The Introvert Edition:
February 15th, 2026
Dearest graceful ager,
Confession: I’ve been contemplating this series for well over a year, and I almost didn’t start it out of fear.
Not because I don’t have stories to tell or knowledge to share, but because putting my own voice and face behind it all felt, quite frankly, intimidating.
I’m an introvert and an empath by nature. The esthetician who loves the quiet of the treatment room, one-on-one conversations and deep listening over loud self-promotion.
What I’ve come to realize and the irony of it all is that those very traits are what allow me to personalize, observe and truly hear my clients. They have shaped how I approach every consultation, laser treatment, radio-frequency session, microneedling appointment and skin protocols in my treatment room.
So, graceful agers, I’m leaning in. Unfiltered. Educational. Real. Because great skin isn’t built by being seen, it’s built by being understood.
What most people don’t know is that this career began during a very difficult season of my life.
In 1999, I became a mother to two amazing sons born just 11 months apart. My oldest arrived in January, my middle in December of the same year. I was a young wife and mom navigating severe postpartum depression long before it was openly discussed, all while being thousands of miles away from my family.
It was hard.
At that time, our medical insurance still covered massage therapy. Every other week, for one hour, I would retreat into that quiet room, climb onto the massage table and step out of my own head.
I didn’t think of it as self-care. That wasn’t a term we used then. I thought of it as survival.
I carried guilt and shame with me into those appointments. Guilt for leaving my babies at home, guilt for needing the break and guilt for lying there in silence when I thought I should be stronger, more capable and more grateful.
But as the postpartum fog slowly began to lift, one particular session shifted something in me. I remember lying there, overwhelmed with gratitude for how healing that space had been and realizing I didn’t want to receive that kind of escape forever. I wanted to give it.
Not massage treatments exactly. I knew I wasn’t physically built for that long term, but stillness. A pause, a retreat and a place where someone could exhale without performing for the world.
I remember thinking: What kind of work would allow me to give people that?
That question became the beginning of this path.
Over time, it led me into aesthetics. Into skin, touch, technology and the science of helping people feel better in their bodies. To be clear, this has never been just about performing treatments. It has always been about creating a space of peace and quiet while delivering thoughtful, results-driven care that supports the body as a whole.
I didn’t know it then, but my introversion wasn’t a limitation. It was the lens through which I learned to work. It taught me to notice subtle changes in the skin, to listen instead of rush, to customize instead of copy and to treat the person, not just the surface.
This philosophy still guides everything I do in the treatment room. How I conduct consultations to how I use radiofrequency and intense pulsed light, to how I design long-term skin protocols and how I talk to clients about aging, expectations and patience. Skin does not respond well to force and neither do people.
I want to take a moment to say how grateful I am that you’re here.
This series will explore many facets of skin, aging, body wellness treatment philosophies and real stories from my treatment room.
Not all of it will be backed by clinical studies. Some of it will be a personal perspective shaped by years of hands-on experience.
You may not agree with everything and that’s okay. Take what resonates, leave what doesn’t and know that thoughtful conversation is always welcome here.
If you have questions, curiosities or even your own “skin confessions,” I would love for you to send them my way. Your name will always remain anonymous and I may feature your question in a future confession.
There will always be opportunities here to schedule consultations, book treatments or explore products if and when it feels right for you, but there will never be pressure. If all you ever do is read, relate and learn something that helps you better understand your skin or your season of life, then I’ve already done what I set out to do.
This series is my way of sharing what I’ve learned not just about treatments, but about listening. To skin, to bodies and perhaps most importantly, to ourselves.
Until the next confession,
Lisa