Clean Beauty School

“We wanted to bring more airtime and more focus to [well-being] tools that are time tested that so many of us can agree on—and also integrate the possibility of joy,” says mbg co-founder Colleen Wachob, co-author of the new book The Joy Of Well-Being. “I worry that we’ve become so disconnected from what joy truly is. I think we all need to ask ourselves, ‘What is it about our lives that bring us joy?’” In this very special episode of Clean Beauty School, mbg beauty director & host Alexandra Engler chats with Wachob about her frustrations with the wellness industry, the pillars of her well-being routine, and the power of connection. Plus, all the ways your well-being habits affect your skin.Show notes:-Read The Joy Of Well-Being: A Practical Guide To A Happy, Healthy & Long Life-Reviews on how longevity is influenced by movement & connection-Study on girls, spirituality & depression -Study on falling, hip fractures & mortality -Literature on the gut-skin axis-Read more about topics mentioned in the episode: Colleen’s health journey, sleep hygiene, sleep’s effect on skin, gut-skin connection, eating enough protein, breathwork.Take 15% off dry body oil with code BODYOILPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout.Follow the host: @alex_blair_Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.comSponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com 

“It’s not just about the surface—it takes a lot of discipline and consistency. It takes so much more than just skin care. Skin care is about 30%, but the other 70% is our lifestyle. That’s where it all begins,” says celebrity esthetician Joanna Czech. In this episode of Clean Beauty School, mindbodygreen beauty director and host Alexandra Engler chats with Czech about how she’s amassed a roster of top celebrity clientele (like Cate Blanchett, Bella Hadid, and Kim Kardashian), how to prep for a big event, and why eating an anti-inflammatory diet is so critical for the long-term health of your skin. Plus, her favorite professional treatments.  Show notes:-Follow Joanna Czech-Check out her brand & spa-Read more about topics mentioned in this episode: peptides, ceramides, vitamin C, vitamin E, retinol, skin barrier, acne, anti-inflammatory diet, microcurrent, facial massage, LED lights, nighttime routine. -Shop products mentioned in this episode: Joanna Czech Skincare The Soothing Serum, The C+ Serum, The Toner, The Balm, The Face Mask, The Facial Massager, Necessaire The Body Wash, Environ Vitamin A C E Body Oil Forte, Alpha Hydroxy Acid Derma-LOC Lotion, Vita-Antioxidant AVST Moisturiser, Costa Brazil Oleo de Limpieza Para A Face, Exquisite Face + Body Cleansing Gel, Reflekt 1 Daily Exfoliating Face Wash, ISDIN K-Ox Eyes Cream, Forlle’d Hyalogy Eye Moistlift, Lyma Laser, NuFace Trinity Pro Facial Toning Device,Gee Beauty Prime SkinTake 15% off our body cream with code BODYCREAMPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout.Follow the host: @alex_blair_Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.comSponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com 

We’re back with a special beauty catch-up episode of Clean Beauty School! And this time, mindbodygreen beauty director Alexandra Engler and beauty editor Jamie Schneider are answering all your questions—from brow growth and frizzy hair to LED masks and how to firm up skin. Then we get into the latest and greatest launches from mbg’s personal care collection (we can’t wait to tell you all about the body cream, body oil, and postbiotic hand wash). And we end the episode with our segment As Of Late, where we gush about all the best products we’ve been using lately—including one very expensive in-office procedure. Show notes:-Follow Jamie and read her latest work-Watch the air dry tutorial Jamie mentions -Listen to Jas Imani’s brow and lash growth episodes -Listen to Ellen Marmur, M.D.’s LED episodes -Check out our series As Of Late-Read more about topics mentioned in this episode: how long to wash your face, can you wash your face in the shower, how to manage frizz, hair type, how to air dry, sulfate free shampoo for curly hair, brow growth tips, how to create thicker brows, brow growth serums, peptides, castor oil for brow growth, LED therapy, LED therapy masks and tools, LED facials, how to fade dark spots, vitamin C serums, retinol serums, glycolic acid, AHAs, antioxidants for skin, how to use retinol, what to eat for collagen, collagen supplements, shea butter for skin, squalane, mango seed butter, skin microbiome, skin barrier, pre and postbiotics,    -Shop products mentioned in this episode: Murad Retinal ReSculpt™ Overnight Treatment, DWB Beauty Retinal Night, Sofwave, OLEHENRIKSEN Banana Bright Mineral Face Sunscreen SPF 30, Phlur Solar Power, alpyn beauty's Pore Perfecting Liquid with 2% BHA + Borage, Sacheu Lip Liner STAY-N, Augustinus Bader The Retinol Serum-Try mindbodygreen’s personal care products mentioned in this episode: mindbodygreen body cream, mindbodygreen body oil, mindbodygreen postbiotic hand wash, mindbodygreen beauty & gut collagen+Take 15% off dry body oil with code BODYOILPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout.Follow the host: @alex_blair_Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.comSponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com 

