Affair Recovery, Infidelity & Betrayal

Why Feeling Good About Yourself Matters After Betrayal

After betrayal, it can feel like every thought, every conversation, and every part of your life gets hijacked by infidelity. You are trying to understand what happened, protect yourself legally and financially, regulate your nervous system, and figure out what comes next.

But what if part of healing is also allowing yourself moments of normalcy, confidence, curiosity, and even fun?

In this episode, Lora Cheadle talks about the importance of titrating betrayal recovery so your entire life does not become consumed by pain, processing, and problem-solving. She shares why simple experiences such as listening to music, dancing, learning something new, taking care of your skin, or feeling good in your body can help interrupt obsessive loops and support nervous system regulation.

Lora is joined by Jasmin El Kordi of Bluelene Advanced Skincare for a conversation about stress, aging, confidence, skincare, and the science behind topical methylene blue. Together, they explore how stress can affect the skin, why looking in the mirror after betrayal can feel so painful, and how caring for yourself on the outside can sometimes help you reconnect with yourself on the inside.

This is not about vanity. It is about remembering that you are still alive, still worthy, still allowed to feel beautiful, and still allowed to enjoy your life while you heal.

Top 3 Takeaways

Betrayal recovery has to be titrated.
Healing matters, but not every moment of your life has to revolve around infidelity, deep processing, or hard conversations.
Feeling good about yourself supports regulation.
Confidence, beauty, laughter, music, movement, and small acts of self-care can help your nervous system exhale.
Your body knows when something feels aligned.
Whether you are making decisions about your relationship, your work, your healing, or your next chapter, your body often registers truth before your mind can explain it.

Favorite Quote

“Not all betrayal recovery has to be specifically about betrayal recovery.”

Resources & Links

Learn more about Blue Lene Advanced Skincare: bluelene.com and @getbluelene on social
Use code LORA25 for a discount on Blue Lene products.
Use code RADIO20 for 20% off as mentioned in the sponsor message.
Download the free Betrayal Recovery Guide: https://betrayalrecoveryguide.com
Book your $97 Introductory Session: https://introductorysession.com
Follow on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook @loracheadle and @getbluelene

Jasmin El Kordi of Bluelene

Jasmin El Kordi is a highly accomplished entrepreneur and senior executive with over 30 years of experience in the technology, telecommunications, and wellness industries. Prior to co-founding Bluelene, she held executive and leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies including Sprint, Cisco, and NCR, as well as serving as Vice President for the European consumer goods company Prisma Natural. After graduating Summa cum Laude from the University of Maryland, she shifted her focus to the intersection of longevity science and personal care. As CEO, Jasmin has led Mblue Labs from a university research project into an award-winning, globally recognized biotech platform.

Bluelene is a patented, biotech-driven skincare and hair growth brand built on the anti-aging powers of Methylene Blue.

The Science: Originally researched as a treatment for Progeria (a rapid-aging childhood disease) at the University of Maryland, scientist Kan Cao discovered that Methylene Blue continuously cycles to support cellular defense and energy. It continuously stimulates skin cells to produce collagen and elastin while extending the healthy lifespan of the cells themselves.

The Benefits: Unlike traditional anti-aging ingredients like retinol—which can encourage cell death—Methylene Blue actively repairs DNA damage, reduces oxidative stress, and significantly boosts skin hydration and firmness.

Product Line: Bluelene offers a wide range of products tailored to all ages, from Gen-Zers preventing damage to older demographics focusing on deep anti-aging. The line features bestsellers like their Daily Moisturizer, Eye Cream, and an elasticity cream specifically formulated to maintain skin structure.

You don’t have to stay shattered. Download your FREE Betrayal Recovery Guide and come back home to yourself with clarity, confidence, and unshakable self-trust.

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I'm Lora Cheadle

I’m Lora Cheadle, JD, CHt—a betrayal recovery expert, attorney, TEDx speaker, and author of FLAUNT! and It’s Not Burnout, It’s Betrayal. After uncovering my husband’s 15-year affair, I turned my own pain into purpose, helping high-achieving women reclaim their identity, power, and joy. As a trauma-aware coach and somatic therapist, I blend legal clarity with emotional and spiritual healing to guide women toward full-spectrum recovery.

