Hormone Awareness Month and Why It is Important to Listen to Our Bodies with Allie Egan- Founder and CEO of Veracity
Allie Egan is the Founder and CEO of Veracity, a science-backed, whole-health approach to skincare.
Veracity empowers women to understand the connection between their skin and their broader health through at-home testing and a personalized approach based on the root cause - hormones. Its products are clinically proven and at the forefront of clean performance; plastic-free and excluding all hormone disruptors, making them safe for all of life’s moments, including pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Prior to founding Veracity, Allie was the CEO of the women’s fashion brand, Cynthia Rowley where she led the transformation to direct-to-consumer and more than doubled the business in two years. She has extensive experience in the beauty industry through her time at some of Estee Lauder’s best brands, including Origins, Clinique, and La Mer. She also has broad consumer experience through her time as an investor at L Catterton. She was selected as one of the Forbes Next 1000 and named one of the Top Women in Retail by the Women’s Leadership Network. She holds a BS in Finance and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School.
Read on about Allie’s journey to bringing Veracity to life and all about what her brand and products support!
What brought you to create Veracity?
The idea for Veracity stemmed from my own hormonal imbalances and skin issues. Long story short I had a skin problem that despite seeing my dermatologist went undiagnosed for four years and was actually the first sign of my Hashimoto’s. I only learned about this hormonal imbalance after I was in the throws on infertility - suffering multiple miscarriages and going through IVF. Once I was able to identify and treat the root cause my skin issue resolved and I have successfully had two children. I firmly believe our skin is health and being able to decode the signs our bodies are giving us via symptoms like acne and brain fog is critical to our ability to look and feel our best.
Why should we care about our Hormone Health?
Hormones control every major bodily function and research shows that more than 80% of women will suffer a hormonal imbalance. Further, we encounter 85,000 hormone disruptors daily through our normal activities, from the water bottle you drink out of to the receipt you take from the grocery store. This has led to women suffering 5+ symptoms of hormonal imbalance from skin to period pain to brain fog and infertility. Currently women are only sold solutions to treat the symptoms and not educated on the root cause and how to create balance to eliminate symptoms.
Veracity’s mission is to empower people by giving them the answers they deserve about what’s going on in their bodies and actionable solutions to regain balance.
Tell us more about Hormone Health Awareness Month and why is it important to highlight this?
Since Veracity launched in 2021, over 87% of Skin + Health Test takers have uncovered a hormone imbalance they never knew about. There’s still so much mystery and lack of education around hormone health and I thought, “There’s an awareness day for hot dogs and puppies, but nothing for hormones?” So we decided this needed to change.
Hormone Health Awareness Month is dedicated to shedding light on hormone health, promoting inclusive research, sharing stories, and changing the narrative of what it means to be “hormonal.”
This is our first year and we’ve partnered with some incredible brands and experts to reach as many people as we can. Veracity has hosted discussion panels with experts of a variety of hormone related topics from skin and gut health to stress to sexual health (all available to watch here). The response has been amazing and I’m so excited to see the needle move as we continue to talk about this important topic.
What does the Veracity home test uncover and is it easy to do?
Veracity’s Skin + Health Test is the first ever at-home hormone test that offers a comprehensive wellness plan for your best skin. It’s a simple saliva test (all you do is spit in a tube) that tests for the 5 hormones directly related to skin health: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, and DHEA. Your results are lab certified and will tell you the status of your hormones, how they’re affecting your skin, and actionable solutions (skincare, supplement, diet, and lifestyle recommendations) to look and feel your best.
What signs should we be looking for that may point to someone having a Hormone imbalance issue?
Hormones affect nearly every part of your body- mental health, metabolism, skin, sleep, literally everything. Hormones are also impacted by your lifestyle factors, like exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals or stress, so they fluctuate a lot. If your skin is suddenly acting up or you’ve become more sensitive to certain foods or your monthly cycle is off, your body is really good at telling you when it needs some self-care.
As your life changes, so are your hormones. I encourage myself and my team to take the Skin + Health Test at least every six months to stay in tune with what’s going on internally. It’s also fun to see the progress you’ve made from the last time you tested after following the recommendations.
Navigating your own career pivots, what do you love most about being a Founder/Entrepreneur?
I founded Veracity after battling hormonal issues myself. What I love most about being the founder of Veracity is that I actually get to see and hear how it’s changing people’s lives. I’ve met with people who have taken our test and used our products and it is the most rewarding feeling to know that what you’re doing is helping people on their journey in some way. Even on my worst days, it’s what keeps me going.
What have you learned about yourself that has really surprised you over the past two years?
Two years ago I had the vision for Veracity and was pregnant with my first baby, Cooper. I was hopeful that the plan would come to fruition but wasn’t sure how it would all turn out. Two years later, we’ve helped thousands of people achieve hormonal health and I’m a mom of two (three if you count Veracity). What’s surprised me most is how much and fast things can change when you work toward a goal. You will fail in the process, but it’s all a part of the process.
Best career advice you have ever gotten?
Progress over perfection, always. I’m a perfectionist by nature, so this isn’t something that comes easy to me, but it’s what I try to live by and it’s one of Veracity’s core values. Whether it’s building a company or trying to achieve better health, progress is more important and more rewarding than getting stuck on perfection.
How do you balance work/life and being a mom of 2 (secrets to your routines)?
As someone who encourages people to find balance, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to achieve perfect work/life balance. For me it’s all about giving 100% in each area of my life. When I’m in CEO mode, I’m fully present and focused on the tasks at hand, but when I’m home and it’s family time, my phone is off and I’m just wife and mom.
I know you hire for your own company and have brought on some amazing talent. What stands out the MOST to you when you are interviewing new potential candidates and what always leaves a lasting impression?
I used to think about interviewing for experience or hard skills. Now I focus on finding people that are aligned with our values and mission. We’re building something no one has ever built before so there is no playbook. We are all aligned on Veracity’s mission and want to empower and improve the lives of as many people as we can. I’m really proud that Veracity is built by a diverse team of critical, creative, and forward thinkers who not only believe in the mission, but live it every day. What has attracted me to each of my team members is their personal veracity and innate ability to stay curious to explore and develop the uncharted.
The best way to engage and connect with the Veracity Community?
Our team works very hard on building an engaged and involved community. Follow us on @veracityselfcare on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, to keep up with everything that’s going on at Veracity. Also check out The Knowledge section of our website, which is truly a wealth of - well - knowledge. Think of it more like a pandora’s box of educational content, tips and tricks on controlling your cycle, real stories from women who have gone through hormone issues, and more.
Order your test and learn more about Veracity at: https://veracityselfcare.com/en/skincare/test-kits/skin-and-health-test
