Women In Wellness: Kayleigh Christina of ‘CLEARSTEM Skincare’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing
Prioritize your mental health. If you can’t show up for yourself, you won’t be able to show up for anyone else. You and your body are what are most important, which includes your mental health. Going to a therapist, energy healer, or even just talking things out with a friend can make a huge difference.
As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kayleigh Christina.
Holistic Nutritionist Kayleigh Christina is the co-founder of CLEARSTEM Skincare, a non-toxic skincare line that targets acne, anti-aging, and scar reversing utilizing premium ingredients. Guided by a passion to make a positive impact, Christina studies the latest research on skin and whole-body wellness. She is the co-host of the Balancing Your Hustle podcast, which interviews thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and wellness experts, diving into their individual stories and journeys. Christina is also the published author of Healing with Apple Cider Vinegar: 115 Recipes for Health, Beauty, and Home and has been featured in numerous health, wellness, and lifestyle publications.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?
Thank you so much! I am honored to be a part of this series! I used to work in the corporate world and also as a holistic nutritionist. During this time I experienced a lot of different health issues, which led me to expand my knowledge about how what you put into your body affects your overall wellness. I felt a personal responsibility to share my findings with others so that they could also gain control of their own health. I struggled with celiac disease, leaky gut, and, to top it all off, extreme cystic acne. I was able to get everything under control, except my acne, which led me to dive deeper into research and cross paths with my now business partner Danielle. Together we discovered the extreme lack of knowledge surrounding skin health and acne, and the struggles I went through with my acne turned into a company, CLEARSTEM Skincare. We not only created a line that tackled both aging and acne, but also provided consumers with information about nutrition, hormones, supplements, and whole body wellness.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?
I was one of 20 female entrepreneurs invited to Lorna Jane’s house. Because I consistently shared the behind the scenes of my business and was vulnerable on my social media, I was noticed and invited. Danielle and I were also featured at FounderMade’s Discovery Show this past year, which was a career highlight.
Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake in CLEARSTEM’s early days was when 2,500 bottles arrived from overseas with pink metallic labels. Our labels were white and blue. We had no way to reverse this and the company had an 8 week lead time, so we just had to roll with it, and, luckily, people went nuts over it!!! They loved it and still ask for it sometimes!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I could never choose just one person. I am truly grateful for the friends I’ve made along the way creating my business who have also been huge mentors to me in many different ways. To name a few: Brandon Cohen, Steven Barelli, Rich Blankenship, Julia Broglie, Mark Mastrandrea, Sam Pantazopoulos and Christina Rice.
Ok perfect. Now let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?
At CLEARSTEM, impact is our motivation. There’s so much misinformation about skin health that exists, particularly around acne and aging. These two pain points for people cause a lot of stress, anxiety, and confidence issues. We help people become confident in their skin by taking control of their health and helping them see positive results. When people become more confident, they let their light shine and are able to make a positive impact on others.
Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.
I believe simple changes make the biggest impact. It’s also easier to make small habit changes that create massive change over time.
- Drink more water. I know you hear this all the time, but drinking more water is one of the greatest things health wise that you can do for your body. If you’re in a pinch, find a product like Liquid I.V. that you can put in your drink on-the-go.
- Sleep quality > sleep quantity. It’s not always about the amount of hours you get. Your body and cells do the most generation between 10pm and 2am. If you are missing these hours, you are missing quality sleep. If you’re anything like me, you have a grind mentality. Something I always prioritize is quality sleep because I can’t show up to do my best everyday if i’m not feeling my best.
- Prioritize your mental health. If you can’t show up for yourself, you won’t be able to show up for anyone else. You and your body are what are most important, which includes your mental health. Going to a therapist, energy healer, or even just talking things out with a friend can make a huge difference.
- Limit caffeine intake. Caffeine may seem like something that just gives you energy, but in reality it can spark anxiety and blood sugar levels for a lot of people. The combination of these two can put your body in a high stress mode that can lead to poor sleep, inflammation, high levels of anxiety, and overeating. Limiting your caffeine intake can help you avoid that.
- Reframe to the positive. Life is full of twists and turns and it’s never going to go the way you expect it to. When you learn to take things that seem to go “wrong” and find the learning lesson and positive experience from it, it shifts your mindset so you automatically start viewing anything negative as an opportunity to be a positive.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
A movement idea is National No-Makeup Day! Celebrities and models included. It would inspire everyone and connect us all in such a powerful way!
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?
- Pick what you say yes to wisely. There are going to be a lot of opportunities and directions you can go in. Always lead with your gut and focus on your main priorities.
- Prioritize your time. Having the flexibility to make your schedule can be both a blessing and a curse. Create routines to make the most out of every day and stay focused.
- There are going to be a lot of ups and down, so learn to pivot. Things are going to go really right sometimes and really wrong other times. Pivot when things go wrong. You’d be surprised how many amazing learning lessons come from that.
- Your network of people is everything. Who you surround yourself with is a direct reflection of you and can either inspire you or bring you down. As you grow, you realize that your network of people is your biggest support system.
- It’s ok to grow slowly. Growing takes time. There are a lot of changes that happen along the way so be okay with growing slowly and making small adjustments along the way. Sometimes growing too fast doesn’t allow for little tweaks and changes that can make a big difference.
Sustainability, veganism, mental health and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?
Mental health! We are saving people’s mental health by helping them feel confident in their skin again!
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
You can follow my personal Instagram account @kayleigh.christina and also @clearstemskincare.
Thank you for these fantastic insights!
Women In Wellness: Kayleigh Christina of ‘CLEARSTEM Skincare’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Wil was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.