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Get the Transcript

Speaker A [00:00:01]: You’re listening to Flaunt. Find your sparkle and create a life you love after infidelity or Betrayal. A podcast for women who’ve been betrayed by their intimate partner and want to turn their devastation into an invitation to reclaim themselves and their worth. Tune in weekly so you can start making sense of it all and learn how to be okay on the inside, no matter what goes on on the outside. Download your free Betrayal Recovery toolkit@betrayalrecoveryguide.com. Lora Cheadle [00:00:38]: What if you could reverse skin aging? Introducing Blue Lean Advanced Skincare. Powered by patented methylene blue technology developed at the University of Maryland in their cutting edge longevity science lab, Blue Lean reduces wrinkles, super hydrates and restores that firm, smooth, youthful look. One of their latest products, Fit plus Firm serum, is an advanced formula engineered to counteract visible skin deflation caused by rapid medical weight loss like GLP1s aging and even metabolic stress. This serum actually rebuilds skin density, volume and hydration. I use this skincare line myself and I absolutely love it. You can find it@bluelean.com that’s Blue Lean L E N E. Be sure to use code RADIO20 for 20% off. I have some exciting news. Lora Cheadle [00:01:38]: Many of you have my Betrayal Recovery Guide. You’ve gone to betrayal recoveryguide.com and you have downloaded it. And the other day I was like, oh no, no, no, no, no. I need to update this. There is so much more that I know now based on some of the new trainings that I’ve done, just based on continued experience with you all. And I have recreated that. So if you have the old one or if you haven’t gotten around to downloading it yet, now would be an amazing time to do that. Go to betrayal recoveryguide.com it’s free. Lora Cheadle [00:02:19]: It doesn’t cost anything. Download the new Betrayal Recovery Guide. And again, it is new and it’s got, it’s got some of the same content from before, but it’s also got some other stuff that just makes it more accessible and more doable. And then along those same lines, what I want to say is when you are doing betrayal recovery, it’s something that you do. Yes, but it’s also something that I think can be overdone. You know what I mean? Like, okay, infidelity hijacks your life. I mean, it, it just does. It hijacks your life. Lora Cheadle [00:03:04]: And it’s important to get information and it’s important to protect yourself financially and it’s important to know your legal rights and, and you know what I mean? Like, it’s all of this stuff, it’s all of these different areas that we have to figure out. But by the same token, that’s a lot. And when every single track in our brain becomes focused on the fallout of infidelity, that can be too much. That truly can be too much. And I think one of the secrets that we don’t talk about that often in betrayal recovery is the fact that we have to titrate our betrayal recovery. We truly can’t have every aspect in every facet of our life being 100% focused on infidelity or all the time. And yes, you might have kids, you might have a job, you might have aging parents, you might have animals, friends, like, all of these different things. So you do have to compartmentalize sometimes and just move forward and do things. Lora Cheadle [00:04:21]: And that balance of I can’t bypass and I can’t compartmentalize everything all the time. I. I have to do the work, but I also have to expand experience along the way. And I also get to have some fun along the way. And I also get to feel confident and joyful along the way too. And the pain of infidelity is intense. Oh, my God. I know how intense it is. Lora Cheadle [00:04:53]: And it’s okay to have some laughter along the way too. It’s okay to celebrate your child’s birthday. It’s okay to go to a wedding shower or a baby shower and feel happy for somebody else. Like, it’s okay to take a walk and to read a book and to feel good about yourself too. And I really wanted to name that in this show. Yes, you’re doing betrayal recovery, but you also have a life. So what are the things that you can do to live? You might know I recently got back from a cruise with Sean and It was an 80s cruise, so it was all 80s music. And it’s dancing and it’s having fun and it’s joy filled. Lora Cheadle [00:05:49]: And it just really brought back the power of listening to a song that makes you happy or hopping on YouTube and watching a music video or watching something that interests you. Like during the cruise, you know how they have all these activities. Sometimes I would go to music sessions about composition and why these writers wrote the song the way they did. It’s not something that I knew anything about, but it was fun and. And it was outside of my box, which then got me outside of myself. And I was like, oh, I’m learning new things. I mean, we did the song breakdown of Is it Bonnie Raitt’s? Not Bonnie Raitt. Not Bonnie Raitt. Lora Cheadle [00:06:33]: Bonnie Tyler Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart. Like, I did a whole hour session breaking down that music video and that song. It. Does it, like, benefit me in my life? No, but it was fun and it was entertaining. And what it did, if you look at it from a neuroscience perspective, is it broke me out of the loop. And that’s what I want to share with you today, is I’m going to give you some more information. I’ve got a really fun guest coming on, and we’re going to talk about some different science in terms of the skin care products. But do it because it’s interesting. Lora Cheadle [00:07:11]: Listen to it because it’s fun. Because not every moment of your day has to be all about betrayal recovery. You get to learn new things, too. You get to have fun. Sometimes in my sessions with people, yes, I do work one on one with people. Sometimes people don’t know that. And I’m like, really? You’ve been listening to my podcast and you don’t know that? Yeah, I totally work one on one with people. It’s my favorite. Lora Cheadle [00:07:39]: Sometimes in a session, people will come up to me and they’ll say. Because I often will ask them, what is. What do you want to work on today? What are you struggling with? How can I help? What do you want? And sometimes people will say, I just want to talk. I want to talk about other things. I’ve had all these other thoughts coming up. It’s, you know, maybe sharing a memory from childhood that I had this experience and it made me feel this way and go, gosh, now I’m really looking into this. That or the other thing. I read this book and I want to talk about it. Lora Cheadle [00:08:12]: Great, let’s talk about it. And then oftentimes at the end of those sessions, people will say, okay, we didn’t talk about betrayal recovery specifically, but I feel like I had the biggest shift. I had the biggest mindset shift because I wasn’t trying to have a big mindset shift. I had this big aha moment. Because I wasn’t trying to have a big aha moment. I was talking about something that was kind of tangential. So my mind went somewhere else, and it allowed this other part of me to connect dots and make a huge leap forward. And it’s my guess that you’ve probably had experiences like