Healing the Skin, Honoring the Soul: What Your Face Is Trying to Tell You

We’re taught to treat our skin like a problem.

To fight it.

Fix it.

Cover it up.

But what if your skin wasn’t a flaw — what if it was a messenger?

This week on The Balanced Woman Podcast, I had the gift of sitting down with Meagan Isbell, a holistic esthetician whose work goes far beyond beauty. In a world obsessed with perfect skin, Meagan’s approach is a radical return to reverence. She sees the face not as a canvas to perfect, but as a portal — a mirror to the soul, a place where emotion, identity, and spirit all converge.

As we spoke, something in me softened. I realized how often I’ve treated my own skin — especially this past year — like something to endure. Something to hide.

Since becoming a mother, my body has shifted, my reflection has changed, and with Bell’s palsy on top of it all, there were months when I couldn’t bear to look in the mirror at all. What Meagan offered me — in her words, in her presence, in her touch — was permission to return. To see myself again. To come home.

In Chinese Medicine, the skin is ruled by the Metal element — the energy of refinement, grief, and letting go. Metal teaches us how to discern what’s essential and release the rest. It’s no coincidence that many of us notice skin changes during times of loss, identity shift, or emotional upheaval. The skin holds it all.

And yet, we’re told to treat it topically.

To throw more products at it.

To follow more steps.

To do more.

But what if less is actually the medicine?

Meagan shared that the healthiest skin she often sees is on men who use almost nothing. Because simplicity honors the body’s intelligence. Because true radiance can’t be bought — it’s remembered. Reclaimed. Allowed.

Our conversation touched on so much more than skincare. We spoke about motherhood, about burnout, about the quiet ache of not recognizing yourself anymore. We explored how a facial — when done with intention and care — can become a spiritual experience. A ceremony of return. A space where a woman feels deeply seen, not just by another, but by herself.

And that, I think, is what we’re all yearning for.

To be seen.

To be met.

To be reminded that nothing is wrong with us — we’re just in a new season. One that calls for new ways of being.

If you’ve been avoiding your reflection…

If your self-care has felt like another thing to do…

If you’ve lost touch with the part of you that once felt beautiful…

This episode is for you.

Let it be a breath.

Let it be a mirror.

Let it be a moment to remember who you are — and who you’re still becoming.

Listen now to Your Skin Is Speaking on The Balanced Woman Podcast.

And if you're ready to go deeper, to reconnect with your body, your rhythm, and your reflection — join us for the 10-Day Virtual Retreat. It’s a gentle but powerful way to begin again.

You don’t need more products.

You need more presence.

Come home to yourself.

Explore the 10-Day Virtual Retreat