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Follow Habit:
https://www.instagram.com/habitskin/?hl=en
https://www.tiktok.com/@habitskin?lang=en
https://habitskin.co/
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https://linktr.ee/momforgottotellyou
Claire Calfo:
All right, hi Ty, welcome to what your mom forgot to tell you.
tai adaya:
there. Thanks for having me.
Claire Calfo:
I'm so excited to chat with you today. I'm actually a Habit user myself. I have the Mist and I tell everyone about it. I absolutely love it. So really excited to talk to you about Starting Habit. And for anyone who doesn't know, Habit Sunscreen is a beauty wellness company, I would say. And they have the SPF Mist product and just absolutely love it. So I would love to just dive in and hear about how you started Habit, what like inspiration led to it experiences that just you had that maybe you thought like the market needed a new sunscreen product.
tai adaya:
Yeah, so I actually consider us a glamorous healthcare company.
Claire Calfo:
Love that. That's even better.
tai adaya:
If I had to like give us a category. And yeah, like I think sunscreen, I all beauty companies want to say they're like at the intersection of health and beauty.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I think sunscreen is like the one category that truly kind of sits in the middle and like truly deserves both those. uh, just both of those descriptions and, um, yeah, I, uh, I love good skin and like skin that is aesthetically pleasing. I like having good skin. I don't necessarily like a ton of skincare products. Um, and so I would probably, I'm like not the typical person to start a skincare brand. Um,
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
but I was really, really attracted to the category because there is such an important healthcare benefit to sunscreen. And, um. starting the company that is the thing that I saw the most. So it was just like no one is really telling this story around the health benefits of sunscreen, the long-term proven things that you can get from using sunscreen. And I wanted to tell a better story and really arm women in particular, but all people just with the right tools
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
that are actually effective. So yeah, like I originally came up with the idea for habit in 2018. I was starting my anti aging journey.
Claire Calfo:
Love it.
tai adaya:
I was like 27, 28 at the time. I would actually say like my anti aging journey like goes back even further. Like I have a distinct
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
memory. I'm a millennial. I have a distinct memory of. talking to my best friends in college about preventative Botox when we were like
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
19. And so by the time I was 27, 28, I was actually starting to get serious about anti-aging, wanted to take some steps. And yeah, as a millennial, I had seen that as a teen. You know, when I thought of anti-aging, I thought of Botox, filler,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
things like that. And so I did some Botox and I was really scared to do it. So... I live in New York, I went to a plastic surgeon in the West Village to do like 11 units of Botox. I
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
didn't have any wrinkles. It was so expensive just because I went to this West Village plastic
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
surgeon. And yeah, I was like, okay, well, it was a lot of money for me at the time. And I was just
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
like, I know I'm the type of consumer that is going to invest into preventing skin aging. I know that I care about that. It's something I'm... I don't care about long term. And so I basically, after that experience, just started asking the question, if I am going to invest into preventing skin aging, where is the best place to put my dollar? So
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
where can I invest to have the biggest impact? And I basically kind of started from that question and started doing research. I am half Mexican and half Pakistani. like Indian Pakistani descent. And I never wore sunscreen growing up, not even on the beach. I do not really burn.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I maybe burned once as a child. I tend to tan. Just never wore sunscreen, was not part of my routine. And so when I started on this research journey, I started just kind of like initially reading research papers. kind of like moved on to talking to dermatologists and cosmetic chemists from there, but I just started reading about UVA. UV in general, but particularly UVA, and its causal impact on skin aging.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, yeah.
tai adaya:
I kind of as a consumer did not realize that it was like a very, like, you know. you expose yourself to UV, your skin ages. Like I didn't
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
realize that it was like that clear cut.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
Our understanding of aging is continually evolving. We've kind of known about the relationship between UVA and skin aging for the past 30 years. So it is still like relatively like kind of new
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
research and a new understanding.
Claire Calfo:
Totally.
tai adaya:
But yeah, as they sort of kind of just asking this question going and doing some research and really talking to people, I just saw a big opportunity to. take something that's like based in health and science and research and really kind of like tell a bigger story around it and introduce the category to a broader audience. Got so kind of interested and invested in the category for myself personally, like I was like, okay, you know, no brainer, I'm wearing sunscreen, you know,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
head to toe daily now.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
But I kind of was like, okay, well. If you look at the US right now,
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
the biggest growing beauty spender is the non-white woman.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And that demographic in general is kind of like me. Probably didn't really have training from a young age to wear sunscreen. It might have not been a concept that was introduced. And I don't know. I kind of grew up. thinking like sunscreen is more for white people.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's such a true misconception. Yeah.
tai adaya:
Yeah, and so I think there's just like a lot of that going on. And so I saw a big opportunity where it was like, you have this growing demographic, they're big beauty spenders and their whole idea, I think from millennials and younger, like our idea of anti-aging is kind of like, go to a doctor's office and stick yourself with needles.
