The Skin Superwoman – Cover Shoot with Dr. Barbara Sturm

THE

SUPERWOMAN

CREATIVE DIRECTION: AMY SESSIONS & DAN ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHER: GREG ADAMSKI

Dr. Barbara Sturm is changing the skincare

game one groundbreaking product at a time

Above: Glow Drops and Hyaluronic Serum; All Dr. Barbara Sturm

FASHION: SATIN-TRIMMED TWILL BLAZER & SATIN-TRIMMED TWILL STRAIGHT-LEG PANTS, ALL STELLA MCCARTNEY; CORSET TOP KRISTINA FIDELSKAYA; KATE 100 LEATHER PUMPS CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN

Above: Super Anti-Aging Eye Cream and Face Cream; All Dr. Barbara Sturm

FASHION: SATIN-TRIMMED TWILL BLAZER & SATIN-TRIMMED TWILL STRAIGHT-LEG PANTS, ALL STELLA MCCARTNEY; CORSET TOP KRISTINA FIDELSKAYA

FASHION: SATIN-TRIMMED TWILL BLAZER STELLA MCCARTNEY; CORSET TOP KRISTINA FIDELSKAYA; RIGHT PAGE: SHEARLING JACKET BY IRO PARIS; KATE 100 LEATHER PUMPS CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN

WORDS: OLIVIA MORRIS

“I always liked to swim against the mainstream, and I see skin and overall wellness through the prism of combatting inflammation through ingredient science.”

If you’re a skincare fan, you’ve most definitely heard of the household name Dr. Barbara Sturm – and if you haven’t, well, it’s about time you found out. After launching her eponymous line in 2003, followed by a full skincare line in 2014, Dr. Sturm – or known as BB to her nearest and dearest – has become a pioneer in the beauty sphere, with her renowned anti-inflammatory philosophy approach to skincare.

While you’d assume she comes from the dermatological side of the medical field, her background is from the orthopaedic field which concerns itself with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system in the body. In fact, before making waves in the beauty industry, Dr. Sturm was part of the team in Düsseldorf, Germany at the Centre for Molecular Orthopedics which developed innovative and groundbreaking anti-inflammatory treatments to tackle osteoarthritis and back pain. One such patient which benefited from this treatment was the late Kobe Bryant – one of the best NBA basketball players of all time – who underwent a procedure on his knee. Since then, it’s been coined the ‘Kobe Procedure’. So, how exactly did she find herself entering the aesthetics field, arguably a huge 180 degrees from what she trained in? Well, being a person, as she says, “who always liked to swim against the mainstream”, she opted to utilize the anti-inflammatory aspect of orthopaedics as she realized it could be adapted to the skin. “Inflammation is really the bane of the body, and at the root of much dysfunction and disease,” she explains. “As a doctor and scientist, I pursue advances in ingredient science and cutting-edge techniques and treatments.” This led to her first “big break” into the aesthetics space in 2002 creating the acclaimed ‘Blood Facial’, also known as the ‘Vampire Facial’ – a treatment loved by celebrity A-listers including Kim Kardashian. Just a year later, in 2003, Dr. Sturm launched Dr. Barbara Sturm Molecular Cosmetics, followed by a dedicated clinic in 2006 in her hometown of Düsseldorf. But, it was in 2014, that the Dr. Barbara Sturm name really rose to prominence with the launch of her core skincare line which is based on “innovations in ingredient science and potent natural extracts that strengthen and improve the skin, without attacking it.” And the rest, as they say, is history. Dr. Sturm is now a true household name in her field, with a catalogue of celebrity clients including Bella Hadid, Victoria Beckham, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Moss – just to name a few. As well as this, Sturm products are now the go-to for luxury houses during fashion month and they are also some of the top sellers on Net-A-Porter globally, as well as right here in the region. Here, Emirates Woman discusses with our December cover star what it takes to build a results-driven brand backed by innovative research, how she’s harnessed the innovative treatments from orthopaedics and transferred them to the aesthetics space and what the future holds for Dr. Barbara Sturm, because it’s clear the only way is up.

