Danuta Mieloch: Founder of Danucera & Rescue Spa

Episode 767

On today’s episode, Kara welcomes Danuta Mieloch, Founder of Rescue Spa and Danucera — two pioneering names redefining modern skincare through simplicity, science, and results.
A renowned esthetician and skincare expert, Danuta built Rescue Spa into a luxury destination known for its transformative treatments and personalized care, introducing European skincare philosophies to the U.S. long before they became mainstream. Her commitment to holistic, results-driven beauty made her a trusted name among clients, celebrities, and beauty insiders alike.
Building on decades of hands-on experience, Danuta launched Danucera, a clean, high-performance skincare line rooted in her “less is more” philosophy. Instead of overwhelming routines and endless products, Danuta distilled her knowledge into a handful of essentials that deliver visible, lasting results. Her mission: to make radiant, healthy skin achievable for everyone — at any age.
We talk about the early days of Rescue Spa, the inspiration behind Danucera, and how Danuta is changing the beauty conversation from excess to effectiveness. She also shares what she’s learned from decades of touching skin, listening to clients, and creating products that truly make a difference. This episode is filled with timeless insight for founders, beauty enthusiasts, and anyone who believes that confidence starts with care. Don’t miss it!

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Transcript

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up, that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be. I want to be you. Just want to make sure you will get knocked down. But just make sure you don’t get knocked out, knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control. Control, control. Hi everyone, and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and really, some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go. Let’s go. Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Kara Goldin show. So excited to have my next guest here. I’ve been a huge fan, and so honored to have her on to talk all about not just one brand, but two brands that she has founded. One is called Rescue Spa, which she founded that brand first, and is still going and growing and doing all kinds of wonderful things that we’re going to hear all about it. But Danuta Mieloch founded a company called a skincare brand called Danucera and Danucera is really, really amazing. It’s an elevated skin care line. It’s one. Danuta is one of the most respected estheticians in the world, known for her European techniques, her eye for detail and her belief that great skin doesn’t come from complicated routines. So I love that we could stop right there, because she is just like the she is the mecca of really, not only practicing what she preaches, but also creating products and creating incredible spas that really bring luxury for personalized science backed skin care to the forefront. So bringing a lot of her European philosophies and practices to the US long before they were trending, genuda launched Danucera, her own line of clean, high performance skin care designed to simplify and elevate the daily ritual of caring for your skin. So I cannot wait to hear more about how she decided to launch her own brand after building an incredible series of of spas, location destinations. So Danuta, welcome to the show. So excited to have you here,

Danuta Mieloch 2:46
so excited to be here. No and I’m ready any question. Go ahead.

Kara Goldin 2:53
Very, very excited. So Well, let’s start at the beginning. Before we get into your incredible skincare line, let’s start with Rescue Spa. What first inspired you to start Rescue Spa?

Danuta Mieloch 3:06
So I’ve worked in with many spas before, and anywhere I worked, I always felt like, Okay, I want certain techniques, I want certain products, certain equipment and that, you know, and a certain space that I would really elevate the experience. Because I think people think of skincare as a luxury, but skincare is like, it’s your daily it’s your diet, it’s your exercise, it’s the it’s the thing that we need to normalize as like this is not necessarily a luxury is something you need to do?

Kara Goldin 3:43
Yeah, definitely, right.

Danuta Mieloch 3:45
So, so it sort of came from the need. And so I was lucky enough to find a space. I used to live in New York. I moved here with $20 in my pocket, you know, in late 80s, early 90s. And I lived in New York for 13 years, and then, and then decided to open my own space, and the equation was better for me in Philadelphia. So I moved to Philadelphia, not knowing many people. I just knew how to do the best treatments, the best facial that’s my power. So with that, I open a space 4000 square feet, hire a few people, train them, coach them, which is my passion, too, and that’s how we started. And the rest, and the rest is like it’s magic. You know, where I’ve built 165 employees

Kara Goldin 4:42
that’s that’s incredible. So your first spa, you mentioned you opened in the early 90s in New York, no 204 and 204 but you were doing facials. I was

Danuta Mieloch 4:56
doing facials. Yes, in New York. Working with different brands. And, you know, I always, I always knew, and had a talent how to pick the brand that actually brings results,

Kara Goldin 5:10
and you were one of the first to bring biologic, right? I’m the OG to the US, which is incredible, which is such an incredible brand and and so in addition to actually being one of the only ones at the especially in the early 2000s that was able to actually use that product, because they’re very particular about, you know, yes, yes. And so you were doing that, and what was the moment when you said, I’m actually going to open my own spa? I mean, it takes a lot of courage to do that right, and obviously you’re a sole practitioner back in those early days. But when did you decide I’m going to open a spa, I’m going to hire people in, I’m going to train them, and we’re going to go big?

