If you have worked with me before, you know that there is no easy answers to finding “perfect” skin. Instead of a formula, it takes a whole book full of different chapters to find the right tools for you. Whether we want to admit it or not, we will never have “perfect” skin, there simply is no such thing. Even on my best day, there is probably something imperfect going on. So what do I do? I accept it, embrace it and allow it to teach me what is truly going on. Here is how you can do the same:

With Thanksgiving only one day it’s a great reminder to start thinking about what we are grateful for. Your family or friends may start casually asking you; “What are you grateful for?” in honor of the festivities but it may take you a beat to actually think of something. Sure, we are grateful for the time off and the Thanksgiving feast but what about how we are everyday. When we are living in our day to day we may or may not notice the opportunities to express mindfulness and gratitude. After all there is so much to be grateful for that it doesn’t need to be reserved for just one day out of the year. Here are some steps to developing a gratitude practice:

I couldn’t find the words last week. I wanted to send out a blog post, which as you all know I haven’t done since September due to various reasons. I wanted to send out my availability. I wanted to send out a message of hope. At the end of the day, I just didn’t have the words. I didn’t want to flood you all with messages about getting a facial because last week it felt trivial. “No one will care” I said to myself, until I realized how false that statement was. Many of you relied on your appointments with me last week to follow in exactly what I advocate, putting yourself first and embarking on self care as a means of coping with stress, anxiety and grief. Then it hit me, I not only have a huge responsibility to help people get through their own personal health and skin issues, but also in creating a safe space to be able to help others heal. 

The story of Alexa is one I have been wanting to share for a long time. This beautiful being came into my life in the most organic way of 2016, through social media. She posted a declaration of self love on a Facebook group we are both apart of to inspire other women of our community. While most of these posts usually go unnoticed as they flood my feed, something about Alexa stuck out. Here is her story:

Skincare can be a very sensitive subject for most, especially if you are coping with a skin condition that already is weighing on your confidence. If you think back to 10, 20, 30 or more years ago there were not as many people that were dealing with the skin issues we are encountering now. Many aspects of our environment, food processes/sourcing and medicines have changed drastically within the last few decades. Advancements are always a good thing but there are deeply rooted issues that feel impossible to fix that we have no control over. So what do you do? Here is my guide to coping with external factors while not losing hope on your skin recovery.

We can all agree that the most frustrating part of skin issues and imbalances is the waiting game. Most people think that there has to be an overnight remedy to fix these issues. People will spend an insane amount of money and energy to try to achieve the impossible. With so many promises out there it’s easy to get convinced that a skincare product or a crazy expensive doctors visit will provide the answer. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Our skin is live organ that has many functions it needs to do every moment of the day, including while you are sleeping. We can’t really control it unless we learn to listen to it. So how do we do that? The answer is simple, we have to be patient. How very irritating of me right? Here’s the thing: I struggle with two major inflammatory conditions, eczema and acne, and I’ve struggled with them since I was a pre-teen so I can identify with the impatience that comes along with these conditions. Here is my guide to how to stay patient when your skin isn’t clearing up and what you can do to be proactive.

Have you ever said to yourself : “My skincare just isn’t working anymore”? If you’ve answered yes, you are the definite majority. If you answered no, I can guarantee that it has. So why does skincare stop working? One of two major reasons: 

1 - Your products have expired or been exposed to an environment that has prematurely spoiled the ingredients.

or

2 - If you are living a perfect, 100% clean lifestyle with no changes in stress, environment, or diet then your skincare shouldn’t change or “stop” working. This is impossible unless you're a robot. 

Here is the deal: You are not expected to be perfect because that means you are not evolving. Change is good but it can also be confusing when your skincare all of a sudden isn’t living up to it’s expectations. So what do you do? Here is my advice on how to mix it up when your skincare stops working: