Esther: Welcome to an unbelievable episode 30 - Katie, episode 30.

Katie: The big 3-0! It's like we're entering a new decade of Overtime!

Esther: We're, like, over the hill. Not really, 30 isn't over the hill, is it?

Katie: No, actually it's really not at all. (Laughter)

Esther: Okay, 30, we're there. Woo-hoo! Young and 30!

Katie: Woo! (Laughter)

Esther: Anyway, episode 30 of the BusinessMakers Overtime Show, and we are your beautiful hosts, Esther Steinfeld -

Katie: And Katie Laird.

Esther: And we're not saying that to be vain, don't worry. (Laughter) Today's show is actually all about the business of beauty.

Katie: Oh.

Esther: Yeah. So our guest today is entrepreneur Alexis Wolfer, the founder and editor-in-chief of new online magazine, The Beauty Bean. Alexis will join us in segment two, as usual, the Business Makers Breakdown.

Katie: And in segment three, our special features, we'll talk about what it means to be beautiful in the workplace. Does it matter? Does it affect your pay? Then we'll also discuss some studies that show that it actually kind of does. And of course in our very favorite segment one, the business week in review, we'll give you all the news that you need to know coming out of the health and beauty industry this week. So shall we get this beautiful party started?

Esther: Let's do it. So this isn't exactly beautiful in my opinion, this story that we found on MSNBC. I guess it's good news for the troops, for the female troops that are overseas that are in need of this medication - well, it's not really medication. It's a high-level dose of birth control pill that you can take to make sure that you do not get pregnant. So apparently the Pentagon for the first time is going to require military bases all over the world to offer emergency contraception, the morning-after pill. This happened just recently - very recent, within the last week.

Katie: It did, and a similar recommendation was made by a panel in 2002, but the military said, "Absolutely not." Like, they just were not into the idea at all, and I guess - I mean, it's a sign of the times, you know?

Esther: Absolutely. Well, in 2006 they actually made it an over-the-counter drug that you can just get anywhere -

Katie: Right, that's right. As a civilian you can just walk in and buy it, right.

Esther: Yeah, as a civilian, right, but if you're - as we were talking about earlier, if you are in Iraq you are not going to the Walgreen's down the street.

Katie: Weird, yeah.

Esther: Walgreens on every corner in Iraq. (Laughter) So -

Katie: And so this decision comes just two months after a commander in Iraq tried to enforce this clause in his code of conduct that would've actually made getting pregnant while deployed in Iraq a punishable offense.

Esther: Unbelievable.

Katie: So I mean, his reasoning was that if a woman gets pregnant while she's gone, she puts a burden on the rest of the troops which can kind of hurt security and their process, and I see -

Esther: That's understanding.

Katie: I see what he's saying, but I think it's absolutely ridiculous that he would say that! (Laughter)

Esther: You can see where his roundabout logic went, but -

Katie: Kind of. Yes, yes. So I mean, that has been absolutely vetoed - like, it is not a punishable offense to become pregnant while you are deployed.

Esther: Imagine if that was set in any other work environment. This is a job. Being in the military is a job. So imagine if you went to your boss and said, "I'm sorry, I have to take maternity leave," and your boss said to you, "I'm sorry, you're hurting the rest of the team." So -

Katie: This is a punishable offense! (Laughter)

Esther: Yeah, I mean, give me a break. That's sad.

Katie: Yeah, yeah. So I mean, definitely a controversial topic. Yeah, I guess the military, you know, need to do something in their tents at night in Afghanistan, and maybe this will help, you know, ease people's mind. I don't know.

Esther: Take their minds off of fighting a war.

Katie: I suppose so.

Esther: Yeah, yeah. Another controversial topic - tanning beds.

Katie: Tanning beds.

Esther: Yeah, so this is a very controversial topic, and actually what's happening is the FDA is pushing for much tougher regulations on said tanning beds, because what has happened is an 18-year old - her name is Katie Donner. She was preparing for the Miss Indiana pageant and discovered a growth on her leg which turned out to be early stage melanoma - at 18.

Katie: Oh, no. Oh, no.

Esther: 18-years old! And she can't prove that it was because of the tanning beds; however, she started using tanning beds in the sixth grade. How old are you, 11?

Katie: The sixth grade?

Esther: Because she was a cheerleader and she needed to be tan in her cheerleading costume.

Katie: The sixth grade?

Esther: Yes.

Katie: Go outside! You're a child!

Esther: No, no. We don't -

Katie: Go play!

Esther: We don't need to - we're cheerleading in sixth grade. So apparently the World Health Organization's cancer division last summer listed tanning beds as definitive cancer causers, right alongside the ultraviolet radiation that both they and the sun emit. And that's actually a big step because tanning beds were kind of in this vague grey area where they were probable cancer causers, but now they're in the definitive category, which means yes, they cause cancer, and yes, you need to protect yourself from them if you're going to use them.

Katie: Yes.

Esther: So -

Katie: Goodness. I mean, this makes me feel like everybody should be running to a former guest on the Business Makers show -

Esther: Throwing Copper.

Katie: Throwing Copper, the organic spray tan solution! (Laughter)

Esther: Yes!

Katie: How's that for a plug? Like, skip the bed!

Esther: Absolutely. That's exactly right. I mean, there are so many safer solutions that you can employ if you want to have that glowing, dewy, summery skin, that you don't have to get in the tanning bed. Come on!

Katie: And you know, now that vampire movies are so popular, maybe we can just eradicate the need, you know, to be beautiful -

Esther: Exactly.

