Tune In: Master Aesthetician’s Well-being Habits That Boost Your Glow Too
What happens when you’ve tried all the buzzy new products, booked every facial, and made every ingredient upgrade—but you still don’t feel beautiful? What’s the use of skin care if you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin? And why do so many of us focus on surface fixes when the root cause of our dissatisfaction is much deeper?
That’s exactly what I chatted with my guest about on this episode of Clean Beauty School. Joining me is master aesthetician Mikaela MacLean, a skin care and wellness expert who has a radical approach to skin healing.
“I think the way it makes sense to me is that there’s something in everyone—especially people who struggle with how they feel about their appearance—where something is obscuring your light. Those internal shadows you don’t want to address really have nothing to do with what you’re applying topically. As much as we’d love to think it does, it doesn’t,” she says.
After years of practicing in a plastic surgeon’s office, MacLean shifted her entire approach—turning skin care into a spiritual practice. Now, her work centers on helping people build an inside-out glow that lasts.
“ There is such a connection between your emotional state, your mental state, and how your skin is doing. And so if we address those inner issues that a product can't actually treat, then we've really done the majority of the job,” says MacLean. “If I can say something that's going to touch you much deeper than any skincare product ever would, that's going to show up in the light in your eyes and the smile on your face.”
Here are the three practices she swears by, all backed by science too. For more insights tune in to hear our entire conversation.
Practicing yoga nidra
Deep, restorative rest is fundamental to skin healing and rejuvenation. MacLean turns to yoga nidra for support.
“Yoga nidra is actually my big love. It has actual scientific beauty benefits. You’re slipping into the delta state, and that helps your brain produce melatonin and DHEA—these anti-aging brain chemicals that support you with pretty much no effort at all.”
In fact, research shows that “yogic sleep” is associated with measurable changes in brain activity, hormonal status (including melatonin release), improvements in sleep quality and autonomic nervous system balance—key factors in skin health and regeneration.
She notes that even professionals can weave it into treatment plans: “You can give someone a 90-minute facial and then put on a yoga nidra meditation for half an hour, and they’ll come out as if they’ve had four extra hours of sleep,” she says.
Embracing the placebo effect
Belief itself can shape outcomes. Time and again, research has shown that the placebo effect—a fascinating phenomenon that occurs when expectation alone yields tangible outcomes—is real.
“It’s not really about, ‘this crystal’s going to heal you.’ It’s more the intention behind it. Sometimes people need something 3D to remind them to care for themselves. At the end of the day, so much of what we do is about the placebo effect. If I’m prescribing you these things, I absolutely believe they have an impact on you. But also: do you believe they have an impact on you?”
Reframing through mental anchors
What we say about ourselves becomes our truth. And if you’re constantly criticizing your appearance, imperfections are all you’re ever going to see. “Everything becomes about trying to torture yourself into perfection rather than enjoying yourself on the way there,” she laments.
So make a specific, intentional effort to turn your skin care routine into a time of peace and self love.
“Your skin care is a beautiful time to do affirmations,” she says. “It can be really beneficial to stick those on your bathroom mirror or even speak to your skin care products.”
She notes the power in repetition: “The mind is so busy, and when you bring it back again and again to something healthy and beneficial, it can’t help but be good for you.”
And these tools don’t require major time commitments. “If skin care is already the routine, how can you fit a little something else in there—a mantra, an affirmation, or even meditation?” she says, adding, “It’s just like a walking meditation!”
For her, that overlap is where the transformation happens: “I pulled myself from a not-so-happy, healthy mental place into something much better for myself. And I got my skin care done at the same time.”
Tune in:
For our entire conversation, listen below.