Aesthetician Sara Damelio founded Skincando.com, a D.C.-based skin care company in 2000. Throughout the course of the past decade of war, her company developed a line of skin care products known as Combat-Ready, specifically designed to support the needs of U.S. troops overseas. In 2008, Damelio was so moved by the response to her products that she established a not-for-profit, known as Operation Sand Flea, which allows customers to donate her specially formulated Combat-Ready products at a 50 percent discount to servicemen and women in the Middle East. This Fourth of July, with the help of her customers, she is preparing to send even more Combat-Ready products to the war zone in an effort to protect soldiers against skin cancer and desert fleas.
How did you get started?
In 2005, a military wife sent over Combat-Ready balm to her husband in Ramadi, Iraq. Her husband said it was the best thing he had used to keep off the fleas, and all the guys in his unit were using it. It was so popular they were stealing it from each other when they ran out.
How do the men feel about getting what they would normally consider a woman’s product in the war zone?
It’s masculine — it was battle-tested in the Middle East during the war. This is the best way to getting a product to our troops. These guys are fighting 100-plus-degree heat and getting bitten all night. The only thing they have is calamine lotion.
How many care packages have you sent to troops so far?
We’ve sent over 8,000 care packages as of this month. We were voted the number one philanthropic program in the beauty industry in the country. For those who make a donation, my company will pay the shipping … and do the paperwork to ensure that the products are directly delivered to our troops.
– Sara A. Carter