Katie: Like, it's all about the - you know, the soulless, bloodsucking, pasty white skin.

Esther: And give me a break. Tanning wasn't always so in vogue. I mean - and there are plenty of beautiful people - ahem, there are two sitting in this room - that are not the tannest people in the world.

Katie: (Laughter) All right, let's just call our status, babe.

Esther: Actually three, because John isn't exactly -

Katie: We're all glow-in-the-dark, so whatever. (Laughter)

Esther: And we're proud of it.

Katie: That's right.

Esther: We are just fine with it.

Katie: So John, you haven't been hitting any tanning beds lately, have you?

John: No, I have not.

Katie: He has not. (Laughter) You've been reading the warning labels.

Esther: Pale and proud!

Katie: That's right. (Laughter)

John: I don't even have a window in my studio.

Katie: That's right.

Esther: He really doesn't, actually.

Katie: No windows.

Esther: No windows. We're in the dark right now, surrounded.

Katie: You know, it's too bad that, like, somebody doesn't come up with a really safe - not natural at all - but really safe way that you could get tan by the glow of your computer monitor, because I would be beautiful!

Esther: Oh, my God, my face would be black.

Katie: Yeah, probably.

Esther: And the rest of me would be pasty, pasty white.

Katie: (Laughter) It'd be like the mark of a geek or the programmer, you know?

Esther: Oh, I don't want that mark, all right? I really don't. I'm glad my computer does what it does, and that's it.

Katie: Exactly. (Laughter)

Esther: Actually, there's some other controversial - there's so much controversy this week.

Katie: I tell you what, this beauty thing, like it gets everyone all crazy.

Esther: I know. So in Columbia it seems that some of the Columbian people are very upset at the nose on their Miss Columbia, because -

Katie: At the nose?

Esther: The nose that - her nose -

Katie: On her face?

Esther: Her God-given nose.

Katie: Her nose?

Esther: They're very upset because -

Katie: What did her nose do?

Esther: They say her nose is - they liken it to an eagle beak. They say it's huge and that she needs to have a nose job before the Miss Universe pageant or she's gonna lose.

Katie: You are crazy, and I am looking at this photo from the article on Latina.com -

Esther: She is gorgeous.

Katie: She's hot! They're blind. They need their eyes worked on. How is that?

Esther: And her nose isn't even big.

Katie: It's actually really not. She's gorgeous!

Esther: It's crazy.

Katie: And now I really admire her because, I mean, she basically is telling them to buzz off, but in much more political, Miss-Columbia way, saying, "They have asked me, and I understand that I can always be better. But I prefer things that are natural." I just want to hug her. Thank you, Miss Columbia. Thank you. (Laughter)

Esther: I mean, can you believe that?

Katie: I hope she wins just to spite them all.

Esther: Wouldn't that be absolutely amazing?

Katie: (Laughter) So another bit of plastic surgery discussion - Esther, you shared with me recently a recent, very interesting poll that plastic surgery is still pretty hot, despite the lagging economy.

Esther: Yes.

Katie: And actually they used the word sagging, and I'm sure that the pun was intended. (Laughter)

Esther: Yeah, I mean, plastic surgery actually is on the rise, if you can believe it. People have said that they would rather spend $10,000.00 on plastic surgery than put $10,000.00 into savings. So -

Katie: Oh, my gosh. I think that's crazy.

Esther: Values upside-down.

Katie: Yeah. Now it's interesting, because the company I work for, Schipul, we do a lot of work with plastic surgeons and we're able to kind of gauge where the industry is based on the number of contact forms they're getting in and, you know, the traffic on their website. And what we saw was last year, starting about January, plastic surgery was definitely down, but - the big stuff was down, but the smaller - I'm not gonna say affordable, but the smaller stuff like Botox and the - you know, the more outpatient procedures, those were way, way, way, way, way up. But as of January 2010 we're now seeing tremendous, exponential interest now that the economy is getting a little better in, you know, these major surgeries. It's interesting, but I think this is a pretty good indicator that things are coming back up - in more ways than one, apparently. (Laughter)

Esther: Oh, man. Good joke! You know, I think that's a good point. We can kind of gauge certain things about the economy based on what people are spending their money on. And if people are spending their - chunking down the dough for the facelift and the calf implants and the God knows what else people -

Katie: Lord. Oh, wait, the ab etching - have you seen the laser ab etching?

Esther: Oh, no, what is that?

Katie: Usually men have this procedure, and it's actually where they'll remove fat from the abdomen and they'll - it's some - I don't know how they do it, but they actually kind of carve in what's supposed to look like six pack type stuff.

Esther: Ouch, carve - don't say carve.

Katie: Yeah, it's - yeah.

Esther: But you know what? Let me just put it out there. I am not against plastic surgery. I think it's great. Do it. Do whatever you want to yourself - totally, totally all about it. Just if you don't have any money -

Katie: Yeah, don't do it, and just know that, I mean, we think you're beautiful and successful and smart just the way that you are. How's that for a kumbaya moment?

Esther: That's a kumbaya - that's great, thank you, Katie.

Katie: Anytime.

Esther: Well, coming up in segment two we've got my interview with Alexis Wolfer. She is just fabulous.

Katie: She is. I cannot wait to hear about her site, her projects - she is just a great lady.

Esther: And her site talks nothing about plastic surgery, just FYI.

Katie: No it's - yeah, the beauty within.

Esther: Yes, all about the beauty within, so stay tuned for segment two. You're listening to The BusinessMakers Overtime show heard here an online at TheBusinessMakers.com. We'll be back.