By: Juliana Pires Johnson
We’d been fans of Christine Bullock for many years before meeting her. She first caught our eye as a fitness leader because of her insane body, glowing skin and total radiance… We needed to know all of her secrets! Christine exudes good vibes even through a computer screen and is all the more so infectious in person. A fitness turned beauty entrepreneur, mom of two, always striving for better. As Christine couldn’t find solutions in the market for herself and her clients needing to address total body concerns, she took matters into her own hands and created Face Grade Body Care® – hello, KAYO. Most recently, KAYO launched their Next-Gen Skin Perfect Collagen and Vital Greens Superfood Powder, which we have been religiously drinking for a month. The difference its made to our skin and energy levels is unbelievable. If you want some of what she’s having, you can now add to cart!
Q: Tell our readers a little about your background in fitness and how you transitioned into wellness and starting your own brand, Kayo?
A: I’ve been teaching fitness around the world for over 20 years now! Time has flown and I still feel like the 19-year-old starting my first course in massage therapy and yoga instruction after leaving 17 years of ballet. Over 20 years you accumulate a good bit of degrees, certification, and experience. I don’t want to bore you with all of them, but they range from a B.A. in Behavioral Psychology (great in dealing with the psychology of wellness) and Education to Classical Pilates, Nutrition, and Pre/Postnatal.
The transition through all the specialties occurred naturally through my own and my clients life progression. I’m the constant student and as we all aged different disciplines were necessary to provide the best possible results for my clients (and myself lol).
Kayo Body Care, which is a play on K.O. or “knockout”, came about as my clients began to have babies. Their skin was rapidly changing and there wasn’t any age defense body care products available on the market at that time in 2013. I was passionate about finding something for my clients and myself, but since it didn’t exist, I decided to create it. I’ve actually worked in beauty for as long as I’ve worked in fitness (didn’t mention all the jobs with Beverly Hills plastic surgeons and opening spas around the world). The skin is our biggest organ and the only one exposed to the environment, so I was impassioned to create a complete body care brand. I started with 6 skincare products, which immediately won awards for their formulas and I’ve been having fun formulating since then.
Q: Where did the concept of Face Grade Body Care® come from and why do you think people tend to ignore their skin neck down and chose a one size fits all, generic approach to taking care of it (i.e. random moisturizer)? Why should they be paying more attention and how early?
A: Since there wasn’t anything on the market at the time, I was using a $300+ face cream all over my body. My mom was an aesthetician and I worked in beauty so I often got products free to try, but I couldn’t keep this up financially as I had to purchase often time as well. Thus, Kayo was the first brand to disrupt the skincare industry with a mission to treat your body with the same high-performance and clean skincare you do your face, ultimately launching Face Grade Body Care®.
I was passionate about creating Face Grade® formulas not just for the vanity of age defense body care, but also because the skin is our biggest organ and the only one exposed to the environment. With our ever-changing environment filled with more pollutants and toxins, I believe that we need the extra layer of age defense head-to-toe. Each of our skincare and supplement formulas are packed with major antioxidant protection as well as potent hydrators.
Q: What’s the one body care product from Kayo that people should start with when investing/ looking to upgrade?
A: Although I love our high-potency serums, I think everyone should invest in an age-defense cream or oil first! Two of our top products world-wide are the Body Beautiful Cream and Body Oil. It just depends on what type of product you prefer. From our supplements, I believe everyone should have the Vital Greens Superfood Powder because not only does it support clear beautiful skin, it supports your immunity, your gut health, your energy, and your overall vitality!
Q: Let’s talk about your new supplement launches! What are the most important ingredients for beauty and wellness from the inside out? What should we be looking to ingest vs. what should we be looking for on the products we put on our bodies?
A: Most importantly I believe in taking daily anti-inflammatories. Inflammation is the route of aging and disease. Our current environment, diet, and even daily actions (like HIIT workouts) cause inflammation in the body. Thus, we should be focusing on counteracting the inflammation before it overwhelms the body because as we age the body can’t fight it as powerfully. Our Daily Defense is a potent curcumin (aka powerful anti-inflammatory) which I take every single day to protect but also help repair much of the damage I have done over the years by not taking anti-inflammatories on the regular. Our Vital Greens Superfood Powder is also packed with detoxifying greens, grasses, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatories. I take this every single day without fail for optimal energy and protection.
