Skin | Earth | Vitality

You don't age, you dry out, and our thoughts have a physical effect on our juiciness. Chronic worry and resentment, perfectionism, political outrage, and our obsession with self-improvement, these stories and identities we cling to can create real physiological consequences. True beauty isn't just about what we put on our skin. It's also about the freedom to soften, receive nourishment, and loosen...

Most conversations about the sun fall into one of two camps: fear it, or worship it. In this episode, Emily explores a more nuanced path. Drawing from nearly two decades as a holistic esthetician, she examines the sun not as an enemy to avoid nor a force to recklessly indulge in, but as a powerful ally that deserves a thoughtful relationship. By understanding both its healing potential and its cap...

What if supporting your skin this summer had less to do with buying another serum and more to do with what's growing in gardens, showing up at farmers markets, and filling your teacup? In this episode, Emily explores how seasonal eating can support healthy, resilient skin during the summer months. Drawing from herbalism, Ayurveda, and traditional wellness systems, she shares foods and herbs that h...

Summer is here, and with it comes pool days, camping trips, travel, and a whole new set of skincare considerations. In this episode, Emily shares her favorite ways to support the skin during the warmer months, from boosting hydration and strengthening the skin barrier to navigating sun exposure with a more balanced, holistic perspective. She explains what actually makes a product hydrating, why wa...

Summer is one of the most vibrant seasons of the year. The days are longer, our schedules get fuller, we're spending more time outside, traveling, socializing, and soaking up everything the season has to offer. But all of that abundance and activity also changes what the body and skin need. In this episode, Emily explores summer skin through a holistic lens, weaving together seasonal living, ancie...

Real beauty isn't something you apply. It's a state of being. And it's in the intimate ways you care for yourself in what nobody else sees but you feel. This is temple goddess medicine. We talk about safety, nourishment, and coming into real relationship with your own body. About what it means to actually live inside yourself instead of managing yourself from the outside. And about why presence is...

What if sun protection isn’t only about blocking the sun, but also about preparing your skin to interact with it better? In this episode, I’m widening the conversation around summer skincare beyond sunscreen and sunblock. We’re talking about hydration as a foundational part of resilient, healthy skin, both on the surface and deep within the body. I’ll walk you through why a hydrated skin barrier m...

This week on Skin Earth Vitality, Emily reflects on eight years of building Stratum Aesthetics and shares the eight biggest lessons from her eighth year in business. This episode is part business reflection, part philosophy, part nervous system debrief from the trenches of entrepreneurship. Emily explores what happens when creativity meets burnout, when intuition loses structure, and when constant...

If your skin has been acting off lately, it might just be the season. Spring pulls the body out of a slower, more dormant state, and the skin doesn't always transition gracefully. Puffiness, congestion, that flat dullness that won't quit are all pretty normal this time of year. In this episode, we get into the three things that tend to make the biggest difference this time of year: lymph movement,...

I left social media over six months ago as an experiment.  I wanted to see what it would look like to build my life and business without it. In this episode, I’m sharing an update from the field. We get into the subtle ways social media was shaping my sense of relevance, creativity, and even worthiness, and what it’s been like to sit with that without reaching for constant visibility. I talk about...

The luteal phase is often when we see more activity on the skin: jawline breakouts, cystic acne, rosacea flares, puffiness, congestion, dehydration. In this episode, I walk you through what’s happening hormonally, neurologically, and metabolically during early and late luteal, and how those shifts show up on the skin. We explore: Why progesterone raises your temperature and shifts your nervous sys...

Ovulation is the true main event of the menstrual cycle. While most of us were taught to organize our cycle around bleeding, biologically the entire month builds toward ovulation. This is your inner summer — a phase of outward vitality, peak circulation, collagen stimulation, and hormonal expression. It’s often when skin looks luminous and resilient… but it can also be when: • Breakouts begin form...

Understanding your monthly cycle is a literal superpower. When you begin to track and work with your cycle, you strengthen your relationship with your physical body and your intuition. This awareness creates clarity, agency, and self-trust, and honestly, I believe the world would be a better place if more of us lived this way! In today’s episode, we’re continuing our four-part series on the menstr...

