Q&A with Glow Recipe co-founders Christine Chang, Sarah Lee

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Successfully launching and growing a brand can be a challenge in just about any industry, but it’s especially tough as a woman in the beauty industry. Roughly two thirds of beauty executives are men, which makes it all the more exciting to discover women-owned brands that are helping to change the face of the industry. 

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Glow Recipe is a clinically-effective, fruit-forward brand known for its clean, effective and cruelty-free skincare. Since launching in 2017, Glow Recipe has paired the latest Korean-inspired technologies and ingredients with education to empower consumers to bring out their glow. In the process, some of its viral skincare products have taken the beauty world by storm, including the new Watermelon Glow Dewy Flush – a makeup meets skincare hybrid that adds a natural-looking flush to cheeks and lips. 

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Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, Glow Recipe’s co-CEOs and co-founders Christine Chang and Sarah Lee share how they champion confidence through their brand, their hopes for the future of women in the beauty industry and what’s next for the viral beauty brand. 

Q&A with Glow Recipe founders Christine Chang and Sarah Lee

Q: What inspired you to create Glow Recipe and how has your journey evolved since then?

Sarah Lee: Glow Recipe was started in 2017 because we saw a white space in the market for a clinically effective, results-driven brand with a community-first approach rooted in sensoriality and fun. Our first product was created by harnessing the power of watermelon. Growing up, our grandmothers rubbed watermelon rinds on our heat rashes during hot summer months and we experienced first hand the miraculous healing power of watermelon and how soothing and hydrating it was for the skin. This was the inspiration for our OG product, the Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask. Since its launch, we sold out over eight times and had waitlists in the thousands! We never expected that the product would be so well received, it was amazing. 

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Christine Chang: Sarah and I both grew up with skin care entwined into our daily lives, watching our mothers and grandmothers carve out time to do their skin care routines. We saw how much they enjoyed and cherished caring for their skin, which was a pivotal experience for us both growing up, and ultimately is what inspired us to start Glow Recipe. 

Q: What are the products that you’re most proud of? 

Chang: We’re so proud of the entire brand that we have built from the ground up, but I would say our Dew Drops are special. They have become a holy grail product for our community — there’s one product sold every 12 seconds! This product really embodies what Glow Recipe represents, bringing out your inner glow with one multitasking, easy-to-use skincare product with both skincare and makeup benefits. 

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Lee: We’ve also been thrilled to see our community’s reaction to our newest launch, Dewy Flush. We had 35,000 sign ups for the waitlists [at] Sephora and Glow Recipe before the launch. Since then, we’ve seen so much great content with our community using the flushes — we’re getting messages every day on how excited they are to see new shades in the future, which we love.

Q: How does Glow Recipe encourage customers to feel empowered and confident through its products?

Chang: We’ve always strived to take an inclusive approach to skincare. For starters, we don’t retouch the images you see in our ads and on social media, we aim for minimal makeup (if any), and we’re always committed to showing real skin, with bumps, texture, and all — because that’s what’s realistic for our customers. We also avoid language such as flawless, poreless, perfection — words we don’t feel support real skin acceptance. Our overall mission is to make skincare more fun, approachable and accessible, all while championing real skin acceptance. 

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Q: What changes would you like to see in the beauty industry that would further elevate women?

Chang: As two founders of a skincare brand with a community all over the world, we know it’s our responsibility to ensure our customers can always see themselves reflected in our brand’s messaging and product offering. Whether it is campaign visuals or marketing language, it’s our goal to create a safe, inclusive space where everyone, especially women from marginalized communities, can find representation with Glow Recipe. We hope that one day these values are table stakes at every beauty brand and that there is no room for exclusion in brand marketing or product development. 

Q: What advice would you give to other women looking to start their own business in the beauty industry?

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Chang: When you’re building a brand, one of the most isolating challenges can be not knowing where to turn for support. The key is to be clear about what you need, and remember — there’s a vast network of inspiring female founders out there who are more than willing to share their time and guidance. 

Lee: It’s okay to make mistakes. Great success comes from learning and resilience through failures. And don’t forget to celebrate the small wins with people around you.

Q: What’s next for Glow Recipe? 

Lee: We’re committed to continuing our legacy of launching groundbreaking skincare innovations that are deeply rooted in our Korean heritage and offer something truly unique to the market. Expect to see new products in both traditional and tinted skincare. We teased this at our Glow Global Conference, but we’re excited to be adding a lip product to our Glow Hues family soon.

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