Claire Calfo:
Totally, 100%. Yeah, it's like that's the quick fix, yeah.
tai adaya:
Yeah, the quick fix. And so, yeah, I was just really kind of inspired and I was inspired just kind of like by my personal experience, just business opportunity. I think in the US like still have it as a company we're really trying to change things, but I think
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
there's still some massive kind of white space around the sun care category. And so yeah, I really just like kind of those two things pushed me to. really get into the space. And I really like strongly felt that to capture the consumer that is currently not wearing sunscreen,
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
the category had to be reimagined, both from
Claire Calfo:
100%.
tai adaya:
like formulation standpoint, form factor, by that I mean just kind of like how sunscreen, you know, comes how it's
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
delivered is delivered onto the skin needed to change, and then just like the narrative needed to change. So you're not gonna get the person that doesn't burn, you're not gonna get them with the beach and burn narrative branding
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
or marketing. And so that's kind of how I arrived at the like glamorous healthcare
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
brand. And so really wanted to look and feel different to really capture that next generation consumer.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm. Yeah. And that totally plays into the name too, habit. Like it's just something you do every day and it doesn't have to, like you said, have that beach to burn perception.
tai adaya:
Yeah, yeah.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
So sunscreen as a category has existed. Well, it's like back in ancient times, people used to cover themselves with mud and that was
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
the original sunscreen.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
But as a consumer product, it's kind of existed since the 1930s.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And yeah, the whole first 80 to 90 years of sunscreen has just been kind of what you think of as the copper tone Hawaiian Tropic brands
Claire Calfo:
Yes.
tai adaya:
where the story is so tied to the beach or just like
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
your vacation outdoor days. And so yeah, like that I think is, was kind of how it had to start. But if you look at it as a whole, I think it's actually a very limiting way to present a category that is so important to skin health.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, absolutely. Because I think I've done a lot of skincare research as well. And my mom was always someone who was like, you have to wear sunscreen every day, like a part of your makeup routine. So I'm really, really lucky to have that. And it's just funny to me. Like, I haven't even really thought about it until you mentioned it, that really every single brand, it's like the beachy theme and like the branding or the names all kind of have that beach to burn sort of. thing that you mentioned. So that's so interesting, but also so cool. And something I love about habit is just how easy it is to put on. And it's cost effective. And I feel like I can give it to my boyfriend and he can like throw some on like, and you know, it's just so easy. It smells good. So how did you come up with the conception of like a spray and having it be sort of this like unisex, but also just like, you know, you could throw it in your bed like I throw one in my gym bag too. Like it's just so easy to like toss anywhere. So I would love to hear about that like idea conception.
tai adaya:
I was really inspired. So at one point when I worked at a bunch of startups in like consumer and healthcare before I started
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
Habit, and I used to keep a herbivore, their rose spray on my desk. I was trying to drink less coffee.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm,
tai adaya:
And
Claire Calfo:
yeah.
tai adaya:
so I used to drink like a lot of coffee. And so I was basically trying to like just give myself something else to do in the afternoon to replace that afternoon cup of coffee. And so it became my little ritual to just like spray my face with rose water in the afternoon. And I kept that bottle by my desk and like, I don't know, like it was just like my little thing that I did.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And it was a treat to me. And so I was like very inspired by that. And yeah, like at Habit, we don't like to say it's a spray. It is a spray, but like we, it's an ultra fine mist. And so we
Claire Calfo:
Missed,
tai adaya:
really kind
Claire Calfo:
yes.
tai adaya:
of. talking about
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
it in that way. And that really is kind of to, like, I don't know, I really like think a lot about like, how do you design products to like make a consumer think about something differently, right? So
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
like, sunscreen traditionally is kind of seen as like something that you have to do, like, you know, like your mom forces you to wear
Claire Calfo:
Yeah,
tai adaya:
sunscreen when you're
Claire Calfo:
four says.
tai adaya:
a kid
Claire Calfo:
Yeah,
tai adaya:
or like,
Claire Calfo:
yeah.
tai adaya:
yeah, it's like
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
not always a pleasant connotation.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And so when we launched with one product, our number 41 Mr. in thinking of that product, I really tried to think about like how do you infuse luxury into it? How can you make the application design, like the product feel aspirational? So it's something that you want to do instead
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
of something that you have to do. And so a lot of the choices in that first product were just like, how can I make? sunscreen aspirational.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And yeah, like a lot of, you know, I think I made that product like very much it's like from my head, I worked with the cosmetic chemist. It
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
was basically just kind of the two of us developing that product. And yeah, it's very much like every piece is thought out, even the color. So the color tied to our number 41 mister is like an orangey peach color. And we actually specifically went through and looked at every sunscreen company product out there on the market. Most of the colors that you see in the sun care category are blue and yellow, just like
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
kind of the beach
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
and sun. And so we're like, let's just pick a color that you don't ever see in this category.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And so every choice was very intentional.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
We have three products now, we are working on a lot more. It is very much with the intention of getting that customer that currently doesn't have sunscreen as part of their routine. And when you are selling skincare products, there's just so much out there right now. It's very much about catching someone's eye. And I like that people can look at our products and not immediately tell what they are. Is
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
it a sunscreen? Is it some type of other? product.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And so it's very intentional how I am trying to really get consumers to change their mind about the category.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, I absolutely love that. I think it's so important to what you're doing. So it's so cool to hear that.
tai adaya:
Thank you.