If your skin changes every month during your period, it’s easy to dismiss it as “just hormones.” But that explanation doesn't helps us understand what’s actually happening, or how to support our bodies more effectively. In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at what’s happening in your body during the menstrual phase and why your skin can feel drier, more sensitive, inflamed, or prone to brea...

Just over 100 days ago, I went cold turkey off Instagram and all social media. What I didn’t expect was how much mental space, clarity, and inner authority I would regain. In this episode, I share a long-form reflection on why I left, what changed after stepping away, and what I’ve learned about attention, creativity, comparison, productivity, and emotional regulation along the way. This is not an...

If you’re coming out of the holidays, or really any period of indulgence, stress, illness, or disrupted routine.. you might be feeling bloated, foggy, sluggish, or noticing changes in your skin. Breakouts, dryness, sensitivity, and inflammation are common signals that something feels “off.” The instinctive reaction is often: I need to detox. In today’s episode, I want to reframe detox entirely. In...

Have you ever set a New Year's goal you were genuinely excited about… only to burn out by February? In this episode, Emily shares the seasonal planning framework she stumbled into last year, a way of working toward goals that follows the intelligence of nature instead of relying on willpower, urgency, or constant output. Instead of rushing to become a brand-new person on January 1, this approach h...

If your skin feels dry, sensitive, dull, or like it just wants a blanket this time of year, you’re not imagining it. Winter changes the light, the air, circulation, digestion, and hydration in the body, and your skin feels all of it! In this episode, Emily breaks down why winter skin behaves the way it does through a holistic, seasonal lens and shares practical ways to support your skin so it feel...

Once a month, I disappear from the world ... on purpose. No phone. No notifications. No chores. No pressure to be productive. Just a full day of white space that I call Moon Day. In this episode, I’m sharing the ritual that changed my relationship with rest, my creativity, and my work. It’s simple, nourishing, and surprisingly radical in the best way — because it asks nothing of you except to slow...

Today I’m teaching you a new language.  A way of understanding your inner ecology so you can make sense of what’s happening inside your body and on your skin. This framework is the foundation for so many future conversations about rosacea, breakouts, digestion, nervous system patterns, and intuitive skincare. Once you learn it, your skin and your whole inner world start to feel more understandable...

In this episode, Emily shares the five inner-ecology pillars that support the same outcomes people often seek from retinoids: smoother texture, brighter tone, fewer bumps, and a calmer, more resilient barrier. She also breaks down the difference between dietary vitamin A and topical retinoids, why supplements aren’t a shortcut, and how lifestyle, warmth, nourishment, movement, and nervous system h...

Today’s episode is part two of the vitamin A mini-series. Last week we talked about retinoids, what they do, how they interact with the skin, and why they can be so destabilizing from a corneotherapy and vitalist perspective. This week, we’re shifting into something more exciting: retinoid alternatives that actually support the skin, not override it. If you've ever wondered: “What should I use if...

In today’s episode, I’m diving into one of my most requested topics: retinol, Retin-A, retinaldehyde, retinol esters, the whole retinoid family, and how these different forms of vitamin A actually work in the skin. This episode is the first in a three-part Vitamin A series. Today we’re focusing on retinoids, the synthetic and preformed versions of vitamin A that bind directly to retinoic acid rece...

In this episode, Emily dives into the heart of herbalism.   What even is herbalism? How is it different from “clean” or “plant-based” skincare, and why do herbalist-formulated products feel so alive? She shares how her love of plants began at the Denver Botanic Gardens (and the fairy-tree elderberry that started it all), why whole-plant medicine is so much more than supplements or buzzwords, and h...

In this episode, Emily talks about how her understanding of holistic living has evolved beyond the “natural lifestyle” checklist into a deeper, more textured practice. She shares why true holistic living is less about controlling every variable and more about cooperating with the body’s innate intelligence through rhythm, seasonal awareness, simple rituals, and herbs as allies. What you’ll hear: W...