Muriam Zaoui Malka: "When I was 21, I started formulating products. In 1996, my husband and I opened our first The Art of Shaving retail location in NYC. We had no financial backing and sold our car for $12,000 to fund our first store. Now, it's a multimillion dollar skincare brand that has 50 retail locations and 1000 points of distribution. Procter and Gamble acquired The Art of Shaving in 2010."
Several banks turned down business loans because I was a woman with children and thus considered a bad risk.
Dr. Loretta Ciraldo: "When I was 31, I started my dermatology practice. I had two small children and a husband who was still training to be a heart surgeon. In the early '80s when I started, there were no laws in place to protect women from blanket prejudice. Several banks turned down business loans because I was a woman with children and thus considered a bad risk. Finally, one bank gave me a loan and I went on to build my dermatology practice. Ten years after that, I used profits from my practice and my husband's savings to launch a private label skincare business for cosmetic physicians. I'd been Muriam's dermatologist for over 10 years, and during our appointments we would discuss our very similar approach to anti-aging skincare. I asked Muriam if she could contribute her branding expertise and work with me to formulate and create products that married the best of natural and medical grade ingredients, omitting known problematic ingredients. When we started discussing a partnership, we brought our husbands into the talk for over a year. We have self-funded our line."
— Muriam Zaoui Malka (left) and Dr. Loretta Ciraldo (right), cofounders of Dr. Loretta
Image Source: Courtesy Dr. Loretta