Slowing Down To Glow Up: Sarah Lee & Christine Chang On The K-Beauty Philosophy Taking Over The World

In 2017, Sarah Lee and Christine Chang co-founded Glow Recipe with a dream of bringing clinically-effective, clean, and efficacious skincare to the masses. Rooted in the Korean beauty rituals of their childhoods, the duo famously leaned into the soothing, hydrating benefits of watermelon—a cultural staple that remains the heart of their formulas today.

By building a hyper-engaged global community and championing the idea that skincare should be inherently fun, Glow Recipe has seen explosive year-over-year growth while ensuring every consumer feels reflected in the brand. From sharing K-beauty innovation with the Western world to their recent first foray into light coverage cheek and lip colour, Sarah and Christine are proving that accessible, sensorial skincare is a global language. We sat down with the founders to talk about heritage, hydration, and why the future of beauty looks a lot like a slice of watermelon. —Noa Nichol

How has your own journey of “taking up space” inspired you to mentor the next generation of women in the beauty industry?

SL: Earlier in my career, I thought leadership was simply about delivering – doing the work well and letting results speak for themselves. Over time, I realized taking up space means showing up visibly and confidently, because it signals to other women what is possible. That shift is why I mentor through advocacy, not just advice. I put women forward for stretch opportunities and make introductions that could potentially change trajectories. My goal is simple: help more women in beauty shape the industry, not just participate in it.

CC: I’ve come to see that taking up space as a leader also comes with a responsibility to create space for others. As Glow Recipe has grown, mentoring the next generation of women in the beauty industry has become something I care deeply about. I try to do this in a few ways in addition to group and 1:1 mentoring that I do personally. Sarah and I make it a priority to participate in panels at colleges and student organizations because we remember how impactful it was early in my own career to hear directly from people in the industry. We’ve also started hosting masterclasses because we believe those in-person moments are incredibly powerful. There’s something about being in the same room, being able to ask questions, and seeing the behind-the-scenes of how a brand operates that can really demystify the industry. Ultimately, my hope is that by being transparent about our journey – the successes and the challenges – we can help more women see a place for themselves in leadership within the beauty industry.

You’ve woven Korean beauty rituals from your childhood into a global skincare powerhouse. How does Glow Recipe give back to the heritage and culture that first inspired the brand?

SL: Glow Recipe has always been a love letter to the Korean beauty rituals that shaped us – not just the products, but the values behind them: connection and community. We give back by protecting authenticity: staying close to Korean innovation in how we formulate, educating our community on the rituals and cultural context behind the routines, and using our platform to spotlight real stories from the people and cultures that make beauty meaningful. More recently, the events surrounding anti-immigration have really hit close to home. At the beginning of February, we launched a personal storytelling docuseries that centers real cultural stories and immigrant experiences from our community. We’ll be traveling to participants’ homes to capture these stories where they live, gathering moments that reflect identity, heritage, and belonging. We also donated 100% of net proceeds from glowrecipe.com from February 4th – February 8th to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, which provides resources and care for immigrants and supporting communities.

You recently launched your first light-coverage cheek and lip color, expanding your “skintertainment” mission. How do you ensure your product development remains inclusive, so every consumer feels reflected in the brand?

SL: Inclusivity has to be intentional at every stage of development. It starts long before a product ever launches. Christine and I built this brand by personally responding to every DM and email – today our team has grown, but that direct connection and dialogue with our community remains a key pillar of the brand. We spend a lot of time listening to our community – reading reviews, paying attention to social conversations, and understanding what people feel is missing from their routines. That helps us uncover real insights and create products that feel both innovative and uniquely Glow Recipe. From there, we build inclusivity directly into the development process. We test across a wide range of skin tones and skin types, gather feedback from our internal team and external consumers, and work with diverse models to make sure shades and textures translate beautifully on different complexions.

CC: When we think about inclusivity in product development, we start with real-world behavior. We ask ourselves: what are the barriers that prevent people from actually wanting to use a product every day? A good example is when we developed our sunscreen. One of the biggest reasons people avoid sunscreen is white cast, which has historically made many formulas difficult to use across a range of skin tones. We were very intentional about creating a formula that applied seamlessly without any white or grey cast. If a product leaves a white cast, people tend to apply less of it or skip it altogether, regardless of their skin tone, and that means they’re not getting the protection listed on the bottle. By prioritizing a no-white-cast formula, we were able to create a sunscreen that feels beautiful to apply while still delivering broad-spectrum SPF 30 protection. And importantly, SPF 30 provides only about one percent less UVA protection than SPF 50, but in a formula that people are much more likely to apply generously and consistently. That philosophy carries through all of our development. Inclusivity isn’t just about who a product is marketed to. It’s about designing formulas that people across skin tones, skin types, and routines genuinely enjoy using, because when a product feels good, people actually use it.

You’ve often advised women not to “shrink themselves”. What was a pivotal moment in Glow Recipe’s “explosive global growth” where you had to raise your hand and claim your space as female leaders?

SL: Even though we have always been operators, there was a moment during our fastest growth when we started hearing a consistent piece of feedback from business partners: that we should stay in the “dreamer” lane, be the “creators”, and let others handle the business details. In other words, we were leaning in too much. But we are not just the creative visionaries of Glow Recipe. We are co-CEOs. We are accountable for the strategy, the team, and the outcomes. So we responded clearly and respectfully: you can have founders who dream and innovate, and you can have founders who operate. We are both, and that is a big part of why the brand works. That was a pivotal “claim your space” moment because it reinforced our leadership in rooms where decisions were being made – launch timelines, inventory commitments, margin structure, and how we would show up. We stayed collaborative, but we did not step back. We led with clarity on what was non-negotiable, and we took ownership of the business decisions that ultimately protect the brand.

CC: I think as female founders and leaders, your expertise and leadership are often questioned, even in an industry like beauty.  It’s also interesting to me that during interviews we are often asked about if we’ve ever felt imposter syndrome – we also get this question frequently from members of our team that are earlier in their careers as well. What helped me navigate those moments and also Glow Recipe’s trajectory over the years was a mindset I developed early in my career. I realized that most people are doing their best in their roles and learning as they go. I don’t really feel imposter syndrome or the need to shrink myself because I believe no one, even at the highest tiers of leadership has everything perfectly figured out, and that includes me. This of course does not mean I am not trying to constantly learn and evolve – I’ve been fortunate to meet some of the most inspiring mentors along this journey that I greatly admire. But I believe showing up for yourself means having faith in your ideas and the confidence knowing that you’re bringing value to every room you walk into.

Beyond just clinical effectiveness, your brand champions making skincare “fun”. In the spirit of IWD, how are you giving your community the tools to gain true skin confidence in 2026?

CC: We’ve always strived to take an inclusive approach to skincare. For starters, we don’t retouch the images you see in our ads and on social media, we aim for minimal makeup (if any), and we’re always committed to showing real skin, with bumps, texture, and all because that’s what’s realistic for our customers. We also avoid language such as flawless, poreless, perfection, words we don’t feel support real skin acceptance. We also did a global campaign called Dew You two years in a row, that featured members of our community that we selected without ever seeing their faces – It was only based on written answers alone. The goal was to live our values, show our community that anyone could star in a campaign and let their inner beauty shine through. Glow Recipe was started when my daughter was really young, and I’ve always been cognizant of how conversations around beauty and even social media can affect her. Our overall mission is to make skincare more fun, approachable and accessible, all while championing real skin acceptance.