Can You Reverse Aging? The Surprising Role of Skin in Longevity | Dr. Carolina Reis Oliveira

Carolina Reis Oliveira (0:00)

We didn't start a company to create a skin care product. We started by testing products to validate if they could actually reverse aging, and we found that most of them couldn't. So our initial goal was to find ways to reverse aging, and then we found a peptide that can do that. So make your skin not only look younger, but behave like younger skin.

Michael Gervais (0:24)

What if skin, our most visible organ, is actually one of the best gateways to longevity and vibrant health. Welcome back, or welcome to the Finding Mastery Podcast. I am your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by training and training a high-performance psychologist. This week's guest is Dr. Carolina Reis Oliveira, a brilliant scientist. She's a biochemist with a focus on stem cells and tissue engineering. As a co-founder and CEO of OneSkin, Carolina is using cutting-edge biotechnology to not only improve how skin looks, but how it functions at the cellular level.

Carolina Reis Oliveira (0:56)

They look good, feel good, play good. It shouldn't start with the looks. I think it should start from within. But actually, when you look at the science, there is a lot of data showing that the looking good reflects your vitality and longevity.

Michael Gervais (1:10)

So this conversation, it's not about skin. It's about the mindset behind bold innovation. It's about resilience. It's about purpose, self-doubt, how to work through that.

Carolina Reis Oliveira (1:20)

I'm critical about myself.

Michael Gervais (1:22)

What does that sound like?

Carolina Reis Oliveira (1:23)

You're not good enough.

Michael Gervais (1:24)

You're not smart enough. And then amazing PhD, immunology, and somehow you would say you're not smart enough. And what it takes to move through uncertainty when the stakes are really high.

Carolina Reis Oliveira (1:35)

I came to San Francisco by myself with barely speaking English. I didn't even have a product, but I have an idea, and I know that this is my chance to make this happen. There were so many low moments, and I was always finding new limits that I didn't know about myself.

Michael Gervais (1:54)

As you listen, I want to encourage you to tune in to the psychology beneath her success. Maybe even ask yourself, what is your relationship with aging? With that, let's jump into this conversation with Dr. Carolina Reis Oliveira. Dr. Carolina, how are you?

Carolina Reis Oliveira (2:14)

I'm great. Thanks Mike for having me.

Michael Gervais (2:17)

Yeah, this is so good. I'm so looking forward to spending this time with you.

In many respects, you're a bit of an emblem of radical success. You've gone from the laboratory into business, and you've made a fundamental commitment to help people live better. And that's why I want to sit with you today is because it's the same thing I want to be able to do is be grounded in science, create a company or business or a model to help people live a better way. And so you're doing it, you're successful at it. And I love what you've built. The reason, the reason actually we're here is because my wife says, Oh, you got to understand what she's doing, this product. So just quickly for all of us, what is your product name that you built?

Carolina Reis Oliveira (3:06)

The company is called OneSkin. It's a product that contains a peptide that targets aging cells in the skin and can reverse the skin's biological age. So make your skin not only look younger, but behave like younger skin.

Michael Gervais (3:23)

Okay, so that's kind of the magic intersection is you're using science to help your skin look better and to behave more optimally. It's the behave part that's cool, right? Okay. And then before we take any further, like your accent is from?

Carolina Reis Oliveira (3:38)

Brazil.

Michael Gervais (3:39)

Yeah, okay, good. So what part of your Brazilian self is going to come forward in this conversation?

Carolina Reis Oliveira (3:49)

Oh, I believe a lot of it. I think the Brazilian is usually known by its ability to never give up. So the resilience, I think, is really present in my life throughout this journey.

Michael Gervais (4:15)

I think there's no chance that you get to the position in life that you're at without understanding how to be resilient. And the reason I asked it that way is to see what part of your rich psychological skills and principles and practices are kind of grounded in culture. It sounds like you would say resilience is part of my DNA. Yeah. You didn't train for it.

You inhabit it.

Carolina Reis Oliveira (4:43)

Yeah.

Michael Gervais (4:43)

Yeah. Okay. All right. Let's stay on the skin level for a minute. Is that your background is immunology?