Claire Calfo:
And just in general, going into this industry where there was a really specific type of branding and maybe just those larger brands that use sunscreen, what were some of the challenges that you faced breaking into the industry and finding a way to, like you said, educate maybe the non-users that you wanted to target?
tai adaya:
Yeah, so I think, yeah, sun care is tough to get into just manufacturing wise and creating
Claire Calfo:
Oh my gosh,
tai adaya:
it.
Claire Calfo:
I'm sure.
tai adaya:
So in the United States, it's an over the counter drug, not like traditional cosmetic, which just
Claire Calfo:
Interesting.
tai adaya:
means that it's like, yeah,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
it's an over the drug. I think a lot of it. So yeah, so it's like a little bit, you know, it's overseen by the FDA.
Claire Calfo:
Hmm.
tai adaya:
So it has the similar regulation to prescription drugs or commercially produced food. There
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
are rules that have to be followed to keep consumers safe. And that does make it regulatory wise a little bit hairier. I would say I learned so much,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
developed the first product and would not have been able to break into the industry without the right partners. And I think especially going through that first formulation and product testing for our first product, it was a lesson in just kind of like all the red tape and hoops that you need to jump to develop a safe product. And so I would say definitely the right partners. I actually went down the line with a lab and manufacturer where the relationship didn't work out.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And that was like challenging because it kind of, you know. took several months to figure out was not going to work out and like kind of costs a lot. So that was like my training wheels for sure. So yeah, definitely the right partners. I think especially for this category was super important. And like now we work with a couple and I think just like continually finding the right partners, people that care about safety, people that care about testing from the very beginning. And so, you know, all our formulas are developed and then they're independently tested at
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
a lab that has the equipment and standards to kind of like meet what we need to do for sunscreen. And so yeah, like that process is very, very important to me. I especially like when I launched the brand, there was a lot of, and we're like a very online brand. So
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, yeah.
tai adaya:
there is a lot of, we launched in 2020. There were. a lot of sunscreens being pulled off the market at the time, just because they were being independently tested and their
Claire Calfo:
Oh wow.
tai adaya:
SPF values were testing way lower than what they were advertising. And
Claire Calfo:
Hmm.
tai adaya:
sometimes, especially like when sunscreens are coming in from other countries, like they're kind of getting around some of the regulation and testing. And so you do end up with sunscreens that are, you know, just like a little bit misrepresenting themselves. And so
Claire Calfo:
Right.
tai adaya:
I think especially when I launched, that was like super, super important to me that I had the right like partners and infrastructure and process to make sure that we were delivering quality products, the SPF values were, you know, accurate. And I do think like in the long run, like consumer trust is so, so important. And so
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
it was super important to me to have that, you know, we're selling healthcare products, they have to work. There has to be a standard of. safety and really caring about the consumer. So I think
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
from that end, like regulatory wise, super hard to break into. And then like with consumers, I think the approach that we've taken that has like translated and worked well is really to like, I don't know, like I think a lot about like what was like 2010's skincare, right, like the
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
last decade of skincare. there were a lot of big trends that happened, but there was also a lot of, like, I don't know, just kind of talking down to the consumer a little bit.
Claire Calfo:
Right. Totally.
tai adaya:
So I really wanted the brand to level with the consumer, have a direct
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
voice for the consumer, still be aspirational, but not make you feel like... bad or put down in any way. And so we definitely take a tone of like being very direct with our consumers. We use humor a ton to
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
educate about the importance of sunscreen. It can get very sciency and very dense and like I can nerd out on it forever.
Claire Calfo:
For sure, yeah.
tai adaya:
It's not super appealing and mass to go to go that route.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And so we lean on humor a lot and just kind of having that direct like. conversation with consumers, we talk about wrinkles, we talk about preventing wrinkles on
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
every habit box. We like print explicitly, like use sunscreen to prevent wrinkles.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I think we were really kind of the first brand to like tie the idea of sunscreen and wrinkle together.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And so just like that directness with consumers, I think is how we've managed to break through and find an audience. And I think it's also just like, people are a little bit tired of being talked down to and they just want a direct voice.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
Fear mongering, I think is something that we've seen kind of in the past few years with kind of the craze around anti-aging and Botox and filler. There's a lot of fear-based
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, totally.
tai adaya:
marketing happening. And so I really believe the answer is to just be direct, tell people, connect with them in that way. And so...
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
That is how we try to break through.
Claire Calfo:
I love that. Yeah. And I've totally seen that too. Just I know I've been targeted by TikTok on habit and I follow.
tai adaya:
Yes.
Claire Calfo:
And I just love the humor approach that you mentioned. And then like you said too, just making it really friendly and having that friendly, funny, but informative tone, I think is really important. So
tai adaya:
Yes.
Claire Calfo:
I really love that. That's the approach that you guys are taking. It's awesome.
tai adaya:
we took off on TikTok as
Claire Calfo:
Yeah,
tai adaya:
a brand. And I think that
Claire Calfo:
that's
tai adaya:
also
Claire Calfo:
cool.
tai adaya:
kind of like early on like shaped, right? So like how we spoke to consumers, right? So like it was like a fun challenge to figure out like, okay, if this thing is sound or concept is trending on TikTok, like how can we make it about sunscreen? Like
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
how can we turn it into like a stuff education piece about sunscreen?
