Throughout March, we are celebrating the women who have inspired us to discover the JOY of dreaming big.
From Dr Alexis’ grandmother (who was self-care aware before her time), to our incredible community, to the women we work alongside on a daily basis, we’re honoring those who work tirelessly to make dreams come true.
In today’s journal entry, we are focusing on our founder and her inspirational grandmother - and how these two future-thinking females led to the foundation of our hand and body care collection.
Dr Alexis: Our Founder
Founder of Joonbyrd, Dr Alexis, is one of the world’s leading dermatologists, with nearly twenty years of clinical experience across two continents. She’s also a lifelong beauty consumer, a trusted wellness advocate and put simply, JOY-personified.
Dr Alexis’ cross-continent experience has not only led her to becoming the first first dual US/UK certified dermatologist (and one of the most in-demand practitioners in London), but also cemented her devotion to creating confidence for her patients:
“I practice aesthetic dermatology, which involves treatments like injectables and lasers, all aimed at helping patients look and feel their best. So much of what I love about what I do is the confidence that comes from these types of treatments and the JOY that ties into my day-to-day experiences with patients. I love hearing their stories, building relationships, and tying that back to the love I’ve had for skincare since I was a young child.”
Dr Alexis’ passion for skincare, beauty and wellness - and her deep commitment to her patients - has resulted in her becoming a trusted voice in the industry, and she has served as a brand ambassador across a broad portfolio of respected brands, whilst maintaining membership to the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD), the British Cosmetic Dermatology Group (BCDG) and the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). She has been elected to the Advisory Board of the British Beauty Council.
She’s also got a serious sweet tooth, a love for nostalgic music and is drawn to colorful, smile-inducing design in all forms.
Dr Alexis’ Grandmother: Our Inspiration
While Joonbyrd’s scientific foundation comes from Dr Alexis’ decades of dermatologic expertise, the inspiration for our JOYful soul comes from her incredible grandmother.
“Joonbyrd is a testament to my grandmother and her belief in the power of self-care to bring JOY. As a young girl I would spend hours in her bathroom, playing with her gorgeous lotions and potions, inhaling their sweet scents. My grandmother also had a cultivated sweet tooth, and there were always desserts to be found in her kitchen. Orange and dark chocolate, coffee ice cream and marzipan were just a few of her favorites - and that blend of the sumptuous and the serious, the soft and the sharp, serves as the nostalgic basis for the brand.”
Even our name was influenced by Dr Alexis’ family - crafted from their Persian roots, with ‘Joon’ meaning soul, spirit and life in Farsi, her grandmother’s native language.
“My grandmother always called me Lexi-’Joon’. The ‘byrd’ is actually from my children’s favourite song when they were young, ‘Blackbird’ by The Beatles. It felt right to bridge the generations of women in my family, celebrating their collective strength.”
From the union of this JOYful nostalgia combined with decades of dermatologic expertise, Joonbyrd was born, a synergistic marriage of the sensorial and the scientific.
Joonbyrd: Our Community
Dr Alexis and her grandmother provide the foundations for our brand, but it takes a collective of females to bring it to life.
“Launching a brand is of course rewarding, but it can be incredibly tough. As a founder, you live and breathe your brand, so barely a minute goes by when you’re not thinking about it in some way, shape or form. One thing that helps is that we’ve built an amazing team- and a wonderful community of wellness advocates around us - so having these inspiring women to bounce ideas off really helps bring the vision to life.”
Working with big dreamers on a daily basis is part of our DNA. As such, we are sharing insights from our wonderful community of female collaborators via our emails throughout March.
You can sign up here for a regular dose of inspiration straight to your inbox.
