ICYMI - Dr. Barbara Sturm

Hi everyone, I'm Rachel Zoe and you're listening to Climbing in Heels. This show is all about celebrating the most extraordinary superwomen who will be sharing their incredible journeys to the top, all while staying glamorous. Today with me, we have one of my very dear friends who I just have so much respect for the beautiful soul of a human being, doctor Barbara Sterm. She's an esthetic doctor and

Sometimes you'll wear like the sickest.

Gown ever with heels of course, but like no makeup, Like you just come in with that dewey fresh skin. And so I want to really talk about like as a child, were you like Charlie, were you this like pretty little blonde, blue eyed girl who had dreams? Or were you just like all over the place and had no idea? You know, like how did how did Barbara start as Barbara?

You see, I probably was more like Pepper.

And by the way, first of all, you know when someone has you as a friend and women or people like you, it's great because you lift people up on stage and you make them, you know, stand out, and you know, give them, give them the audience, and that's great. You know, you really support women like me or people like me who come up with something extraordinary, you know, and you need that. You need those people who support you. Otherwise you can have the best products, but nobody.

Hears or sees it, you know.

Yeah, so that's that's about you. Well, because I believe in you. I believe in you. It's genuine.

But that's authentic, you know, that's authentic, and you know, I'm authentic, and you know, people like us who are authentic, you know, we get.

Trusted because we're not someone we are not.

You know, we don't pretend to, you know, want to do skincare when we don't want to do skincare and we just want to like collect some more bucks, you know the way. But you know, I was a little more like Pepper. I wasn't like you know, she's very cheeky.

I wasn't like that. I had very stric.

Parents, but you know, I was all over the place. I was a tomboy, and I wanted to do every sport. I wanted to be the best in school. I wanted to I was always in the first row. I was always there when something was happening, and it.

Was you know, all these facets.

And I still can have all these facets, which which is nice to have. I can I can cook in the kitchen, I can wear a gown, I can go skiing, I can go and play tennis with the boys. I can be and you know, in rubber boots. You know, I take on any anything, yeah, anything. It's also fun in life to have all these options. But you know, when someone would have told me, you know, you would be in the beauty industry.

I would not have believed it. Yeah, really, like, no, I don't think so.

I wanted to be a doctor, but you know, I mean, like I am a doctor in the beauty industry now, which I think is very good and which sets us apart from any other brand. But you know, I created something which actually helps my skin, helps my patient, skin helps my family and friends skin, and then every skin out there, no matter which color, which concern, which skin type, which skin problem, which you know, age, which gender, whatever it is, I have a solution for everyone with skin.

It's it's amazing. And did I hear correctly?

You didn't start out as a germ doctor, right, Like, were you know orthopedic?

To tell me about this?

Yeah, that's you know, that's also kind of crazy. You know, I've always wanted to I always wanted to.

Be a children's doctor.

And then you know, I had like I had a kid when I was twenty three.

I looked like twelve when I had a kid.

Still like twelve.

And I love you. But Charlie, Charlie was there.

And then I was in the in the in the children's hospital, working with all these really sick children, and it broke my heart.

I broke my heart so many times. I can't do it. I can't do it.

And so I went into the orthopedics and I did my doctor's study actually on professional ski racers. And that was my thing, you know, combining fun and you know, and work and study. So I went into the orthopedics and I was lucky enough to go together with some scientists and really interesting people in the orthopedics, which taught me that you don't have to accept a treatment which is in the medical space out there.

You can come up with something new.

You can create something which you think is really better than anything out there and bring it.

To the patients.

So I was very intrigued with science from my early medical years, and so I created the vampire facial when I was twenty twenty nine or so.

I remember hearing about this and I was said, what is that which is crazy?

But it's using your own blood, right, is that correct?

And that comes from the orthopedics, using the own blood, but also bringing the anti inflammatory medicine into skin.

Look, when we look at skin, you know, and.

You go to your dermatologists, what they do is they give you cortison antibiotics, as it peels laser treatments, So no matter which disease you have, you get like a treatment which pretty much destroys your microbiome, your skin barrier.