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
But a lot of it was just like humorous, funny stuff. And so it
Claire Calfo:
Right.
tai adaya:
ended being like we would translate it and put our own spin on it.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, it's cool too, because you launched in 2020 when the height of TikTok was happening too. So it's cool that you got ahead and were able to use a tool like that to promote the brand.
tai adaya:
Yes. Yeah. I
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
think video is like number one and like, yeah, we did. I think that was just kind of like lucky timing. So
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I was originally going to launch the brand in March, 2020. We had
Claire Calfo:
Oh my
tai adaya:
done
Claire Calfo:
gosh.
tai adaya:
our first production run.
Claire Calfo:
Wow.
tai adaya:
The first day of spring, I think that year was like March 19. I like blocked it out in my head.
Claire Calfo:
You're
tai adaya:
Very
Claire Calfo:
like, don't
tai adaya:
traumatic.
Claire Calfo:
bring me back to that. Yeah.
tai adaya:
Cause I was, I had like basically spent. all my money for Habit
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
doing this production run.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
That was like sitting in a warehouse and like then it was like the world is shutting down.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And so yeah, I was like pretty scared that the timing was gonna be awful.
Claire Calfo:
Oh my gosh, yeah.
tai adaya:
Yeah, we ended up launching in June, 2020 and then like got hit immediately with like a lot of supply chain things. Especially I was like very at the time, just like. felt the timing was off and like, we were not gonna be geared for success just with everything going on. But I
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
think looking back, we definitely had great timing for TikTok.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
In 2020 into 2021, everyone was at home. And so we were able to connect with a lot of creators who were willing to create really nice, elaborate content for us, work with us in a deep
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
way. because everyone was like trapped at home creating or consuming content.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And so it ended up, I think, being good timing, but I can only say that now in retrospect,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
because it
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
was like pretty scary then. But yeah, I think
Claire Calfo:
Oh
tai adaya:
we
Claire Calfo:
my
tai adaya:
definitely
Claire Calfo:
gosh,
tai adaya:
like
Claire Calfo:
I'm
tai adaya:
grew
Claire Calfo:
sure.
tai adaya:
with TikTok for sure. And like, I've worked with them a lot, like as a brand, we've worked with them a lot. And
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
yeah, like that was kind of just like... pandemic, like what other timing could there have been for something like that?
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, 100%. That's amazing. And I'm so glad you can look back now and be like, that was
tai adaya:
Yeah.
Claire Calfo:
such a good opportunity, but probably so stressful at the time.
tai adaya:
I think I'm
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
just getting to the point
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
where I'm like, it wasn't all that.
Claire Calfo:
I can talk about it now. Yeah. I want to, I'm curious. So you're obviously so in tune with research around anti-aging now, just based on your company and some of the research it sounds like you've done. I'd love to hear what your anti-aging routine is. What do you typically do and is it like very beauty-based? Do you also involve like nutrition? I would just love to like get a little deep dive into that.
tai adaya:
Yes, yeah. So I like my personal belief is
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
like, you know, skincare really starts in the stomach. Kind of like basic like you are what you eat.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
I think hormones is like, if I had to like pick what the next big thing in skincare is going to be maybe not like immediately, but in a few years, I think hormones.
Claire Calfo:
I totally see that
tai adaya:
And
Claire Calfo:
too.
tai adaya:
just kind of
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
understanding how those hormone levels like impact what shows up on your skin.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And so I think those, yeah, like food, what's going on with my body are part of my skincare and anti-aging routine. I don't use a lot of skincare products. I keep
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
it pretty minimal. I like to do kind of like basic cleansing, basic moisturizing, a lot of sunscreen
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
and like. very, very religious about putting sunscreen on head to toe daily, even when I'm not leaving the house. It has become a habit now.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I'm always testing sunscreens too, and people will bring me sunscreens from around the world.
Claire Calfo:
Oh, that's
tai adaya:
I have
Claire Calfo:
cool.
tai adaya:
endless, endless sunscreens that I'm always trying out.
Claire Calfo:
You have like a whole drawer full of them. Yeah.
tai adaya:
I'll usually do a few different products, like something on my arm and
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
hands. else on the face just to like kind of get through all these different formulas.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And then yeah like I still do Botox. I kind of stopped during the pandemic
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
but then I've like picked up again. I really think that it's like so much of skincare and anti-aging really is internal right so it's
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
like what you're putting into your body and then like the biggest thing that you need to protect against from the outside is going to be UV
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
and like you know, our skin is a barrier. It is a very effective barrier. It's keeping us safe all our life from everything that's outside. And like that also kind of means it is hard to put nutrition into your body through your skin or like apply
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
things topically and actually have it, you know, reach the inside of your body at a high enough level to do anything. And so like, I really kind of think about skincare that way. It's like, if I want it to be... a part of my skin or showing up on my skin, like it's more important that I put it in my body.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, totally.
tai adaya:
To protect against like the number one thing that's going to cause aging, you really want to create that barrier with sunscreen. And
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
so I really do think of sunscreen as that like protective layer to keep UV out. And that is like how I view skincare.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
But yeah, I would say it's like moisturizer sunscreen. I do Botox four times a year.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I'm still trying to only do little bits,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
but I could go to a friend now for that.
