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Foreign. Welcome back to another episode of the bonus podcast. We are doing another Q and A. Amazing. Amazing. Okay, we have some questions and I have some answers. So let's see. Where should we go first? Please share more about your journey of healing yourself. That's a good one. We need some water, though, first for that. I always forget to drink water and I get the driest mouth after podcasting. Okay. Refreshing. Oh, my God. Okay. So I feel like I've talked about this a little bit, or a lot of it. I don't know what I say half the time. I just talk. But I. For the longest time, kind of how I talked about at the end of last episode about working. I was on E. I ignored my personal needs. I gained weight. I was not healthy. I wasn't working out. My mental health was shit. Like, I was such a people pleaser, and I still trying to deal with that. It's hard. I think, you know, if I didn't have a platform, I probably would have been healed by now. But seeing everyone's opinions and dissecting you as a person and your family and how you look and how you talk, and. It's hard. It's like the hardest thing ever, honestly, to just, like, not care, you know, because I. One of my strengths is that I care so much about everything, but it also sucks because then I care about stuff that, like. Well, I don't. Wouldn't say I shouldn't. I think anyone cares about what people think about them. I think people that don't probably just, like, put on a front that they don't give a fuck, but, like, deep down they do. But I don't know because my brain's not wired that way. And so it's hard for me to imagine, like, any version of myself that would never care. Like, I feel like in some ways, like, maybe I'll care less as I get older, but. I don't know. I feel like becoming a mom made me actually care more about what's said about me because of my son and because of what he's gonna see one day or what he's gonna think or how he's. You know, I mean, no one wants to see their. Like, if my mom was getting bullied on social media, I'd flip out, you know, So. I don't know. But, yeah, so I'd say, when did this all start? I started to feel like kind of how I felt growing up where, like, nothing would ever make me happy. Like, it didn't matter how, like, pretty skinny, rich, successful, what new clothes I had or like, you know, what trip I went on, like, all of like the materialistic things that I was distracting myself with and like my view of success, well, like, how can I be sad if I, you know, I'm an independent woman and I built this empire and, you know, I can like buy whatever I want for myself. I don't ask my like husband for money or like my parents or, you know, I'm so self sufficient. It just like one day it was like all of these like things that I thought was success. Like an Instagram following was like so important to me, you know. And then I became a mom. I think it was really the cattle, the catalyst was becoming a mom. But it didn't take me until Cyrus was probably like 1 1/2 for me to like be like, I'm not happy with my life. And like, I felt guilty saying that because I was like, woe is me. Like I, you know, everyone looks at me and wants this life that I have. But like, I'm actually like really struggling mentally because my self worth was based on like, how much money I could provide for my family, how good of a service I did for my clients, what people thought about me on the Internet, how many likes my post got, how other people viewed me. I wanted everyone to view me as like this like just hard fucking worker. And like, that was my identity. Like, I wanted people to be like, savannah Boda is a hard worker. I don't know how she does it like that. Like, I literally like got off to that. Not like sexually, but like, mentally. I was like, yeah, like, that's such a flex. Like I'm such a hard worker and it is, you know, but until like I realized, like, babe, you're already there. You made it, you know, like, why can't we sit back a little bit and like, enjoy the fruits of our labor and there's so much more to life, you know. But again, it's like, I've said this so many times and I'm going to say it again because I. My therapist like drilled this into my head is like two things can be true at the same time. Like, I had to work that hard to have the life that I have. But it also is true that like my mental health was like on the back burner and my physical health and all my health was on the back burner while I was building this business. But it's sacrifice, you know, and that's, you know, this girl when she was like, it's so toxic. Like, it's so bad for you to do that. Yeah. But like, it's also like, talk to anybody who's done anything successful with their life, they're going to tell you you got to have laser vision, you have to put your blinders on, you're going to have to fucking work. Like there's. It's a compromise. Like it really, it is. And then one day you make it and you have a team and you can afford to have a team and you can hire really good people and you're able to like prioritize yourself again and you can do both at the same time. It's just not gonna happen as fast as it happened for me, you know, So I think that's the thing is like, people want this overnight success or like them to scale their business in a year. And it's like you can, if you want to absolutely, like destroy your physical and mental health while doing it. And like, for some people, like I was so young, I'm like, it's fine, like, I'll fix everything later. And who knows, maybe I'll have like a chronic illness, knock on wood. I don't want to manifest that because whatever I say usually happens. So I can't say shit like that anymore. It won't happen to me. Maybe, I don't know, it won't because I'm saying it won't. But yeah, I mean, I tried my best to make everything happen and like, for me to get to where I was, like, that was. I was a machine. I was, you know, just like pedal to the fucking metal. Worked seven days a week, 14 hour days. Worked on holidays, didn't take a vacation. Everything I made went back into the business until one day I was like, you know, I feel so drained. And everyone