Dermatologist, Brand Founder And “Super Believer In Skincare” Loretta Ciraldo Pushes Products (But Not Too Many) Over Procedures

Loretta Ciraldo, founder of skincare brand Dr Loretta, was exploring what makes skin tick before many TikTok skin docs were born. In 1975, the now 70-year-old dermatologist was at Harvard Medical School’s dermatology department studying the effects of UVA rays on human skin, work that contributed to the development of the Fitzpatrick scale. In 1978, she graduated from SUNY Downstate Medical School in New York City, her hometown. 

Forty years later, she launched her brand, which has steadily grown to 14 products, including cleansers, serums, exfoliators, sunscreen and more, priced from $35 to $110. Unlike derms who’ve plastered their names on skincare products only to push in-office treatments as the gold standard, Ciraldo calls herself a “super believer in skincare.” She says, “I’ve never been lasered. I put a little bit of filler in myself. I haven’t had Botox in a long time. I depend on skincare. I don’t just talk the talk, I also walk the walk.”

Beauty Independent spoke to Ciraldo about her family-owned and -operated business, what she really thinks of social media skin “experts,” and why dust mites might be skin’s public enemy No. 1. 

How did you start creating skincare products?

I started for professionals only and still do that as a separate business for 30 years. It’s a lot of acne products, more of a focus on what dermatologists need in the office. For some of our clients, I make private-label products. Some became unbelievably famous. About eight years ago, two of my daughters said that I created these products for them, and then when they become big, they don’t want to use us as the manufacturer anymore, which I can understand. They want to get huge price breaks. My daughter said, “Mommy, you should have your own brand.”

I loved the idea because I would love to make a brand based on the fact, which I know to be so true, that it’s only skin that gets exposed to the elements that ages, and it’s certainly not just because of the sun. That is such an outdated idea. Pollutants are worse than the sun, and we’re exposed to them all the time. So, literally, it was a conversation sitting around one of my daughter’s dining room table. I said that I can’t make a brand because I also practice dermatology, I like to travel. Making a brand is a whole other thing. but I absolutely would love it if the energy were put into making a brand that distinguished itself by protecting people from all the things that age us.

That’s when my daughters jumped on board. My daughters felt that I was giving them this message so long ago that it’s not just sunscreen, it’s really pollution and also irritants. We use so many products, and we think that there’s a no-pain, no-gain kind of ideology. That’s so bad because once we start to irritate ourselves, we really look worse instead of better.

I started to recognize that I had a background that most dermatologists didn’t have. I came down to Florida in the ’80s. My husband was going to do a cardiac surgery fellowship. We started a cosmetic dermatology clinic at the University of Miami around 1985 or so, which was I think the first in the whole country, to start to teach residents about cosmetic dermatology. I was already very entrenched in the practice. Then, plastic surgeons would send me patients that were having skin reactions.

I started to develop this practice even before the days of there being many aesthetic practices. What I realized was that the majority of problems that women would come to me with related back to the products that they were using. I got so fascinated with it all.

Why are dust mites such a problem for skin health?

Patients would look worse on one side of the face than the other. I’d say, do you sleep on that side? There’s so many dust mites in pillows and pillowcases. The dust mites are the major carrier of the really bad particulate matter that’s very tiny pollution particles. It gets into our pores, it causes age spots, all sorts of stuff. We’ve got to do something to address these dust mites.

What was so beautiful about getting to put together the line was that I found an ingredient, it’s a brown algae, that will actually absorb the pollution particles before they get to the skin. We make a very popular cleanser called the Gentle Hydrating Cleanser. The algae in it absorbs the pollution particles.

“One of my big messages to women is please do not rush in and do procedures. Rely on credible skincare.”

So, it’s important to wash your face in the morning? The experts on social media seem to be split on that. 

I believe that it is best to follow experienced experts in any field. A pet peeve of mine is that social media dictates so much to us, and much of the quote unquote expert advice is not quite as expert as it should be. There are so many dermatologists and influencers who say, “Don’t wash in the morning, no need to wash in the morning.” You do need to wash in the morning.

Of course, you don’t want to use a drying cleanser, but, when you use our gentle hydrating cleanser, put it on and leave it on a couple of minutes so that actually it can absorb those pollution particles. When you wash it off, it still leaves a slight molecular film, and what that’s doing is shielding you from these pollution particles that would otherwise be getting into your skin. So, it’s so important.

