Ep 75 | Jane Wurwand

Written By Yasmin Nouri

How to Remove Excuses & Get Started

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Jane Wurwand is the Founder and Chief Visionary of Dermalogica, the number one professional skincare brand in the world.

At the young age of 24, Jane immigrated to California and saw a distinct lack of continuing education with skin therapists in the US. Without a college degree or network, she set out to launch her own skin therapy education with only $14,000 in a small classroom in Los Angeles. This led her to also develop a line of skincare products and a system of teaching salon owners how to use them which is now a multi-million dollar international brand with a cult-like following.

Under Jane’s leadership, Dermalogica has grown to be the leading professional skincare brand, used by more than 100,000 skin therapists in more than 100 countries. Dermalogica sold to Unilever in 2015 and the brand continues to be the most respected and requested professional skincare line in the world.

In 2018, Jane launched FOUND/LA, a nonprofit initiative offering funding, mentorship, unique incubator programs, and educational resources for entrepreneurs who have been underserved. She also recently published her book, “Skin in the Game”, which Harvard Business Review called ‘brilliant’, and is the go-to guide for readers looking for their true purpose and the opportunity to live their biggest life.

We’ll talk to Jane about how to turn your pain into the key to your success, find a deeper significance in life by connecting the dots, and use your authenticity as a tool for materializing your dreams.

Show Notes:

  • Advice for women who feel that their baggage is holding them back. [3:34]

  • The five important words Jane’s mother spoke to her as a child. [7:23]

  • How Jane moved to South Africa in the '70s and the lessons she learned. [9:29]

  • Advice for building up a sense of trust in yourself by taking small steps of bravery. [17:14]

  • The lesson about the value of human connection Jane learned from an early client. [22:05]

  • Connecting the dots to find a deeper significance: How Jane moved to the US. [26:48]

  • The paucity of skills in LA and how Jane got the idea to start her company. [33:19]


  • How Jane built up a network of clients and secured a space to work in LA. [42:35]


  • The 20 percent rule and the story of how Jane developed Dermalogica. [46:28]


  • Relentless industriousness; how Jane found manufacturers for her products. [51:10]


  • The value of being authentic and how this helped Jane pitch her ideas. [59:11]


  • Getting into debt with her chemist and how Jane paid it back. [1:01:25]

  • Raising money versus self-funding and why Jane took the latter route. [1:06:46]

  • How tiny the amount of funding women receive is and how Jane is addressing this. [1:10:01]

  • The thought process leading to Jane selling Dermalogica to Unilever. [1:15:15]

  • Advice from Jane for women who around believing in their inner power. [1:19:51]

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Yasmin Nouri
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