Skin Anarchy: "Healing Sensitive Skin by Caring for the Whole Person"

Guest: Dr. Alexes Hazen, Founder of Zen Essentials
Host: Ekta
Date: December 15, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features a deep and thoughtful conversation between Dr. Ekta and Dr. Alexes Hazen, plastic surgeon and founder of Zen Essentials. Together, they explore sensitive skin, the pitfalls and possibilities of modern skincare, the importance of a holistic approach to skin health, and ethical dilemmas in plastic surgery. Dr. Hazen shares her journey from medicine to skincare formulation, emphasizing patient-centered, ethical care and the importance of respecting the body's natural barriers. The discussion covers holistic healing, the psychology behind beauty, product formulations, and practical tips for anyone struggling with sensitive skin or overload in today’s skincare market.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dr. Hazen’s Journey: Medicine, Personal Experience, and Innovation

• Origins in Medical Field: Dr. Hazen shares how her passion for healthcare began post-college, transitioning from history major to medicine through her work in AIDS education ([01:00]-[02:30]).
• Peace Corps & International Health: Her hands-on experience in Honduras shaped her perspective on basic health and fueled her desire to become a doctor.
• Personal Trauma, Plastic Surgery, and Holistic Interest: Childhood burn injuries and subsequent reconstructive surgeries informed her passion for treating scars and drove her toward plastic surgery and skincare ([02:00]-[03:30]).

  “I was burned very badly...I had plastic surgery. I was in the burn unit at New York...that experience was always something that I was sort of interested in and it circles back to the development of the skincare product line.” – Dr. Hazen, [02:00]

2. Integrating Holistic Care in Technical Medicine

• Surgical Precision Meets Whole-Person Healing: Dr. Hazen explains that despite the technical nature of microsurgery, patient outcomes are deeply affected by their emotional and lifestyle factors ([03:57]-[07:00]).
• Holistic Interventions: Incorporating mental health, support systems, nutrition, and expectation management leads to superior surgical outcomes.

  “Patients didn’t do well if they weren’t taken care of in terms of their whole being...If someone was really anxious, their pain would be out of control.” – Dr. Hazen, [04:25]

3. The Skin as a Mirror of Health

• Foundational Habits for Skin Health: Healthy skin is a reflection of one’s internal well-being—a message often ignored by brands promising quick fixes ([08:00]-[09:50]).
• Limitations of Topical Solutions: Both host and guest critique the industry’s tendency to overpromise and set unrealistic expectations.

  "If you think that you're just gonna buy some topical stuff and it's gonna make you look healthy and vibrant, that is erroneous thinking.” – Dr. Hazen, [08:29]

• Basics First: Diet, hydration, sleep, and stress management are the “game changers” before topicals have any real impact.

4. Ethics, Expectations, and the Business of Plastic Surgery

• From Reconstructive to Cosmetic Surgery: The shift in focus from necessity to enhancement sometimes creates more problems than it solves ([09:50]-[15:00]).
• Board Certification & Ethics: Choosing a surgeon with the right credentials is essential; patients must research thoroughly ([10:39]-[13:00]).
• Rejecting “Sales Tactics” in Medicine: Dr. Hazen criticizes surgeons who suggest unnecessary procedures or specify arbitrary outcomes:

  “Who am I to tell anybody what they…[need]? It is wildly inappropriate for a surgeon to tell a patient what size breasts they should have.” – Dr. Hazen, [14:09], [15:06]

• Luxury Plastic Surgery: Hosts tackle the rise of “luxury” experiences and unregulated fees, questioning the ethics of exorbitant pricing ([17:19]-[18:30]).

  “Should you be charging $250,000 for that [facelift]? To me that seems like not being a good doctor.” – Dr. Hazen, [17:19]

5. The Present and Future of Skincare: Science, Innovation, and Overwhelm

• Innovation in Topicals and Devices: The growing understanding of skin’s needs is fueling innovation in both products and techniques—lasers, microneedling, and more ([19:40]-[21:30]).
• Scarring as a White Space: Early intervention and patient demand drive advances in scar management.
• Skincare Clutter & Consumer Overwhelm: The panel laments the market overload and confusion faced by both new and seasoned consumers ([27:09]-[29:14]).

  “If you tackle any topic in the health and wellness arena...sometimes it becomes so overwhelming that you end up throwing up your hands and saying, 'I don't know what supplement to take...so I'm not going to do anything.'” – Dr. Hazen, [28:05]

6. Zen Essentials: Sensitive Skin, Clean Formulation, Real Solutions

• Founder’s Motivation: Personal experience with debilitating rashes and allergies led Dr. Hazen to create products she could safely use ([23:42]-[24:17]).
• Gaps in the Market: Existing "clean" products often lacked efficacy or a pleasant experience; she sought to fill this gap with Zen Essentials ([24:17]-[27:09]).
• Universal Skin Needs: Marketing often invents artificial “needs” based on demographic slices, but fundamentally, all skin requires the same basics—a philosophy that underpins her line.

