Licensed esthetician, neurodivergent, mom of two, and the founder who built the practice she always needed.
Skincare was always something I was drawn to — the science of it, the way a good routine could genuinely change how someone felt in their own skin. So I went through esthetician training, got licensed, and started working in the industry I'd wanted to be part of.
But there was a problem. The spa environment was overwhelming. Fluorescent lights. The constant hum of background music. Unexpected product textures. Small talk while someone touched my face. Pressure to relax — as if that were something you could command. For someone with a nervous system like mine, the whole experience felt like fighting my own body just to do my job.
I was neurodivergent — something I was still learning about myself — and a mom of two kids who were also finding their way through a sensory-heavy world. I saw how they experienced it. I felt how I experienced it. And I started to wonder: how many people skip skincare entirely because the industry refuses to accommodate how they're actually wired?
I didn't set out to disrupt esthetics. I just wanted to build a practice I could actually stand behind — and stand in. A place where the protocol started with the person, not the product. Where "what does your nervous system need?" was a legitimate clinical question.
YANA Skin stands for You Are Not Alone. That's not a tagline I came up with in a branding session. It's the thing I needed to hear during every appointment I ever dreaded. Every client who books with me knows it before we even speak: this space exists because you're not the outlier. You're the whole point.
Going virtual was a natural extension of that philosophy. No clinic to navigate. No waiting room. No fluorescent lighting or surprise aromatherapy. Just a real conversation about your skin, your sensory world, and how to take care of yourself in a way that actually sticks.
As a licensed esthetician, I bring real training to every consultation — skin analysis, product chemistry, routine building, sensitivity assessment. That part is non-negotiable.
But I also bring something the textbooks don't cover: I know what it's like to have a product smell that shuts your whole day down. I know what it's like to love the idea of a skincare routine but feel overwhelmed before you even open the bathroom cabinet. I know what it's like to need things explained in a specific way — and to have a practitioner not understand why.
Both of those things — the clinical and the personal — are what make YANA different. I'm not trying to fit you into a standard protocol. I'm building the protocol around you.
Three principles that shape every consultation
Before we talk products, we talk about what safety means to you. Your sensory tolerances, your communication preferences, your pace. Nothing happens without your full consent and comfort.
Every product I recommend comes with a sensory profile — texture, scent level, application feel. You know exactly what you're getting before you buy. No gritty surprises. No unexpected fragrances.
Progress doesn't have a deadline here. Whether you want to overhaul your routine or just figure out one product that doesn't wreck your skin, we move at whatever speed actually works for your life.
When I was figuring out I was neurodivergent, the most disorienting part wasn't the diagnosis. It was realizing how long I'd spent thinking I was just bad at things everyone else found easy. Waiting rooms. Certain fabrics. Smells in enclosed spaces. Products that were supposed to be "gentle" but lit my skin on fire.
The skincare industry isn't built for nervous systems like ours. It's built for a mythical "average" client who finds spa environments relaxing, tolerates fragrance, and isn't bothered by texture. That's a real person — just not most of us.
YANA exists to say clearly: your experience of the world is valid clinical information, not a problem to work around. You are not high-maintenance for needing things explained slowly. You are not being difficult when you can't use a product that makes everyone else's skin glow. You are not alone in feeling like skincare was never really designed for you.
It was designed for someone else. So I built something for you.
Book a virtual consultation. We'll start with your world — sensory preferences, skin goals, and all — and build from there.
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