THE OFFICIAL
ONLY FROM REDWOOD MEDIA
A RATING
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Sharon Skaar, Co-Founder & CEO
Erin Dodd, Co-Founder & President
Sharon Skaar & Erin Dodd
It began as a typical evening in November 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The wine was flowing, the fire pit crackling, and the conversation between friends Sharon Skaar and Erin Dodd turned to skin care, specifically their frustration with the revolving door of products that promised results but failed to deliver. Before the night was over, they were on a mission to create game-changing skin care that was gender-neutral, easy to use, and actually worked, with a business plan inscribed on the back of a cocktail napkin. And so it was that these two extraordinary women came out of retirement to start TreCeuticals, determined to disrupt the skin care industry and shatter the status quo. And indeed they did.
In May 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they burst onto the scene with a full line of products—and set the skin care landscape ablaze. TreCeuticals quickly gained the adoration of influencers, Hollywood make-up artists, and celebrities, including John O’Hurley, with Jennifer Hudson including it in her December 2022 “giveaway” bundle from some of her favorite brands. So why all the love?
“The New Happy Hour”
The TreCeuticals philosophy is simple: make skin care fun, fast, and effective. Dubbed "The New Happy Hour" by glowing skin-lovers everywhere, TreC products include gems like Priming Cleanser, Infusing Hydrator, Sunday Peel, Everyday But Sunday, Mist Me Baby! Eye Love, More Hydration Please! And Lip Love—each packed with “The Power of Three.” A first-of-its kind trifecta of medical-grade active ingredients—retinol, hydroxy acids, and antioxidants—combined with the calming power of full-spectrum CBD delivers results, all in just three simple steps, three minutes a day. With their popular kits like TreMe, TreHydration, TreMen, and TreComplete, they’ve also taken the guesswork out of choosing the appropriate skin care regime. Easy-peasy!
“Skin care doesn’t have to be complicated and time-consuming. We wanted to make it quick, easy, and effective, and Erin and I knew the power of CBD. We combined science with nature to create gender-neutral, skin-loving products for men and women,” Sharon says.
The Visionary Women Behind TreCeuticals
What drove these pioneers of skin care to jump back into the world of business as entrepreneurs and power through a pandemic—in their sixties? Their shared passion for inclusivity, community, and an unyielding commitment to giving back, fueled by grit, determination—and a whole lot of love. Sharon, a Wall Street veteran with a 25-year legacy of executive leadership, made an indelible mark on the financial landscape before retiring in 2007 to support philanthropic causes such as Fresh Start Women’s Foundation. Erin, a trailblazer in luxury fashion with a distinguished record as a former business owner and working with powerhouse brands like LVMH and Escada, had a deep-rooted passion for skin care. Together, they became the unstoppable force behind TreCeuticals. Even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tenacious duo refused to back down—packing orders in their humble garage and holding strategy meetings at the kitchen table. “When the pandemic hit, we were even more determined to make TreC happen,” Erin shares. “In those long, dark days, people really needed to feel good about themselves. We knew we could help, and we were not going to let them down.”
As TreCeuticals continues to dazzle the skin care world, and donate a portion of sales to various female-focused foundations, it stands as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of its extraordinary founders who dared to dream, and let nothing stand in their way.
We met with Sharon and Erin to hear more about their journeys, TreCeuticals, and why they still insist on answering customer service calls personally.
Erin, let’s launch right in with TreCeuticals “secret sauce.” Where did the idea of using CBD come from?
I’ve been a CBD users for 15 years because of my back problems. When Sharon and I decided to do this, we wanted to do something different. We knew we wanted to use medical-grade anti-aging ingredients—the same levels you’d get at a spa or dermatologist. Then I said, “Let’s put CBD in the products. We know it’s a major anti-inflammatory with natural healing properties.” So that’s what we did. When Sharon took it to the lab, they were thrilled, because they’d developed CBD products, but had never seen it used in skin care, and they knew it would be a hit—and we knew we had a game-changer. In addition, all our products are vegan, naturally derived, non-GMO, gluten-free, Leaping Bunny-certified (cruelty-free), and proudly made in the U.S.
Sharon, after long, very successful careers, you and Erin came out of retirement solely to start TreCeuticals. Then the pandemic hit. While many entrepreneurs would have hit the “pause” button, you thundered through it. Why?
When Erin and I started the company, no one knew that COVID was on the horizon, so by the time it hit in March 2020, we’d already ordered our products, and we were completely committed to this journey. Quitting was never an option for us. Erin and I both believe that skin care is about looking younger, staying younger, and just being healthy, but it’s so much deeper than just beauty. During the pandemic, it became more about just feeling good. What you see on the outside can reflect how you feel on the inside, emotionally and psychologically. If you look in the mirror, and you like what you see, it mentally picks you up. If you think you look tired, then you feel tired on the inside. It became more important than ever for us to deliver game-changing products that have the power to make people—men and women—feel good about themselves, and glow—from outside in!
Can you share some of the challenges you had to overcome to make this happen?
Sharon: You know, when we launched, we figured we’d just sell a few products on the internet, because of the pandemic. But demand for TreC took off—at the same time the supply chain was struggling. We rolled up our sleeves and boxed products in our garages, used a Weight Watchers scale, and shipped them as fast as possible to keep up with demand.
Erin: I remember we looked at each other at one point, like “Do we sink or swim?” We were swimmers. No freaking way were we going to sink. We just kept packing boxes, driven by one of our core values: giving back to our community. It was harder than we could have ever imagined, but Sharon makes things happen, and I do too, and I knew together we’d succeed no matter the odds.
Treceuticals’s gender-neutral concept has become all the rage, with demand now exploding from the male market as well. Tell us about this.
Erin and I are passionate about inclusivity, and when we were brainstorming everything that we wanted TreCeuticals to be, we quickly realized that there are thousands of female-specific skin care products and just a tiny little shelf dedicated to men, and really none that were gender neutral. Meanwhile, men are more conscious than ever about their skin and want more products designed for their needs as well. We wanted to give everyone with skin products that work for their skin type and their skin needs, and we’re all about simplicity, so we came up with a gender-neutral formula that caters to both men and women.
TreCeuticals is wildly successful, yet you ladies are still working alongside your team and remain very hands-on with your customers. In fact, you communicate with them directly, is that right?
We do! Sharon and I were bred in the corporate world, with years in the corner office. Now we’re doing the exact opposite. We’re all about being transparent, kind, and honest. We answer all reviews, and I write them personally and say, “I can’t think you enough for putting our product on your page!” We’re in the trenches with our customers. We listen to them, we respond to them, we talk to them.
I got a text from a friend. She said, “Can you give me your customer service email?” I said, “Sure, I’ll just give you the customer service phone number—my own personal number.” She called, and I answered, and we laughed our asses off.
While the world shines the spotlight on both of you, who else deserves credit for bringing TreCeuticals to life?
We are so fortunate to have had an amazing, passionate team of supporters who believed in our mission. Our husbands, Chris and Cliff, are the wind beneath our wings, our biggest cheerleaders, who get in the trenches with us to get the job done. So many people along the way helped us create TreCeuticals—college interns, design consultants, graphic artists, and PR team, and our own brand advocates. We couldn’t have done this without them.
Sharon Skaar, Co-Founder & CEO
Erin Dodd, Co-Founder & President
TreCeuticals
Website: https://treceuticals.com/
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