Her training brings culinary discipline, clinical skincare expertise, and mind–body practice into a single philosophy. At the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City she studied health-supportive, plant-forward culinary arts that weave seasonal cooking with global wellness traditions. The curriculum embraced food as medicine, whole-foods technique, and the fundamentals of fermentation, alongside Ayurvedic modules that linked ingredients to balance and vitality. Precise kitchen practice showed how thoughtful preparation can sustain long-term well-being. At the Aveda Institute she earned her esthetician license in a program that merges Ayurvedic wisdom with modern skin science. Chemistry, botanicals, and a holistic approach to barrier health became daily practice. At Pure Yoga NYC she completed five hundred hours in yoga and meditation with an Ayurvedic lens, exploring how breath, movement, and daily and seasonal routines support resilience that lasts.

Jennifer is also a lifelong runner who has completed the New York City Marathon and achieved a Boston Marathon qualifying time. This commitment to endurance and steady progress reflects the house’s belief in daily rituals, whole-health resilience, and results that build over time.

These disciplines converge in a house approach that is fresh, preservative-free, and rigorously crafted. Jennifer formulates with organic botanicals, nutrient-rich butters, and active enzymes, then safeguards their delicacy through Perfectly Cold-Preserved™ refrigeration. She advances this craft with the SHIMMER C INFUSION TECHNIQUE™, a meticulous nine-day vitamin C fermentation that yields a bioactive concentrate to brighten, refine, and fortify while supporting a calm, balanced microbiome.

Shimmer Chef is the living expression of her life’s work. Culinary precision meets modern skin science and mind care, translating heritage wisdom into contemporary neurocosmetic rituals. Each formula is created to perform on the surface and to feel restorative in practice, culminating in formulations designed to deliver The Shimmer Effect™.

Some brands are born from market gaps. Others are born from motherhood. For Jennifer Sanford, the founder of Shimmer Chef, it was both: a beauty ritual with her daughters, a bout of childhood eczema, and a growing concern that the products touching her girls’ skin were not safe enough. That moment sparked something deeper, a desire to nourish from the inside out, to protect her daughters’ well-being, and to reclaim beauty as something rooted in culture, safety, and self-respect.

In this week’s Motherhood Identity Series, we meet a mother who became a licensed chef and esthetician to develop her own formulas and build a beauty house inspired by her grandmother’s fresh, acne-soothing salve, powered by science, and grounded in maternal devotion. As a single mother of four daughters, her path is as textured as the products she creates, full of pivots, sacrifices, and quiet victories.

A portion of every purchase supports the Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC). This cause is deeply personal to the Sanford Family and to families everywhere living with profound hearing loss. CHC is a remarkable source of expertise, compassion, and community, helping people of all ages communicate, connect, and thrive. We are honored to stand with them.