Chemical-Free Skin Health Chapter 1: The Big C — How I Became an Unlikely Formulator

Chemical-Free Skin Health Chapter 1: The Big C — How I Became an Unlikely Formulator

If you had told me years ago that I would someday be formulating skincare products and writing a book about skin health, I would have laughed. I was not the obvious candidate. My wife Wendy and I had left big corporate careers behind and were living what felt like a dream life in San Diego. Then one day, everything changed.
I noticed a strange mark near Wendy’s ankle. It looked small at first, almost unremarkable, but very quickly it became something serious. Within a short time, she was diagnosed with melanoma. Thankfully, it was caught early, and the cancer was removed. But that was not the end of the story. In many ways, it was just the beginning.

What came next was a long, painful stretch in which Wendy reacted badly to the products that were supposed to help her recover. Prescription products, over-the-counter products, specialty products—one after another seemed to create new problems. Her skin became thin, fragile, inflamed, and reactive. She dealt with adult acne, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, and these terrible welts that would rise up after even slight scratching. We were spending a fortune trying to solve problems that seemed to multiply with every new bottle and tube.
At some point, I reached the end of my patience. I looked at Wendy and said one word: stop. Stop everything. Put all of it in a box. We were going back to basics. I wanted to know what was in every single thing she used, and if the ingredients were not listed, I didn’t want it anywhere near her.

That moment changed our lives. We didn’t set out to be “natural” as a trendy label. We set out to find what actually worked and what did not hurt her. We discovered very quickly that words like natural and organic did not automatically mean safe or effective. Some so-called natural products were loaded with the same kinds of ingredients we were trying to avoid. Others lacked the protection needed to keep them microbiologically safe.
So I approached the problem the only way I knew how: like an engineer. Start with a clean slate. Subtract what is not working. Question every assumption. We began simply. Wendy stopped using everything except the most basic cleanser we could find. Then I started studying old formulations, especially castile-style soapmaking, and I began experimenting.

After hundreds of formulas, we landed on a soap and lotion approach that helped turn Wendy’s skin around. It wasn’t magic. It was careful observation, simplification, and a refusal to accept that more chemicals automatically meant better care.

As friends and colleagues started trying our products, they kept telling us the same thing: these simple formulations were helping with problems that had not responded well to conventional products. That was the seed of our company. We tested the products, refined them, and eventually brought them to market.
I still remember the early trade shows, the skepticism, the pushback, the chemists asking how and why we were doing things differently. I welcomed the questions. I still do. My answer then is the same as it is now: show me the science, show me the evidence, and I’ll read it.
This chapter is really the story of how a personal crisis became a calling. Wendy’s cancer changed our direction. Her skin reaction to conventional products forced us to look deeper. And what started as an effort to help one person became a mission to help many.

If there is one takeaway I want you to hold onto from this chapter, it is this: life-changing moments often arrive uninvited. What matters is what you do next. For me, the answer was to stop, to question, to learn, and to build something better from the ground up.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Chemical Free Skin Health Book Hello, I'm Bob Root and welcome. In this podcast series I want to walk with you chapter by chapter through the ideas in Chemical Free Skin Health. This book came out of lived experience, out of curiosity, out of frustration, and honestly out of love. I wrote this because I came to believe that many skin problems are not random and they are not always being understood correctly. I also came to believe that what we put on our skin matters far more than most of us were ever taught. My goal here is simple. I want to help you stop, challenge, and choose. I want to help you become more aware of what touches your skin, what enters your life, and what may be shaping your health without your knowledge. You'll hear my opinions, you'll hear my stories, you'll hear where I changed my mind, where I got angry, and where I got hopeful. Most of all, I want this to feel like we're just sitting together having a real conversation. Let's begin Chemical Free Skin Health Chapter one The Big C How I Became an Unlikely Formulator If you had told me years ago that I would someday be formulating skincare products and writing a book about skin health, I would have laughed. I was not the obvious candidate. My wife Wendy and I had left big corporate careers behind and were living what felt like a dream life in San Diego. Then one day everything changed. I noticed a strange mark near Wendy's ankle. It looked small at first, almost unremarkable, but very quickly it became something serious. Within a short time she was diagnosed with melanoma. Thankfully it was caught early and the cancer was removed. But that was not the end of the story. In many ways it was just the beginning. What came next was a long, painful stretch in which Wendy reacted badly to the products that were supposed to help her recover. Prescription products, over the counter products, specialty products, one after another seemed to create new problems. Her skin became thin, fragile, inflamed, and reactive. She dealt with adult acne, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, and these terrible welts that would rise up after even slight scratching. We were spending a fortune trying to solve problems that seemed to multiply with every new bottle and tube. At some point I reached the end of my patience. I looked at Wendy and said one word stop everything. Put all of it in a box. We were going back to basics. I wanted to know what was in every single thing she used, and if the ingredients were not listed, I didn't want it anywhere near her. That moment changed our lives. We didn't set out to be natural as a trendy label. We set out to find what actually worked and what did not hurt her. We discovered very quickly that words like natural and organic did not automatically mean safe or effective. Some so called natural products were loaded with the same kinds of ingredients we were trying to avoid. Others lacked the protection needed to keep them microbiologically safe. So I approached the problem the only way I knew how, like an engineer. Start with a clean slate, subtract what is not working, question every assumption. We began simply. Wendy stopped using everything except the most basic cleanser we could find. Then I started studying old formulations, especially Castile style soap making, and I began experimenting. After hundreds of formulas, we landed on a soap and lotion approach that helped turn Wendy's skin around. It wasn't magic, it was careful observation, simplification, and a refusal to accept that more chemicals automatically meant better care. As friends and colleagues started trying our products, they kept telling us the same thing. These simple formulations were helping with problems that had not responded well to conventional products. That was the seed of our company. We tested the products, refined them, and eventually brought them to market. I still remembered the early trade shows, the skepticism, the pushback, the chemists asking how and why we were doing things differently. I welcomed the questions. I still do. My answer then is the same as it is now. Show me the science, show me the evidence, and I'll read it. This chapter is really the story of how a personal crisis became a calling. Wendy's cancer changed our direction. Her skin reaction to conventional products forced us to look deeper. And what started as an effort to help one person became a mission to help many. If there is one takeaway I want you to hold on to from this chapter, it is this. Life changing moments often arrive uninvited. What matters is what you do next. For me, the answer was to stop, to question, to learn, and to build something better from the ground up.