And you know this is changing now.

But you know, if you come from a dermatological approach, which is you know, very you know also let's say, yeah.

Topical also effective for certain diseases.

But you know, sometimes it's better to come from an anti inflammatory background. And for the cosmetic industry or for the skincare industry, I think that approach changed.

A little bit. The way we look at at skincare, the way we look at anti aging approach.

Do we really want to aggressively target the surface of our skin? Do we really want to destroy our microbiome and our skin barrier? Do we want to make our skin super vulnerable causing all this inflammation on our skin. We live in a time now where prevention is really the key. Where we look out for our food, for sleep, habits, for we don't smoke, we don't drink, we don't do all these things to stay really healthy in order to

And I think people don't think like that. I think people are just like, oh, this is the thing I don't have to care about. You can throw chemicals on there because they'll come off when I when I wash my body or my face or whatever. And it's so interesting. And I think, you know, I think there is this thing. I think that people think about the sort of cosmetic industry and dermatology as this very surface industry, right, but ultimately it's not Allultimately it ties into your your overall

Fun fun, but strict.

I mean, like I had my boundaries, you know, it was it was it was I think it was good.

I listen, I am strict about a lot of things. And I have no qualms about it because I actually think that children need guidance, they need rules, they need they need structure, or they're just gonna like lose their way, you know, in my opinion, I mean, it works for us, you know.

I'm sure you know with Pep. Pepper is so different and she's just so strong headed.

I mean like, I mean, I'm trying.

You're raising yourself now, and it's like you're raising yourself now, don't you see that? Like you're like, wait, that's how I was. Okay, this is coming back to me.

The thing is, I you know, I was listening to my parents. She's just like, oh no, I'm doing this on this.

It's like, you know, and you know what if you try to, you know, not punish, but like you know.

Take doesn't doesn't she doesn't care, doesn't It doesn't work. Doesn't work.

I find with kids that have stronger minds, I find talking is so much more effective. It's like the conversation explaining the why. Because I actually have found as a parent that we grew up in a time.

Where there was zero question who was the authority?

Right, it was like it was like if you said why, they were like because I said so, and.

That was the no. There's no kind none.

And I think now we're raising our kids in a time where parents were trying to find that balance of being their best friends and being their authority, because we want them to share everything with us, We want them to live this life where they're advocates for themselves. We teach them to be confident leaders and things like that, and I find that sitting down and explaining exactly why is so much more effective because once they can process this is why they're protecting me either this. If I

God I did this late.

I probably would have given up on my career so that I didn't have to leave them, but you somehow managed to never leave Charlie basically right, and.

I mean for some times, ca but tell me about that. Tell me about that.

And now this sort of second time around the difference.

So when Charlie was delyed my parents. You know, my mom was like a second mom to Charlie. So when I was traveling, Charlie was with them, or when I had to work, my mom would pick them pick her up from school. So it was very perfect with Charlie. And she was never really sad about it or anything. But you know, she always saw.

Me working, I think, which was very very good for her.

I think that, you know, watching your parents building something, I think it's very good for the kids. And with Pepper, you know that Pepper now is eight. I was heavily building the business during that entire time. And she was traveling with me ever since she was two weeks old or three weeks old, and I put her on a plane and we traveled everywhere, and it took.

Her and there was hard.

And then sometimes I went to Australia, so I just left her behind sometimes like for two three weeks.

It was so hard.

Yeah, it was so I mean like even your children, I mean you know that you.

Know, even if it's just for two days, it's the worst.

It's the worst, the worst. Your heart strings are like being.

Even if it's better for them, yeah, it's better for them to say, and they're they're like, you know, whatever system or school, it's it hurts.

But now I think that, you know, watching Charlie for for our listeners that don't know, Barbara has an older daughter who's in her twentieth mid twenties, right, and she's obviously like beyond stunning. But you know, I think I met her when she was maybe fifteen, and I just but she always was watching you. She always was next to you. She always was like respecting what you were doing. And I remember her teen moment where she was like, I have pimples, but my mom's saying, like she was

Oh my god, it's the best. It's the best, It's the best. I love Charlie so much. She's so smart, so smart. Also in business, she does business strategy. Yesterday she hosted a big lunch at Art Bars of Miami. She did an entire speech. I didn't even I didn't talk to her, you know, she didn't ask me.