Danuta Mieloch 6:09
Yeah, because I always had this passion for sharing, and so this is my biggest passion overall, sharing with my clients, how to best care for your skin, but also sharing with employees, with estheticians. I think in my time, I train hundreds of estheticians, and also I touch 1000s and 1000s of faces, and this is for me, the biggest joy and the biggest magic. And how to do that, you know, I had to open my own space, and this way I can share what I love to share. So it’s really natural. It’s organic.

Kara Goldin 6:50
What and how many? I guess, when you first opened, what was the point when you started to add employees and other people doing facials in the business.

Danuta Mieloch 7:01
So from very beginning, I hire a few people. So when I open, I hire, I already had few employees, and train them, one by one, everybody. I always, I always say that I, you know, I held hands with all of my estheticians and, yeah, so that’s my passion, but because I was also lucky, I was so lucky to meet the original founders and to see their passion and to see their approach to skin care. And you know, there were many people that I learned from, and I always feel like that part we forget in this country to share the knowledge and to respect that, you know, to me, they were like my professional parents, like the gurus, like to share, to be that Guru. And we all, I feel like we need a guru. Yeah, we need the inspiration. We need people who are, you know, perfecting their craft. It there is a difference. You know, you don’t become expert overnight.

Kara Goldin 8:04
No, definitely. And I think it’s also when you think about the competition, right? And not just from the products that you’re bringing into your spa, but also, you know, you’re a very you’re offering a very hands on service with incredible facials and other services, like, how did you get the word out, I guess, about about what you were doing? Was it very much word of mouth, that people told others about what you were doing? Or can you share a little bit more about that?

Danuta Mieloch 8:40
Yes, pretty much a word of mouth. Of course. I, you know, I met incredible people in press who were talking about our services receiving our services as well at that time. But yes, it’s though, every client that ever came to me usually return for a second service. That’s incredible, and that’s how we build the business. It’s not about how many followers we have on Instagram, it’s how many people are coming back for our service.

Kara Goldin 9:11
That’s incredible. And today, are you still doing facials? Yeah,

Danuta Mieloch 9:15
I’m training. You’re still training. Every single aesthetician at Rescue Spa is trained by me.

Kara Goldin 9:22
That’s incredible. When you think about European philosophies around skin care versus American philosophies, or an American audience that wasn’t yet familiar with them, and I think you’re just, you’re known for having brought a lot of that over to the US. But what was it that was so unique and so different that that the Americans weren’t seeing

Danuta Mieloch 9:50
Well, I think, you know, I think in us, the culture of using products, it’s a little bit different. But yes, though. Is existed too. And those clients that came to me, and they use the three step clinic or or anything, their skin is definitely better than not using anything. So in Europe, in Poland, especially not in Europe everywhere, I think you know, taking care of your skin is practically inherited, and because of the maybe harsher climate, because of the fact that most of us have sensitive, delicate skins. And you know, I took care of my skin since I was a child. And you know, I helped my sisters, one of them suffer from acne. So I think skin and taking care of your skin was super natural. However, in the US, taking care of your body, you know, dental, your hair is so amazing, too. And then, so I always felt like, if we come up with skin care, we on top in us, and and, and it’s and it’s here. And you know, that’s what makes me happy, because skincare is right now. It’s booming, and it will continue to boom, because no matter how many injectables and quick fixes we can you know, do, skincare is here to stay, the ritual, that daily routine. It’s like it counts. It makes the huge difference, you know? And I try to try to practice what I preach and I live it, live it.

Kara Goldin 11:30
So, yeah, definitely. So at what point did you realize there was an opportunity to create your own product line? And I’m specifically talking about Daniel, Sarah. I’d love to hear the backstory on that.

