Dr. Sarah Daccarett, CEO and founder of Inner Balance, is redefining women’s hormone health with a holistic, science-driven approach to wellness. In this interview, she shares her journey in addressing gaps in hormone care, balancing holistic wellness with science, and offers words of wisdom for women founders.
Disclosure: This sponsored post aims to empower you with insights on women’s health, as well as inspire by showcasing the innovations of Sarah and her Team.
Interview with Dr. Sarah Daccarett of Inner Balance
Dr. Daccarett is incredible on many levels. Her company Inner Balance recently closed a $6 million seed round, a trailblazing moment as one of the biggest for women founders. She is passionate about improving hormone health for women, which includes perimenopause, as well as overall wellness and aging. She’s pushing the boundaries on women’s health and we’re talking about a lot of things here! Come join us.
Welcome! I’m curious where the idea for Inner Balance came from?
In my mid-thirties, after the birth of my son, my hormone levels never recovered. After trying every available product, I realized there were NO solutions specifically to meet the needs of younger women who want to feel young and vibrant again. I invented Oestra™ because I needed it, and I was only willing to use a natural, holistic and highly bioavailable approach.
I also realized that I wasn’t alone – that hormone levels drastically decline in our 30s – not when our period stops in our 50s like we have been told. After nearly 10 years since Oestra™’s inception and treating women in clinics, I started Inner Balance online. By making this innovative solution accessible, we can close the gender gap in hormonal health for good.
Can you please talk more about the gender health gap?
After treating both men and women in my anti-aging clinic for years, I saw first hand the gender data gap and how our approach to women’s hormone replacement, anti-aging is a decade behind men’s and transgender hormonal health.
I pivoted to treating women-only because that is where the need, innovation, and advancement has to be made. Women are often refused treatment until they are menopausal, and they miss out on a very beneficial therapy for sometimes over 20 years before they are finally treated. The options that are currently available are also not as effective as they need to be and do not provide optimal support.
Let’s talk more about those options. What was missing from traditional approaches to women’s hormone health, and how does Inner Balance aim to change that?
Traditionally, women are often treated with only estrogen, or testosterone. If they are offered progesterone, it is in a low bioavailable form, such as oral and topical. In addition, oral progesterone has side-effects, such as irritability and daytime sleepiness. Progesterone is dismissed or ignored, yet it is a woman’s most abundant hormone. Progesterone’s critical role in women’s health and wellness has been traditionally overlooked. We believe Inner Balance’s innovative approach to optimizing all three hormones is why women love us and our product.
What exactly is Inner Balance’s “all in one” treatment?
The cornerstone of our treatment is Oestra™, a bioidentical vaginal cream and it optimizes all 3 hormones: (1) progesterone, (2) estradiol and (3) testosterone in just one pearl-size amount of cream applied in 30 seconds each day. Formulated to have little to no side effects, or irritation, this cream has high bioavailability, absorption and effectiveness. Which means it can raise hormones effectively, which has drastic effects on anti-aging, symptom relief and disease prevention for women. With just a tiny amount of cream each day, it becomes easy for women to prioritize their health.
The treatment is also personalized and can be tailored to each woman’s needs, with ongoing support and adjustments provided by clinical experts to ensure optimal results. With optimal hormone levels, various symptoms are alleviated, overall well-being is enhanced, and women see many potential benefits including improved sleep and mood, increased energy and mental clarity, enhanced vaginal health and libido and skin and hair improvements. Not to mention prevention of heart disease, osteoporosis, dementia and autoimmunity (just to name a few).
Inner Balance is also 100% online and ships directly to your home in 28 states and has unlimited expert care as part of our concierge service.
So many potential benefits! Your company’s approach balances science with holistic wellness. Why is this hybrid approach important?
Inner Balance adopts a comprehensive approach to women’s health by integrating scientific advancements with holistic wellness practices. This hybrid methodology ensures that treatments are both evidence-based and tailored to the individual’s overall well-being. At the core of our offering is Oestra™, a bioidentical vaginal cream. This formulation is grounded in rigorous scientific research, ensuring that the hormones used are molecularly identical to those naturally produced in the body. It is scientifically formulated to result in proper ratios of the hormones, which is critical for a woman to feel her best without side effects.
In addition, our clinical experts use our robust protocols to optimize, adjust and balance hormones during the first six months of therapy. This approach takes into account hormone conversion, metabolism and other factors that influence hormone balancing in women.
Balancing hormones during perimenopause can definitely be challenging, especially because it’s often overlooked. What are your thoughts on this?
Women’s hormonal health is the biggest blindspot in medicine and decades behind. For a long time, women have been underrepresented in medical research, and there is also a lack of education for physicians and providers about women’s hormones and their impact. There is also a misconception about when they decline, which isn’t when menstruation stops.
Misrepresented and misinterpreted research about hormones has also set women back decades in advancement of research and therapies. This misinformation has led doctors to refuse treatment and testing to women as well.
The story is much larger than (peri)menopause for women. We are seeing women with low levels of all three hormones at much younger ages than ever before. Low progesterone is potentially the root cause of many diseases, such as endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids, ovarian cysts, heavy menstrual bleeding, anxiety, depression and autoimmunity. These conditions are highly prevalent in women compared to men – resulting in a crisis with women being sicker than ever before for a majority of their life.
At Inner Balance, we believe there is a solution – optimal health and well-being is achievable throughout life and that enriching hormones is the foundation.
What is one misconception about women’s hormone health and aging that you want to dispel, once and for all?
One huge misconception about women’s hormone health is that progesterone is only needed for the uterus, or pregnancy and is not the main hormone that needs to be replenished. Progesterone is the most abundant hormone throughout a woman’s life and when it is low it leads to so many health problems and symptoms. Women need to find a specialist that understands this since most physicians are not trained in optimal management of women’s hormone replacement therapy.
Thank you for raising awareness. It’s great to see this woman-founded company doing so well too with its recent $6M seed round! What will this funding go towards?
Inner Balance is poised to accelerate our mission to enhance women’s health and well-being. The funding will be used for product development, technological advancements, clinical validation, market expansion and team growth. This significant milestone will help us make substantial strides in women’s health, offering innovative solutions and improving the quality of life for many women.
Sarah, what do you suggest for women founders looking for funding?
A clear vision and grit is required from any founder, so share your story and mission authentically. Let investors see your passion and commitment to making an impact. If you have a unique product that solves real problems, clearly articulate how your product addresses a gap in the market. And build valuable relationships early before you need funding, by fostering a network that believes in your mission and vision.
One last question! What do you see in the future for Inner Balance?
With a clear mission to bridge the gender gap in hormone health with innovative solutions, Inner Balance has the potential to lead a much-needed transformation in women’s health, creating long-lasting change for women’s quality of life and medical care worldwide.
Thank you for being here, Dr. Sarah Baccarett! Dear readers, feel free to share your thoughts on hormone health, the gender health gap, perimenopause, and more below. We’d love to hear from you.