About Healing Beauty Project

My name is Rachel and I am the human and licensed esthetician behind Healing Beauty Project. I have been enthralled with beauty since childhood. As a little girl, my experience of beauty was pure enjoyment of my own form and energies. It felt like magic - playing dress up or stealing my mom’s lipstick. I would give my friends spa days for fun. As I approached womanhood, my experience of beauty changed. Beauty became a double-edged sword; a source of power but also a liability. There were many rules to follow - including walking the line of being attractive but also not drawing too much unwanted attention. My beauty practices became a way to keep up with the demands of society’s standards of femininity.

A couple of life-experiences transformed my perspective. I lived for several years in different parts of the world which opened my eyes to other cultural practices and ideas about beauty. I also started to experience rosacea in my twenties. I saw countless dermatologists to “fix my skin”. I saw short term improvements, but when I lost my health insurance I no longer had access to prescription topicals. I was in a nasty self-critical cycle. I finally found an esthetician, Kristina Holey, who set me on a path to healing. She got me on a solid at-home routine that required zero prescriptions and connected my stress levels and lifestyle to my skin health. I only saw her for three appointments - that was all it took. The self-empowerment I experienced is a gift I want to pay forward.

All that being said, I don’t know that the process of healing ever ends. Achieving balance is an ongoing practice, not a destination. So far in my forties, a lot of old beliefs about beauty and aging are surfacing for me, often in ways that surprise me. The programming of where my worth as a woman comes from and how I can safely experience my own beauty is a formidable knot to untangle. I am in an ongoing state of healing my relationship to my body. For me, tending to my skin and allowing myself to receive are important practices for this healing.

Healing Beauty Project is a space to tap back into your beauty - however that manifests. I have a holistic approach, meaning I am interested in how we can bring all parts of ourselves into balance to improve skin health. Let me be clear: just because I am holistic does not mean I do not believe in a scientific approach to skincare. I am a student of ingredients and have faith in the power of a well-formulated product and a variety of skincare modalities. I believe the majority of your skin health revolves around your daily routine - both topically (what you put on your skin) as well as internally (what is happening in your body/mind/spirit). I believe that if you want to pursue advanced aesthetic modalities - for example botox or surgery - you should do what is right for you as long as you are fully aware of the pros and cons. I have no judgement for anyone who pursues feeling beautiful and secure in their skin with informed consent.

The intention behind my treatments is to help you to show up for your skin and show up for yourself. I offer accountability for and expertise on your at-home routine, deeply nourishing care for your skin, and a time and place where you feel safe enough to relax and experience your own beauty beyond anyone else’s expectations.

In addition to offering treatments, it is important to me to share information on how you can tend to your own skin. There is a lot of marketing in the beauty industry that can make skincare overwhelming - I study skincare and I feel it! I teach classes each season at the local community center in North Bend if you are looking to learn more.