Danuta Mieloch 11:46
Yeah, so I didn’t create the line. I always dream about creating my own line, but I didn’t create the line when I wasn’t ready, until I found the right formula, right ingredients and and a setup. But as lot of companies are changing, products that I work with are changing, changing hands, being companies being sold, things change and change is good, but I wanted to keep and create a brand and line that anybody can use it at any time, that it’s not no gimmicks, it’s just strictly takes you back to the routine. So you do your five steps take five minutes every day, and I can guarantee, using my products, you’ll get amazing results. Try it 21 days. It’s amazing.

Kara Goldin 12:43
That’s incredible. So I’d love to have you take everybody through it. So you’re, you’re the first product. Can you talk about it, which was the first product that you came out with? But the, can you talk about the different steps more specifically?

Danuta Mieloch 13:00
Yeah. So my first product, it’s called Sarah balm. Sarah is complexion in Polish, so it’s a balm for complexion. And I was thinking, and I was very inspired by this product, because I wanted to create a product that you can cleanse with, you can apply as a moisturizer. It’s your like a desert island pick. So the consistency is super magical. The ingredients are really beneficial for our skin, like metal foam oil, seabactern oil, that correspond with our own sebum. So you double cleanse. That’s first step. Okay, every single evening you need to double cleanse. Think about it. Let’s we’re in New York now. You want, you need to take a shower when you come home from in New York, no matter what. Right? So that cleansing at night, if we were sunscreen, little makeup, very crucial, and it’s best to cleanse right after you come to the door, right after you arrive at home, so you don’t postpone then toning. Okay, so I am called a queen of tonic for the skin, because toner is misunderstood. But the fact that you’re playing this toner on a cotton round, and you’re tapping, you’re lifting and you’re removing the remaining of the grime, and you’re balancing the skin, balancing the pH, doing that regularly. It creates magical difference. And I’ve always used toners. I’ve used Janet Sartin before. I use neologic crushers and things like, people don’t remember, but I’ve always been in Poland, I use, like herbal toners. So toner, for me, it’s, it’s like my religion, but of course, serum and moisturizer as well, right? So then after your skin is prepped, cleansed, prepped with toner, you apply serum and the serum is loaded. Nr, and it’s usually packed with actives, like the peptides, different levels of peptides, so they can penetrate deeper into the skin. And vitamin C, these ingredients, niacinamide, which is super healing. These ingredients are so beneficial for regeneration of our skin. That’s what I’m thinking. Skin regenerates itself. We just want to help. We don’t need to change the whole story. We just need to help little by little to regenerate. And then moisturizer. Okay, so that’s something that I’m still battling in us. Lot of women don’t, or men don’t, use moisturizer. And I’m like, are you killing me? It’s so true. It’s unthinkable. Okay? It’s like bare faced going somewhere that is really unthinkable, because moisturizer is here to seal and to protect you. So, you know, we can layer where, you know, three layers of clothing, but don’t put anything on the face that makes no sense, and the face is exposed.

Kara Goldin 16:12
So in the five step process you talked about, it’s for everybody. So you are so aging skin, or somebody in their 20s, like everybody, can use the same five steps.

Danuta Mieloch 16:27
Everybody this, this should, this should be applied, actually, to early teens, like we see now on social media. You know, seven, 810, year olds already doing skincare, but if they just focus on the good cleansing will probably eliminate half of the acne problems.

Kara Goldin 16:46
That’s incredible. What year did you actually start? Daniel, Sarah, 2022 that’s incredible. You talked about serums a bit, and obviously, biologic has had a lot of serums over the years, too. For those who might not be familiar with serums, can you talk a little bit about that and the benefit of serums?

Danuta Mieloch 17:08
Yeah, so, so the serums are, this is like your treatment. This is like your product, because it’s thinner, so it penetrates a little bit deeper. You always have to think of skin. You know, not much permeates to the skin, but yet at the same time it does permeate. We can wear a patch, and things you know, permeate through the skin. So if it’s thinner, if it has a proper delivery system, like with exosomes now, or with peptides or liposomal delivery system, it goes a little bit deeper, so serum has that potent ability to penetrate a little bit deeper. But serum alone is not enough, because it will quickly evaporate, right? So that’s why you need to seal with moisturizer. That’s why, like, it’s almost like, that’s why those steps and then the eye cream. The fact the fifth step is the eye cream that you know, our area on the eyes, it’s the thinnest. It doesn’t have oil glands. That’s where the first signs of aging actually are noticeable. So I’ve been using eye cream since I’m 16, and eye cream you need to use at least twice a day. Sometimes you can carry even in your purse, and just dab it when, when the weather is cold or it’s dry inside, you just dab it extra. So you know, you always do

Kara Goldin 18:35
this. And what is the vitamin C for skin? Because often the vitamin C’s that are out there are very drying. So I think a lot of people, while they might think that vitamin C would be great, they also just don’t want to put too much on their skin, because they feel like it could be drying. What’s your thought on that?