that too, where you’re fighting and you’re struggling and you’re working, and then the minute you go, I give you, I surrender. Lora Cheadle [00:09:04]: I’m done with this. Everything clicks into place and it’s like, oh, everything clicked into place. This is amazing. So that’s what I want to bring to you. The idea that not all betrayal recovery has to be specifically about betrayal recovery. And not everything that you’re doing in your life has to be this pre planned next step forward. Right now, I want to set you free to listen to songs. I want to set you free to dance. Lora Cheadle [00:09:37]: I want to set you free to go get those little facial sheet masks and paint your toenails while you’re eating popcorn and watching a movie. Like, not everything has to be so serious. And whether you’re with your partner or not, how can you give yourself time and space to have a little fun? And I recognize it might not be fun. Early on, when Shawn and I were living apart, we would get together and we would have talk time and then sometimes it would be like, let’s just get together and have dinner and not talk about it. And it was hard and it was awkward, but it’s also letting your nervous system relax. Because I think one of the number one problems I help people with is how do you get re regulated? How do you come down off of this enormous stress and re regulate? And even if it’s not perfect reregulation or if it’s not a ton of fun, maybe you can have a walk, maybe you can hop on a bike and you and your partner can go on a bike ride, or you can just go by yourself or walk the dog. But the moments of not working truly can give you so much benefit. So that’s my first challenge to you before we get into this show and is where can you find a moment of I’m not leaning into betrayal recovery or I’m not leaning into a deep conversation. Lora Cheadle [00:11:23]: I’m not getting every question asked answered right now. Where can you just move into some moments of normalcy in service of regulation exhaling and giving yourself a moment of fun or feeling good or of just release. And then the second reminder is go check out my betrayal recovery guide. It’s new, it’s updated, it’s a ton of fun. Betrayalrecoveryguide.com and with that, on with the show. One of the hardest parts about infidelity, besides everything, I think is the fact that you feel so physically ugly afterwards. Like the grief makes your face hang, your eyes lack the sparkle. And so many people that I have worked with end up losing weight. Lora Cheadle [00:12:25]: And I mean not losing weight the healthy way, losing weight because they’re too nauseous and they can’t eat and they can’t sleep and I just feel like crying Right now thinking about it. But, but I remember just looking in the mirror and looking so haggard and I think, where are these jowls coming from? And what’s this going on under my eyes? And it made me feel so much worse about myself. And the thing is like, yes, we can all say looks don’t matter and don’t judge a book by its cover, but there’s also so much truth to when we look in the mirror and we go, oh God, it takes us down. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today. We’re really going to talk about the power of looking good and feeling good. And my guest is amazing. Her name is Yasmine El Cordy. And we’re going to talk about this blue Lean product. Lora Cheadle [00:13:26]: And no, this is not like an hour long sales conversation. It’s not, but it’s about this. Well, I’ll let her explain it. But it’s this product. It, like I was saying my jowls, I started using it and it just made my face lift up and it was tighter. And then I started feeling better. And this is not just a beauty product. It’s using methylene blue to help you reverse age. Lora Cheadle [00:13:53]: So we’re going to have a whole conversation today about aging, about looking good and feeling good and, and about the science behind this. And before you think, well, this isn’t what I need, I’m going to click it off. What I want you to say is sometimes moving your mind also into a different direction. That is not just what can I do to heal from betrayal, but like, oh, let’s look about science. Let’s look into this. It expands you and it breaks you out of those loops. So if you’re also feeling like I’m in this loop, I’m in this obsessive thought loop, listen to this show. Let your mind go deep, educate yourself and it’s going to help. Lora Cheadle [00:14:39]: So with that, welcome to the show. I’m really happy to have this conversation with you. Jasmin El Kordi [00:14:46]: Thank you. I’m looking forward to it as well. And you know, Lora, when you opened your segment, I got a little emotional too. It just, it’s so very true. And there are many stressors that really affect our appearance. You mentioned one and there are many others. Others, many, many types of loss or just simply stress from work, from responsibilities, with elder care, child care, what have you. And you know, it’s really very real. Jasmin El Kordi [00:15:13]: It’s not just that we’re looking in the mirror imagining that we’re not looking good. Our skin is the largest organ of the body. And we don’t often think about. We just think, oh, it’s this thing that holds our body together. It’s actually the largest organ and it’s very much connected to the rest of the body. So. So, you know, if we don’t eat well, if we don’t sleep well, all of that reflects in our skin and particularly under stress. So if I can give you a little science behind that. Jasmin El Kordi [00:15:45]: Inside our skin are the skin cells. They’re called fibroblasts that make collagen and elastin in their tissues, that make everything plump up and sit up nice and firm and glowy. You know, you look at a 20 year old skin and it’s like just this dewy, beautiful solid structure as we age, and it starts at 25, which Lora Cheadle [00:16:08]: is really bummer, isn’t that crazy? Jasmin El Kordi [00:16:11]: We begin to make a less collagen, less elastin, just naturally. And it’s gradual over time. You know, by the time we’re 40, we can kind of see those little lines and a bit of laxity in the skin. What happens is of course, partially it’s, it’s aging, but most of it is environmental and behavioral. It’s the stress that our skin is under. So each of those fibroblast cells inside of it has the mitochondria, and you’ve heard that term, I’m sure, But not everyone kind of knows what it does. It’s the energy center. And all of the cells in our body, every single cell has mitochondria. Jasmin El Kordi [00:16:50]: They’re the energy producers and generators. Think of them as like your little powerhouse in every single cell. And when they’re healthy and they’re functioning well, well, everything’s good, right? All engines are working just perfectly. And when you go to make new cells, which in our body we’re constantly changing over, while we’re sitting here talking, I don’t know how many hundreds of thousands of cells between the two of us are being renewed just as we speak. It’s a constant process of turnover. And for the skin in particular, that happens about every 28 days. It’s kind of funny. It’s like a moon cycle. Jasmin El Kordi [00:17:28]: I don’t know why that is. It just happens to be the cycle of a skin cell. So every 28 days