She she just does this speak. She's so confident now, it's fantastic.

And you know, we did a big leadership ship meeting and she was part of it and then in our company, and then we had a coach with us, and the coach said to my MD, after that leadership she said, Charlie has to take over the company.

Oh so it's it's unbelievable. So that I expected that now, I expected. I didn't ask her to do it.

But she's like also, she's covering an entire next generation.

Yes, you know, we are asked.

We know each other, like you know, we have like our like whole network, but next generation network.

I mean, like she knows everybody. She travels to to Learna, to New York too. She knows everybody. She's invited to everything, it's unbelievable.

It's incredible. No, no, it's incredible. And I think, you know, it's interesting because I always give Massoni as an example of this beautiful family business right where yeah, the grandmother and the grandfather and then you know the mom and Mark Rita and the sisters and the cousins and the uncles, and you know, it's amazing. And I think for us, like you know, when Roger and I started our business, I remember when we had sky and everyone kept saying,

You know, it's hard for kids. You know, she's my daughter. You know, other employees of co workers not always.

Respect course I disbanded to.

Make them, yeah, but I also didn't make them. Of course she had to.

She had to work herself up and you know, and and strengthen her position and I'm not telling people to.

Love my kids.

You know, it's like it's up to them and everybody. Yeah, and everybody loves her.

She's amazing.

She has your very similar demeanor, though she's very like, well, you're like inner, not calm, but she has this very like calm kind of chill thing.

Oh my god, she's so calm.

I'm like, I'm like a fire correcting.

Yeah, I am impulsive.

I just do this and this, and if this opportunity is I do that as well, you know. And Charlie's like thinking, thinking, thinking, and then you know she grew up as my mother and I was her kid. Always I'm not amazing, always like the one who just you know, calms me down and just you know, mom, look at this this way, and maybe I's so funny.

Actually so then maybe so Then Okay, So I do want to talk about mentorship because I think to your point earlier, you know, I grew up.

I don't know how you grew up.

But in my career, I didn't have a lot of female mentors that took me under and said, let me help you, let me tell you what to do and what not to do in this industry. I'm going to tell you what's going to trip you up, and you know, all those things. I didn't really have that, and I think that's why I really try hard to be that person for people, because I do know how valuable it is. And I you know, I think for you, growing up with you know, amazing strict parents, I did as well.

They teach you the basics.

You know. My parents always said, you know, be kind to everyone, you know, have respect for everybody. You know, keep your feet on the ground, and.

That was something. You know, these are good skills to have.

And you know, building this business. I mean I didn't even know I had a business. You know, I was just making creams for and stuff for my patients.

As a doctor.

You know, I was like this, you know, business became a business way way later. But you know, I'm still as a doctor. It service to my patients and that really what matters to me. I don't really remember having mentors other than my parents.

I had an.

Orthopedic doctor who helped me to really fulfill the dreams and doing my own treatments, and that really gave me, you know the power also now to say, you know, I'm confident. I don't look right or left. I have a strong view good for the skin. That doesn't mean, you know, it's what other people do. It's really just us. It's storm It's nothing else but stormy. I don't care what other people do.

You know, are like a very strong, strong way. Yeah.

I think that's so smart because I actually think that. I read a quote recently and I'm trying to remember it. It was so profound and so true. Comparison is the thief of joy. That's the process on yourself.

And that's why I love it, and that's.

Why I don't like this, you know, social media going through it's the stories, you know. I always say to the kids of my friends, to everybody, say, stop watching other people's life.

Don't you make any sense? No, focus on yourself. What do you want to do?

You know, you're beautiful, You're you know, your own person, with your own life.

It's crazy, so true.

I think grown ups have the same problem though, that's the thing, and I think that, like you know, kids, I think the impact is sometimes irreparable, you know. But I have actual girlfriends that stopped being on social media because they said, it's.