Danuta Mieloch 18:58
So my thought of skin care in general is like nutrition for you. So Vitamin C is very crucial. C and A are building blocks of collagen. B is crucial too in form of niacinamide. So all the vitamins are really important and crucial. It’s just now how to dose the right amount right ingredients and the kind of vitamin C that doesn’t turn brown, that it’s stable so and oftentimes what happens here in us, we think, Okay, we’re gonna take the strongest retina and we’re gonna get results. No, you need a. You need vitamin A, which is the, you know, Retin A transforms into vitamin A but you need a smaller doses. It’s like you wouldn’t take the entire jar of, you know, vitamins at once. It’s it’s slow and steady wins the race, and the skin care is a long game.

Kara Goldin 19:56
So clean beauty is such. A, I think overused term and, and I think many people don’t really know what it means and, and what would you say just overall, just being in the industry for as long as you have and being such a leader, how do you think about clean beauty and what should consumers be aware of?

Danuta Mieloch 20:25
Clean beauty and sustainability for me are really important, but I understand this in the more practical way. So sustainable, it’s when I finish the entire jar and there is no leftovers so and preferably it’s a glass jar, so I don’t have a, you know, bad conscious, right? Clean is where I can eliminate unnecessary things that make things look good, like the silicones, like the unnecessary fragrances. Fragrances are so overused in skincare, and we don’t need a great scent in the cream we can apply, you know, your perfume, if you are, if you love that, but it doesn’t have to be everywhere on every inch of your skin, because it can be an irritant. And any scent in the skin, in the cream, I’m sorry, it’s already it’s fake. There is no natural scent per se, because everything has to be, you know, processed the way the perfumes are processed. So I think we need to be very mindful what we put on our skin, because the skin absorbs everything it’s meant to absorb, and sometimes it might absorb things we don’t even know how much. That’s why, you know, there is all this new regulations and sunscreens, and, you know, certain ingredients in skin care, and I need to, I think we need to be aware of it. So for me, clean beauty is that, but I also I consider my brand is more, yes, it’s clean because I wanted to eliminate on this, but it’s very potent and it’s resource driven. Because, you know, so every product that’s like that’s clean if I can use one serum and gives me results that’s sustainable, and that’s clean if I can use one cream versus hundreds of creams and being surrounded by 1000s of things, you know, so to me this, and now where I’m seeing like every minute, New Celebrity is launching skin care makeup, where it’s a waste, it’s a waste. So that’s why I want to keep my my brand very, you know, concise, and I want everyone who uses my products to finish until the last drop. Definitely.

Kara Goldin 22:57
What was the most difficult part of launching your own brand. I mean, you were thinking about it for years, and then you finally decided to go and do it. How long did it, I guess, how long did it take you to actually formulate it the way that you wanted it? And what has been difficult, because developing you’ve been in the services business using other people’s products, and now you’re got a you’re taking inventory on your own product and creating it with formulators and packaging. It’s not just about the actual product, but you’ve got to get a lot of things right and shipping it out, and dealing with consumers that are not coming into your spas in Philly or in New York City, what has been the most difficult so,

