In my late twenties, I was struggling with my health; in and out of urgent care, aching joints, and oh. so. tired. Years of pain management and searching for answers lead me to a Lyme Disease diagnosis. A few years after that, old symptoms flared along with some new ones. And I was scared. The things I was doing before to manage Lyme weren't working. I met a holistic practitioner who discovered that, in addition, I was suffering from mold toxicity. One of the most emotional and stressful parts was a rash that wrapped around my eyes and mouth. It was painful. Even rubbing the sleep out of my eye in the morning would hurt. I couldn't go out without someone mentioning the rash; they knew someone, or maybe they themselves, had a rash like that at one point. Was it allergies? Was it eczema? I bought some silly glasses from the costume shop which helped to disguise the rash.

For as much as I hated having such a noticeable and painful face rash for so long, it made me realize how many people are struggling with skin issues. It's uncomfortable, and often visible, when things aren't right. Because of the rash, so many people shared a piece of their story with me.

After just two months of working with the holistic practitioner, my rashes started to clear up. No antibiotics, no steroid creams. I couldn’t believe how good I was starting to feel. This was my introduction to healing herbs. My protocol was entirely diet and lifestyle changes as well as herbal supplements.

Something good.

At that time, I remember saying “I have to do something good from this experience.” I didn’t care what but I didn’t want to walk away from the long and frustrating road through the healthcare system without something in hand.

I found a Community Herbalism course in Boulder, Colorado that sparked my interested. I completed the 10 month course and found how helpful and accessible plants were to healing and wellness. I wondered why we weren’t relying on plants more, especially for skincare. Our lotion bottles and face creams have an entire paragraph of ingredients filling the back in a tiny font… that seems unnecessary.

Now I’m creating the thing I wish I had.

As I was struggling with skin issues and a host of other symptoms, I wish I had something soothing to put on my skin. I didn’t know exactly what was worsening my skin issues but I did know that whatever I put on my skin would either nourish it or give it something to detox from. And plants have been proven to care for and nourish our skin and bodies. Why not just include them in your skincare routine?

I believe we're meant to feel good in our bodies but our environments are full of toxins and choosing clean skin care is a way to lessen our toxic loads.