Claire Calfo:
Nice. I'm sure
tai adaya:
And
Claire Calfo:
that
tai adaya:
yeah,
Claire Calfo:
helps.
tai adaya:
that's kind
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
of like my anti-aging routine. And I like, I don't know, I don't think people should use a ton of products.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
Like if you wanna use it for enjoyment,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
that is totally valid. Like if it is a routine that relaxes you.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
then you should do it. But if it stresses you out, and I think I'm kind of more a person of like, I have a 19 step routine, like that kind of stresses me out a little
Claire Calfo:
Same,
tai adaya:
bit.
Claire Calfo:
yeah.
tai adaya:
So if it stresses you out, like I think you can keep it minimal and like that
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
is okay. That's like also perfectly valid.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
You gotta go for the heavy hitting things that work, like sunscreen. And yeah, you gotta just like kind of focus on the things that matter and that's what I try to do.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, I totally agree with you. I felt like I, at the beginning of like 2020 as well, sort of went through this anti-aging sort of, just I was like, okay, I think I need to start paying attention to this. Like, what do I want to be putting on my skin and what do I want to be doing to be more preventative? And that's when I started wearing sunscreen really religiously again. And I was going through these like 19 step face routines and I felt like my skin was so bad. And then I cut back and I had like a, three or four step process now that I do every night. And it switches, like sometimes I'll exfoliate or sometimes I'll do retinol. And my skin has changed and it's like so much more clear because I like removed like 10 of those steps that were just really unnecessary and like probably irritating my skin more, so.
tai adaya:
Yeah, I like frequent, you know, like, I don't know, like I test a lot of sunscreens because like it's part of my job.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And like, yeah, I find like when I'm kind of going through an aggressive like. you know, switching products randomly, putting
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
a lot on my skin, like washing my skin very often. Like that is when you are very prone to irritation. Like you're
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
kind of just introducing a lot of variables and like just increasing the potential for irritation. So yeah, I think that, you know, like I kind of feel like a little conflicted about this. I have a consumer brand,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
but like I do think like you need 19 steps is it's like hyper consumerism, you know,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
and like you you might not need all of them or you don't need all of them every night.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And like you got to figure out what works for you too. And it might not be something that's crazy
Claire Calfo:
Yeah,
tai adaya:
elaborate.
Claire Calfo:
totally, totally. I am curious on what you said about hormones too. So I know for me, I totally agree. This is such an important topic and it's something I've been paying a lot more attention to and I noticed it really impacts my mental health and just my skin and I noticed these changes throughout the month and I know I'm more attuned that women run on this 30 day cycle and so I'm curious what research you've done and any maybe advice for anyone who's getting into the space and like, to start paying attention to their hormones or do anything sort of like that. Would
tai adaya:
Yeah,
Claire Calfo:
love to hear about that.
tai adaya:
yeah. Okay, so I'm like not a doctor. This is just
Claire Calfo:
That's
tai adaya:
my
Claire Calfo:
totally
tai adaya:
personal
Claire Calfo:
fine. Disclaimer.
tai adaya:
experience.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
So yeah, like I, I'm like fascinated with hormones.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I I'm still on a journey, I think discovering really what works for me and what doesn't. But I yeah, I have PCOS,
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
which means like my hormones are kind of like, I have weird levels of certain hormones.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And like, honestly probably had it all my life, didn't really get a diagnosis until I was in my mid-20s. And like, I don't know, I was basically like, tried birth control for a while, got off of it, didn't really like notice that I had like PCOS until mid-20s.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And then like honestly like struggled for many years, kind of trying to work with my primary care doctor and try different things and
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
like work. and try different things. But I think now that I have a better understanding, in retrospect, a lot of things looking back in my life have made sense with looking through the hormone lens. So I had really bad acne when I was a teenager.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And I actually went away when I stopped drinking soda and basically cut back on sugar.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And that was kind of like, looking back, impact that I saw of like, something with, you know, sugar, the hormone piece is going to come in later, but like
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
sugar and like what impacts the skin.
Claire Calfo:
Totally. Yeah. Like food to skin connection.
tai adaya:
Yeah.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
PCOS is a it's, you know, it increases your likelihood of developing diabetes later
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
in life. And like, no one fully understands it. 10 to up to 20% of women have PCOS, but it's very like not researched, not very well understood.
Claire Calfo:
which is crazy. That seems like a
tai adaya:
So crazy.
