ESTAS Beauty Founders, Alejandra Thompson & Cristina Beltran
Cristina Beltran and Alejandra Thompson are the co-founders of ESTAS Beauty. Cristina worked in PR before having open heart triple bypass surgery: one of the catalysts for starting her company. Meanwhile, Alejandra has over 12 years of experience in the beauty industry, previously working at L'Oreal and Chanel.
Both of you have said that you had a “meaningful scar” you once hated. When you see your scar now, what does it represent to you?
CB: When I was told I’d need open heart surgery, my first question was, “Am I going to have a scar?” I felt terrified of having a flaw or mark that would show the world that something went wrong with me, that I was sick. Today, I can truly say I love my scar. I love the way it looks, and I love the strength it symbolizes; I love to show it off and share my story. For me, my scar represents what I’ve overcome in the past and all I will accomplish in the future.
AT: Three weeks after my first c-section, I was terrified of my scar, which both hurt and felt foreign and dangerous. I worried my wound could open right back up, and I thought of my scar as a visible flaw that I would carry for the rest of my life. I then had a conversation with my good friend, Cristina, who talked to me about how “cool” she thinks scars are. A few weeks later, she called me to pitch the idea for ESTAS Beauty; when she explained the social stigma around scars, the societal pressure to dislike our scars—and thus not take care of them—I was instantly sold. This may seem cheesy, but I’m so proud of what we have built with ESTAS Beauty and what we are accomplishing. Every time I look at my c-section scar now, I think, “Without you, this whole business would have never existed.”
You experienced an urge to create a scar cream yourself because you couldn’t locate the “perfect one”, what separates your product from the others out there? What makes your product special?
CB: The idea for ESTAS came to me when Alejandra told me how much she was struggling with her scar. My plan was to buy her a beautiful, luxurious scar cream that would help her scar look better so she could feel better about it. I was certain something like this already existed, so the inability to find a single luxury skincare product specifically for scars very much surprised me. Yes, the market has a number of various scar products available, but none of them quite compare to ESTAS. Three differences make ESTAS products special:
Our products are formulated as luxury skincare products rather than medical ointments. In other words, each product boasts a luxe texture, smooth & clean application, and shelf-worthy packaging. This means using ESTAS products to treat your scars becomes a pampering, self-care experience instead of a tiresome obligation.
Because our products are modeled after the traditional luxury skincare routine, we are the first-ever line of scar-care products to work as a system, which ultimately leads to better results. Scars are simply different types of skin with different needs. Therefore, we should be treating our scars with the same care we take to treat the rest of our skin: using a cleanser, serum, and a moisturizer or mask.
While other scar products encourage us to erase, diminish, ignore, or hide our scars, we aim to encourage everyone to embrace theirs and the stories they tell. By properly caring for our scars and learning to embrace the beauty in them, we can not only help improve the appearance of our scars but also start to build a positive relationship with them.
How do you instill confidence and pride in your product?
AT: Since our products are formulated to feel like skincare, but perform like scar-care, our goal is to encourage a daily routine that turns into a moment of self-care. If we take a few minutes out of our day to care for our scars, not only will they start to look better, but we’ll start to build a more positive relationship with them, and the fear of looking at it or touching it will start to evaporate. With time, that relationship can turn into confidence and pride. That’s how both Cristina and I ultimately came to feel proud of our scars.
How has the art of Kintsugi helped in the creation of your product?
CB: My cardiologist was actually the one that told us about Kintsugi, a Japanese artform that involves mending broken pottery with gold lacquer to showcase the cracks or scars. The theory behind this process is that the pottery becomes more valuable once it’s been broken and mended because it is then one of a kind. As soon as we learned about this artform, we knew we’d have to incorporate the philosophy into the brand mission. Thus, all of our packaging is inspired by Kintsugi.
What inspired the name ESTAS?
AT: ESTAS is the acronym for Every Scar Tells A Story. Before we had a brand name, we knew that we wanted our tagline to be “Every scar tells a story” since one of the moments that helped Cristina accept and love her scar was sharing her story. One day while we brainstormed, I wrote out our tagline on a piece of paper. When I saw the words written out like that, the acronym jumped right out at me and we knew that would become our name.
Why do you think individuals hate their scars? Do you think this stigma has gotten better or worse?
CB: Unfortunately, society has taught us to believe that scars make us imperfect, which likely goes back to an outdated definition of beauty. But, when we think about it, scars are symbols of survival, strength, and resilience; they should be celebrated, not hidden away. I do think that the stigma is slowly starting to change since the past few years have put a lot of our lives into perspective. The concept of perfection and flawlessness has finally become too unrelatable. We’re starting to see public figures embracing their scars out in the open and that is absolutely a step in the right direction.
Kelly Hughes was the first model featured in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue to showcase her C-section scar; how did this personally impact you?
AT: This was an amazing moment for Kelly, for us, and for the entire scar community! Kelly’s courage and confidence have inspired us all. When we first saw news of Kelly’s feature, we immediately reached out to congratulate her. We offered to send her some ESTAS products as a gift. She liked the products and mission so much that we teamed up to launch our #ScarLoveChallenge. The challenge invites anyone with a scar to post an image of themselves embracing their scar and showing it off with pride. By posting, users enter for a chance to win an ESTAS Essentials set. Additionally, ESTAS will donate $1 to World of Children for every post; most importantly, each user helps build a community of scar love and acceptance. We’ve seen some amazing posts and are thrilled to see how this special community continues to grow. □
Article Credits
ESTAS Beauty’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estasbeauty/
ESTAS Beauty’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/estasbeauty
ESTAS Beauty’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@estasbeauty
ESTAS Beauty’s Website: https://estasbeauty.com/
Photography: @markgrgurich