“By the time we see symptoms manifesting at the surface, that means there’s a chronic history of issues going on internally. It takes time to heal—often, more time than we want it to,” says famed holistic esthetician Kristina Holey. Her first step in addressing troubled skin? Reworking the diet: “Blood sugar, fiber, and variety. If you address those three things in your diet, I guarantee you'll see significant results in your skin.” In this episode of Clean Beauty School, host and mindbodygreen beauty director Alexandra Engler chats with Holey about her best nutrition tips, skin care ingredients to soothe inflammation, and her favorite at-home facial tools!Show notes:-Learn more about Kristina Holey-Research on the gut-skin connection-Research on the skin barrier function and microbiome -Learn more about Kristina Holey’s practice and her partnership with Marie Veronique-Read more about topics mentioned in this episode: compromised skin barrier, sensitive skin, types of acne, skin microbiome, gut-skin connection, niacinamide, retinol, acid mantle, skin barrier function. -Shop products mentioned in this episode: Marie Veronique Multi-Retinol Night Emulsion, Pure + E.O. Free Oil Cleanser, Balancing HypoTonic, Intensive Repair Serum, Soothing B3 Serum, Barrier Restore Serum, Barrier Lipid Complex, Protective Day Oil, Vitamin C+E+Ferulic, Everyday Coverage Tinted Sunscreen, Lyma Laser, TheraFaceTake 15% off our postbiotic hand wash with code HANDWASHPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout.Follow the host: @alex_blair_Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.comSponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com 

“How you view your beauty rituals should be entirely up to what you need. For some, it’s reading a book with a cup of tea while taking the time for a face mask. For others, it’s just closing the eyes, unwinding, and doing a simple few steps,” says longtime beauty vet Eleonora Miller, founder of natural spa brand Exquisite Face & Body. “Because during challenging times, you have to relearn how to simply take care of yourself.” In this episode of Clean Beauty School, mindbodygreen beauty director and host Alexandra Engler chats with Miller about how beauty can be a tool for compassion during times of hardship and loss, how to cultivate compassion for yourself, and why skin care should never be stressful. Show notes:-Learn more about Exquisite Face & Body-Read more about topics mentioned in this episode: Beauty as self care, mental health and beauty, makeup as art therapy, dealing with grief.-Shop products mentioned in this episode: Exquisite Face & Body Soothing Cleansing Gel, Ultra Hydrating Toner, Avène Hydrance Light Hydrating Emulsion, La Roche Posay Anthelios 50 Mineral Sunscreen Take 15% off our postbiotic hand wash with code HANDWASHPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout.Follow the host: @alex_blair_Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.comSponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com 

“I think the essence of what biotech brings to beauty is the analytical, comprehensive look at the root causes. What are the receptors in the skin? What are the pathways? Why is this happening, and how can we intervene? It requires a knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry of what’s going on in the skin,” says biotech scientist Lauren Otsuki, who is joined by beauty vet Vimla Black-Gupta, co-founders of the subtopical and biotech skin care brand Ourself. “One of the biggest fundamental differences between the way traditional skincare has approached using ingredients and the way biotech people approach things, is that we want to be able to make sure that they can get to where they need to go in the skin. We evaluate whether the ingredient or compound can actually engage the target.” In this episode of Clean Beauty School, host and mindbodygreen beauty director Alexandra Engler chats with Otsuki and Black-Gupta about why one of the biggest hurdles in skin care is the delivery method, what to look for in a hyaluronic acid product, and more. Show notes:-Shop Ourself products with the code MBG20 for 20% off orders at Ourself.com-Follow Ourself & learn more about the brand-Learn more about skin structure -Research on hyaluronic acid-Read more about topics mentioned in this episode: Biotech beauty, skin barrier, compromised skin barrier, hyaluronic acid, peptide, exercise and skin care, how to plump lips, how to make lips appear bigger-Shop products mentioned in this episode: Ourself Lip Filler, Daily Dark Spot Intercept, HA+ Replenishing SerumTake 15% off our postbiotic hand wash with code HANDWASHPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout.Follow the host: @alex_blair_Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.comSponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com 

“With sustainability, you have to think holistically. It’s about addressing biodegradability, secondary packaging, carbon footprint, the emissions, and all the ingredients that are going into it,” says sustainability expert and product developer Angela Ubias, co-founder of Common Heir. “On the clean ingredient side, we have already seen this shift in the mainstream of being more open to it, and that consumer shift leading to more innovative materials. And so now packaging needs to catch up because it is so far behind.” In this episode of Clean Beauty School, mindbodygreen beauty director and host Alexandra Engler chats with Ubias about innovative ways to package beauty products, tackling the plastic problem, and the importance of inclusivity in clinical trials. Show notes:-Follow Angela Ubias & Common Heir-Learn more about Common Heir-Read more about products mentioned in this episode: Retinol, vitamin C, ceramides, skin barrier, hot oil treatments, hair oiling, bone broth. -Shop products mentioned in this episode: Eminence Stone Crop Cleansing Oil, Common Heir Retinol Serum, Common Heir Ceramide Barrier Boost, Le Prunier Plumscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 31, Squigs Gooseberry Delight Hair Oil Minori Beauty Cream Blush in Scarlet, Westman Atelier Lit Up Highlight Stick Take 15% off our body cream with code BODYCREAMPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout.Follow the host: @alex_blair_Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.comSponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com 

