Krista Pecenka Opens up About Her Journey With Adult-Acne & Founding LOST&FOUND Skin Lab
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
When we first connected with Krista Pecenka, founder of LOST&FOUND Skin Lab, we had a lot of questions.
The skincare space is noisy, and sensitive-skin marketing is often more flash than follow through (or, let’s be honest, not very pretty).
But Krista’s approach? It was thoughtful, researched, and deeply rooted in lived experience.
A bout of adult acne during her health science doctorate lead to formulating a lymphatic mask in her kitchen, and she now works with women through her supply chain to compound the Lumi Botanical Facial.
We asked Krista about her journey, to unpack what “symbiotic skincare” actually means, how LOST&FOUND Skin Lab came to be, and why accessible skincare is about more than just price.
Read: My Review of The Lumi Restorative Botanical Facial by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
What is Symbiotic Skincare?
“The term 'symbiotic' denotes a mutually beneficial relationship between different entities.
Taking a symbiotic approach to skincare means caring for skin in a way that acknowledges the interdependence of the body's systems.
Every part of our body, mind, and spirit has an impact on one another, and our skincare practices should reflect this.”
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“Our skin is our body's largest organ and is often the first place where signs of imbalance or distress can show up.
A symbiotic approach impacts our product and brand development at every stage - from ideation, to formulation, to our supply chain…”
“From a formulation perspective, our products respect the underlying mechanisms of sensitive, acne-prone skin.
We do not fight skin with harsh ingredients.”
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
Why Did You Start With The LUMI Restorative Botanical Mask?
“I suffered from acne for several years in my early 20's.
I had just moved to Melbourne, ready to begin my health science doctorate and it suddenly felt like my body was fighting against me at every turn - my face had broken out in painful cystic pimples, I was tired all the time, and had developed gut issues.
A serious WTF moment when you are 23 and think you are invincible…
I stopped leaving the house, I stopped seeing friends and wanting to be in photos, and I shut myself off from any opportunity where I may be seen, which is a lot of scenarios.”
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“Melbourne had one of the most intense COVID lockdowns in the world, which is why I had so much spare time to research what impacts our skin health.
I remember thinking to myself that no consumer has the time for this, and they definitely shouldn’t need a postgraduate level of education and health literacy to be able to find suitable products.
I went to a *very* expensive and very amazing dual credentialed naturopath and dermal clinician here in Melbourne who saw me virtually.
We worked on a lot on the internal side of things which I will admit played a large role in settling down the constant cycle of breakouts, but even then, my skin still wasn’t healing well and looked pretty ‘meh’.”
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“I ‘graduated’ at this point to a salon-quality range of skincare products for at-home maintenance and WOW what a difference.
They were incredibly effective at helping with post-acne marks, soothing my skin, and just giving it an overall look of vitality - like truly healthy skin.
The downside was the price point locked me out of being able to continually use them if I wanted to keep having 3 meals a day and a roof over my head (broke postgrad student, remember?)”
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“This felt really icky (super adult word, I know) at my core - I felt trapped, which was the feeling I had when I had acne.
“I had spent thousands of dollars to get to a ‘maintenance’ phase”
I had spent thousands of dollars to get to a ‘maintenance’ phase where I finally felt my skin was as radiant and healthy as I felt on the inside only to be hit with sticker shock and products that were;
a) only available through that practitioner, locking me in to ongoing appointments and
b) were inaccessibly priced for my current phase of life - a broke postgrad student.”
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“I knew there was a better way and after endless research and prototypes in my kitchen, I finally approached a cosmetic chemist to see if my idea had any legs.
It needed some work, but that is where our amazing chemist came in to make the formula the best it could be with high quality cosmetic grade ingredients.”
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“We launched with a lymphatic mask (or an at-home facial as I like to call it) as a point of difference in the skincare world.
“This is a really cluttered and saturated market”
This is a *really* cluttered and saturated market and another cleanser/serum/moisturiser combo didn’t speak to me as something that would stand out with our target audience, at least at an initial phase.
Women with sensitive and acne prone skin have tried them all and are skeptical of trying another.
But a lymphatic facial?
For sensitive and acne prone skin?
That is something new and something that is truly backed by a deep understanding of the body’s systems and aligns with our whole ethos of supporting the skin instead of fighting it.”
Shop: LUMI Restorative Botanical Facial Kit, $89
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“The price had to be accessible while balancing on what the product delivers and of course the cost of production - I have been the defeated consumer so the last thing I wanted to create was a product that is out of reach for consistent use.
We are the most competitively priced at-home botanical lymphatic facial on the market, with a brand ethos that feels good to support.”
What Are The Hero Ingredients?
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“My favourite things to talk about!
My happy place is in the research behind ingredients and in testing products to see what’s great and what can be improved.
