What happens when decades of clinical skincare expertise meet the wild plants of Jackson Hole — and what can that teach us about how aggressively we’re treating our skin? This week, Carmine sits down with Kendra Kolb Butler, founder of Alpyn Beauty, the Jackson Hole skincare brand pairing clinically proven ingredients with sustainably harvested mountain plants. Before founding Alpyn, Kendra spent nearly two decades inside clinical and luxury beauty — including 15 years working alongside dermatologist and formulator Dr. Dennis Gross. In 2015, she left a successful New York career and moved with her family to Jackson Hole, where a short reset became a permanent reinvention. After opening the Alpyn Beauty Bar, Kendra discovered that even highly regarded skincare formulas struggled to address the dryness, irritation and moisture loss associated with the mountain climate. When her own skin began experiencing the same problems, she questioned for the first time whether clinical ingredients alone were enough. Her search for an answer led to the wild plants flourishing under the same extreme conditions. Working with local botanists and naturalists, Kendra began exploring how these stress-adapted plants could complement proven actives — eventually transforming locally tested formulas into Alpyn Beauty. Together, Carmine and Kendra examine beauty’s escalating “active ingredient bonanza,” why another person’s viral routine may be entirely wrong for your skin and whether the industry’s barrier-repair boom signals that consumers have pushed their complexions too far. Kendra also takes Carmine inside Alpyn’s new 3-in-1 Barrier Repair Serum, pairing Azelaic Acid and the SNAP-8 peptide complex with wild-harvested Ghostberry to address visible redness, hyperpigmentation and expression lines through a barrier-first approach. Along the way, they discuss sustainable harvesting, the origins of Alpyn’s Melt Moisturizer and why Kendra no longer believes hard work alone guarantees success. Key Takeaway Clinical science and botanical skincare do not need to exist in opposition. Kendra’s philosophy is rooted in balance: clinical actives can produce meaningful change, but their effectiveness depends on skin that is calm, hydrated and capable of tolerating them. When aggressive routines repeatedly destabilize the moisture barrier, pursuing faster results may ultimately move the skin further away from health. The lesson extends beyond formulation. Building Alpyn required expertise and relentless effort, but Kendra no longer believes hard work alone creates success. Connection, timing, luck, self-belief and the courage to act on an original idea matter, too. Sometimes reinvention begins not with a perfect plan, but with trusting the feeling that the life you have built is no longer the life you are meant to keep living. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why Kendra left a successful 20-year beauty career in New York and moved her family to Jackson Hole; How the Alpyn Beauty Bar exposed a gap between conventional skincare and the realities of an extreme mountain climate; Why seeing clinical formulas fail in Wyoming forced Kendra to reconsider everything she believed about skincare; How stress-adapted wild plants develop secondary metabolites that differ from those of plants grown under controlled conditions; How samples of the original Melt Moisturizer generated local demand before Alpyn Beauty officially became a brand; Why Kendra believes prescription tretinoin, high-percentage acids and social-media routines are contributing to over-activated skin; And, why Kendra now believes success depends on far more than working harder than everyone else. Connect with Kendra Kolb Butler on Instagram at @kendrakbutler and learn more about her story here. Follow Alpyn Beauty on Instagram at @alpynbeauty and explore the complete collection at alpynbeauty.com. Carmine’s featured product is the Alpyn Beauty 3-in-1 Barrier Repair Serum, formulated with Azelaic Acid, SNAP-8 peptide, Centella asiatica and wild-harvested Ghostberry. — Follow Skincarma on Instagram and on TikTok. Catch product reviews of Carmine’s top picks of the best skincare on the Skincarma Blog. You can also connect with Carmine on Substack and LinkedIn – and explore his extensive work in beauty on the Carmine Montalto INK website here. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate and/or leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Substack, or Spotify to help Carmine reach more curious listeners. Explore more: 3-in-1 Barrier Repair Serum Melt Moisturizer Barrier Repair Cream Product reviews on the Skincarma Blog: Explore the Best Sunscreens for Face here. Explore the Best Retinol Face Creams and Serums here. Explore the Best Vitamin C Serums here. Explore the Best Niacinamide Serums here. Explore the Best Acne Treatments here. Explore the Best Anti-Aging Creams and Serums here. Explore the Best Face Creams for Dry Skin here. Explore the Best Face Creams for Oily Skin here. The Skincarma® Pod is where indie beauty meets fearless curiosity. Hosted by Carmine, his podcast pulls back the curtain on the beauty industry with sharp insights, candid interviews, and a healthy dose of irreverence. From deep dives into ingredient science to raw conversations with dermatologists, brand founders, and industry insiders, each episode is a no-BS exploration of what really matters in skincare: how to attain and maintain healthy skin. If you’re obsessed with products, passionate about transparency, and love calling out hype, this is the place to learn, question, and glow smarter. The Skincarma® Blog is written and curated by skinfluencer, skincare junkie and Brooklyn writer Carmine Montalto. With 25 years of expertise in beauty across every category, Carmine has helped build multiple consumer brands from the ground up. He’s named 100s of skincare, haircare & makeup products – some of which are probably in your bathroom cabinet right now! And, he’s tested 1,000s of products, the best of which can be found reviewed on his blog at skincarma.com. With the right skincare routine including sunscreen...You CAN change your skin’s destiny!™ Get full access to Skincarma® at skincarma.substack.com/subscribe
