From Wall Street to Skin Longevity: The Truth About Supplement Dosing

Chapter 1: From Pharmacy to Wall Street—and Back to Health

Emily You started in pharmacy, moved into finance, and then ended up back in health. What did that journey look like?

Lily I earned my PharmD and practiced for a few years, but it wasn’t the right personality fit for me. I went to Wharton, which is a very finance-heavy school, and naturally followed the herd to Wall Street. I started in consumer investment banking at Deutsche Bank, moved into fixed income and equities, and most recently helped run a machine-learning hedge fund on the non-investment side.

Lily At the same time, I entered my 40s and started noticing changes in my skin and health. Longevity, biohacking, and supplements were becoming incredibly trendy, and I wanted to understand what was actually worth taking versus what was marketing noise. Because of my clinical training, I could go into the literature and look at the human evidence, dosing, and mechanisms.

Lily I created what I thought of as a skin-longevity blend for myself. The problem was that it was literally a bowl of pills. I would bring roughly 20 pills to my office and hope I could get through them during the day—but I couldn’t. I started opening them into water, and the mixture was atrocious. Eventually I thought: why doesn’t an all-in-one daily powder exist for skin health and antioxidant support?

Lily That was the beginning of ATIKA. I created it for myself, not because I set out to become an entrepreneur. I left Wall Street in August 2025 and now work on the company full-time. I call myself an accidental entrepreneur.

Chapter 2: Skin as an Organ and an Early Signal

Emily People forget that skin is the body’s largest organ.

Lily Exactly. We tend to think about skin as the face, or maybe the face and neck, and we approach it almost entirely through topicals. But skin covers the whole body. It is active tissue and an organ.

Lily I also describe skin as a low-priority organ. If the body is stressed, fighting an infection, or lacking nutrients, resources are directed to critical organs first—the brain, heart, and other vital systems. Skin and hair are often among the first places where the effects become visible.

Lily Dryness, redness, irritation, or a breakout can be the body communicating that something is off. Skin is not separate from the rest of your biology; it is a visible reflection of what is happening inside.

Chapter 3: What Skin Longevity Actually Means

Emily How do you define skin longevity?

Lily Skin longevity is the preservation of skin structure and cellular function as you move through the decades. We talk about healthspan as the quality of the years we are alive. Skin longevity—or skinspan—applies the same idea to skin: supporting the biological systems that help it remain healthy, resilient, and functional for as long as possible.

Lily I’m 46, and a VISIA scan estimated my skin age at 36. People track biological age through heart-rate variability, VO₂ max, and other metrics. I think we will increasingly look at skin through the same longevity lens, because visible aging begins with changes happening internally and at the cellular level.

Chapter 4: The CALM Framework

Emily What are the main drivers of skin aging?

Lily I developed a framework called CALM. C stands for Collagen integrity, A for Antioxidant balance, L for Lipid barrier, and M for Mitochondrial function.

Lily Collagen is the structural scaffolding of the skin, but taking collagen alone does not address every process involved in skin aging. Collagen formation also depends on cofactors such as vitamin C, zinc, selenium, and silica.

Lily Antioxidant balance matters because normal metabolism, UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental factors generate reactive oxygen species. When the body’s antioxidant network cannot keep up, oxidative stress can affect collagen, proteins, and lipids.

Lily The lipid barrier determines how effectively skin holds water. Drinking water and using topical moisturizers matter, but if the barrier is compromised, moisture escapes more readily. Mitochondrial function is the cellular-energy component. Collagen synthesis, barrier repair, turnover, and recovery all require energy. You have to look at the complete biological system.

Chapter 5: Bioactive Collagen Versus Generic Collagen

Emily Women hear constantly about collagen powders, Sculptra, microneedling, and other ways to stimulate collagen. What should people understand?

Lily Generic collagen provides amino-acid building blocks. Bioactive collagen peptides are defined peptide sequences designed and studied for a specific biological response. The distinction is not simply bovine versus marine or type I versus type III; it is whether the ingredient has human clinical evidence at the dose being used.

Lily ATIKA uses 2.5 grams of VERISOL®, a skin-specific bioactive collagen peptide ingredient from GELITA. It is not meant to replace dietary protein. Its purpose is different from a large serving of generic collagen powder.

Lily But collagen is still only one pillar. For collagen synthesis to work efficiently, the body also needs cofactors and cellular energy. And collagen does not address the lipid barrier or the full antioxidant network. That is why I think in systems rather than hero ingredients.

Emily What about procedures such as Sculptra, lasers, or microneedling?

Lily Many procedures work through controlled injury and the healing response. They have a place. But recovery depends on whether the body has the nutrients and building blocks it needs. Internal nutrition does not replace procedures; it helps establish the biological foundation on which repair occurs.

