 20s? 

Answer: I battled acne in my teens and was put on a Vitamin A derived oral medication at the age of 16; as a result, I was also put on birth control. Additionally, as was the healthcare trend of the 80’s and 90’s, I was put on round after round of antibiotics for every sneeze and sniffle my little nose endured.

Paired with endless Diet Cokes, a diet of heavily processed foods (barely a vegetable in sight), and some other not so great habits as I headed into college, my gut health, my skin health and my overall health were in a terrible place.

In my 20’s I remained on birth control, worked a full time 40+ hours a week job in corporate fashion (imagine The Devil Wears Prada meets The Hunger Games), bartended at night, worked odd jobs in between and was also even a blogger (hey, hey Sex + the Upper East Side).

Minimal sleep, high cortisol, and all the other bad habits continued to deteriorate my gut health, which eventually led to a severe case of leaky gut syndrome and candida. I developed 30+ food allergies as a result and was, in sum, a hot mess (but hey, Bubble Girl Bakes, my first business baby was born).

3. How do these choices relate to skin care?

Answer: Welcome to the world of holistic health—the one where your diet, your sleep, your hormones, your gut health, the products you put on your body, the environment you live in and your stress levels all play a major factor in your body’s largest organ, the skin.

4. Tell me how SLFMKR came to be?

Answer: Once I curated clean beauty and self-care products for my own life, I knew I wanted to share them with others. What you see in SLFMKR, online and in-store, is the culmination of my journey to help my body and mind find what it needed to thrive. I love nothing more than connecting others with the things that have enriched my life.

5. What advice would you give people who are just starting to use clean products? 

Answer: I truly believe that many small changes, from switching to a non-toxic face wash or five minutes of self-care a day, can lead to bigger, lasting change for the mind, body and soul. I often tell people to start small. Once you have a solid foundation, we can help you layer in new products and routines. 

6. What are some of your favorite products at SLFMKR? 

Answer: Some of my FAVES just happen to be the two most underrated skin care products. I’m talking about TONERS and FACE OILS! In a baseline skin care routine, toner is step TWO (cleanser, toner, serum, moisturizer) but often step NEVER GONNA HAPPEN for most people.

To many, it seems pointless, frivolous and a precious sum of money that could be spent on things like craft cocktails, oat milk lattes (not your best move) or depending on the brand, a flight to Miami.

BUT if you are spending good money on the steps that follow that toner (serum, moisturizer) toner is like that pre-workout shake before hitting the gym.

To be clear, the TONERS I speak of are not the old school alcohol-based ones that you apply with a cotton pad. I’m calling on the hydration-forward, skin nourishing spritzes of this century.

As for FACIAL OILS, they’ve got a bad wrap because wouldn’t oil clog your pores and cause breakouts? NOPE, not if you’re properly cleansing and exfoliating but YEP, they will skyrocket your skin’s overall health and hydration levels. 

I would love to dive into toners and face oils with you in the near future! 

Where do we go from here? 

Now take a deep breath with me, it’s not too late for us. Just because you are currently making decisions that aren’t good for your overall health, doesn’t mean it isn’t too late to make a change. We also aren’t here to tell you that you have to change because we believe that decision is a personal one. When you’re ready though, you know exactly where to go!