I am grateful for the opportunity to create these products as a way to bring my knowledge into everyone’s home. What I know works because it’s worked for me are simple, relatively inexpensive routines. This isn’t at Target, it’s not mass marketed, but that cleanser that sells for $35, it’s going to last you three months.

How’s your brand different from the many other derm brands?

I am not familiar with the level of skincare and formulation experience of the other dermatologists behind the slew of new dermatologist brands, so I don’t want to make any sweeping comments. My brand is a family passion. My daughters are so passionate about it, too. A theme is that we really try to use the products to multitask. 

I think that too many women use way too many products. When I get in a new patient, we ask them to bring in the products that they’re using, and it is flabbergasting, the volume of products. It’s like a shopping bag. And I say, “Do you realize that this that you’re using is counteracting the thing you just put on before? That’s why you then need the third thing.”

[My brand] is about multitasking, streamlining and trying to present things at an affordable level. Why we did this and why I worked really hard with the formula is because one of my big messages to women is please do not rush in and do procedures. Rely on credible skincare.

We’re taking ingredients where the ingredient manufacturers have said, in order to get results, you need this percentage. We always do that, but then there’s synergy with ingredients. We put in ingredients that actually catapult the results. I see such unfortunate things where so many devices get marketed like crazy, and so women come into me and say, “I’ve had three laser treatments. It cost me $4,000, and I don’t know if I see a change.” 

How much did it cost to launch your brand?

We invested approximately $500,000 to launch the brand between brand and packaging development, initial inventory, marketing and PR. Between my medical practice and my husband who was a heart surgeon—unfortunately he passed away in December, we were married for 47 years—and also the revenues I had built up from all of the formulating of professional formulas I had done earlier, we bootstrapped. We took in a partner, and I bought them out already because we had a different vision. It’s totally our own funds. 

What I feel about going for funding, I think that you are a little more beholden to people who really want to have you on a certain timeline,and you then will need to make certain decisions that can impact the purity of the line and the purity of my own goals.

What are the brand’s bestsellers?

The Gentle Hydrating Cleanser in terms of number of units is way up there. Although at $35, it’s our lowest priced product. 

Two of our serums have done fantastically. Our Anti-aging Repair Serum is our vitamin C with 60% across the board improvement [in signs of aging] in independent clinical testing. Another one is called the Intense Replenishing Serum that uses a very unique antioxidant that replaces our skin’s lipids, which are the moisture-trapping elements.

We took three years to develop our latest SPF. It’s a super moisturizing mineral sunscreen, 17% zinc. We’ve got this unique ingredient called ECT that protects you from irritation from extremes with the climate. It protects you from infrared and HEV blue light. We went on Violet Grey, and in one or two days we sold out. It’s so unique because of the user experience, but also just as in 1975 the concept that sunscreen should protect from UVA didn’t exist, this product is protecting you from not only UVA and UVB, but infrared and HEV.

Dr Loretta will be launching in Europe and China in 2024. Where is it currently sold?

SkinStore, Nordstrom, Revolve. We do very well with some chains of spas like Heyday and Fig. When we’re being dispensed at a Heyday or a Fig, what’s happening is that true skincare experts are advising people who are right in front of their face, they’re evaluating the person’s skin. I love [Heyday’s] whole ethos, I think it’s similar to ours, which is don’t ram products down a person’s face—literally their face. Of course, so much of our sales are online, including our own DTC, so we try to educate online. But, for me as a derm, I do love that we are in spas.

What positions do your daughters hold at the company? 

I have four children. Our oldest daughter, Gina, is our CEO. She has actually been with us for 10 years in the making. She was a Wall Street lawyer. She’s very good at running the back end of the business. All through COVID, we really didn’t have any supply chain challenges. Gina stepped up to the plate so we weren’t going on back order. 

Our youngest child, Liza, is the director of sales and marketing. She’s very hands-on, going in when there are events and personal appearances and going in to train the spas. 

The two kids who don’t work in the business are very devoted to making the world a better place, and that’s what we want to do with our skincare. We really want to give women confidence. We’re not here to sell you on something. We are here to say please try our product because we want you to believe that, every decade of your life, you can feel really good about yourself. You don’t have to fear, you don’t have to be taking chances with devices or aggressive products or spending a fortune on a 12-step skincare system.