Our latest Beauty Bosses are Serra and Eda Levent, sisters and Co-Founders of Cool as a Cucumber—a clinically proven, high-performance skincare brand made for acne-prone adults. They were inspired to launch the brand after dealing with their own acne struggles and realizing how common this issue was among other women.

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Through trial and error, they discovered that general skincare products weren’t effective for treating acne and oftentimes triggered breakouts. This ultimately led to the creation of their brand, and they partnered with a diverse advisory board featuring experts from various fields including dermatology, aesthetics, psychology, and gynecology to develop a complete daily routine focused on treating acne and supporting skin’s recovery.

We chatted with Serra and Eda who shared the inspiration behind the brand, secrets for success, wellness tips, and much more.

When was Cool as a Cucumber founded and what does the name mean?

We started playing with the idea after our skin hit a particular low during Covid. By January 2021, we knew we were doing this. The name speaks to a mindset. Coming to our battle with acne from a flustered and frustrated place, we’d throw a lot on our skin and chase one miracle product after the next, which never led to lasting results. Stepping back to truly understand the root causes of our acne and taking a more grounded and considered approach to our skincare routine helped us break the acne cycle. So we say, it pays off to be cool as a cucumber, especially when the topic is chili hot (like acne).

What inspired the creation of the brand?

Our targeted skincare line to help adults care for acne-prone skin is inspired by our own lifelong struggles with persistent breakouts. Especially when we hit our 30s, still breaking out and also noticing our skin’s needs are changing, it became very tricky to build a skincare routine that addressed all the—often conflicting—needs of acne-prone adult skin.

Exfoliating and reducing oil production while supporting the skin barrier function, hydrating and nourishing the skin without clogging pores. While there are a lot of brands and products out there, we felt a gap in the premium acne-care space for adults. So we are building the brand that we wish existed for us.

Does Cool as a Cucumber have a hero product?

Serra: We formulate specifically for acne-prone adults. Meaning, every product we design targets specific acne pathways while keeping skin healthy and resilient. In that sense, each one has a very particular reason to exist.

Eda: Hydralixir is a great example. It is our breakthrough hydrating gel serum, tailored for the complex needs of acne-prone adult skin. It delivers deep hydration (up to 96%) while reducing sebum (by up to 62%) after just one use, addressing the dual challenges of adult acne.

What are your favorite products from the brand?

Serra: It’s impossible to pick as I’m using the entire regimen every day.

Eda: I can’t live without my Soothe Operator cleanser, and Hydralixir has been a savior during pregnancy when my skin was extra dry.

Where are your products sold?

Customers can currently shop our products on our website, on Amazon, and at select dermatology and esthetician practices.

Future plans for the brand?

Serra: Looking ahead, our key goal for the next year is to increase our brand awareness to reach our core audience at more scale and expand our retail presence in line with our premium acne care positioning.

Eda: In five years, we envision Cool as a Cucumber as the go-to brand for adult acne care, with a full range of products to help acne-prone skin outside in and inside out and a thriving community of customers who feel supported in their skincare journey.

Who inspires you?

Anyone who is excellent at what they do…could be a baker who is passionate about making the best bread, as well as an athlete or a brilliant marketer.

Secret to success?

What’s carried us so far is our passion for what we’re doing and a complete belief in our mission. We are our customers, we have a strong point of view on what she needs, and we don’t stop until we make it happen.

Beauty secrets?

Eda: Less is more. It’s a hard one for me as I love trying new products—skincare and makeup—but when it comes to skincare I’m learning to listen to my skin and pair it down to what’s essential.

Serra: I love icing! It’s incredible to reduce inflammation. When I feel a painful cyst coming, I used to reach for the pimple patches, but sometimes they make the situation worse. Instead, I reach for an ice cube now, and if I can catch things at the very beginning, many pimples have gone back to where they came from.

Wellness tips? 

Serra: Everyone is different—what works well for me is to focus on doing only a few things and do them consistently. It needs to become a routine that fits my lifestyle with ease, otherwise if I’m stressed out about organizing my day around all the things I need to do for “wellness,” it can have the opposite effect.

Best advice?

Zig when they zag. It helps us stay true to our vision and focused on the customer problem.

Favorite way to relax?

Serra: Putting on great music and doing things with my hands—could be cooking, gardening, organizing…I need a bit of alone time to relax. 

Eda: I recharge when I’m around close friends and love hosting cozy get-togethers over good food and great conversation.

For more information, visit Cool as a Cucumber’s website and follow on Instagram: @becoolasacucumber

[Images courtesy of Cool as a Cucumber]

Kamala Kirk is a University of Southern California graduate and has been an editor/writer for more than a decade. She has written for E! Online, Total Beauty, TravelAge West, Malibu Times Magazine, and many more. She resides in Los Angeles and is a proud pug mom. Follow her on Instagram: @kamalakirk