said this would happen and I wouldn't call it burnout because I'm so invigorated and fueled by what I do. I love what I do. I think my sense of purpose is so much stronger now. But there was just like a lot of things I was so young that like, I needed to heal from. And like, I think, you know, your 20s are such pivotal years. Who I was at 20 wasn't the same as who I was at 24. And who I was at 24 is not who I am at 27. And I'm not sure I know who I am at 27 is going to be completely different than who I am at 30, and so on and so forth. You know, every year we grow and yeah, I think becoming a mother really started my healing journey. And I don't really want to talk about my parents too much because it's just like beating a dead horse at this point. And I think I said this a couple episodes ago. I don't know, maybe sometimes I'm like, did I say this on the podcast or did I say this to Tyler? I don't know. Or did I trauma dump it to some random person that I met just now? I know it was sad, I just don't know where. Yeah, I think I like really healed through my stuff with my parents. I was having a good relationship with them and then I had my son and it made me realize like a lot of the things that I excused them for because I put myself in like their shoes. And then I became a mom and I was like, I could have never done that, you know. And so I think that just brought up a lot of like childhood trauma and like things that I like forgot happened. And I just felt like this like really a lot of sadness for like younger me. And I just like I really needed to heal that. And I just noticed a lot of like patterns in the way I am in friendships, the way I'm in relationships, just who I am as a person that's like connected to like significant things that happened in my childhood and for me to like be more aware and self aware. I think also like the desire for more like self awareness was like really big because I've talked about this again before, but I was so like focused on the business that like I wasn't really doing check ins with myself. Like usually like at night now I'll like lay down and like kind of run through my day and interactions I had with people and it might be like fucking anxiety or trauma, whatever. I don't know. I think it's good. I think it's good thing to do because then you learn from your interactions. Like, how could this situation, how could have I said something better, like next time? Like how could I be better next time a situation like this happens? And then like I can literally like I have such a photographic memory. Like I can replay everyone's facial expressions from like the day or like situations even like months ago. Like I can see people's face and sometimes at the time I'm not registering the way that they're responding to me until like I lay in bed and like close my eyes and I like bring myself back to that place and like put myself back into my body and or sometimes I'll just like be like hovering above the situation and watching it happen again. Like it's happening in real time. And I'll, like, catch certain gestures that someone else made or, like, maybe a look that I gave that could have been perceived. This makes me sound fucking crazy, but it's true. It's what I do perceived a different way. I don't know. It just gave me, like, this new sense of, like, awareness that I think I really needed. Yeah. And it just helps me, like, be better. So. So there's stuff that, like, I can't talk about that I will maybe, probably not one day. We'll see. I don't know. Who knows what the future holds? But, yeah, there was just, like, a lot in my life that I had to, like, reevaluate what was and what wasn't working for me and just to be better. So that's kind of like, I guess, my healing journey. I started listening to more, like, worship music. I started listening to healing frequencies. I just have really tried more to meditate and just separate from self. And I am very intuitive. And people are thinking I'm crazy. I'm going to get locked up. Someone's going to lock me up after this episode. But it's fine. I get, like, downloads of information a lot. And I know I'm gifted, like, for sure when it comes to, like, spirituality. And for a long time, like, my intuition and just, like, things that I, like, knew and I'm, like, I felt crazy and, like, my parents made me feel crazy. Friends and boyfriends made me feel crazy and gaslit the out of me that, like, it, like, dimmed this intuition. I think everyone has it. Um, I think some of us have it more than others. But I definitely think that everybody has intuition. I mean, everything's frequency, you know, so it's just the energy that's being put out. And, like, if you just silence your mind and silence the distractions, like, you can learn so much about situations and other people. Like, I'll literally be, like, doing my skincare and I'll have this feeling that something's gonna happen with a certain person. And it might not happen that day or the next day, but, like, a couple months later, it happens. And I'm like, I already knew this was gonna happen. I mean, it happens with so many, like, weird guys, like, all the time. It's like, it's hard to explain because it's, like, constant. So, yeah, I've really been tapping into that more. And any business decision I've ever made, it's intuitive. I've said this before with. It's been really hard training Lauren. Not really hard. She's amazing. But for me to explain things to her and be a teacher, because there's like not really a method to my madness. It's just a feeling like with clients, like, I'll just have, like I'll just know what moisturizer to put them on or like if they need to be on clearing serum or if they need to be on Alpharet regular Alpharette. It's like there's not like any concrete information that makes me make those decisions. It's just my feelings. So it's hard to teach that because a lot of my work is intuitive based and I just have gut feelings on what to do and what not to do and what products they should be on and what they shouldn't be on. Of course, like, I look at all like the data information, but like, I think what sets me apart with regimen building, with our clients and