Inspiring Conversations with Shannon Britt of Olura

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Britt.

Hi Shannon, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I started working in esthetics in the ’90s at my family’s clinic on Music Row in Nashville. My father came to the city from Connecticut to pursue his dreams of being a songwriter, opening an imaging clinic up on 16th Ave South so he could be close to the industry. As a result, we worked with a wide range of country music artists and industry executives. He named the business “Studio-B” after the recording studio where Elvis made some of his best-known hits. While my father never had the success of songwriting, he was seeking. We did get to work with some of the biggest names in country music – he even did the wigs for Dolly Parton for a few years! It was while managing Studio-B that I was introduced to non-invasive skincare technologies. It was around 1996, and microdermabrasion, light therapy, micro-current, and ultrasound were making it to the USA from Europe. I formed my first company, Ageless Aesthetics, and started importing devices for distribution into the US spa market. I trained hundreds of estheticians on these devices and got to see the results they could achieve.

Around 2010 I started a company to bring these technologies to the home user by developing beauty devices for beauty brands. We provided a complete turn-key service for companies looking to launch a beauty device, managing everything from identifying opportunities to delivering finished goods. We worked a lot with the BLISS brand in those days but also did work for Peter Thomas Roth, N.V. Perricone, and Paula’s Choice skincare brands.

We had a lot of success working with these established brands. Still, we saw an opportunity to create a unique home skincare solution that could deliver results similar to those the consumer experienced with a professional facial. I reached out to two of the most intelligent people I knew in skincare, celebrity esthetician Kyoko Getz and Ivy League-trained plastic surgeon Dr. Shirley Madhere to help me build this new company. We called the new company “Olura” to represent the simplicity and elegance of the program the team developed. We took the facets that make up the core of a professional facial routine and put them into a skincare program that people can do at home. We patented an all-in-one tool called the Eno that combines the most effective technologies from professional facial devices. Kyoko then worked with our product chemists to create a clean and customizable product line based on each customer’s unique needs. We launched this unique combination of an advanced device and individually blended products a little over a year ago, and our customers’ feedback has been fantastic!

You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
I feel like the word Entrepreneur is synonymous with “struggle,” and we have overcome our fair share of obstacles. The biggest challenge we had was entering a market overrun with misleading claims, overpromises, and outright misrepresentations of the truth. I’ve been fortunate to work directly with several beauty brands over the years, and many of them work exceptionally hard to put out great products backed by science. However, there is an equal number of product and device companies that will make any claim to sell you something that doesn’t work or isn’t suitable for you. What beauty claim can you make in marketing materials that the consumer hasn’t already seen 1,000 times? We knew we had something special but needed help telling a compelling story that would immediately differentiate us from the competition via social media and traditional advertising.

Part of the solution for us has been to put the Olura products and the Eno device into the hands of estheticians who immediately understand their benefits and can show the consumer the excellent results first-hand. It’s one thing to say that your products or technology will recreate the spa experience at home. With Olura, the consumer can actually purchase the same products that their esthetician uses in treatment every day.

Great, so let’s talk business. Please tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others.
Everyone loves the way a professional spa facial makes them look and feel. But what if you could be your own esthetician?

The Olura skincare system makes it possible. It allows you to perform a clinical-grade facial that simulates a spa visit in less than 10 minutes—all in the comfort of your home. Developed by a trio of industry experts, including a renowned esthetician, plastic surgeon, and device designer who have built careers around skin health.

It starts with clean skincare that’s custom-blended for you based on your answers to our skincare questionnaire. These formulas are applied with our Eno™ device, a one-of-a-kind tool with three functions: gentle ultrasonic exfoliation, micro-pulse facial sculpting, and deep product infusion. It’s a relaxing ritual you can perform on your own time: no appointment is necessary. With Olura, you’ll see results after a single treatment, just like you would after an in-spa facial. But the system is also flexible enough to evolve with you as your skincare needs change over time—the same way an esthetician would tailor their services.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc.?
I love the Making Sense podcast with Sam Harris and the Lex Fridman podcast, especially when they delve into science and philosophies that force you to consider highly unique perspectives when looking at the nature of reality and our place in it. I am also a big fan of Petter Attia and David Sinclair’s work on healthy aging. There’s such excellent work done in this field that reinforces our ability to live quality lives into our late years if we make simple adjustments around diet and exercise!

Pricing:

• Eno Device – $225.00
• Custom Blended Lotion – $49.00
• Custom Blended Serum – $58.00
• Custom Blended Set + Eno™ – $285.00

Contact Info:

• Website: www.olura.us
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oluraskincare/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OluraSkincare/