Q: Not all nutrient and food bioavailability and absorption rates are the same. Explain how you tackled that issue for your Vital Greens Superfood Powder and Skin Perfect Collagen Powder supplements? How can people tell if their supplements are high quality?
A: So true. One of the biggest questions I’ve received over two decades of working in the industry is “how do I know my supplements are working?”. My answer – you should see and feel the difference pretty quickly. The quality of ingredients is important as well as the delivery method. We have a patent-pending delivery method utilizing our Superior Absorption Technology. This increases the absorption of the ingredients, allowing for even better results. You can see and feel the difference practically instantly with most of our products.
Q: What are the supplements/ ingredients that you personally take every AM and PM and why?
AM: I wake up and both my husband and I make a mixture of our Vital Greens and Skin Perfect Collagen to chug while we make the kids breakfast. It’s that quick healthy pick me up, giving me the energy to run a company and chase my two little girls. The Collagen also has major skin and joint hydration that I can feel (plus my hair has never been healthier). I also take my Daily Defense with this drink. You only need one pill since our products are so potent – so no tummy ache on an empty belly.
PM: I take our High-Performance Hemp™ Thrive and Chill Out before bed. I wanted to make sure to support every age-defense need we have, thus I formulated products to support your beauty sleep and stress support. I used to have trouble sleeping and this threw all my hormones off causing many health issues. I hear the same from so many women. I found that CBD helped me sleep a deeper quality sleep throughout the night. Our Thrive Tincture is aaaaaamazing at helping me chill during the day and if I take a little more it helps me sleep. I can still wake up to hear the baby, but I fall right back asleep. I take the Chill Out as well because we combined cannabinoids from the hemp plant and passionflower – these are potent anti-inflammatories (so I’m making sure I get it at night too).
Q: Why did you choose to use marine vs animal collagen for the Skin Perfect Collagen Powder?
A: Our marine collagen is a wild-caught marine based collagen. Marine collagen is a source of type 1 collagen. Type 1 is the most plentiful collagen in our bodies. It’s also a key building block for maintaining the elasticity and firmness of our biggest organ: the skin.
Our collagen didn’t stop there since we need more than just collagen to support youthful skin. We included trace minerals to support the body’s ability to make its own collagen and elastin along with powerful antioxidants to protect the collagen and elastin you have and continue to build. I also added major hydration from hyaluronic acid to improve the texture of your skin and your joint health, along with biotin, and phytoceramides which are fatty acids that help to retain moisture and build your skins protective barrier.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your diet, nutrition and movement routine.
A: My main goal has always been to feel my best. Nutrition plays the major part and fitness comes in a close second. As a mother of two little girls and a business owner I lack any time for myself, so I try to fit healthy habits in throughout the day.
I eat plenty of plants during the day, but I supplement with Kayo’s greens because it’s hard to get all those nutrients every day. I meal plan twice a week, so we always have steamed veggies, protein, grains, and fruits in the refrigerator to mix up a quick meal. I keep vegan cookies or treats in case I want a sweet treat, but I don’t crave sweets often from doing my daily detoxes with greens and gut-cleansing practices. I used to workout 5-7 days a week, but it had a detrimental effect on my thyroid. Now I work out 2-3 times a week for x2 20-minute workouts and x1 60-minute workout. My workouts are just really effective, so they get the job done fast. Mainly I just try to live a happy balanced day. I’m not strict with anything except living life to the fullest.
Q: Any mindfulness practices/ rituals you do daily?
A: I try to have a quiet time before I start my workday. It puts my mind in a positive place and I truly get so much more done on these days and small miracles seem to happen (even just my toddler saying please and thank you all day is a miracle for me lol).
Q: Favorite quote, saying you live by?
A: Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire – St. Catherine of Siena
I love this because it simply means to follow your heart. I feel that through health, we find true happiness, and this leads us to being the best person we can be for everyone around us.