Today I sat down with the stunning Mia Astral of Miastral.com and we explored and chatted all things beauty rituals, green skincare, gemstones, buccal face massage, gua sha and more. Enjoy!
Tell us a little about how you started your business and why it’s called Minimal Beauty.
I’ve had an innate fascination with the way the skin reveals the inner self and have been drawn to holistic habits ever since I can remember. My first job was at a health food store way before they were hip. From there, I received my skin and massage licenses, a Bachelors in Holistic Medicine and I’ve worked for over a decade throughout luxury spas and practices, health food stores and with skincare and make-up lines in both holistic and conventional settings.
No matter which part of the industry, I always felt a need for more of an authentic and intimate setting when treating and educating on skin. Minimal Beauty and the name represent a blending of effective treatments and products, lifestyle practices and streamlined guidance to help clients care for skin on an elevated level.
Being a person who works in direct contact with people, how important do you think it is to be in a good emotional state when tending to clients?
My energy and state of mind is essential when I’m with clients. I ground, connect and center myself before each treatment, as my energy translates to all client experiences. I want my clients to feel welcome and at ease each time they visit. Skincare is a very personal journey for many. My energy also supports me in connecting intuitively where I am able to discover more about clients skin on a deeper level.
When I went to see you, I went because I suffer from bruxism. I was surprised that to massage the muscles in my jaw you massaged my arms, head and neck first. It was amazing, but can you explain why? How else can clients treat jaw concerns?
Beginning each treatment with releasing and opening the neck through massage assists in relaxation. From there, clients can drop down into their parasympathetic nervous system, where healing occurs.
The neck, face and head together can hold a ton of stress. I view the area holistically. With jaw tension, I begin working the muscles throughout the surrounding and by the time I reach the jaw, tension has already lessened. As tension decreases, muscles become more pliable and open to receiving treatment.
Treating the the face, neck and head muscles influences blood, lymph and energy flow, naturally supporting the skins own healing abilities and detoxification. When done consistently, this yields long term effects in leaving the complexion relaxed, supple and glowing.
For chronic jaw concerns such as jaw clenching, grinding teeth and overall muscular pain concerns, I focus on the external muscles of the face, followed by intimate facial work inside the mouth to reach deep facial muscles intra-orally. Also known as the Buccal Massage or Inner Mouth Massage.
Can you tell us why you work with crystals?
I enjoy working with crystals and have them in both my professional and personal spaces. I work in treatment with a large White Jade Stone Board and Rose Quartz Gua Sha stones. These stones each have their own affinities for enhancing the skin and are brilliant for soothing inflammations, cooling the skin, treating face and neck muscles, lymphatic drainage and sculpting. Gemstones overall awaken the energy of the complexion.
Do you believe in the benefits of the jade or crystal roller?
Jade Rollers work well in alleviating slight puffiness of the face through lymphatic support, cooling down the skin and product absorption. They are a wonderful way to elevate your daily beauty routine into more of a ritual.
Can you share 3 Natural Beauty Tips?
Discover your Dosha
Our Dosha is a unique combination of 3 elemental energies found throughout the body and mind that govern our physical and mental processes. Knowing your Dosha will help you get more intuitive with your skin. You will discover your skins tendencies and prone to’s while learning to care for it on a more healing and preventive level through beauty and lifestyle practices. Become familiar with Ayurveda for the ultimate lifestyle upgrade.
Sleep
Beauty Sleep is not a myth. Many restorative processes occur while we sleep, repairing from the stress that happens to our body on a daily basis from external pollutants to the effects of hormone fluctuations. For example, Human Growth Hormone is secreted during sleep and is responsible for repairing and restoring tissue throughout the body, including our collagen matrix. Without our deep sleep cycles, this and other restorative mechanisms will not occur and skin cannot repair from the day.
Avoid Sugar
Sugar systemically increases inflammation throughout the body, decreases tissue healing and overtime, reacts with proteins, producing AGE’s. (advanced glycosylation end-product) AGE’s damage tissue, which can weaken the collagen matrix and will lead to accelerated aging concerns and impaired healing. I do believe in moderation but always opt for natural sweets and sugars if indulging.
Can you share your 3 favorite Natural Beauty Products?
Organic Rosewater
Rosewater is Tri-Doshic meaning it is beneficial for all doshas and skin types. Rose cools inflammation, refreshes complexion and is the highest vibrational flower on earth. Rose enhances euphoric effects for mind, body and spirit. Rosewater is a must for all!
Josh Rosebrook Enzyme Exfoliator
This formulation creates a dual action exfoliation with skin polishing effects in combination with the enzymatic exfoliation from botanical extracts such as papaya. Work product gently into skin then leave on for up to an hour while botanical enzymes work to exfoliate on a deeper level. The perfect balance of exfoliation.
Mare Veronique Protective Day Oil
A daily face oil with a complete balance of Omegas to moisturize skin without clogging pores and is formulated with certain Omega 3’s, carotenoids and astaxanthin, provididing plant based UVA protection and anti-oxidants. This formula is light, absorbs quickly into skin and leaves complexion balanced throughout the day.
Can you share 3 ways for us to connect with our inner beauty?
Create Rituals
Create a special place for your products and take the time to apply them with intention, take baths, self massage, have a daily spiritual practice. We live in a fast paced world which yields alot of masculine energy. Having these little moments are essential times to connect with and nourish our feminine energies. Tapping into our innate inner beauty and revealing our radiance to the world are rooted in these types of daily experiences we have with ourselves.
Meditate
Meditation will connect you to all aspects of yourself. We may think we don’t have time to meditate but sitting with yourself, interruption free for even 20 minutes a day can have profound effects. These times of getting quiet combined with mindful breathing will increase prana flow and oxygen to the skin, release serotonin, enhancing mood and creating long term positive effects on our health.
Studies have also shown that individuals who suffer from eczema, psoriasis and inflammatory skin conditions can benefit from mediation. Skin inflammations can be triggered by emotions including anxiety, fear, stress and worry. Mediating helps to alleviate the root cause of these emotional flare-ups and the effects they have on skin.
Movement
Movement stimulates the body and mind, releases endorphins, alleviates stagnation and assists in an abundance of other positive effects that enhance our well-being. Movement gets us in touch with our body, mind and spirit and nourishes the connection between. Inner beauty truly radiates when the intention of movement is to nourish this connection and not just yield the external results.
What is your opinion on Chemical Peels?
Peels can range from light to very heavy. Skin history, strength of the skin, reason for the peel and type of peel, as well as in depth knowledge of the skin is a must. When peels are done incorrectly or too often, it is very disruptive to our skin barrier and skin function. Skin barrier imbalance can trigger many common inflammatory skin concerns and increases skin sensitivities.
Holistic approaches to exfoliation such as botanical enzymes, eastern modalities, natural retinols and select technology based treatments can yield superior results without disrupting the skin barrier. I do believe there is a time and a place for certain types of peels. However, they should not be used as an answer to acne, a quick fix and they cannot replace the radiance cultivated from holistic skin and lifestyle practices.
Where can we find you?
You can find me working with my students inside The Beauty Collective and training other estheticians professionally. Thank you Mia Astral for your enlightening questions on the depths of Natural Beauty and Self Care.