Claire Calfo:
good chunk of people that, yeah. And probably some that it's like undiscovered too.
tai adaya:
Well, like I had to like basically just be like, I have these things wrong, like
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
doctor like, please figure out like so many times until
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I like finally found a doctor that
Claire Calfo:
So crazy.
tai adaya:
Yeah, now I like test my blood. This is like not practical advice. Now I test my blood more frequently just to like
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
figure out what my hormone levels are. I'm not like actively trying to get pregnant right now, but I'll take like the LH hormone strips pretty regularly to figure
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
out where I am in my cycle because it is naturally irregular because I have PCOS.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And yeah, I'm like kind of just starting now like really looking back and seeing how some... like behavior like eating a lot of sugar impacted my skin. And like also like currently now trying to map how different hormone levels slash irregularities affect my skin, my mental health, like my energy levels.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
But yeah, like it's definitely been a battle. And like I've been kind of shocked how hard it is to get just. doctors to listen to you, the right doctors. And yeah, like I live in New York. Like I kind of assumed that it'd be really good access
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
in the city to like good doctors and people that could like help me. But yeah, I like habit is for a while, but I think next I would love to do something in hormones and skin.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
It has just been something that is like. impacted me and I think impacts so many more women.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And like, you can't really, I don't know, no one kind of similar to like sunscreen, like no one told me what PCOS was when I was like a kid.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And so it was through a lot of just like internet research, eventually
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
listening to other women's stories
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
that I learned more. But yeah, like I think it's, yeah, doesn't get talked about a lot. but has such a big impact on everything in your body.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, 100%. And there's no tools really out there to help. Like there is potentially going to a doctor, like you said, or a naturopath, but there's only so much really they can tell you and give you. And those self-management tools aren't there right now. So it's really a lot
tai adaya:
Yeah,
Claire Calfo:
of self-learning.
tai adaya:
I think that's the biggest thing I've learned too is like, a lot of it is just so relative, right? So
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
it's like even like I've kind of in the past few months been just like more aggressively like testing myself.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
I'm like going to sound like a psycho health psycho
Claire Calfo:
No,
tai adaya:
here,
Claire Calfo:
no,
tai adaya:
which
Claire Calfo:
no.
tai adaya:
I probably like kind of getting there. But I've been just like doing blood tests more
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
frequently, like doing all these like hormone panels more frequently. And like, I think the biggest thing I've noticed is like it is just relative. And like, the reason it's hard to diagnose is because there's not like a black and white right answer or
Claire Calfo:
Right.
tai adaya:
like, even with certain things like there's not a black and white like this is a good range, this is a bad range.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
It's like literally thousands of variables relative to each other. We don't fully understand, right, but it's like different hormones trigger different like feedback loops.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And so like, kind of have a mess up in one feedback loop. it suddenly can spin out of control and cause other problems. And so it's an incredibly tough problem to solve. And I think we're just like, there's not enough research that's like for women specifically.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
That's like one part of the problem. And then it's just a really tough problem in general with so many variables.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, women are complex creatures. And to add to it, it's
tai adaya:
Yeah,
Claire Calfo:
just
tai adaya:
medicine
Claire Calfo:
very complex.
tai adaya:
has largely ignored us.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, it really has. It's really sad. But yeah, I'm hoping. It seems like we are going in a direction where this is going to be talked about more. And hopefully, medical providers are paying attention to that. And if not, then tech will take it into their own hands. But
tai adaya:
Yeah.
Claire Calfo:
yeah, you never know. Just speaking of hormones too, in general, do you have any? favorite hormone friendly recipes or foods that you really have loved and have added in to your anti-aging routine and lifestyle.
tai adaya:
Um, I think he just, yeah, for me, the biggest thing is just like not eating so much sugar.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
Um, so yeah, like I, this was again, something I kind of didn't realize until I could like look back. Like I, you know, as a kid didn't really like, I wasn't the healthiest eater.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
Um, and like I used to drink like so much soda, like back in the day, back in the 90s and like early 2000s.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And like that had such an impact on me and like having acne.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And then I cut it out and like my acne went away.
Claire Calfo:
That's
tai adaya:
And
Claire Calfo:
so
tai adaya:
so
Claire Calfo:
crazy.
tai adaya:
I think for me that's, yeah.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah,
tai adaya:
For
Claire Calfo:
just
tai adaya:
me,
Claire Calfo:
like
tai adaya:
that's like
Claire Calfo:
one little
tai adaya:
the
Claire Calfo:
change.
tai adaya:
thing that I tried to monitor. And it's like tough, because I'm like also like, I'm PMSing or like the week before my period, like I crave sugar like crazy.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah. Yeah.
tai adaya:
But then that's when it's like, oh, well, that's when I'm most prone to breaking out. It's probably because I'm just like. loading up on the sugar that I crave.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
But yeah, that's been the biggest thing just like monitoring that and like trying to like kind of reduce those cyclical sugar cravings.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
So like I'm like definitely in the camp of like I'll try to like have dark chocolate that's like not like
Claire Calfo:
Thank
tai adaya:
super
Claire Calfo:
you.
tai adaya:
doesn't have a lot of sugar but still kind of satisfies that sweet
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
tooth. But yeah, I think I would like try not to be too restrictive.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
But yeah, mainly just like sugar. I'm trying to like cut out more processed foods right now, but that is like incredibly hard.
Claire Calfo:
I'm on that journey as well and it's
tai adaya:
Yeah.
Claire Calfo:
tough. Yeah. Yeah, I hear you on the sugar though. I love Diet Coke so much. So that's like my kryptonite.
tai adaya:
If I Yeah, I know I go through phases.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm, me too.
tai adaya:
I've been trying to like not buy bread at the grocery store. I've been trying to get bread at like small little bakeries near me.
Claire Calfo:
Oh, that's so, yeah, it's kind of like a treat too that way.
tai adaya:
of like a treat.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
I'm like, so I don't know if there's an impact, but it makes me feel good.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, I love that. That's great. Also before we hop off, I do want to talk about your founder experience. I
tai adaya:
Okay.