Really ruining me.

Like, it's really making me feel like I'm not included in anything. I feel like I live this really boring life. She's like, and it really makes me feel bad about myself. And She's like, and I find when I don't look at it, I'm genuinely happier.

You know.

And I was like, Okay, that's you know, it's great. You know, you're obviously living your dream beyond dreams. But I think the question is, you know, I want to talk about education for a brief second, because I always like to talk about I really believe your education does not define you in any way. I think to go to sort of like your earlier point, you were sort of like, huh, I was going to be a child doctor. I was going to I thought I was going to

I think you collect life skills throughout your life. Yeah, and you're smart, you're not smart, doesn't matter if you're you know, first in class or good in math.

I don't think it matters. And to give you really strong examples with Pepper, for example, Pepper talked very late, Pepper read very late. Everything is very late. I know she's so smart, she all smarts me every day.

But different I don't.

I don't push, I don't. I don't think it's important. It's important. How you know, does she interact with other people? How is she? Is she happy? Is she sporty? Does she get like her energy out?

You know?

I think, you know, kids find their way. And with Charlie was the same.

I was never a parent, teacher, confriendce I was, you know, I let her do. I wasn't, you know, checking her homework. She was doing everything herself. She went to boarding school.

She was the best in her entire grade. I mean, like the entire you know, age group. She was. I didn't ask her for anything. It was her choice.

But I still strongly believe that you learn your life lessons in so many other ways, and you know, not just being good at school.

Instagram certain things.

I agree, But you had to have been a student like Charlie. You had to have been because how do you become a doctor.

You know what I was, I was lucky. I have a photographic memory. Me too, help me me too.

I swear that got me through school.

And I was like, you know, medical school it's very hard.

You know, yes, it's and you know I hate sitting behind books forever.

Okay, two questions. I want to ask you. What are your biggest challenges? Like what keeps you awake at night?

I'm a very good sleeper, but obviously sometimes you know when you I thank God when you go to bed with something really like crazy problem or something. I like to fix problems. I'm actually I like challenges, So if something is not one hundred percent, I find it extremely interesting. So that's why I'm never really all that bothered with it. The biggest challenges, I think it's you know, the people you're surrounded with, if they're coming into your life as

And you know the lawyer, can you trust them? You know they're good to you?

Do they are they passionate about you know, what you're passionate about and you know it's it's yeah.

No, I that was the biggest learning curve.

Yeah, it's same by the way I think and I and I want to point that out because I think that that is a very common thread with entrepreneurs. It's finding your team, finding your people, and then you hold on to them for dear life, those stars and those great people.

Yeah.

But also I'm like, you know, I have a very naive optimism, which is good because I'm good and risk taking because of that. But but you know, I'm also like, you know, I for me, my team is family. You know.

I love harmony in my life. I don't want to fight. I don't want to struggle with like negative energy.

So I want a happy place and that is not always possible, and that keeps me up. You know, I want, I want, I want to be good with everybody.

I think it's a very it's a very common thread. I have to tell you all my friends that are CEOs founders, it is the same thing. It's your because your your team that you trust, you trust for life. You keep them close. They share like every breath you take and they're next to you all the time. So it's this trust that you need, and I think when that gets tripped up, it really throws you.

One doctor left me, One doctor left me, went to the competition.

I told you everything, everything, everything.

I didn't sleep for months. They had to sleeping pearls because I was.

So supposed like someone taking a marble statue and throwing it into your stomach is what it feels like.

And then absolutely and then what it does to you actually is like it makes you even better because you know, I developed a bunch of new techniques and treatments which nobody knew because you know, I have to, I have to develop further, so I'm ahead of everybody you know.

Of course, of course, and that's the good you take from that. That's the good you take from that, And I think that's yeah, it but it also helps you develop a bit of a thicker skin.

You know, it can't change who you are, can't change who you are.

Thicker skin, I.

Mean, thicker skin also makes you kind of rough fighting. That's not always that not always helps because you just become a little more.

