Origin

How It All Began

(A note from our founder)

I’m Kirsten Karchmer. I’m the CEO and founder of Brazen. I’ve spent the last 22 years working with over 10 thousand women to fix their periods and improve their health, but my career in improving people’s health and fixing periods started long before that.

When I was 19 years old, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I was incredibly sick, tired all the time, and couldn’t walk without a cane. A friend recommended that I see an acupuncturist. At that point in my life, I was very skeptical about acupuncture but I was desperate to get better, so I gave it a try.

The acupuncturist told me that we had to strengthen all aspects of my health to beat the disease, and that if we look at everything going on in our bodies, we can transform any type of health issue. He was right. My MS went into remission and my overall health improved, including my period symptoms. I went from using a cane to surfing all over the world.

Amazed by the change I saw in myself, I went to acupuncture school and started studying womens’ health. Working with patients, I realized menstrual cycles revealed so much about their overall health and contained powerful diagnostic information.

I tapped into a new way of understanding womens’ health and was able to not only fix their symptoms, but also get to the root of their problems. This led me to start one of the earliest reproductive acupuncture clinics in the United States.

I treated thousands of people with life-interrupting period symptoms
and noticed two important patterns:

1 Over the course of 20 years, two of my formulas worked for over 70% of my patients.

2 Most patients thought pain and PMS was normal and could not be improved.

Heartbroken by the suffering, I felt called to action and finally decided to do something about it. I wanted to help more than just the patients I saw in my practice. That’s how Brazen was born.

But the opportunity is much bigger than selling products. I envision Brazen as a platform for empowering and equipping people with periods to be their very best selves. It starts with a healthy cycle, feeling good about your body, and being brazen about pursuing your dreams.