Claire Calfo:
guess where I want to start is being a female founder. I feel like New York is just this breeding ground of founders. I'm just curious, have you found a community? How has that experience been? I know the beauty industry is strangely white and male dominated as well. So I would love to just hear about that.
tai adaya:
Yeah. So yeah, I think this is one thing that I'm like, I do have a good founder community in New York.
Claire Calfo:
That's great.
tai adaya:
During the pandemic, a lot of beauty I think specifically went down to Miami.
Claire Calfo:
Interesting. Oh.
tai adaya:
I think some of them are coming back now.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
I know a lot of people like, I mean, in general, a lot of people relocated from New York to Miami during the pandemic.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
But I think specifically, beauty too is a lot. Um, and then, yeah, like, I do think that it's like, I launched my company in 2020. And I think a founder journey, when you're starting anything, it's like. Isolating it is kind
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
of part of the process. Um, but then during the pandemic, it was like even more so I didn't really feel like I had a good founder community, like in 2020,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
uh, when I was launching and like even 2021, like I was barely leaving my house. Um. But it's something that I've cultivated. And like kind of when it was okay to start going to events again and like meeting people and
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
going to dinner, it's like absolutely like I've built that community. It is probably the only thing that keeps me sane some days.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
But yeah, like it is really cool. And I think in New York, like I have a pretty good mix of different founders from different, just working on different things, right? So
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
like tech. real estate startups, like just different types of industries that are really cool and represented here. Startups in women's health.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And yeah, that keeps you sane. I think that it's very important. The problems like get sometimes like just like very niche when you're
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
starting something. And so having people that maybe like can't necessarily like solve your problem, but can listen to you and understand that it's a founder problem or something that you're like struggling with. Um, very, very important. I think a lot of my friends are founders now.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
Kind of like pick that, that community.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
Um, and it's just kind of like, cause you know, a lot of people are like, after a while, they're just like, I have no idea what you're talking about. I
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
have no idea what that problem is that you're talking about. Um, but yeah, I think definitely important. And I do think that like. especially a lot of the founders that started around the time I did, I do think it was pretty isolating to not
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
be able to go to the events and build that community. But there is the opportunity to do it now.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And yeah, like I love New York. I think it's a great place to start a company. I think that there is a lot of representation here of startups.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I spent time living in the Bay Area, living in L.A. and I think both also have very vibrant startup scenes.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
But what I love about New York is that it just feels like it's, you could kind of get any industry
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
as a start here.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And that's really inspiring.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Are there any misconceptions you had about being a founder? Because I know this is your first time running a company too, so like anything maybe that you expected that didn't happen or anything that happened that you didn't expect?
tai adaya:
hardest thing, like thing that I've like actually been like, I think I've gotten incredibly lucky
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
in a lot of ways. I think the hardest thing that I like still try to figure out how to manage is like, you kind of go through a lot of highs and lows
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
in a fast period of time.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And like just learning how to manage your own emotions, right? So like, How do you not let the highs get that high or the lows
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
get that low? You like
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
stay steady. Uh,
Claire Calfo:
What do you do to like
tai adaya:
it's very
Claire Calfo:
manage
tai adaya:
tough.
Claire Calfo:
those too? Just cause I am a mental health gal, I love hearing about this stuff,
tai adaya:
Yeah.
Claire Calfo:
so.
tai adaya:
Yeah. Like it's, I like therapy now I'm
Claire Calfo:
Yes,
tai adaya:
like working
Claire Calfo:
that's
tai adaya:
with
Claire Calfo:
great.
tai adaya:
an executive coach.
Claire Calfo:
That's awesome.
tai adaya:
Because yeah, like it is tough, I think to just, cause you want to get really excited when you win
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
and then if something goes wrong, you want to like. crawl into a hole and never see the world again.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And like, just kind of, I don't know, I think it also is just like, you get so many of the ties and lows, eventually you just sort of like, from experience
Claire Calfo:
I'm level.
tai adaya:
you learn
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
how to step out. Yeah.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And so I think like part of it's just been experience
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
and talking to people, not only other founder friends, but like professionals.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
I also think like, Therapy is kind of like where I started,
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
but then eventually like found, just I think having that like specific like business coaching
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
is very, very valuable and also super hard to find.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
But having that where it's like not only being able to like talk about both like the emotions and the like the business problem,
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
bringing that into the same sphere, I think it's very, very useful.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And then, yeah, like I also think one misconception, like I didn't, I like, I don't know, I have a lot of thoughts about this. It's very hard to start a company. Like, I'm not a celebrity. I don't come from like generational wealth.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
And I think I've been surprised how much of I think beauty, of course, like attracts that.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
But I like I don't know, I'm like not a Nepo baby celebrity.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
And I think that that has been like something that it's like, I think from the, you kind of like know from the outside seeing it in, but I
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
think when you like get inside, it's like an even kind of deeper, you get deeper dive into that. And so,
Claire Calfo:
you see more of that celebrity space. Yeah, yeah.
tai adaya:
see, way more of that. And like, I think just like, sorry, I can't do that. You're not listening to iTunes. My Siri, so sorry.