Like cynical, you know, tappen'ed up. I agree.

Last question for you, where do you see yourself? What's the dream? Do you ever say, Okay, I'm going to keep doing this and then I'm moving here and I'm going to be doing this. I always joke I'm going to live in the south of France and like live like near the hotel, your cop and sit on the beach and make jewelry.

That's gonna that's my end game. But like what's your dream? Dream? You see?

I totally live in the presence. I'm not smart in the past. Sometimes sometimes when you have, like, you know, little things which happen to your life, sometimes you have to go back to the past a little bit, which I don't like.

And I like to float.

I like, you know, and I never chose a boyfriend who I knew I would. I would know my life in ten years, you know. And if somebody would give me this feeling, oh my god, in ten years you would be this and this and this and this.

And I was liked at here.

So that was not I could. I couldn't deal with it.

So the dreams I have I like to fulfill while I'm doing whatever I'm doing. So what I did, I actually moved to Switzerland in the mountains.

I'm living in the mountains. I always wanted to do that, So I'm skiing, basically, got it. You would wouldn't.

Surelye And you know I go skiing in the morning, you know, before working, I go skiing.

So that's my dream. So I live my dream, you know as I go along.

And that I had to learn too, because you know, you're always think, you know, oh, when you do this, and you do this.

It's guilt, right, you feel guilty. Like, wait, if I live in the mountain, then I'm not doing all the things I am. And you're like, wait a minute, I can do both, right, But we.

Need to do We need to do the things we want to do.

If we want to do something, let's just do it because who knows how we end up, who knows how long we will live, who knows what's happening. You know, I think we just have to do a few things if we can, if it puts, if it fits in our time, if it fits into our life, if fits with our children, because the end game to me is like happy children, you know, and them, you know, being healthy enough to be with them for as long as we can, and you know, take care of them as much as we want to.

You know, that's so funny.

It's like, the more I talk to you, the more I realize why we're such good friends. We're actually really similar creatures. But I just want to say I love you. I you know, I talk about you your products probably at least once a day.

Actually, I love you too.

I mean it, I mean it. I have so much respect for you. I love your story, I love your kids. I'm fortunate that I get to be with Charlie a lot.

But I just I love a great friend to us.

Please, this is such a great friend.

I love so grateful, I love it so happy. Malcolm introduced us.

Oh he's the best. I love god. I love that man. I do.

I love that man, and I love you and I'm so happy for you. And you know, for my listeners, if you have not tried doctor Barbera Sturm's products, you have to. And if it's one product, I get asked a lot when I do my ask me anything on my social if I could afford one product, and I'm like, oh god, oh god, oh god, I'm so obsessed with like the beasts, it's here him now, or the decenter it like me too. But I feel like one should be the harlonic right one close.

I mean, the haluronic is a game changer.

But you know, also one when I started, when I started using I think you only should use Storm. And if you only can have one product, I would do the face cream because that's how you need to start with. And then if you can add the next one, you do the haluronic.

Okay, and you have a serum and then.

The face room, so then you're good. Your skin would be always glowing and beautiful and transformed.

And you love it.

I love an endoor.

You have the best time, go skiing for me, get to sleep I think it's late there, or have dinner, or have a glass of wine or something.

But I love you, all of it, all of it. Let's be real.

Doctor Barbersturm is absolutely one of the sweetest people I know. I'm so happy that we got to really dig more into her background because as well as I may know somebody, when I have them on the podcast, you really uncover, you know, just more layers of how they came to

She just does that so beautifully.

And I know that there isn't video of Barbara, but you know, you can certainly find her on my Instagram, on her Instagram.

She is strikingly beautiful.

And I will say that her skin is literally glowing twenty four hours a day, like when she sleeps, when she wakes up.

I've seen her at all hours.

I've seen her with not a stitch of makeup on except like lip bomb, and I mean, she really does practice what she preaches. Thank you so much for listening to Climbing in Heels and please don't forget to write a review wherever you get your podcasts while you're at it. Follow me on at braechel Zoe and at Climbing in Heels pod on Instagram for more updates or