Beautybyfrieda

Power women in Beauty, this time a nice interview with Mardien from Skin for Skin. As you have read several times on my blog, I believe in beauty from within. Take good care of the inside first, only then you will see optimal result when you start taking care of the outside. Mardien’s story started in her hometown Urk, which has the largest fishing industry in Europe. Skin for Skin originated from the parent company Varia Vis, a major player in the fresh North Sea fish market. The main product of Varia Vis is “plaice” and they fillet this fish daily into a beautiful and tasty end product. Here they process native fish collagen as a basic ingredient in all kinds of beauty and health products, Skin for Skin collagen contains native fish collagen as a basic ingredient.

Skin for Skin

Frieda – What does a working day look like for you as the founder of Skin for Skin?

Mardien – My day always starts the same: wake up relaxed, take supplements, take a shower, wake up the kids, eat bread with them and when everyone has left for school, I clean up. I prepare the food for lunch (yes we have a warm meal in Urk at lunchtime), put in a wash and then it is really time to go to the office. There is always a buzz at the office, I love that. We share our office with the men of our parent company Varia Vis. After checking emails, we first have a mini meeting. What to do, what has priority? Then everyone gets to work. At the moment I am busy creating new products, it takes a lot of time, but it is a lot of fun to do!

Frieda – Can you share with us what you take into account when creating products?

Mardien – I think my pillars of the creation process are: honesty and transparency, what is (in my opinion) a need for, how can the new products contribute to giving our customers a good feeling and beautiful aging? Of course the ingredient choice is very important and also requires a lot of research and testing, but I also want the products to be attractively priced. After all, we women, and then I certainly assume myself, actually want everything. Visit to your favorite hairdresser, beautifully groomed nails, a fine pedicure treatment, go to the beautician, every now and then a new lingerie or clothing set or a pair of beautiful shoes. I always think I just deserved it hahaha!

Frieda – Do you have a personal favorite among your own products?

Mardien – My personal favorite has to be the DUO-PACK: both of our 2 beauty supplements that have a very nice collaboration and really give a fantastic result!

Frieda – What do you find most challenging as an entrepreneur?

Mardien – Well, there are many challenges! But I actually see more benefits…. I have the freedom to have a great job while also being there 100% for my family. I am also busy with beauty every day, a subject that has always interested me! Especially because I have a lot of problem skin myself. In any case, nowadays I have my skin problems under control by using our products. The great stories of satisfied customers also ensure that I enjoy going to work every day. Of course there are challenges, but they usually have to do with the fact that I want to go faster than I can.

Frieda – I feel most beautiful when …

Mardien – I either lie on the couch with a book with a cleansed and nourished glowy skin, or if I put on a beautiful make-up on my calm skin, curl my hair for a change instead of twisting a bun in it and I put on a nice set with heels instead of a jogging suit for a nice drink or delicious dinner with hubby or friends!

Frieda – I also strongly believe in beauty from within, can you tell us a bit more about your collagen supplement for skin and hair?

Mardien – We know that beauty really has to come from within, literally and figuratively. Not only how you are as a person towards other people, because let’s be honest, someone can still be so very handsome, if there is no amiable person hiding behind that beautiful face, you are not beautiful in my eyes. But beauty also certainly comes from within in a different way: after a certain age (approximately from your 25th year) your body produces less and less certain essential building materials such as collagen. As you get older, the skin becomes drier, thinner, and slack. In fact, during menopause, this process accelerates due to the sudden drop in estrogen. During the first five years of menopause, there is a loss of collagen (connective tissue) of 30%!

Your hair condition also partly depends on the nutrition it receives. When you consider that collagen is important for the structure of our blood vessels and thus also for the blood vessels around our hair follicles, it was only natural for us to let our second beauty supplement be a special hair supplement. Our native fish collagen combined with vitamins and minerals that your hair will love! There are several ways to make up for shortages, we like the easy way; beauty supplements!

Frieda – Tell us a bit more about the sustainable process of extracting valuable substances from the skin of the fish.

Mardien – What started as a mini-study by my husband (co-owner of the parent company Varia Vis) to see how we could do business in a more sustainable and fully circular way in the fishing company, has eventually grown to where we are today. We use a patented process to extract the valuable substances from the residual flow of our parent company: the fish skins. We do not use any acids, chemicals or heat during this process. For example, we use almost all residual waste ourselves and upgrade it again through this process, resulting in high-quality beauty supplements.

Frieda – Your collagen supplement contains native fish collagen, what is the difference with normal fish collagen or bovine collagen?

Mardien – The difference between the sources of beef or fish is that fish collagen is almost identical to human collagen and is better absorbed. Furthermore, we do not obtain fish or beef hydrolyzate like all other brands offer, but native fish collagen. The structure of native collagen is still intact. Our stomach breaks down nutrients such as proteins into amino acids (collagen is a protein). Subsequently, the amino acids are delivered where they are needed. In the case of our connective tissue (we want to work on beautiful aging with Skin for Skin and that includes a firm skin that can take a beating and looks its best), the amino acids make the fibroblasts pro-collagen, and this pro-collagen is transported to the extracellular matrix. This is where collagen fibers are formed. These collagen fibers are extremely important for the connective tissue in the skin and in our body.

For more information and all products see the website skinforskin.nl.

XO Frieda