My Skin healing journey
Where do I start? My quest for health started in college at the height of my skin woes: melasma, Grade 1 acne, dark circles and dehydration. I knew then that the process was intertwined with a deeper issue and required bringing my body into homeostasis. Back then, I was blindly led, often researching anything and everything, but had no real answers on where to turn. Leaving me subject to trying every fad diet and various functional health doctors (some helpful, some not so much). But the real thing I lacked was patience, discipline, and consistency. I knew healing was possible, but back then, I didn’t trust the process enough to be able to get to the other side. In a way, my subconscious beliefs about myself were driving my day-to-day actions, or lack thereof.
Attempting to get help from derms and estheticians proved to be futile and highly disappointing. I found the derms would prescribe drugs that worked but didn’t give long-term treatment protocols or how to use the medications safely. On the other hand, the estheticians weren’t well versed in skin of color and didn’t know how to tailor appropriate treatments to my skin type and skin condition. It also didn’t make it any better; they often told me that my melasma was tough to eradicate, implying it would be a condition I would have to live with, giving me such a bleak outlook on my skin situation and making me feel it would never get better. Hindsight is truly 20/20 because, looking back, my skin just needed a little TLC to get it in the right shape. Throughout the process, I kept searching and researching for answers. Which I credit to my being so great at my job as an esthetician.
THE BACKSTORY
Let’s rewind a bit: in 2018–2019 My symptoms were constant fatigue, tinea versicolor, melasma, blood sugar issues, a small fibroid, PMS, hplyori/gut dysbiosis, and overall just a feeling of malaise. I remember the exhaustion being so bad that I’d wake up to start my day only to end up right back in bed. During this time, I was listening to a popular online health professional swear by a raw food diet. I’m aware diet can be a touchy subject for people, and I truly believe that because we are all bio-individuals, our bodies may respond to different foods and lifestyles. I did a raw food diet for 30 days, and I really thought this tanked my hormones because, from here, I didn’t get better; I actually got worse.
Flash forward, I moved to Vegas in 2019, and during that time I was still very focused on my health, but it was still very up and down. I had somewhat mastered the nutrition part and noticed my rashes had gone away. In 2020, when the world stopped to COVID, I was a lot more active, moving my body a lot more, getting adequate sleep, and I noticed positive changes in my weight gain and how I was looking, but I fell off. In 2021, I met with an amazing functional health doctor, and she stressed the importance of sleep, movement, and protein to balance cortisol and gut issues. I listened for a while but never stayed consistent because I felt it wasn’t working fast enough. I would give up before the magic would happen. It wasn’t until 2023 that I started to really pour into myself; I started walking more, staying consistent at least 80% of the time. I noticed that the more I poured into myself, the better my mental health got and the more empowered I felt. The year 2023 taught me the importance of self-love, showing up for yourself day in and day out, and how truly learning about your body is a gift.
THE CATALYST SHIFTS TO DEEP HEALING
A big catalyst for me when it came to healing was quieting down the noise around me. Especially with social media, there’s a lot of insightful advice online, but it can also be overwhelming. You have one practitioner saying this and another saying something completely different. Making it a tug-of-war battle with your health. I stand firm in my belief that health doesn’t have to be as complicated as society makes it out to be. My advice is to take what applies and leave what doesn’t. What has helped me the most with eliminating fibroids, healing my hplyori, and healing my skin and mental health is focusing on an anti-inflammatory diet free of sugar, processed foods, dairy, and gluten and prioritizing adequate protein and veggies. The diet does look different for everyone because we all have a unique set of needs and challenges. It is also one of those things that may change throughout the course of your life, especially when healing from different ailments. For example, healing gut-related issues may require a very specific diet with herbs and supplements for a time period until you’re able to go back to your regular lifestyle. However, eliminating the main irritants (sugar, processed foods, maybe even dairy) is something I believe is beneficial for every human. Sugar is a molecule that does disintegrate the skin fibers and contribute to intrinsic aging, acne, and weight gain. My advice here is to remove the top irritants and listen to what your body needs. No one can do this for you but you. You are the best director in your life.