Talk us through your career. My aesthetic career was heavily inspired by the anti-inflammatory treatments I helped pioneer in the orthopaedic field. Aesthetics is a combination of art and science, and it is a fascinating challenge with immediate and very gratifying patients results for patients. I started by injecting Hyaluronic Acid and Botox which provided amazing results, but I kept thinking that it would be a great additional anti-ageing booster for the skin if we also started mixing it with the body’s own anti-inflammatory healing factors like we did in orthopaedics. The results, in the form of the ‘blood facial,’ lasted longer and the skin benefited greatly from the additional healing power and anti-inflammatory proteins. I always liked to swim against the mainstream, and I see skin and overall wellness through the prism of combatting inflammation through ingredient science. As you mentioned, you rose to prominence back in 2002 before launching your eponymous skincare brand after pioneering the ‘blood facial’ – how did this come about? The ‘blood facial’ was a translation of the scientific research and practice I had been working on in orthopedics; I would inject the patient’s own plasma with accelerated growth factors and other anti-inflammatory proteins into the area of the injury to boost healing and repair injuries in athletes and ageing arthritic joints. I translated this into a facial treatment where I took a patient’s own blood, treated it over the course of a day in the laboratory to accelerate the healing factors and expression of other beneficial proteins, and then reinjected the treated plasma into the skin. It had a tremendous healing and anti-inflammatory effect. The public later termed this the “Vampire Facial.” This eventually led you to launch Dr. Barbara Sturm Molecular Cosmetics. How have things evolved for you and your line? I originally created my ingredient science-based, high-performance skincare line only for my patients. I was not involved in the cosmetics business at all and I knew from trying out products that were on the market that nothing would help my own skin concerns like dryness, irritation and blackheads. My mission has been to reach every patient or customer and give them education and information about ingredient science and the science of our largest organ, our skin, so they can make better choices to achieve healthy functioning glowing skin without falling into the traps of empty marketing promises. As a doctor, my instinct and philosophy is patient first, business second. I am always focused on innovation, and it’s less about my own success in the industry and more about creating treatments and products that yield results – that’s my passion.

COVER STAR: DR. BARBARA STURM; FASHION ASSISTANT: SARAH JOSEPH; MAKEUP & HAIR: MELANIE MEYER BY MMG; VIDEOGRAPHER: MARK MATHEW performance ingredient science as well as telomerase activators like Purslane. Combining our skincare with our supplements will get you the ultimate, insideout and top-to-bottom anti-ageing result. With the Dr. Barbara Sturm brand, you’ve managed to foray into the fashion world and now have a huge presence during Fashion Month. How did this come about? I have had a presence at Fashion Weeks for the past few years, we were one of the first skincare brands to do so. I initially began in 2015 with pop-up spas offering facials for models, designers, stylists or anyone in need of some self-care during their busy Fashion Week schedules. And then two years ago the brand began to have a regular backstage presence at the shows, as we had such a great demand from the makeup artists and manicurists for good quality, healthy skincare. The models’ skin really suffers during this hectic period as they are constantly travelling, taking part in multiple shows per day and having makeup applied and removed. It’s long and exhausting and they need their skin to be glowing, fresh and healthy. For makeup artists, it’s critical because the better the skin, the better the makeup. Unlike a photo shoot, a fashion show is a live experience and you can’t edit your work if you’re not happy with the results. It’s essential that the skin looks perfect. You’re, of course, known for being a major player in the beauty Your brand has become the go-to for many, particularly among the industry, but what are some things that people may not know celebrity crowd. Who would you say the most high-profile Dr. Bar- about you? My dad and brother are architects and I’m super bara Sturm clients are and why do they love your brand? I think it’s interested in interior design – we all love art. I grew up with lots a couple of things. Firstly, my products work, and you will see re- of cars – so I know a lot about cars and my mum was an amazsults. Second, I’m a medical doctor and when treating my patients, ing chef; we would cook the most delicious dinners and make I’m connecting with them on a personal level and often, they be- menus. My mom was a chemist, and my grandmother was a come my friends. I like to get to know and connect with people and pharmacist, and they would always mix creams for us as chilit’s through this that I’ve been able to spread the word and share dren – we would often go into the forest during my childhood my passion with everybody out there, not just celebrities. and pick medicinal herbs and roots. It’s interesting to look at What does this region mean to you in terms of your brand and beau- different facets of life and be inquisitive about multiple things. ty? I have been coming to the Middle East since 2003 and feel very We’re sure there’s been some major milestones and hurdles connected to my client base, whom I have such strong relation- you’ve had to overcome throughout your career. What stands ships with. And my collection is very suited to help combat the out to you? When I launched with Net-a-Porter more than specific environmental stressors that can affect the skin if you live ten years ago it was such a huge milestone for me and a winin the region, including sun, humidity and pollution. dow to all other retailers, who started asking me one by one If you had to choose one hero product from your skincare line, what to join them. On the other hand, when I had just created would it be? I love all my products and I created all of them for a my Darker Skin Tones line in 2014, which works to reduce reason so it’s very difficult to choose a favourite but if I had to hyperpigmentation, even skin tone and soothe irritation in I would say my Hyaluronic Serum and Face Cream are absolute melanin-rich skin, I was discouraged by the initial relucmust-haves. I call serums the “power tools” of skincare because tance of some of the major retailers in picking it up. We had of their ability to penetrate deep and fast into the skin to address put so much effort and research into creating something concerns with active ingredients. A modern, innovative skincare truly extraordinary but we didn’t give up. Finally, it came routine always includes a serum as well as a face cream – it should to the point where I insisted that if retailers wanted to carry never replace it – both are absolutely necessary. my main Molecular Cosmetics Skincare line, they’d have to In your opinion, what contributes the most to ageing – and how do carry the Darker Skin Tones line as well, and they did. I’m we best combat it? One of the biggest culprits of ageing is inflam- a doctor, so I am in the service business. Serving patients mation. Inflammation comes from our diet, stress, lack of sleep, starts with listening to the patient. pollution, sun… all of those stressors and it can also come from What does scaling in the Middle East look like for you? Trust your own skincare routine. To get inflammation under control we me, I’m working on it! My number one priority for my clients can adapt to an anti-inflammatory lifestyle by taking time to de- wherever I am is to be able to educate them on making the stress, sleeping eight hours, eating an anti-inflammatory diet and best decisions for their skin – I am always looking at further adapting our skincare routines so that they’re anti-inflammatory. opportunities in which I can share my anti-inflammatory This means excluding harsh ingredients like Retin-A, glycolic philosophy and help each person I meet have the best and acid peels and laser treatments because they cause inflammation healthiest skin possible. It’s one of the driving principles of – but they also disrupt your skin barrier and your microbiome. my work and inventions. This makes your skin vulnerable and unprotected, allowing ag- On a global scale, what is next for you and Dr. Barbara Sturm gressors such as sun and pollution to penetrate your skin even cosmetics...? I have so many exciting things coming up. easier and cause problems like premature ageing and pigmenta- I just launched a new Spa & Boutique on Madison Ave. tion. Another factor is hydration. Hydration is the key to anti- in New York and I have another opening on Mercer Street ageing. Dry or dehydrated skin is never an option. before the end of the year. I am looking forward to having

But what’s also important when we look at anti-ageing, is to a new spa location where I can see clients and customers help our systems repair and heal damage caused by free radicals in person. I’m also launching an immersive and interactive and other stressors. This is why I created the Exoso-Metic Col- virtual shopping experience in the New Year (more on that lection, because exosomes and growth factors help to repair your soon) and I have some new product innovations launching skin and your system constantly, upgrading your skin with high- in 2023 - there’s plenty more in-store.