  “To the extent that we think that’s not the case, it’s just marketing strategy... We all kind of...our skin requires the same stuff.” – Dr. Hazen, [26:00]

7. Skincare Missteps: DIY, Over-Formulation, and Microbiome Damage

• Dangerous DIY Trends: The perils of TikTok fads (“at-home Botox”), excessive ingredient lists, and harsh chemical exposure are discussed ([29:14]-[30:35]).

  “Your skin is not like a raincoat. Your skin is an organ and it absorbs things and it absorbs toxins.” – Dr. Hazen, [30:35]

• Parfum and Fragrance: Widespread use of undisclosed chemical “parfum” is flagged as both allergenic and a masking agent for product toxicity ([32:09]-[33:09]).
• Microbiome Awareness: The advance of probiotics in skincare (e.g., cleansers) is highlighted, stressing the need for gentler, microbiome-friendly products—especially for inflammatory disorders like acne and rosacea ([35:45]-[37:45]).

8. Environmental & Societal Factors Impacting Sensitive Skin

• Chemical Assaults: Modern life (pollution, plastics, contaminated food) creates “assault” on skin immunity, leading to increased sensitivity and inflammatory reactions ([38:47]-[40:20]).
• Endocrine Disruptors: Dr. Hazen provides a nuanced answer: while small doses may not dramatically disrupt hormones, their presence signals product toxicity and is best avoided ([40:35]-[43:48]).

9. Education, Empowerment, and Advocating for Simplicity

• Consumer Education: A call for more nuanced, biology-focused consumer education to help users cut through marketing and make safe choices ([44:51]-[45:29]).
• From Sick Care to Health Care: Society’s orientation toward “sick care” (rather than preventive health) is a systemic barrier to real progress ([45:29]-[46:07]).
• Inflammaging: Chronic inflammation is pinpointed as the chief driver of skin aging.

  “Inflammaging is the number one reason you guys are aging...inflammation is the root cause of every single breakdown of every protein in the body.” – Dr. Ekta, [47:32]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dr. Hazen on Holistic Surgery:
  "What I noticed is that patients didn't do well if they weren't taken care of in terms of their whole being." ([04:25])

• On Topical-Only Solutions:
  "If you think that you're just gonna buy some topical stuff and it's gonna make you look healthy and vibrant, that is erroneous thinking." ([08:29])

• On Surgical Ethics:
  “Who am I to tell anybody what size breasts they should have. It's insane." ([15:06])

• On Skincare Overload:
  “If you tackle any topic in the health and wellness arena... sometimes it becomes so overwhelming that you end up throwing up your hands and saying, ‘I don't know what supplement to take because they're telling me a million different things. So I'm not going to do anything.’” ([28:05])

• On Parfum & Product Transparency:
  “Parfum...is a chemical that reduces the chemical smell of these products. If you're creating a product that has a terrible chemical scent, it's because it's full of terrible chemicals.” ([32:09]-[33:09])

• On Skincare Microbiome:
  “We have a lot of natural barriers in our skin...and a lot of the products do [harm]. They’re too harsh, actually.” ([37:05])

• On Endocrine Disruptors:
  “I'm not so worried about the reproductive...it's unlikely [they’ll disrupt hormones]...but I do think what it tells you is that they're not good, you know?” ([41:58])

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |----------|-----------------------------------------------| | [00:49] | Dr. Hazen’s journey into medicine | | [03:57] | Integrating holistic care in plastic surgery | | [08:00] | The skin as a health barometer | | [09:50] | Ethical issues in modern cosmetic surgery | | [17:19] | Luxury plastic surgery—pricing controversy | | [19:40] | Innovations in skincare and scar management | | [23:42] | Genesis of Zen Essentials | | [29:14] | Skincare market confusion & DIY dangers | | [32:09] | Parfum and product formulation transparency | | [35:45] | Skin’s microbiome & probiotics in skincare | | [38:47] | Environmental toxins & increased sensitivity | | [40:35] | Endocrine disruptors—risk and perspective | | [47:32] | Inflamma-aging and barrier repair |

Conclusion

This candid episode of Skin Anarchy underscores how sensitive skin is not an isolated issue, but entwined with lifestyle, emotional well-being, and broader societal factors. Dr. Hazen’s experience—from treating scars to formulating her own “skin-mimetic” products—drives home the necessity of both simplicity and empowerment in self-care. Listeners are left with practical, science-based guidance and a refreshing reminder: healthy skin reflects a healthy life.