Danuta Mieloch 23:46
you know, with shipping and receiving, we’re very good, because shop rescue spy has been on the line now 15 years. So so that aspect we have, we have covered, but in terms of creating your own brand, it’s like I didn’t slap my name, and just like a genetic product, it’s down from the scratch. So the most important thing was to find a formulator and the company that can adhere to my requirements, my requests, hear what I want to have in a product, but at the same time being able to formulate. I’m not a formulator, so I am the Inspire, inspiring person what I want, and then there’s a person to vote. So I was very lucky. I met this amazing friend, formulator, and she’s a female, which is always great. She uses my products. And, you know, anytime we exchange it, she’s like, Oh, my God, I’m using this new serum that we’re creating, and I love it. And I was like, This is what I want to hear. You know, I want my formulator to love. Uh, my product, yeah. So it’s a little bit like the chef in the kitchen, does he taste and loves his food, you know? So, so that is, that’s that, that that is part of the magic. And then, of course, the design team, the graphic and packaging, and we’re doing independent studies. And, you know, so everything is tested. We even run the FDA approval. And, you know, our my products can be sold in Europe, and they are certified, they are clean, they have leaking bunny, you know, certificates. So all these things. Those are little details that are to a greatness of the product. But, yeah, but it’s still, in the end, it’s what’s in this jar. It’s my knowledge, what I dream about in the jar, in the best edition, definitely.

Kara Goldin 26:00
So the being a founder and you’re, I’ll call you a serial founder, because you’ve now launched two different companies. I’m it’s not easy right to to launch a business, and I think often the what happens behind the scenes is not necessarily what most consumers see. So I definitely under understand that being a founder myself, when you think about success, right? And that that’s something too, that I think is, I think you you’ve probably been humbled along the way, right, where you think like everything’s going great, and then something happens along the way. Can you share any stories like that, where you felt like, you know, how are we going to get out of this? And then you just did. You figured it out. Do you know? Do you have any stories that have come up along the way, I

Danuta Mieloch 27:03
probably start like the story that humbles me every day. When I see a happy client walking out, walking out of Rescue Spa, when I see clients returning and purchasing Daniel, Sarah, that’s to me, this is this is what feeds my soul. I try not to focus on difficulties, because I think we all learn through difficulties. Of course, I think the most difficult was pandemic, where I had to, you know, I tried to hold on as long as I could, but at some point I had to lay it off, lay off my, some of my employees, and obviously, with the promise, I’m going to rehire them as soon as we are able to perform services. And I think that was the most difficult time. But otherwise, you know the challenges. I think the challenges over the over the time, like you learn to deal with it in a different ways. And it’s always, it’s always a lesson. It’s like, okay, how can we do better? Because every single day, all of us and any state, even if you’re just home doing nothing, you can do a better morning for routine. For example, on the weekend, sometimes I wake I was like, Oh, how can I spend this? You know, a few hours better. I’m like, Okay, so maybe I should go to the gym. So I love, I love improvements, you know, I’m a builder, so I build homes. I had a farm like, you know, I love to experiment. I love to build, and that’s why my spaces are beautiful. And this is how I share.

Kara Goldin 28:49
I love it. Well, Daniel, Sarah is such a wonderful, wonderful line. So thank you for creating this and Rescue Spa. You now have how many locations,

Danuta Mieloch 29:01
two locations in New York and Philadelphia, each, 10,000 square feet. And yeah, we do. We are doing around like 150 facials a day. So

Kara Goldin 29:12
Wow. That is absolutely incredible.

Danuta Mieloch 29:16
So yeah, one facial at the time, and changing people’s lives, and I love it, yeah, I still love it every day.

Kara Goldin 29:27
Well, Daniel, thank you so much for sharing your journey with us, and you’re an inspiring reminder that bring with $20 initially you were able to come to the US and build this absolutely not just one company, but two companies, built on simplicity and intention and lasting impact, and you’ve changed many people’s skin and and brought mindfulness right to. Yeah to their lives as well. So you should be very proud of what you’ve done, but everybody needs to check out danuta’s work at Rescue Spa calm and also Daniel, sarah.com and don’t forget to follow and share on the Kara Goldin show this episode, because this is just another one of an inspiring founder story that we’ve had today. So Danuta, thank you so much. Danuta Milla, founder of Daniel, Sarah and Rescue Spa. Thank you again.

Danuta Mieloch 30:33
Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure to share and just following your passion and not to forget to work. You know, it takes the work and passion both definitely.

Kara Goldin 30:45
Thanks again. Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would please give us a review and feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit and of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast, just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms. At Kara Goldin, I would love to hear from you too. So feel free to DM me, and if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen or pick up a copy of my Wall Street Journal, best selling book, undaunted, where I share more about my journey, including founding and building hint we are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Thanks for listening, and goodbye for now.

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