Chapter 6: Ceramides and the Biology of Hydration

Emily Can you explain the lipid barrier and what people get wrong about hydration?

Lily Hyaluronic acid is a humectant: it attracts water. I compare that to throwing water at a brick wall—it can make the wall wet temporarily. Ceramides are part of the mortar that seals the spaces between the bricks.

Lily The skin’s intercellular lipid matrix is made up largely of ceramides, along with cholesterol and fatty acids. Supporting that barrier helps reduce water loss so skin can remain hydrated, supple, and resilient.

Lily ATIKA uses Ceramosides™, a clinically studied wheat-derived ceramide ingredient, at 30 milligrams. It supports lipid-barrier function and whole-body skin hydration. The ingredient has also been studied for hair outcomes, including shedding and growth-related measures.

Chapter 7: Antioxidant Networks, Glutathione, and NAD+

Emily How should people think about antioxidants?

Lily Antioxidants work as a network, almost like a relay race. Taking a very high dose of a single antioxidant is not the same as supporting the system in a balanced way. Different antioxidants operate in water- and fat-soluble environments and through different pathways.

Lily I reviewed hundreds of studies focused on skin and built a broad network of antioxidants rather than relying on one “hero.” Some of those compounds also have evidence in areas such as eye health and the skin’s response to UV exposure. They complement sunscreen; they never replace it.

Lily Glutathione is an important endogenous antioxidant, but I prefer supporting the broader systems the body uses to produce and recycle it rather than treating oral glutathione as a simple direct replacement.

Lily NAD+ is also central to cellular energy. Rather than assuming an NAD+ infusion travels intact into cells, it is more useful to understand precursor pathways. Niacinamide is one precursor the body can use in the NAD+ salvage pathway, and it also has independent relevance to skin biology.

Chapter 8: Dosing, Quality, and the Problem With Label Appeal

Emily What do most consumers get wrong when choosing supplements?

Lily Dosing is as important as the ingredient itself. Imagine finishing a marathon and being offered one sip of water. It is technically water, but it is not enough to correct the imbalance. Supplements are similar: an ingredient can appear on a label without being present at a biologically meaningful dose.

Lily When a very small scoop claims to contain dozens and dozens of active ingredients, consumers should ask how much of each ingredient is actually present. A long list can be compelling marketing while every component is underdosed.

Lily Quality matters too. Consumers should look for transparent amounts, credible sourcing, independent testing, and—when appropriate—a certificate of analysis. A beautiful brand and premium packaging do not tell you whether the contents match the label or have been tested for contaminants.

Chapter 9: A Simple Topical Routine and Daily UV Protection

Emily What is your own skincare routine?

Lily It is embarrassingly simple. In the morning, I splash my face with water rather than automatically cleansing and stripping the barrier. I use a well-formulated topical vitamin C, give it time, and then apply a tinted sunscreen. I wear sunscreen every day, regardless of the weather or whether I expect to spend much time outside.

Lily I also use physical protection when I drive, including a hat and UPF sleeves. Internal antioxidant support can complement those habits, but it is not sunscreen and should never be positioned as a substitute.

Lily The product journey actually began after my family moved from New York to San Diego. My younger son burned very easily, and I started researching nutrients studied for the skin’s response to UV exposure. That led me to Polypodium leucotomos, astaxanthin, lutein, and other compounds—and eventually to a much broader investigation of skin aging.

Chapter 10: Why ATIKA Has No Single Hero Ingredient

Emily What are the main active ingredients in the formula?

Lily I’m glad you asked it that way, because “what is the hero ingredient?” is exactly the wrong question. The body is complex. It does not respond to one input; it is a system—an orchestra.

Lily ATIKA Advanced Skin Nutrition is not simply a collagen supplement. It is an all-in-one foundational skin-nutrition formula designed to support the underlying biological processes that affect skin aging. Its 18 active ingredients combine VERISOL® collagen peptides and collagen cofactors; Ceramosides™ for lipid-barrier support; a broad network of carotenoids, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals for antioxidant defense; and niacinamide to support cellular-energy pathways.

Lily Collagen is one pillar. The goal is coordinated support across structural rebuilding, lipid-barrier integrity, antioxidant defense, hydration, firmness, even tone, and overall skin vitality—in one daily scoop with evidence-based doses and built-in support for absorption.

Emily Let’s finish with a lightning round. SPF every day or risk it?

Lily SPF every day, all day long.

Emily Retinoid or peptide?

Lily Retinoid.

Emily In-office treatment or at-home consistency?

Lily At-home consistency.

Emily Simple routine or 10-step routine?

Lily As simple as possible.

Emily Collagen or creatine?

Lily Both.

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and readability. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.