your body naturally turns over senescence, meaning sets them aside, done, your fibroblasts and new ones are created and they take the place. And depending on how that older fibroblast that leaves you was condition wise, that’s how the new ones are going to be as well. So a really healthy, super strong fibroblast will make super strong, healthy replica and all is good. You’ll make lots of collagen and elastin and your skin is healthy and glowy. Now, what happens when we’re under stress is that our body naturally sets off what we all refer to as free radicals or reactive oxygen species. And it’s a normal process in the body. Jasmin El Kordi [00:18:20]: And we normally have our own antioxidants that take care of them. So it’s all very normal. But when we understand stress, we overproduce those free radicals and our body can’t rid itself of all of them. And so they begin to do damage to our cells. Let’s talk about skin to the fibroblast. They begin to compromise the energy of the mitochondria. They might even affect, in the whole health structure, our DNA expression, which is inside the nucleus of the cell. Before we know it, we could have a fairly unhealthy cell cell that then makes a weaker replica. Jasmin El Kordi [00:18:57]: That weaker replica makes less collagen and elastin. And so when you’re looking at the mirror and you’re seeing those hollows, you’ve lost, at least temporarily, some of that structural support that made everything sit up nicely. And the elastin, that helps really harness the moisture and plump things up. When you’re younger, you’ll get it back. You’re very resilient when you’re younger and everything reproduces and you’re going to have this beautiful glow again. But as you’re getting around near 50, those things don’t all come back. And especially when we lose along the way the subcutaneous fat, this little, you know, fatty underside of the skin, if you want to think about it that way, that doesn’t come back. And so we tend to stay looking hollow or thinner, more circles, more jowls, looser skin as we age. Jasmin El Kordi [00:19:54]: So you did not imagine looking in the mirror after what happened to you and just imagine seeing someone that didn’t look the way you did before. It really did happen and luckily it has reversed, you know, for you. And that’s, that’s wonderful. But while we’re in those situations, there are things we can do to make ourselves look healthier in the skin. And that is then back. We’ll talk in a minute about how methylene blue, this very cool ingredient, actually helps to do that. Lora Cheadle [00:20:29]: Yeah, absolutely. And what I want to point out too, because you pointed out, the skin is the largest organ. The cells are in every organ of our body. This is not just our skin. This is happening in your lungs, in your liver, in your pancreas. Like, it’s happening everywhere. And I do so much somatic work and somatic processing. But when you are nauseous after finding out, yes, you’re nauseous, and, yes, all of those cells and the linings of in your intestine are being compromised, and suddenly you don’t have good bacteria in your gut. Lora Cheadle [00:21:03]: I mean, and then when people say, I feel like my heart is breaking. Yes, it is. And the cells in your heart are changing, too. It’s just that we can see the skin because it’s on the outside, and the skin is a good indicator of what’s going on in inside. So it’s not just, oh, I want to be pretty. It’s, I want to be freaking healthy, and I want to get this pain out of my body, and I want to get this trauma out of my body, and I want to continue to be as healthy as I can for as long as I can. And, yeah, I’m going to look in the mirror and like it. Jasmin El Kordi [00:21:37]: Yes. And especially when you’re going through the types of transitions you talked about. I mean, feeling good about yourself is so important. Right. It’s just even more important during times like that. So if you can bring a healthy glow to the face. You know, sometimes when you don’t feel good, you look in the mirror and you’re like, oh, I look pretty good today. And it kind of makes you feel like, oh, okay, I can do this. Lora Cheadle [00:22:00]: Yeah, it does. Or if you do your hair and your makeup and you put on some nice clothes. You know, the last time Yasmeen and I talked, we were talking about the difference between walking through an airport in tennis shoes and sweats and heels and cute jeans. I mean, sure, maybe tennis shoes and sweats is more functional, but you carry yourself differently when you’re in heels. And again, it’s not that I want to attract everybody’s attention, but people look at you differently, so then you feel differently, and it creates an upward cycle instead of a downward cycle. Jasmin El Kordi [00:22:35]: It sure does. And that was. I shared that funny story because it was. It was kind of an aha moment for me. I didn’t realize, you know, I had had some hip issues and I got a hip replacement eventually. But during that time, I wasn’t wearing a heel in the airport. I just was in comfortable shoes, which meant then the rest of my wardrobe had to adjust to. It just wasn’ a business attire. Jasmin El Kordi [00:22:56]: It was more casual. And I think I kind of just kind of had my head down too, when I was walking through instead of my normal, you know, smiling and being there. And I noticed I wasn’t getting a lot of interaction, you know, from people as I used to. And I thought, oh, I must be getting old. It must just be that I’m like, this is it. I’ve lost it. Right. And that one day I thought, I’m going to do an experiment. Jasmin El Kordi [00:23:22]: I put my heels back. Always after the hip surgery was great. Put my heels back on, dressed up nice, nicely. So I felt really confident. You know, my hair was done, my lipstick was on, and I was just out there smiling at, you know, the TSA agents and everyone. And, oh, my God, I got so much amazing feed. People were talking to me like, how are you? Oh, my gosh, oh, you’re so cute. Or, you know, some little fun little comment. Jasmin El Kordi [00:23:46]: And they were there present. And I thought, oh, was that my outfit? And I wear that one all the time when I travel, because that remind that this was my. That’s my travel outfit. Speaker A [00:23:56]: And. Jasmin El Kordi [00:23:57]: But it wasn’t. It wasn’t really so much the outfit, it was me. I felt really good about myself, and I felt confident and smiley. And it just comes right back to you, right? What you put out, you get back. Yeah. But it was because I put those clothes on and I fixed my hair and I felt good about myself that I was able to bring that energy up and forth. Lora Cheadle [00:24:18]: Exactly. And, you know, you’re right. You can do it no matter how you look, no matter what you’re wearing. But it is that reminder of, oh, wait. And that’s why all my work is built around the concept of flaunt. We either crumple and we collapse and we fold in and we shut down, or we rise, we bloom, we blossom, we flaunt, and we’re present with ourselves. So, yeah, it’s all about which energy do you want to embody and what are the tips and tricks that you can do to help yourself get there? Jasmin El Kordi [00:24:50]: Yeah, absolutely. Lora Cheadle [00:24:52]: Yeah. Jasmin El Kordi [00:24:52]: So we’re not getting old or haggard. It’s just the energy we’re putting out there. Yeah, that’s what we can control you the other pieces. Yeah, we do our best and it’s all good, but we can absolutely control how we bring that energy out. Lora Cheadle [00:25:06]: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So let’s talk a little bit more about methyl and blue, because when I first met you and started learning about this, I was like, huh, wow, this is fascinating. And I. I’ve gone down the methyl and blue rabbit hole. So Let, let’s talk. Jasmin El Kordi [00:25:22]: Yes, absolutely. So I’ll tell you a little about methyl and blue and then I’ll start our brand story there. Lora Cheadle [00:25:28]: Yeah. Jasmin El Kordi [00:25:28]: Methylene blue was discovered in 1872, long time ago, and it was one of the very first man made medicines. It was created to be a medication against malaria, which was rampant back in those days. And so it did its job well there for a while. Then someone discovered that it also is very stainingly blue. It’s very blue. And so it became a dye in, in the clothing industry for a little while, but then it reverted back into medical uses. And so it’s been widely used for blood disease disorders, for nerve studies, as an injectable, any number of medical applications where we either need to trace nerves or you need to oxygenate your cells, because that’s one of the amazing things it does. And so it’s had this long history of being an FDA Approved on the WHO’s most important medication list. Jasmin El Kordi [00:26:22]: And it was used very nicely that way, but it was never studied as a topical application on skin. And the way that came about is my business partner and the scientist who discovered it, her name is Dr. Cancell, she was doing research on a childhood aging disease. It’s called progeria. And if you’ve seen the movie Benjamin Button, you would be familiar with this. It’s a very terrible disease because kids are born with it, they age rapidly, they die in their mid teens, and they really die of old age. I mean, they never really get very tall. They always look like tiny old people. Jasmin El Kordi [00:27:00]: Their DNA is obviously broken, and so all of their aging markers are not behaving normally and they die of strokes and heart attacks, all of the old age related illnesses. Dr. Sao had been studying this disease since her days at NIH in a human genome project. And then she became a professor of cellular molecular biology at the University of Maryland and she continued her work with this disease. She made a remarkable discovery when she treated the skin cells of the children with methylene blue. And the reason she did that was it’s the easiest organ from which you can harvest a biopsy for a child. So she was working with skin, skin samples of the children. And of course, when you do clinical research, you always have control groups so you can measure what’s happening with those cells you treat. Jasmin El Kordi [00:27:52]: So the control groups were cells from adults, healthy adults, but of various age groups, 30 to 80. And lo and behold, those cells recovered incredibly well during her study as well. The reason she picked methylene blue in the first place, she wanted a medicine that was already approved. So we would have a faster path to finding a treatment for this rapid disease. Methylene blue is known to be an oxygenator of the human cell. It’s is also able to bring the mitochondria into balance. And so kind of going back a step in biology, our body is basically composed of two types of tissue. Either a fat lipid or watery hydrophilic. Jasmin El Kordi [00:28:40]: Those are the two environments, either liquid or solid fat. And so the skin cell is surrounded by a layer, a membrane of fat. So methylon blue has to go to into the cell through the fat layer. Now most ingredients can either go through fat or through water environments, but not both. So methylene blue goes through, then it’s inside the cell, which is an aqueous environment. As you know, you can see when you’re looking microscope, things are floating inside the cell. It is then able to shape shift itself into functioning in a watery environment. And then it goes over to the mitochondria, which are also surrounded by a lipid membrane. Jasmin El Kordi [00:29:20]: It goes again through the fat layer inside the mitochondria. Inside the mitochondria, it is able to fix that energy production by either giving electrons to the mitochondria if needed, or taking them away. Either way, it balances the energy level to the correct level for the mitochondria and then it can leave the mitochondria, it can cruise over to the nucleus, which is same thing through the fat inside, and it’s able to impact the DNA expression of the cell. So when Dr. Sal found all of this, it was incredible. In fact, she didn’t believe it. She had her team repeat the experiment three times and three times the same amazing result. Methylene blue made that cell healthy and it was able to adjust the DNA expression of the cell. Jasmin El Kordi [00:30:12]: So that was incredible. That discovery went over to a pharmaceutical company to work firstly with the progeria kids. And they’ve done some remarkable work. And many of the kids live into their 20s now. She recently has been part of a big CRISPR project, gene editing, and that’s going really well. And that will probably be the end treatment very early on for babies with progeria. So lots of good work happening in that direction. But because she had worked with skin cells, and the adult skin cells got super healthy too, the university and Dr. Jasmin El Kordi [00:30:51]: Saada said this is a pretty cool discovery that we could commercialize. And so they filed a patent on this technology. And then the question was now how does this go to market? Luckily they have an office of technology commercialization. Many universities do and in there are folks who are tasked with sourcing CEOs that can come in and build a startup with a scientist and actually create something that can go to market. So that’s what happened it they found me through my nonprofit board members network. It was very, very serendipitous. Also I happened to be an alumna of the University of Maryland. And so it was like a double, like, oh, this is so cool. Jasmin El Kordi [00:31:38]: I get to go back to my alma mater and I get to build something from the ground up, which I always had wanted to do and just had not done because I was a single parent and had to raise two kids and, and pay for their education and all of that. And so it was the time in my life where I was like, this is it. I can finally, I can finally do this startup work that I’ve always wanted to do and with such a cool technology on top of it. So that’s how we, we started the company back in 2018 to really take this incredible discovery to market. And Dr. Had already built one little MVP, a market viable product, a little cream that was a day and night cream. And so we, you know, built a business plan, raised some money from the state of Maryland for seed funding to enough to have a first production run to do branding, packaging and create this first, first product with methylene blue. It was a day and night cream, just a single skew. Jasmin El Kordi [00:32:41]: And we took it to market in early 2019. So that’s how methyl and blue kind of came to market through us. And her research was published in Nature Scientific Reports. Back in late 2017, a phone started ringing in her office at the university with people reading about this thing. Well, this is so cool. This is like the new panacea, you know, for skin. So it’s aware as a product and at the time there wasn’t one. But of course we’ve been here now for seven plus years with what is now 11 different SKUs. Jasmin El Kordi [00:33:16]: We’ve broadened that initial assortment and have been able to bring, you know, when people say why do you want to do this? It’s like we bring so much joy and confidence to our customers and they send us beautiful notes all the time. Lora Cheadle [00:33:31]: Yeah. Jasmin El Kordi [00:33:31]: And it is that, wow, you know, I, I glow, like, I feel good, my skin looks better, it’s healthier and it just makes everyone feel good. And as we get older it gives us more confidence, you know, to, to still feel youthful and, and you know, lovely when we look in the mirror. Lora Cheadle [00:33:49]: Yeah, exactly. And that’s why I so wanted to Do a show with you because first of all, it’s fascinating. It’s really interesting to see how things come to be. And second of all, when we first met, I was like, I want to try some of these products because I’ve had a lot of people try, you know, say, try these and things are nice. And things are nice. But I really noticed a difference. Specifically there was like this little pouch under my chin that was kind of hanging. It’s not hanging anymore. Lora Cheadle [00:34:20]: And same thing. Just like, with that glow, I’m like, I just feel glowier and I just feel better. And I also really love just the focus on confidence. I just want to feel confident. And then I also love the focus on health. This is not about faking it. It’s not about covering up. And you know, I’m all about revealing. Lora Cheadle [00:34:42]: It’s about creating health within. So it gets mirrored without and then creating it without. So it gets mirrored within. Jasmin El Kordi [00:34:51]: Yes, absolutely. And you know, we talked earlier on about your just your balance, feeling your mental, well, wellness or just a feeling about the day. I mean, it, it continues to impact your skin with everything you do. Along with nutrition, that’s super important. Lots of water and good nutrition. Sleep, Sleep is super, super critical. And the stressors and among the stressors that are the biggest offenders for the skin is unfortunately, the sun. 80% of the aging of our skin, we call it photo aging damage, comes from too much sun exposure, which is sad because we all love the sun, right? But we can, we can wear good sunscreen to, to help and avoid that. Jasmin El Kordi [00:35:35]: So it’s all those stressors that cause the aging, but a lot of them are environmental and we have control over them. So that’s good news, right? Lora Cheadle [00:35:44]: Yes, it’s very good news. And so much of the things that you mentioned are just good self care, water, nutrition, sleep. And I know when you go through an infidelity journey or any kind of stressor, what goes, I can’t sleep, I can’t shut my mind off, I can’t eat, I’m nauseous, I don’t feel like it anymore. And I think sometimes just whatever focus it is that can get you moving back in the right direction, take that focus, you know what I mean? Whether it’s like, I’m going to be dedicated to my face and now I start eating better. Whether it’s, I’m going to be dedicated to whatever, like use that catalyst. Find a catalyst. It doesn’t matter what it was or what it is, but just find something and start moving those pieces in. Eat 1% better today than yesterday. Lora Cheadle [00:36:35]: Drink one more glass of water than you did yesterday. Stay in bed for 15 more minutes, do some breathing, and just try to relax. It’s just getting you moving the right way. Jasmin El Kordi [00:36:48]: Yes. I think it’s baby steps, right? It’s like this with everything in life. When we built the company, it was like, okay, well, how do we do this? This is a consumer direct business. I’d been in business to business, high tech sales and leadership from my whole career. Totally different market, different go to market model. And we’re like, oh, okay, let’s figure this out. And it truly was, why? Baby step, One step in front of the other, testing things out, figuring it out, oh, this works. That doesn’t work. Jasmin El Kordi [00:37:18]: Okay, let’s try this approach. And, you know, it was quite the journey to, to take the brand to where we are today, but it’s also been like, such an amazingly, like, personally enriching experience. So I share that with you. If anyone out there is thinking about pivots, you know, in life, I mean, some of them are relationships, some of them are career. And it’s always scary, right, when you pivot or you make this big, big change in life. For me, it was such a great. It was, it was so, so, so important. I don’t think I would be as healthy as I am today if I hadn’t left my last corporate job, which was. Jasmin El Kordi [00:37:58]: It was. The stress was so bad. It was really. I mean, we always say stress is killing you, but I could feel I was just getting really, really thin on what I could even deal with any longer. And if I had stayed in that world, I’m sure I would have gotten very sick. There’s no doubt in my mind. And so sometimes we’re forced to make a pivot, and that’s also tough, right, because you don’t have the time to prepare and build a plan to pivot on your own. And, you know, it’s. Jasmin El Kordi [00:38:29]: The pivots are never easy. I. I don’t know anybody I’ve talked to who said, oh, yeah, I made this pivot. It’s so easy. Just, you know, took on something new. A new relationship, a new job, a new place to live. But it’s baby steps, you know, that you take and you just stay focused on, on what’s important to you. Your values, the people, the family. Jasmin El Kordi [00:38:52]: That is your foundation. And yeah, then before you know it, you’re running. It’s not just a step forward. You’re like, right off running again. Lora Cheadle [00:39:00]: Yeah, yeah. And. And that was the other Thing that I really loved about your story was how this started off in research in a different area and how it has become this. Because one of the things I preach so often is infidelity is a catalyst. It’s not just this random, horrible thing that happened. And then you go back to living your same old life the same old way you did it before. It’s such an opportunity, and we never know where those opportunities will come from or what it might bring. And just being present enough to be present, to be curious. Lora Cheadle [00:39:38]: You’re absolutely right. Pivots are hard. I never set out to become an infidelity and betrayal recovery expert. That was never my plan. I was a corporate attorney, you know, and then I moved into the burnout and the corporate training, and that made sense. It wasn’t until I went through this, and even then, I never thought I wanted to touch this, but opened up and it became who I am, and it helps me share my gifts. And that’s my big challenge to you also in what else is this? Infidelity, birthing, you