Meet a Mom: Dr. Whitney Bowe!

Dr. Whitney Bowe, a Greenwich resident, and Mom to an 11 year old daughter, is a passionate dermatologist who believes strongly in healing the skin from the inside-out through inner skincare. She shares with us her journey of growing her dermatology practice for over a decade before realizing she wanted to share her learnings with a larger audience to help to empower and educate individuals who had a deeper interest in skin health and in the gut-mind-skin axis, thus launching her own incredible skincare line!

 

After becoming a social media sensation, Dr. Whitney Bowe was able to continue to bring much needed attention to skin health and the health of our skin barrier on Tik Tok and instagram.

 

We spoke to her about her journey to becoming an entrepreneur, working motherhood, and more!

We live on a quiet cul de sac in the heart of Greenwich.  We have one daughter turning 11 years old in October, and a very vocal, charismatic young cockatiel named Earl Watkins.

What do you love about Greenwich and your neighborhood?

We absolutely love Greenwich!  We first moved here just over 2 years ago and are still discovering new shops and restaurants each week.  Greenwich Avenue is a 5 min drive, or 15 minute walk from our home, which feels like a mini NYC with all of the dining and shopping options.  My daughter is a huge fan of Funky Monkey, and we especially love eating brunch at Meli Melo or having a family dinner at Terra or Mediterraneo.

Our neighbors were incredibly warm and welcoming from day one of our move.  There are at least 4 other families with school age children on our block, we enjoy the occasional block party or text thread after spotting a coyote or wild turkey!

Can you tell us a little bit about your career as a dermatologist – highlights and what drew you to the field?

I’ve been practicing dermatology for over a decade and this journey has been so enriching and so exciting, each step of the way. There is never a dull moment! I’m an eternal student by nature, so I am always challenging myself and preconceived notions in my field. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and put in the work, and that’s what has made my experience so rewarding. By way of background, I completed my undergraduate pre-med studies at Yale and then earned a full tuition, merit-based scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In addition to my medical studies, I completed one year at the Center for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics so that I would have a deep understanding of scientific studies and evidence. I then completed my dermatology residency (research track) and started on the path that I find myself on today, as the Medical Director of Integrative Dermatology at Advanced Dermatology, P.C. Optimizing skin health is incredibly motivating for me. I always want to bring my patients’ experience to the next level and to share information with a larger audience to boost self confidence and accessible, real-life tips for skin that glows with health.

What led you to launch your own line? 

I initially started sharing information on social media so that I could reach more individuals than I was able to see as patients in my office. I reached a point where I had to cap my practice so that I could focus on my existing patients, as my practice was growing very rapidly and my waitlist was becoming unwieldy. I wanted to be able to share all that I was learning with a larger audience to help to empower and educate individuals who had a deeper interest in skin health and in the gut-mind-skin axis. The instagram family that grew out of that initial effort is one of the most supportive, encouraging groups and they ask phenomenal questions. I started to share my posts over on Tik Tok and the response there was completely mind blowing. I currently have over 800k followers on Tik Tok and my videos on Skin Cycling, which is my PM skincare routine, have gone viral. The #skincycling hashtag has over 48 million views.  This particular video has over 10 million views and counting! Skin cycling has taken on a life of its own and has been covered extensively by the press including Allure, Women’s Health, Bustle, Popsugar, InStyle, and Good Morning America. This has brought so much attention to skin health and the health of our skin barrier. I find that very exciting! And, I love seeing people’s skin cycling journeys and the way that they integrate my products into their skincare routines.

Can you share what separates your products from anything else out there?

I spent over two years developing Bowe Glowe microbiome nourishing cream to give your skin the hydration and barrier repair it needs. Bowe Glowe Cream was clinically-tested using an instrument called a Tewameter to measure “TEWL” or “transepidermal water loss,” meaning, how much water is evaporating from the surface of the skin. Bowe Glowe Cream has been clinically proven to help repair the skin barrier in just one hour! It’s powered by a proprietary blend of deeply hydrating and restorative ingredients including prebiotics, postbiotics, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and squalane.

In addition to outer skincare, I believe that healing the skin from the inside-out through inner skincare is equally important. If your gut is inflamed, and out of balance, your skin will suffer and even the most nutritious diet will fail to nourish your skin properly.

That is why I created Bowe Growe Pomegranate Microbiome Elixir, clinically-proven, vegan, water-enhancing drops that let you DRINK your skincare.

First shake, then mix 2-3 droppers into a cool liquid of your choice to help  boost your intake of plant-powered bionutrients and promote glowing skin. My personal preference is to enjoy it with sparkling water, my husband loves it with plain water, but there are so many options from mocktails to smoothies. It can be enjoyed any time of day, on an empty or full stomach. It’s best to refrigerate after opening but if you are traveling or taking it on the go, Bowe Growe Elixir can go up to 2 weeks without being refrigerated.

Fun fact: One bottle of Bowe Growe™, which is created to last you one month with daily use, contains the same amount of plant powered polyphenols as if you ate approximately:

• 7 pomegranates

• 3 cups of blueberries

• 7 cups of black currants

• 2.5 cups of cranberries

• 1.5 cups of blackberries

• A bunch of grapes

If someone wants to try one product to start, what do you consider the “must try” product?

Please see my answers above! I am very excited to share that I have a brand new launch coming in OCTOBER, which is a product I cannot wait to share!

Why are probiotics so important on a topical basis – how do they help the skin?

We’ve heard of probiotics, but postbiotics deserve center stage, in my opinion, when it comes to topical skincare.

In skincare, postbiotics are an all-star ingredient when it comes to getting your skin to function at peak capacity. They are a powerhouse ingredient when it comes to supporting your skin barrier, and helping your skin stay healthy, balanced, and radiant.

Here’s one way to understand what postbiotics are and how they work:

Think of your skin microbiome as a garden. Prebiotics are the fertilizer that encourage healthy things to grow. Probiotics are the rich, diverse flowers growing and thriving in your garden.

Postbiotics are the natural byproducts that the “flowers” (probiotics) create and release into the thriving garden.

When it comes to skincare, lots of brands used to focus on probiotics.

Probiotics are living organisms, so formulating skincare products with them can be challenging. There are issues with preservatives, refrigeration, shelf life, ability to add other active ingredients- let’s just say topical skincare products with probiotics usually end up being more hype than science.

Instead, we are now realizing that postbiotics can have very beneficial impacts on human skin without the formulation issues associated with living microbes.

The main postbiotic in Bowe Glowe Cream is a type of lactobacillus ferment, which has been shown to support skin’s natural  defenses from external aggressors. It helps to do this by upregulating antimicrobial peptides, which are part of our skin’s immune system, downregulating redness signals in the skin, which can help control flushing and those red blotchy patches that some people are prone to, and it helps to support a healthy skin barrier by reducing TEWL (transepidermal water loss). All of these things help promote healthy, balanced, and glowing skin.

You’ve talked about nourishing your skin from the inside out – what does that entail?

As an integrative, or 3D, dermatologist, I address skin health from the outside-in and from the inside-out. I treat the skin holistically from every angle based on the relationship between our gut, brain and skin. . . focusing on gut health, stress levels, sleep, exercise, and skincare and understanding that all of these things factor in when it comes to healthy skin.

What is your “mom mantra” or anything that gets you through busy times as a working mom?

We’re all human.  Even moms.