Our Hero Ingredients Are:
Albumen - derived from free range eggs, this protein rich ingredient acts as a skin conditioner and humectant (draws moisture into the skin). Some skincare research also suggests that the proteins in albumen can assist in wound healing as well as featuring anti-inflammatory properties. Also the main ingredient responsible for the ‘tightening’ feeling of the mask.
Zea Mays Starch - has mild oil-absorbing properties which help control oily-skin types without overstripping the skin or harming the skin barrier or being too intense for dry skin types.
Gentle Botanical Trio (Finger Lime, Kakadu Plum, Davidsons Plum) - high in antioxidants, phenolic acids, vitamins, and vitamins. These ingredients have strong anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties, help to gently exfoliate the skin without stripping or sensitising, and support collagen production.
Each ingredient was meticulously chosen in consultation with our Melbourne-based cosmetic chemist for their skin-loving benefits - the ingredients were chosen by women who truly *get* sensitive and acne-prone skin.”
Is Lumi Only For Sensitive Acne-Prone Skin?
“This is another one of our points of difference and very intentional.
As I kind of alluded to earlier - there are absolutely products out there that work for sensitive and acne prone skin, no question about it.
The problem is that as a consumer, I found myself spending literal hours of my life searching for the best cleanser from Brand A for my skin type, then the best serums from Brands B, C, and D.
Then looking for the best moisturising creams from Brands E, F, and G, and the list goes on and on and on. It was mental gymnastics at its finest.”
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“LOST&FOUND Skin Lab is a safe space for women with sensitive and acne prone skin - every product we ever release will be an intentional addition to our target customers routine, and will be made for women who have also spent hours juggling the ‘do I need this and will it break me out?’ paradox in their brains.
“Our marketing speaks directly to these women because I want them to feel seen - It’s a feeling I was looking for when I was struggling with my skin.”
I want to create a space and a brand of safety, confidence, and simplicity for women that I wish I had when I was younger.”
“In saying that, LOST&FOUND Skin Lab products (including LUMI) are appropriate for all skin types - you can be sure if it isn’t going to irritate sensitive skin it won’t irritate non-sensitive skin.
I think a big misconception is that acne-prone skin is always oily and therefore durable and can tolerate harsher treatments - this is often not the case.
In saying that, even the dry-skin girlies and people who are used to more intensive treatments would find this to be a beautiful addition to their routine.”
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“And my favourite group of people to discover the benefits of the LUMI mask are women with mature skin - I am completely and utterly head over heels for this group!
I love seeing women in their 40s, 50s, and even 60s using LUMI to maintain self care practices.
On a product/ingredient level, the ingredients (high in proteins, antioxidants, phenolic acids, and vitamins) and mechanism of action of the mask (the physical tightening effect) are also wonderful for this age group for skin vitality and supporting skin health across the lifespan.”
Are There Other Products in The Works?
“Sneaky!
I want to jump into new product development as soon as I can, but LOST&FOUND is an entirely self-funded venture so I am limited by the depth of my pockets at this point in time.
My immediate vision for our product pipeline is to release an entire range - cleanser, AM and PM serums, and moisturiser.
It’s important to me to launch this range only after we’ve built trust as a brand for sensitive and acne prone skin, and the order they are released in would be guided by community demand (tell me what you want to see please!).
Any future products would also be driven by our core principle of symbiotic skincare, and be founded by an understanding of the key drivers of acne prone skin.
A natural extension after that would be to build on the fact that our skin is connected to all of our bodies systems, so I would love to explore the ingestible space further down the track.”
Anything Further You’d Like to Share?
Image: Provided by Lost and Found Skin Lab.
“Our profit for purpose ethos!
We want to make symbiotic skincare products that work with our bodies, but we also want to be a symbiotic business within Australia.
This looks like:
1) Keeping a female founded supply chain front of mind in any future work we do.
2) Being sustainable where we can and committing to implementing better ways of working when we have the resources to.
For now:
We use a local supply chain as much as possible to reduce carbon footprint in shipping freight
Our mailers are recyclable and compostable and printed and use digitally printed water based organic inks
Our shipping labels are thermal printed (no dye) on compostable labels
Our primary packaging is recyclable
Our totes are made from recycled cotton
We designed the LUMI applicator for zero product wastage
We encourage customers to order a refill of their LUMI powder instead of a whole new kit to reduce excessive materials consumption
3) We donate a portion of our profits to organisations in Australia that support First Nations communities and women who experience violence - these organisations know how to best work with and support these communities. When marginalised communities are supported in equity, the rest of society thrives.”
Final Thoughts
We enjoyed hearing about Krista’s journey to launching LOST&FOUND Skin Lab in a way that aligned with her values, experience, and mission for skin.
Frankly, we’re obsessed with her belief that skincare should support, not fight, the skin- and believe this is a concept all sensitive skin havers would benefit from adopting.
We’re looking forward to seeing LOST&FOUND Skin Lab continue to grow as more women find the symbiotic skincare brand.
Shop: LUMI Restorative Botanical Facial Kit, $89
