"I've loved skin care and wellness since I was a little girl, but some serious life changes and a complicated health journey led me to making my passion my career"
About 2.5 years ago, I was just ending a three year long battle with Lyme Disease, it completely flipped my world upside down. Being diagnosed with a disease that made my body feel like I was in my 90's in my early 20's really shifted my mindset about health & wellness, and taught me to never take my body for granted again.
Sometimes the hardest times in life lead you to where you were always meant to be.
21 Going On 95
I've always been a "healthy" person, exercising when I can, eating what I thought was the best I could, educating myself on products and ingredients, but all of that took on a new meaning starting in 2016. I started having some major health issues that would ultimately change my life for years to come. After being diagnosed with Lyme Disease, my life was flipped upside down and my early-twenties turned into doctors visits, isolation, and a whole lot of consistent pain. This really forced me into changing my lifestyle completely and start taking my health into my own hands as best as I could.
Turning Point
My healing journey brought me back into my love for researching ingredients, products, herbs and anything that would help support my non-toxic lifestyle. My sickness had once defined my life but now I needed to try and find the positives in the cards that I was dealt, and I started to feel empowered by it. This was a turning point, it made me realize that if I could make it out of the darkest time in my life then really I could do absolutely anything I wanted to do. So... I chose to enroll myself in Esthetics School so that I could eventually open my own skin studio and start using plants to help others with their skin.
My Own Acne Journey
In about April of 2019, my skin started to flare up...and it was bad! A combination of being on medications for Lyme Disease for extended periods of time, skin care (that did not sit well with my skin), and then constant stressing, all led me to pretty severe and inflamed acne. I went through so many skin care products, spent SO much money and did pretty much everything you're not supposed to do! I barely wanted to leave the house...my skin was all I could think about!
This experience made me even more sure that becoming a Licensed Esthetician was the right choice for me because I now could relate to my future clients on a completely different level.
Getting Back On Track
With a lot of time and some serious habit changing, patience, the right plant oils, and making a few tweaks to my already anti-inflammatory diet, I was able to heal my skin. It's true that our skin & our bodies heal from the inside out, so I took that holistic approach and was able to begin the healing process. Really, my acne was a reminder that I still had a lot of healing and inflammation to work through in order to get my health back on track. You don't just get skin issues because your skin hates you, you most likely are off balance somewhere else in your body.
Holistica Girl
In 2019, I enrolled at the Aesthetics Science Institute in Albany, NY and by the time I was half way done with esthetics school, I had already been brainstorming business ideas and names for my brick-and-mortar skin studio...then came The Holistica Hive. This is now my skin studio where I perform skin treatments on clients in North Carolina!
I believe when it comes to skin care, there needs to be a holistic approach, meaning that we take a look at the whole picture; diet, water intake, stress levels, environment, products, hygiene, habits, and so much more to really start the healing process.
Thank you for reading and learning a little more about me. My health journey, love for plants, skin and wellness are all what brought me here, and I have to say... it feels like I'm right where I'm meant to be.
Below you can see the first product that Astria Skincare launched with, it took over 2 years of formulation and brainstorming to get this product right where I wanted it!
Take care,
Astrid Makenzi
Founder & creator of Astria Skincare