Baylee Relf of DIME: Inside the Quest to Scale Clean, Transparent Skincare Without Losing the Personal Touch

Taking the risk to start a company is a feat few are fully equipped for. Any business owner knows that the first few years in business are anything but glamorous. Building a successful business takes time, lessons learned, and most importantly, enormous growth as a business owner. What works and what doesn’t when one starts a new business? What are the valuable lessons learned from the “University of Adversity”? As part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Baylee Relf.

Baylee Relf, a lifelong skincare and beauty advocate, is a Master Esthetician and Founder of DIME. During her rigorous training and studies at the National Institute of Medical Aesthetics in 2015, she quickly learned that skincare is not “one size fits all” and saw a need for clean, safe, and effective products at an approachable price point. Alongside her husband, Ryan Relf, and business partner Mitch Casey, the trio founded DIME in 2018.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

During my time at the National Institute of Medical Aesthetics, I had a real lightbulb moment: skincare isn’t one-size-fits-all. That realization sparked something in me and I knew I had to do something about it.

I set out to create a company that offers clean yet effective skincare solutions for everyone, regardless of age because, let’s face it, our skin is as unique as we are. It deserves clean ingredients and personalized care that caters to its specific needs. Thus, DIME was born, a brand I’m proud to offer to the world and one that is dedicated to providing optimized skincare for all.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

While I was on my personal skin wellness journey and earning my Master Esthetician status, I also became a mother. Throughout the building years of DIME, I had four beautiful children. I was so proud of what we accomplished with the brand in such a short period, but finding that trying to maintain work-life balance at that time was emotionally and physically draining. I have so much respect for women who follow their dreams while growing their families. I have experienced it firsthand and continue to do the best I can.

The challenges at DIME are the ones we give ourselves! We continue to push the limits on what clean and effective means, and to stay passionate and involved in every step of development. These are all challenges I really enjoy tackling.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

I am fortunate to have my husband Ryan beside me in life and work. We are totally in sync with each other, managing our household and the brand demands. The drive comes from witnessing our customers transform their skin, reading the reviews, and getting such positive support from the retail community — seeing everyone excited about DIME is what keeps me going.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

We have experienced tremendous success from scratch. We have built a strong DTC, loyal customer base, and recently launched in ULTA Beauty stores across the country. We are humbled and thrilled to see how our hard work has paid off. We have best-in-class retention, outstanding customer service, and we are proud to provide an assortment of products that only use clean ingredients, putting your skin wellness first. As an EWG-Verified brand, we are dedicated to making transparent skin care products more available and affordable.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

We are not afraid to ask “what’s in that?” We are always looking at better ways to offer clean, effective ingredients that work. To be a leader in “clean,” we know the importance of implicit research, understanding the history of the ingredient, its purpose, and analyzing if it meets our standards. Our ingredient-first approach to skin wellness has allowed us to expand into four skin-conscious product categories: skincare, body care, fragrance, and beauty and wellness.

We acknowledge the presence of toxins, including cancer-causing ingredients, in certain beauty brands. Our commitment lies in being transparent about the impact of our products on both the consumer and the environment. We also are proud to support individuals who have suffered from skin-related issues and sadly even cancer, by offering them gentle, clean products they can trust.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Always keep a positive attitude. I believe in hearing the hard feedback but believing in the positive feedback — build on the customer reviews that love your products. By focusing on the love your brand receives you can create a work environment that people want to belong to and thus a community of customers that will feel that energy.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I firmly believe that our customers and brand ambassadors have been instrumental in our journey. We carefully considered their feedback from reviews, social media comments, and messages, to adapt and innovate based on their suggestions and ideas for future products.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

We feel fortunate to partner with the Environmental Working Group, an organization dedicated to helping consumers make conscious choices about the products they put into and on their bodies. By partnering with them, we hope to continue to educate consumers on the harmfulness of certain popular skincare ingredients like retinol — therefore creating a more educated public that prioritizes their health and wellness over convenience.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first launched my business,” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Expect the unexpected! Not everything can be mapped out in a business plan, sometimes you have to go with your gut on what to create.
2. Every stage has its own set of challenges. Just when you think you’ve made it to the next level and can breathe, like finally making it out of “start-up” mode, there are always new hurdles to overcome at the next stage. Which leads me to…
3. Enjoy the process. Sometimes I look back at the first year and wish I could go back to everyone doing everything and jumping in and being a little unit. The process to get to the next phase can be so fun if you let it.
4. Family first. I’ve believed in this and feel it’s an important reminder for all of us. We encourage our whole team to prioritize their family’s needs above everything else.
5. Public speaking gets easier! I recently did my first panel for an EWG event and was so nervous, but I pushed myself to do it. The more you face your fears and practice, the more confident you become.

Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?

I live by the motto, “enjoy the wins, learn from the losses.” I think this is especially applicable being the founder of a successful brand because as the business has grown, we’ve experienced a great deal of highs and lows. Getting our products in ULTA Beauty stores, for example, has been a HUGE win for us. It fills me with pride to know that DIME is reaching a wider audience.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

My vision is simple, to offer a destination that is transparent about the products we put on our skin and use in our lives. I would love to continue to partner with respected organizations like EWG and partner with companies who share this passion to make transparency a standard way of living. This goes beyond DIME, I want to collaborate and share information about all the brands making the same effort and investment we are.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

@dimebeautyco

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.