March 8th marks International Women’s Day and an opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements, recognize challenges and raise awareness about gender equality. At Dr. Barbara Sturm, we are constantly inspired by our own female founder and powerhouse, Dr. Sturm and our own Team Sturm who are made up of some of the most amazing, hardworking, and inspirational women we know. Last year, we asked Dr. Barbara Sturm to tell us about which women have supported and inspired her, this Women’s Day we are turning the spotlight on to Dr. Sturm and taking a deep dive into who she is, what motivates and inspires her and how she got her start and built her business as a female entrepreneur in a competitive industry.

Who is Dr. Barbara Sturm?

I’m a Doctor of Aesthetic Medicine and the Founder and CEO of Dr. Barbara Sturm Molecular Cosmetics. 

At what age did you know you wanted to be a doctor? 

From a very young age, around 4-years-old, I knew I wanted to become a doctor. In school, I was always fascinated with medicine but also sports and the athletes that played them. 

How did you get your start as a doctor?

My studies focused on professional skiers and their injuries and that’s how I really got started. I loved working in a hospital setting and I then moved into orthopedic medicine and really homed in on why inflammation and inflammatory conditions are so harmful to the body. 

DR. BARBARA STURM SPA & BOUTIQUE

How did you translate knowledge from orthopedics into skincare and aesthetics? 

I worked in an orthopedics practice of scientists and doctors within which I pioneered a treatment that uses a patient’s own blood cells to produce proteins to help reduce inflammation and heal joint tissue. I was so motivated by the potential of this new treatment that I began to look for other practical uses, which led me to aesthetic medicine. I then created my own technique which brought those anti-inflammatory properties directly into the skin. This treatment became known as the ‘Vampire Facial.’ This led to the creation of MC1 cream in 2002, a custom-made cream that uses the patient’s own growth factors to target inflammation within the skin, and which had extraordinary anti-aging results.

DR. BARBARA STURM MOLECULAR COSMETICS COLLECTION

What inspired you to start a skincare line?

My aesthetics patients inspired me to create a skincare line. When they would ask me to recommend an entire skincare regimen, I was never confident in the existing options, and many products on the market at the time did not have the same ingredient science focus, as I did. And so, I set out to create my own science-driven, high performance skincare regimen.

THE DUSSELDORF AND LONDON SPA & BOUTIQUE

When did you launch Dr. Barbara Sturm Molecular Cosmetics? 

In 2014, I created my Molecular Cosmetics skincare line. All my products work at a cellular level to target inflammation, promote skin health, and improve barrier function using potent, active ingredient science and natural extracts. I am constantly coming up with new innovations and am always excited to release something new that I personally love too. I then opened my Spa & Boutique in Dusseldorf in 2019 followed shortly with the opening of my flagship Spa in LA. I now have locations in London, Dallas, and Miami with regular residencies in New York, and Gstaad. I love the in-person experience my spa’s offer to my patients so I will continue opening them all around the globe. 

Tell us about your skincare philosophy. 

The philosophy underpinning my entire approach to skincare is to avoid inflammation at all costs. For a skincare routine, boost your skin barrier function and skin matrix while restoring both superficial and deeper layer moisture with products designed to heal and hydrate, use a broad-spectrum sunscreen every day, and protect yourself from all types of pollution, both airborne and the HEV blue light pollution that comes from our digital devices. 

DR. STURM AND CHARLY STURM

You have a holistic approach to reducing inflammation not only in the skin but the entire body. Tell us more about that.  

Getting inflammation under control is essential for body and skin health and I call it the anti-inflammatory lifestyle. Inflammation is the body’s natural way of protecting itself from exposure to pathogens, allergens, toxins, and injury - but it’s also the cause of many diseases and dysfunctions of the skin and body, from acne to illness. The anti-inflammatory lifestyle is defined by a few vital things; adequate sleep, an anti-inflammatory diet as well as including anti-inflammatory spices like ginger and turmeric into your food, daily or weekly exercise, avoiding aggressive compounds like HEV, UVA and UVB light and pollution and finally minimizing stress and anxiety. 

What excites you most about your work and the future of it? 

I'm a doctor, so I am in the service business. Serving patients starts with listening to the patient. To hear “you changed my skin” and to receive incredible before and after images that customers have shared with us is what excites and gets me out of bed in the morning. And to that end, I am driven on the creation side to invent new solutions for patients; that passion has driven my scientific work for the last two decades.

DR. STURM WITH HER MOTHER

Who inspires you?

My mother, who passed away ten years ago, still inspires me in every way, every day. Professionally, I feel fortunate to have met some amazing entrepreneurial women that I call friends, and they all share these inspirational traits – total devotion to their customer and an insane work ethic. 

What is some invaluable advice you would give to female entrepreneurs?

My parents taught me to follow my dreams, be kind to everyone and keep both feet on the ground. My personal advice is: Always focus on your passion and not on money.