“People ask me, what’s the microbiome? It’s you. It’s as much part of you as your arms, heart, or lungs—you just can’t see it or feel it," says skin microbiome expert Larry Weiss, M.D. "We are constantly dancing into the unknown, and we shouldn’t get too attached to our preconceived notions because historically they always get surrendered to the ideas that we can’t yet imagine.” And nowhere is this more true than when studying the skin microbiome, an area of research we’ve only just scratched the surface of. In this episode of Clean Beauty School, mindbodygreen beauty director and host Alexandra Engler chats with Weiss about the future of skin care, how we can learn about ourselves through the microbiome, and why skin care is health care. Show notes:-Learn more about Symbiome-Inflammatory conditions are on the rise -Rise of eczema and asthma in children-Research on the skin microbiome-The engrafted microbiome vs. the biofilm  -Read more about the yanomami tribe-Read more about topics mentioned in this episode: Skin microbiome, new and emerging research on the skin microbiome, skin barrier function, compromised skin barrier, prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics, oxidative stress. -Shop products mentioned in this episode: Symbiome The Renewal Cleanser, The One Cream  Take 15% off our body cream with code BODYCREAMPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout.Follow the host: @alex_blair_Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.comSponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com 

“I think traditionally with fragrance, it has always been about this fantasy, right? It’s all about being unattainable and creating this false sense of what a fantasy life could look like. I approach it as expressing something I’m currently going through—because if I’m dealing with it, someone else probably is too,” says OG beauty & style influencer Chriselle Lim, who founded the blog The Chriselle Factor and is the Creative Director and co-owner of the clean fragrance brand PHLUR. “The emotion of heartbreak, of missing someone, of joy, of wanting to feel sexy and attractive when you don't feel sexy and attractive and confident. These emotions are all universally shared.” In this episode of Clean Beauty School, mindbodygreen beauty director and host Alexandra Engler chats with Lim about the viral sensation that is the fragrance Missing Person, how mindful fragrance can feel like therapy, and how beauty is a means of connection. Plus, her top beauty recommendations. Show notes:-Follow Chriselle Lim & PHLUR-Read more about topics mentioned in this episode: how to apply fragrance, how to make perfume last longer, how Gen-Z consumes fragrance, natural vs synthetic fragrance. -Shop products mentioned in this episode: Sofwave, Biologique Recherche p50 toner, iS CLINICAL Active Serum, A313 Vitamin A Pommade, Clé de Peau Beauté Synactif Cream, MAKE Beauty Hydrating Lip Treatment Serum Balm, Nars Radiant Cream Concealer, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, Dior Backstage Rosy Glow Blush, PHLUR Apricot Privee Eau De Parfum, PHLUR Missing Person Eau de Parfum, PHLUR Tangerine Boy Eau de Parfum, PHLUR Solar Power Eau de Parfum, Oura RingTake 15% off our body cream with code BODYCREAMPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout.Follow the host: @alex_blair_Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.comSponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com 

“In the West, there are celebrated one-size-fits-all ingredients. With Ayurveda, there’s an emphasis on exploring what works for you. Ayurveda is a deeply personal science that celebrates your individuality,” says Ayurvedic beauty expert Shrankhla Holecek, founder of Uma Oils. In this episode of Clean Beauty School school, mindbodygreen beauty director and host Alexandra Engler chats with Holecek about the core principles of Ayurvedic beauty, skin care tips based on doshas, and how to find balance. Plus, her all-time favorite oils.Show notes:-Follow Uma Oil-Read more about Shrankhla Holecek’s story-Read more about Ayurvedic medicine -International Journal of Ayurvedic Research -Read more about topics mentioned in this episode: Ayurveda 101, ayurvedic skin care, ayurvedic herbs, balancing the doshas, doshas, vata dosha, pitta dosha, kapha, acne, sensitive skin, sleep hygiene, stress management practices, meditation, dry brushing, abhyanga self massage benefits, scalp massage, rose water, pomegranate seed oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, rosehip oil, coconut oil, honey, gommage, oil cleanser, double cleansing, ice for skin,      -Shop products mentioned in this episode: UMA Absolute Anti Aging Rose Honey Cleanser, UMA Deeply Clarifying Neem Charcoal Cleanser, UMA face masks, UMA Lymphatic Detox Dry Brush, UMA Kansa Wand, Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara, Giorgio Armani lipsticksTake 15% off dry body oil with code BODYOILPOD. Cannot combine with gift cards or other discount codes. Apply code at checkout.Follow the host: @alex_blair_Call in: sayhi.chat/cleanbeautyschool Comments: podcast@mindbodygreen.comSponsorship inquiries: sales@mindbodygreen.com