REQUIRED CHANGES TO HEAL FROM MY PERSPECTIVE
Routine doctor visits
I also want to make note of routine checkups at the doctor and actually get a handout of those lab workups. Back in 2022, I had high cholesterol, a fibroid and h.pylori, and now all my lab work is normal. Lab work can reveal missing links, and it’s important to see if you are nearing the high or low end of things. Gut health testing and hair mineral analysis testing were all important for revealing deeper issues like h.plyori and gut dysbiosis. When you know what you’re targeting, it's easier to customize a healing protocol. I do believe testing is a crucial aspect of getting anywhere in your health journey. Do not blindly supplement with minerals or vitamins. At the end of the year, I plan on testing both of these things again to see where my markers are now.
2. Movement
Another pillar of my healing was movement. To keep it real, y’all, I was lazy! I didn’t nearly move my body as much as I should have. Sure, I would walk my dog for ten minutes, but that wasn’t enough to get my heart rate up. In 2023, I started consistently moving my body. I walked for 45 minutes to an hour, and from there, I started lifting weights and doing at-home workouts more consistently. Now my main form of exercise is walking, Pilates, and weightlifting. It’s still a journey. For me, the timing of exercise is key. Early morning exposure to sunlight was my body's saving grace for inflammation and balancing cortisol. Even now, I’ve noticed that when I’m waking up, eating, or not exposing myself to the sun and moving first thing in the morning, my body is a little more swollen than usual.
3. Sleep
Which takes me to my next point, sleep. Getting to sleep at a decent hour between 9 and 10:30 p.m. is crucial for the body to heal and repair itself. This is one of the biggest things I struggle with because I’ve spent so much time during adolescence and college staying up late. It's still a habit I’m consistently getting better at. I noticed that when I’m sleeping at a decent time (by 10:30/11), I wake up looking more refreshed, my eyes are brighter, my skin is more luminous and hydrated, my brain is sharper, and I wake up feeling ready to tackle the day. For any skin issue, sleep is so crucial. ADD sleep fact here
4. Healing subconscious beliefs
Healing deep core wounds and OWNING WHO I AM: This was the biggest part of my journey—healing how I felt about myself. I stopped seeing myself through other people’s lenses, but through my own lens and through God. It is why I am able to share my journey so fearlessly now, because all that matters is how I feel about myself, the work I am putting out, and using my gifts to serve the community. Like anything in life, your journey of self is ongoing and a radical act of showing up for yourself day in and day out.
A skincare routine: I used to look to nutrition to heal every ailment through nutrition and nutrition alone. Too far off the spectrum! With anything in life, the best rewards come from combination therapy, and the topical absolutely matters. I got serious about my routine and worked with another esthetician to point me in the right direction. Sometimes, as a professional, you can be blinded by what's wrong because you’re in the thick of it all. I performed the Enlighten peel on myself, doubled down on hydration, and from there managed with retinols and low needle depth microneedling. Most of my results come from homecare products. My routine is consistently changing because I’m always testing out new things for you all. But I absolutely always have a brightener, a retinol, and a hydrating serum in me. I also cannot live without my antistress mask to give my skin top-tier hydration while living in Vegas. Whenever I overdue treatments or am battling dehydration-related pigment, I pop out my antistress mask! And weekly, I like to use my at-home pigment mask by Meline that acts as a mini chemical peel.
If you’re an inner skeptic, My advice to you is to always trust the process. Find a practitioner that aligns with your values and stay the course because doing the work always pays off. Start with the mental aspect: Affirmations and journaling all play a role in anchoring your mental health. My go-to is to always follow the laws of nature when it comes to my health. Look at the birds and the trees; they are great reminders of how we should be living, of course with a modern twist on it because, after all, we are living in modern times.
Healing is not a linear process but applaud progress when you can. As always, I am here for you on your journey to healing your skin and health from the inside out.
