Her journey moves between science, medicine, entrepreneurship and everyday life. From early research to building a clear approach to skin health, she focuses on understanding how the body ages and adapts. In this interview, she speaks about learning to see the bigger picture, working through challenges, and why caring for skin is deeply linked to overall health and balance.
Could you give an introduction about yourself and the area of medicine you work in?
I’m Dr. Liv Kraemer, a board-certified dermatologist, scientist, and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience working at the intersection of skin health, longevity, and preventive medicine.
My field is what I call Skin Longevity a 360-degree approach that connects dermatology, genetics, lifestyle, nutrition, and science to help people age healthier from the inside out.
My background spans across research in genetics, stem cells, and tissue engineering at institutions such as Columbia University in New York and Charité Berlin, which profoundly shaped my scientific, prevention-focused approach.
This journey led me to found my Skin Longevity Clinic in Zurich, where I developed structured methods to treat the skin as a biological organ that ages, adapts, and can be trained. From this clinical foundation, my 3-Level Method emerged and with it, a Swiss-made skincare and supplement system designed to simplify and democratize evidence-based skin training.
The philosophy also inspired my book “Skin Longevity”, which will be published by Ullstein Verlag on January 1st, 2025.
My mission is to redefine aging by making skin health understandable, science-driven, and accessible to everyone.
What first sparked your interest in medicine and inspired you to follow this path?
Before becoming a doctor, I worked as a model a world where everything looks perfect and any imperfection can be covered. There, the glass is always half full.
In medicine, the glass is often half empty because we focus on what can go wrong. And research, as I learned early on, sits somewhere in between.
This contrast taught me something fundamental: we all live in our own micro-cosmos and true understanding comes when we step outside and look at life from a different perspective. That outlook, seeing the hidden connections, is ultimately what longevity is.
My mentor once told me, “What the brain doesn’t know, the eyes will not see.” I still teach this to my students today. It became the foundation of my work to help people see the links between sleep, nutrition, mental health, exercise, hormones, and skin – the dashboard of the longevity funnel.
My career now sits at the intersection of science, medicine, IT, luxury, and economics, because today, health is the new luxury. That blend of worlds is what originally drew me into medicine and continues to drive my passion for Skin Longevity.
In what ways did your early training shape the kind of doctor you’ve become today?
My early research in genetics, stem cells, and tissue engineering taught me to look at problems from multiple angles, not just through a clinical lens. It pushed me to step out of the medical microcosmos and see the full picture, something I now teach my own students.
It also reinforced my belief that skin is not cosmetic; it is a biological dashboard that reflects sleep, stress, mental health, nutrition, and aging processes.
This system-level thinking is the foundation of my Skin Longevity approach.
Photo credit: Ken Laurent
Is there a particular patient story or experience that changed the way you view healthcare?
One patient once told me, after months of structured skin training: “I finally feel like myself again.” His transformation wasn’t exclusive to skin it reflected changes in sleep, routines, stress, and confidence.
That moment confirmed my philosophy: skin is the visible outcome of many invisible processes. When you look at the full picture, you realize that dermatology is deeply connected to identity and overall health.
What do you think is one of the biggest challenges facing your specialty right now?
One of the biggest challenges in dermatology and in medicine overall is dealing with noise and speed at the same time.
On one side, we have an explosion of misinformation and entertainment-driven skincare trends. Patients arrive with advice from TikTok, influencers, and marketing claims that have little to do with evidence-based medicine.
On the other side, AI and digital tools are evolving extremely fast. They are changing how patients search for answers and how we will practice medicine in the future. As I often say:
Doctors will not be replaced by AI, but doctors who don’t use AI will be replaced by those who do.
AI will not replace the dermatologist’s eye it will help us connect the dots between lifestyle, hormones, stress, sleep, nutrition, and skin. The real challenge is to use AI intelligently while bringing medical clarity into a very noisy landscape.
This is why Skin Longevity sits at the intersection of medicine, science, IT, and lifestyle – to keep dermatology human, precise, and future-ready.
Photo credit: Roundtable of Longevity Clinics, hosted by the International Institute of Longevity
How do you keep yourself up to date with new research, treatments, and medical advances?
I have a one-hour commute each way and I use this time to read scientific papers, new studies as well as medical news. It has become my daily habit, a quiet space for continuous learning.
This is something I teach my students: Read one scientific paper per week and step outside your specialty. Visit other departments. Attend lectures in longevity, health tech, AI, preventive medicine, and even macroeconomics.
Real insight happens at the intersections. Innovation requires seeing the full picture, not just the narrow view of one field.
When speaking with patients, how do you make their skin health and overall wellness easy to understand?
I show them the connections. Skin is the dashboard of the longevity funnel: it reflects sleep, stress, hormones, nutrition, and routines.
When patients understand the bigger picture, everything becomes simpler. That’s why the 3-Level Dr. Liv Method is structured and minimalistic. It gives patients a clear roadmap they can follow with confidence.
What advice would you share with young women who dream of becoming doctors?
Don’t stay in one micro-cosmos. Medicine needs women who see connections between science, technology, psychology, politics, society, and economics. Ask questions. Think of the bigger picture. Step outside the traditional path.
That ability to connect dots will make you not just a good doctor, but a visionary.
How do you manage the balance between a demanding medical career and your personal life?
Balance is dynamic. It requires honesty and constant readjustment. Some days my patients need me more, some days my skincare or consultant team or my family does and some days I need space for myself.
Longevity isn’t just what I teach, it’s how I live. Structure, perspective, and boundaries help me maintain balance without expecting perfection.
Is there a personal habit or routine that helps you stay focused, centered, or positive?
Walking. It gives me perspective – a literal and mental reset. Since there is no right time to take a break and go for a walk, especially since it is time allocated only for myself, I have to force myself to do so. But I also have some “me time” when getting a manicure or going to the hairdresser.
Many of my ideas, solutions, and insights come to me during a long-distance flight where I am without email or internet.
Consistent routines around sleep, nutrition, and minimalistic skincare also keep me grounded – the same pillars I use in my Skin Longevity method.
Which achievement in your career has felt the most meaningful to you so far?
Building the Skin Longevity movement, putting my puzzle together from my clinic to my method, my brand, my teaching, my consultancy and my book with Ullstein Verlag has been incredibly meaningful.
But the most rewarding moments come when patients, clients or my social media followers tell me they finally see their skin and their health differently. As my mentor said: “What the brain doesn’t know, the eyes will not see.”
Helping people see – truly see – is the real achievement.
And looking ahead, what goals or dreams are you excited to pursue next?
I’m excited to expand the Skin Longevity world internationally and bring structured, science-based skin training to more people. This includes integrating AI for personalized routines, launching new innovations, and deepening education around preventive skin health. If I were to dream big I would love to have my own longevity TV Show and help to restructure medicine in a bigger context within governmental systems.
My goal is to help people understand all aspects of their health and how they tie together, with skin as the dashboard guiding them towards a longer, healthier, more empowered life.