know, what curiosities do you have out there? Who have you met because of this? That might be their. As an angel for you, you know what I mean, to lead you into that next best thing that you never even saw coming. Jasmin El Kordi [00:40:37]: Yeah. And, you know, when you. I remember when I first met Dr. Saul and, you know, we had kind of a get to know each other meeting to see if, you know, we liked each other, could we work together. You know, the university was there. They were chaperoning everything. And I remember going home going, oh, my gosh, this is exactly where I need to be. And this technology is so innovative. Jasmin El Kordi [00:41:03]: It’s nothing like it on the market. It’s a really crowded field. There are 3,000 skincare brands out there. I mean, to come in and take a nibble of that market, you need a lot of resources financially, people wise. Right. But I just remember I, like, laid down at home. I was like, oh, my God, I just discovered feel so right. And I could literally feel, like this energy rippling through my body. Jasmin El Kordi [00:41:29]: You know, like, it’s almost like your cells all line up and go, yeah, this feels good. And I was like, oh, my God, this is it. And this is how I knew that. Yes, this was, you know, for me, the next part of the journey. And this was a technology that would do well even in a crazy competitive market. So I think, you know, for me, I would say be open to feeling the shifts in energy as you’re going through life and going through transitions we know we’re pretty smart, our own beings, when the head doesn’t get in the way, and our body too. We know when it feels good and we know when it doesn’t. You know, we, we all are pretty tuned into that. Jasmin El Kordi [00:42:13]: Oh, God, I gotta run. You know, fight or flight. But we’re not attuned into that. Well, coming in, the energy that affirms there is something new. So I would say just be really open to that. And, and when it happens, it’s, it’s, it’s subtle. It’s not like somebody bangs you. It’s subtle, but you can feel it. Jasmin El Kordi [00:42:33]: Like, really tune in and stop and just be with it. And whether, you know, you think it’s your guardian angels or it’s, it’s, you know, a relative guiding you, or it’s heaven, you know, whatever you call that for yourself, it’s there. I can 100% feel it. Lora Cheadle [00:42:51]: Yes. And I love that you mentioned that, because it is there. And we know. And you’re right, like, especially, I think, with the decision, do I stay or do I go? You know, and then every other decision after that, people will ask me sometimes, what should I do? And it’s like, I don’t know what feels right, not what thinks right, not what you think. You will be judged less for what does your body say? And I love how you describe those ripples of energy because for me, that is how it feels. My. Everything just aligns and it’s like an exhale. And then I realize, okay, there might be some mental discomfort, but I’m doing the right things for the right reasons, and that feels good. Lora Cheadle [00:43:33]: Yeah. Now, one other thing that I want to mention because I really feel this is important. This is the topical application of methylene blue. And I, I am not a scientist, I am not a doctor, but I do know there are some, like, methyl and blue products that you can take that you can ingest. And I do know there’s a lot of interactions with that too. So I just want to be clear. Like, anything that you ingest, anything that you take in, clear it with a doctor who knows what you’re taking because you don’t want to have any bad side effects. What we’re talking about is the topical applic application through serums, through creams, through all of that stuff. Jasmin El Kordi [00:44:17]: Yes. I’m glad you made that point. And you know, our products are classic, you know, beauty, beauty products and not pills you take. Just so your audience knows methylene blue, when Dr. Sao studied it, she developed in her study and research the exact optimal range of methylene blue topically on skin. And that is what we patented. And for a long time we held it as a big trade secret when people would ask, well, how much is in there? And if I take a supplement, don’t, doesn’t it come to my skin? We held it very close. And then we had a couple of companies just going out and making their own methyl and against infringing on our patent, making their own formulations with relatively high concentrations. Jasmin El Kordi [00:45:02]: And you can tell when the skin, when the cream looks slightly blue, it is way too much. And so we decided we’re going to need to reveal this because we don’t want people to have the side effects. I mean, this is a medicine. So like anything, you can take too much vitamin C and it’s not going to be good for you. Right? There is an optimal range. And so, yes, I would say never make your own methyl and blue creams at home. You will use way too much. It is really, I’ll tell you, it’s a half a micromolar. Jasmin El Kordi [00:45:34]: But if you can figure out how to put a micromolar concentration level in here, go for it, Go for it. Actually not that simple. And the same is true when you, you take methylene blue internally. There are no studies that tell us the right amount by body weight. We do know from Dr. Sao’s work that methylene blue is highly bioavailable, meaning when you take it, it will go to all the cells in your body. And that’s from her Progeria research. We also know that it flushes out through your body relatively quickly within about, you know, 48 hours is completely out of your body, 70% of it within 24 hours. Jasmin El Kordi [00:46:13]: Just like a vitamin C, also very available, but it flushes very quickly. And so, you know, we know a lot of things about it. It’s been studied also for Alzheimer’s treatments and it will continue to be studied as a memory enhancing treatment. That’s where the supplement manufacturers have taken their knowledge. It’s just reading those studies and coming up with what they would recommend in terms of milligrams per day per body weight. Those are all kind of guesswork, to be honest with you. So you just need to talk to your doctor, to your point, Lora, and make sure whatever you take is, is appropriate for your body weight. Methylene blue is a very wonderful ingredient and it can do a lot of good things. Jasmin El Kordi [00:46:57]: We actually had a safety assessment, toxicology study. So that’s what you do when you have any medicine. You go to a third party and they tell you the range of it that is safe and what would happen in other ranges and how much they actually quantify it. And so we had that done. And so from that work we know that our creams are 167 times below where you might even begin to worry about any side effects. So for the creams, they’re 100% safe. And what’s great is all of our formulations are made for very sensitive, up to critical skin. And we, we really don’t have people ever having issues with it. Jasmin El Kordi [00:47:40]: Our clinical studies, third parties show a hundred percent no sensitivity experience. And so we know all that about the skin application because we’ve studied it. Just be careful with the taking it orally. I myself do take it from time to time. Like when I feel I’ve been exposed