We recently connected with Catherine Kennedy, Md and have shared our conversation below.
Catherine, appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
One night, at dinner, my young son and I discussed potential names for my brand of facial health and beauty exercise tools when he said, “Mom, just call your brand BEAUTY BALLOON.” At that time, I worked with a manufacturer that makes interventional medical-grade balloons for patient procedures such as angioplasty, esophageal dilatation, and other invasive medical procedures in the hospital setting. So, when deciding on a name, I never imagined my product would end up not being a medical-grade balloon. Nor did I know my product would ultimately form a triangle. After multiple failed attempts at working with differently shaped medical-grade balloons, the site of an architectural structure inspired me to move beyond the medical-grade balloon space. Seeing the combination of arches and triangles used for structural support in a massive ceiling, I knew my products needed to be triangular-shaped, harmoniously complementing the anatomic regions in and around the arches of the oral cavity. Once I decided on the triangle shape of my products, I wanted to add a tagline to reference this critical triangle shape and how it relates to facial aesthetics. I was already aware that the gold standard in aesthetic medicine for facial rejuvenation is to maintain and restore what is referred to as the “triangle of youth,” defined by the three features: high cheekbones, full cheeks, and a defined jawline. Primed with this knowledge of the triangle of youth and its pivotal role in aesthetic medicine, my brand name and tagline became BEAUTY BALLOON, Your Triangle of Youth!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
BEAUTY BALLOON, LLC was created and founded by myself, Dr. Catherine Kennedy, MD, board-certified in anatomic and clinical pathology. Searching for a way to try to correct the underlying disorder of the facial, orofacial, and oropharyngeal musculature due to dynamic muscle discord (DMD) as specific muscles weaken and atrophy relative to others during the aging process or from other etiologies, the BEAUTY BALLOON Collection was developed.
The BEAUTY BALLOON Collection comprises easy-to-use health and beauty facial exercise tools designed for at-home use. My products help meet the needs of those seeking improvement in essential orofacial functions and those seeking improvement in aesthetics in the healthcare, dentistry, and beauty spaces.
I am happy to introduce my patent-pending health and beauty exercise tools, designed with precision to help strengthen, tighten, and tone the midface, lower face, and neck and improve jawline definition, resulting in a more lifted and rejuvenated appearance.
Historically, rehabilitative and therapeutic medical practices have long utilized facial exercise to help restore essential facial, orofacial, and oropharyngeal functions and correct facial asymmetries to improve aesthetic outcomes. However, recently, there has been a growing movement by myofunctional therapists, along with many dentists, orthodontists, and otolaryngologists, to educate on proper orofacial and oropharyngeal including the tongue, lip, and cheek dynamic muscle interaction to prevent and treat Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMD’s) and Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders (SRBD’s). Much emphasis has been given to the negative health consequences of chronic mouth-breathing and the pattern of associated facial anatomic changes, brought forth mainly due to the rise in Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Accordingly, timely intervention can help prevent and correct the undesirable facial changes associated with these disorders, often called Adenoid Face (also called Long Face Syndrome). Furthermore, reducing the associated health risks. Rehabilitative and therapeutic approaches to help prevent and treat these disorders frequently contain appreciable commonality. In addition, there is some commonality with many facial yoga techniques taught by highly skilled experts and practiced by millions of facial yoga devotees for aesthetic benefits. The BEAUTY BALLOON Collection was meticulously crafted considering each established discipline’s strong heritage and purposeful goals in meeting the needs of many in these different market spaces. My goal is for the BEAUTY BALLOON products to be used across the many disciplines in the healthcare, dental, and aesthetic market spaces for improved outcomes. Ultimately, I would love to see facial exercises with the BEAUTY BALLOON tools incorporated into daily health and beauty routines across the globe.
Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?
I sell my products internationally off my Shopify e-commerce website, beautyballoon.com.
Building an e-commerce website was challenging, but using a platform like Shopify has been beneficial, as many companies integrate well within the platform. I learned about the Shopify platform after speaking to people who have experience bringing products to market. Those early conversations and networking with those experienced in e-commerce steered me toward using Shopify and the Klaviyo email platform, which integrates with Shopify, to communicate with customers. I was determined to sell my health and beauty exercise tools globally. So far, there have been purchases in nine different countries, which is exciting, having dreamed about selling a quality product internationally for many years. If I could not sell internationally, I may never have brought my products to market. My products help solve the problems of weak and dysfunctional facial and orofacial muscle dynamic interaction caused by aging and other etiologies, which are common problems for people no matter their residence. The importance of proper facial, orofacial, and oropharyngeal dynamic muscle interaction for swallowing, chewing, speech, and breathing essential functions and aesthetics cannot be overstated. The Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) epidemic opened up discussions of proper tongue position, weak and dysfunctional orofacial muscles, including the health detriments of chronic mouth breathing, as well as airway function and development with appropriate craniofacial bone growth, particularly how the maxilla bone and palate grow. The goal has shifted to focus on developing the palate and jawbones to their full genetic potential from a very young age to ensure proper form and function of the airway. The topic of airway and everything related is an ever-expanding area in medicine, dentistry, and orthodontics as patients and consumers want to look, feel, and function better. My BEAUTY BALLOON products help augment facial exercise techniques and ensure proper dynamic muscle interaction for improved form and function in the orofacial region, including the airway. I winsomely call the exercises “a Little TLC for your TLC,” meaning “ a Little Tender Loving Care for your Tongue, Lips, and Cheeks!”
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
My medical background and experience have helped me in my target markets. As a medical doctor board-certified in anatomic and clinical pathology, I understand every tissue type in the body and have a unique perspective on the healthy and diseased states of all bodily tissues. Searching for a way to try to correct the underlying disorder of the facial, orofacial, and oropharyngeal musculature due to dynamic muscle discord (DMD) as specific muscles weaken and atrophy relative to others during the aging process or from other etiologies, the BEAUTY BALLOON products were developed.
While I initially set out to sell my products mainly to women 40 and older as health and beauty products, I became keenly aware that my products benefit many in the rehabilitative and therapeutic disciplines of medical and dental practices. Therefore, I decided to also introduce my products to the rehabilitation and therapeutic disciplines in the medical and dental spaces. My products strengthen, tighten, and tone the facial, orofacial, and oropharyngeal muscles through isometric and isotonic resistance exercises. Dynamic muscle interaction is improved to help restore essential oral functions compromised from illness, injury, or aging and enhance facial contours, shape, and symmetry. My products are designed to help lift the midface, lower face, and neck and improve jawline definition, resulting in a more rejuvenated appearance. The aesthetic improvements include natural, lifted, sculpted, and re-volumized cheeks, plumper, and more balanced lip proportions. While surgical results are not to be expected, restoration and maintenance of muscle tonicity and improvement in the harmonic balance of the face will enhance one’s beauty. The BEAUTY BALLOON products work in synergy with aesthetic and plastic surgery procedures (after healing is complete) and home beauty treatments to improve and help maintain longer-lasting results. Form follows function, and one cannot exist without the other. Like building a strong, toned body, building a robust, toned face can enhance one’s quality of life on many levels. Incorporating the BEAUTY BALLOON products into your daily health and beauty routine, whether for the rehabilitative benefit, therapeutic benefit, maintenance of orofacial strength, aesthetic benefit, or any combination thereof, the BEAUTY BALLOON products offer something for everyone. I am grateful for my medical training and experience as it allows me to collaborate across many disciplines in patient care. This has been one of the most rewarding parts of bringing my BEAUTY BALLOON products to market.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beautyballoon.com
- Instagram: @beautyballoontlc
Image Credits
Photos by Natalie