Claire Calfo:
No worries. That
tai adaya:
Yeah, like
Claire Calfo:
scared
tai adaya:
I,
Claire Calfo:
me for a second.
tai adaya:
sorry. Yeah, like I, I like feel so passionate about like, it should not be, we live in the US. It
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
is like the most entrepreneurial country in the world. and like the best place for it by far.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
But it is still really hard to access capital if you are from certain groups in the United States. And I
Claire Calfo:
Totally.
tai adaya:
think that it should be easier to start businesses. If you look at like, you know, kind of post, since the pandemic era, like a lot of new businesses are being started by women,
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
by women of color, right? Like I think we're. opening the most new businesses right now, which is really cool. But then if
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
you look at like, how do those things actually get built? It is still incredibly hard to access traditional loans from big banks. If you're
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
a startup, if you're a woman who runs a startup, venture capital is not friendly to women.
Claire Calfo:
No.
tai adaya:
It's incredibly
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
hard to just get these things off the ground. And we're like kind of. you know, in the country where it's supposed to be the most supportive entrepreneurs, I think we've kind of built some systemic barriers for certain groups. And so, yeah, like I'm very passionate about like, we need to solve that because there's clearly a lot of innovation, clearly a lot of new entrepreneurial spirit coming from these groups. How
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
can we support them? I think don't think we're doing a good job. And I do think it kind of leads to this like, well, if you're not being like, systemically supported, like the only people that end up starting beauty brands are.
Claire Calfo:
celebrities.
tai adaya:
Yeah.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, yeah.
tai adaya:
And so, yeah, like, I don't know. I don't know what the answer is, but it's definitely something that I've seen where
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
it's like, I wish we would have just more support for, support for like this, yeah, for like innovation coming from. different places, different people.
Claire Calfo:
Totally, yeah, I so agree with that. And I feel like every popular brand is a celebrity brand right now. And so it's
tai adaya:
Yeah,
Claire Calfo:
really tough
tai adaya:
and I
Claire Calfo:
to
tai adaya:
think
Claire Calfo:
break
tai adaya:
it was a big
Claire Calfo:
in.
tai adaya:
trend. Yeah, it was a really big
Claire Calfo:
Yeah,
tai adaya:
trend.
Claire Calfo:
it is. Yeah, and
tai adaya:
But then, like, I wouldn't
Claire Calfo:
it's.
tai adaya:
start a skincare brand right now. Like, I, Suncare, I think deserves, like, a special touch and flavor, but I think, like, do we need another lotion? Do we need another cream out there?
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I don't know, like, I'm not sure that, unless it's, like, coming at it with a really, really new angle.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
I think we need more like, just like solution oriented things out there.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Instead of just like being another celebrity with a skincare brand, I appreciate that you really, you know, you wanna educate people, you wanna make it a habit, like we said, not to be a pun, but I appreciate that you're doing that. And you know, like you said, you aren't a nepo baby and you're, you know, pursuing this dream. So that's very admirable, I think.
tai adaya:
Thank you. Thank you,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah,
tai adaya:
Claire.
Claire Calfo:
yeah. So I have one more question for you. It's just the name of the podcast. What did your mom forget to tell you?
tai adaya:
Well, clearly, my mom didn't tell me to wear sunscreen. I think that's like, yeah. I kind of like, I'm actually not, I don't blame my mom for this at all,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
but like I do, like I never wore sunscreen at the beach
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
and I really don't know where that behavior came from, from
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
me because like, I don't know, like I remember. even like kind of in 2015, 16, like I remember going to the beach with friends. And I would just like refuse sunscreen. Like I didn't
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
think that the category, I didn't think that that it didn't apply to me.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
Um, and I, my parents definitely didn't talk about sunscreen growing up, but I just saw like, to me to take it to the extreme, not wearing it on the beach. I don't know where that came from. Um,
Claire Calfo:
You're like rebelling almost.
tai adaya:
I think I was, yeah,
Claire Calfo:
Yeah.
tai adaya:
I just had this like really weird belief that I was like, well, I have some melanin in my skin. Like, but yeah, I'm not gonna blame my mom for that.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, yeah, very fair. So where can people find you? Where can people find Habit? Can we expect any like fun launches soon? Would love to hear all of those things.
tai adaya:
Yes, yes. So habit is habit skin. All one word on social on TikTok on Instagram. And I am Ty T AI a da y a on Instagram. It's with the underscore between my first and last name, but everywhere else is just Ty a dia. I'm mostly on Twitter nowadays personally. So that's
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm.
tai adaya:
where you can find me.
Claire Calfo:
Great.
tai adaya:
and you can find Habit on Habitskin.co or.com at ReaderX.
Claire Calfo:
Mm-hmm. Perfect.
tai adaya:
But please use.co and at Sephora.
Claire Calfo:
Awesome. Well, again, thank you so much. I loved hearing about the habit journey and all of the anti-aging things and I'm just so excited to see what else habit comes up with. I'll definitely be looking out.
tai adaya:
Thank you so much for having me. This was really fun.
Claire Calfo:
Yeah, all right. Talk to you later.
tai adaya:
Thanks, Claire.