to a lot of viruses, like on a flight, you know, I’ll take it for a couple of days and I take kind of a milligram dose that I think is right for my body weight. Again, you know, there’s, there’s really no science that confirms the exact number there. Lora Cheadle [00:48:14]: Right. Jasmin El Kordi [00:48:14]: But it has, it is taken by a lot of people as an antiviral, antibacterial and also as a memory enhancer, as a nootropic. And it does, because of its oxygenation in the cell capability, it does really do a nice enhancement for the brain while you’re taking it. Lora Cheadle [00:48:32]: Right, right. So again like that check, check it out if you’re already taking an antidepressant because things are really, really tough right Jasmin El Kordi [00:48:40]: now, you know, some that have contrainded contraindications with methyl and blue. So if you’re taking that, that is the one thing that we do know it will interact potentially with. And again, in high levels, we’re not talking. But yes, I would say check with your doctor is the safest thing to do. Lora Cheadle [00:49:02]: Yeah, absolutely, always check. But if you are, if you are feeling icky, if you’re feeling like my face has fallen and you’re curious about it, we also have a discount code too, so you can try some of the products out. And you know, for me it’s kind of funny, but when I’m stressed, I buy skincare products. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel good. I buy fun hair things, I buy little red lights, I buy like, that’s just my little happy place. So if this is one of your happy places, I truly recommend you try it and just see what it does. Because I noticed a visible difference for me and the code and yasmeen, can finish all this stuff, but the code is Lora25. Lora Cheadle [00:49:48]: And that’s L O R A25. And no, I don’t get a kickback on anything. It’s just to give you a sample to try it, because I’d like you to feel good about yourself. Because I know how awful I felt about myself and how that spiraled me down. So before I tell her or let her tell you where to find everything, I just want to name that again. Feeling good helps. When you feel good, you feel more confident. When you feel more confident, you smile more, you look people in the eyes, you connect. Lora Cheadle [00:50:23]: Better things happen when you start researching other things, like, ooh, methyl and blue. What is that? It takes your mind off of what’s going on and it reminds you that I’m alive, I’m a person. There’s other things that are going on and I can have some fun. So wherever you’re at, whether this is new and you just found out or it’s been years and you still feel strung out, how can you feel better about yourself? How can you feel confident? How can you create an experience where you look in the mirror and you’re like, hey, hi there, I am. So if you’d like to finish up by just telling us about your website, what some of your products are. There’s like that face, neck remodel. I love that one. Jasmin El Kordi [00:51:14]: This one? Yes. I’d love to. Yeah. That one was specifically developed for the neck and the sort of jolly area. And it has all kinds of the most advanced ingredients, our own methyl and blue peptides, growth factors, which are big now in beauty as well. So this will be wonderful for that application. And we’ve got lots more. We have night creams, day creams, a fabulous hand cream with pigmentation corrector. Jasmin El Kordi [00:51:39]: So you get rid of some of the spots on our hands. Our sunscreen is super important. It’s our daily moisturizer plus a sunscreen, all formulated to just have a simple application in the morning and you are done. That was developed under a grant by the National Science foundation because they wanted a new ingredient that is coral reef safe. And it is. We built our own coral reef and studied it at the university. So, and the line goes on eye creams, serums. There’s one in there for those of you who are perhaps thinking about taking GLP1 products or already are. Jasmin El Kordi [00:52:15]: Those products, the GLP1 actually sets off metabolic stress in your skin to a very high degree, just like what we talked about earlier. And while that happens, people often look and get this thing called Ozempic face. The hollow look, the hydrated look. That’s because your skin cells are under metabolic stress. And so we developed a product, it’s called Fit plus Firm Syrup just for that community. So you have something as you’re going through that body changing, super important treatment that also keeps your skin vibrant and you don’t lose that skin texture and structure and deflation, which is what happens. So it keeps everything whole. So all of those are on our website, which is blue lean.com so blue like the color L E N E blueline.com follow us on social and there’s a lot of fun stuff, especially on our Instagram. Jasmin El Kordi [00:53:08]: It’s at get the word G E T Get Blue Lean. So I look forward to, to hearing from anyone who has questions. We have of course our contact information reach out to us. We have an 800 number with a real Blue Lean person to talk to. And we also have a 30 day of money back guarantees. So for whatever reason you’re not totally happy, you can can get refunded. Of course. We feel so strongly that you will be happy that we always want to offer that as well. Lora Cheadle [00:53:38]: Yeah. Jasmin El Kordi [00:53:38]: So I want to thank you, Lora. Thank you so much for having me. It’s, it’s been absolutely delightful and I’m really glad that we could bring a little bit of Blue Lean into everybody’s day. Lora Cheadle [00:53:48]: Exactly. No, thank you. And, and thank you just for sharing that and, and listeners, I hope you found that just fun and informative because when we met I was like, like this is just a cool story and there’s so many elements that I want to share. So definitely check it out. Discount code LAURA25. Have an amazing, amazing week. And as usual, always remember to flaunt exactly who you are. And because who you are is always more than enough, what if you could reverse skin aging? Introducing Blue Blue Lean Advanced skin care. Lora Cheadle [00:54:25]: Powered by patented methylene blue technology developed at the University of Maryland in their cutting edge longevity science lab, Blue Lean reduces wrinkles, super hydrates and restores that firm, smooth, youthful look. One of their latest products, Fit plus Firm Serum, is an advanced formula engineered to counteract visible skin deflation caused by rapid medical weight loss. Like GLP1s aging and even metabolic stress, this serum actually rebuilds skin density, volume and hydration. I use the skincare line myself and I absolutely love it. You can find it@bluelean.com that’s Blue Lean L E N E. Be sure to use code RADIO20 for 20% off. Speaker A [00:55:19]: Tune in next time. To flaunt. Find your sparkle and create a life you love after Infidelity or betrayal. With Lora Cheadle every Wednesday at 7am and 7pm Eastern Standard Time on syndicated DreamVision 7 radio network. Uncover the truth of what’s possible for you on the other side of betrayal and develop the skills and strategies necessary to embrace the future and flourish today. Download your free Betrayal Recovery toolkit@betrayalrecoveryguide.com.