According to Healthline, the World Health Organization reported between 0.09 percent and 11.43 percent of people worldwide suffer from psoriasis, making it a serious global problem. In the United States alone, it affects about 7.4 million people.
Psoriasis, an incurable, autoimmune condition that usually causes red or scaly patches on the skin, is just one ailment that spurred Dr. Liia Ramachandra, PharmD, Ph.D., to develop her skincare line, EpiLynx by Dr. Liia. An expert on autoimmune conditions, allergies, and skincare formulations, Dr. Lila also has psoriasis. Her experiences with the burning, itching, and unsightly patches on her skin began at age six. Today she uses her experiences with the disease and her medical expertise to develop skincare products that ease the misery of psoriasis and other common skin conditions such as acne and eczema.
“EpiLynx by Dr. Liia was born from my struggle with gluten allergy and psoriasis and realizing that I wasn’t alone. Not being able to find allergen-free and gluten-free skincare products that could guarantee being allergen-free and gluten free, my husband, Dr. Sumant Ramachandra, MD, Ph.D., MBA, and I decided to create our own to help patients and people struggling with autoimmune disease and allergies,” says Dr. Liia. With both Dr. Liia and her husband having over 30 years of pharmaceutical medicine development experience, they felt compelled to use their scientific and medical skills to improve people’s quality of life.
Dr. Liia’s path to developing EpiLynx by Dr. Liia began by studying Pharmacy and doing research. After earning her PharmD and Ph.D., Dr. Liia joined various pharmaceutical companies where she grew from a scientist to a VP in Medical Affairs and Global Ethics and Compliance. However, she left that position in March of 2020 and decided to focus on her brand. When the pandemic hit, like many other businesses, Dr. Liia’s skincare and cosmetics company pivoted to address the times. To help people with sensitive skin and other skin issues, they started making and giving away gluten-free, vegan hand sanitizers.
To get some background for her products, Dr. Liia did a lot of research on market brands already available. She noticed that while some products market themselves as “clean,” none fit the mold of what she considered safe and functional for people with certain skin conditions. “Clean skincare is used and misused often. Clean for us means free of the most common allergens such as nuts, gluten, shellfish, dairy, parabens, and phthalates,” states Dr. Liia. She includes that clean needs to be seen not only as a chemical concept but also as a medical concept. This classification would ensure that people who suffer from certain conditions would not exacerbate their symptoms and jeopardize their health by using the wrong skincare products and cosmetics.
Dr. Liia’s skincare line was initially named EpiLynx but was rebranded into EpiLynx by Dr. Liia in 2018. Dr. Liia admits that creating a skincare company that is gluten-free, allergen-friendly, and vegan was quite a challenge. She says that even though the journey was filled with hardship, sleepless nights, and fears, the dream of creating quality, affordable skincare products for people with sensitive skin, allergies, and autoimmune conditions kept them focused. And Dr. Liia adds that the results made it all worth it. “Our focus was always the people and customers who need and deserve quality skincare at an affordable price. Once this focus was established, the rest fell into place,” says Dr. Liia.
When a person fuels their passion with necessity, it is more likely to become a reality. For Dr. Liia Ramachandra, a life-long battle with psoriasis that developed into other troubling conditions paved the way for her unique skincare and cosmetic brand. Today, she and her husband are proud to offer EpiLynx by Dr. Liia, a truly clean product line, to people with all types of skin issues.