our success is that intuition, that intuitive piece, that intuition. So it's just gotten stronger and stronger as I've healed. So I'm a wizard, basically. Okay, next question on do versus mandelic serum. Who should be using which? So I love them both for different reasons. They're both very gentle. Mandelic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid, but it's a more gentle alpha hydroxy acid. It's very exfoliating. Azelaic has some exfoliating properties, but it really does help with like brightening redness and congestion. And ondue has polyhydroxy acids instead of an alpha hydroxy acid. So basically there's three. So there's polyhydroxy acids which are going to be like more gentle. So like lactobinotic. I can't talk today. Lactobionic acid, gluconolactone or some, to name a few. And then alpha hydroxy acids, we know lactic, glycolic, mandelic, those are more exfoliating. But out of lactic and glycolic, Mandelic, she's kind of like the gentle queen. Lactic's more hydrating, but mandelic, she is very gentle too. So I'd put them like on a buddy system. Like they're both like out of all the alpha hydroxy acids, the more gentle ones. And mandelic, that one also has niacinamide too. So good for like redness. I'm also allergic to niacinamide. It's not like a large amount, but it's in there. And I would say both are great for acne. Both are great for inflamed and non inflamed. Acne. I just, it's intuitive. I don't know, it's just like an intuition thing. I do better with Ondo and I like Ondo for people who do have more compromised skin or sensitive skin and maybe are using like an exfoliating toner and they're using more exfoliating products like throughout the week as their weekly exfoliation ondue. Just fits in great. It's like one of those products that anyone can use, but some people will need mandelic because it is more exfoliating and it comes in different percentages. So it's a little bit more customizable to each person. Ondo is just on do. So. Yeah, I hope that helps. What's next? What can you add back in and what order after just repairing your skin barrier? So if your skin barrier is damaged and you were focused on barrier repair and you feel like your skin's repaired and you're wanting to like ease yourself back into exfoliation, I would definitely add an undo. That'd be like the first thing I'd add in like once a day. And then I would add in just regular OG Alpharette every other day for like two to three weeks and then move it up to every night. How to manage having inflamed and non inflamed acne. So everything starts out as a microcomedone and that is going to be your non inflamed acne. When it's in the skin for too long, bacteria can enter and turn it into inflammation. And more like red angry cystic acne or just inflamed acne in general doesn't have to be cystic. So combination acne is, you know, basically two stages of acne and you want to get rid of the microcomedone before it becomes inflamed. But the issue is with inflamed acne, it takes longer to clear because it lacks oxygen. So it's just not as much activity happening there kind of calcifies and solidifies and less bacteria triggers it into an inflamed lesion. So key with that, a lot of it's going to be lifestyle. So making sure you don't have poor cloggers, stress levels, that's a big one. Guys, like, if you are constantly broken out, break up with your boyfriend, get a divorce. I'm not kidding. I'm not. I've seen so many clients that are just like doing everything right and they're in toxic relationships or a toxic job or just people in their lives that shouldn't be in their lives. And like, your body fucking knows if that's anything. I'll tell you. I was going through one of the hardest times of my life and like randomly herniated the disc in my neck. Like, I'm not doing like Fufeng fighting. Like, I'm not doing like back flips and cartwheels off a building. Like, I literally was sleeping and woke up like that. And it's stress. I just had a friend text me today that like, is going through some really hard times personally. And she like, her whole back, lower back is up. She's like, I didn't even do anything. I woke up like this. Your body will tell you signs, whether it's, you know, your lifestyle, if you're sick, autoimmune diseases, all of that can be just toxic environment that you're in and stress. So not saying you should break up with your boyfriend, but I am. Especially if you're stressing you out. And if your skin clears up, run me my check. But yeah, lifestyle is a big one. Stress levels, energy drinks. If you're eating like a lot of sugar, guys, oh my God, my forehead went berserk from the perfect storm, which we talked about a couple episodes ago. Like, poor cloggers in hair care eating, like things that I shouldn't have been eating. Like my addiction to sweet tea that became like my primary liquid source besides water. Like, why am I breaking out? Oh, because I haven't drank water in probably a month and a half. Because I've been drinking like gallons of sweet tea a day. That could be it, but it's like just a lot of little things product wise. You know, with acne, especially when it's combination, you want to make sure you're addressing the dead skin cells. So you want something that's going to exfoliate daily and nightly. And the strength depends on your skin's tolerability. So on dew in the morning, Alpharett at night, you're pregnant. You can do Ondo in the morning and like active serum at night or like ondue morning and night. Or maybe Ondo in the morning, mandelic at night or like a glycolic at night. Again, everyone's so different. Those are just examples bacteria. So you want to make sure you're using like sulfur or benzoyl peroxide or like the carboxy mousse. Something that is going to eradicate the bacteria and treat the bacteria component and then sebum regulation. So. So maestro is amazing for that. Hydration in general. Trio is a Great moisturizer for that. And like multi they can have nuances like it can like overlap for sure. Salicylic is great if you can tolerate it for oil control. So yeah, you want to those three and then supplements are super important. So clear skin supplements face reality. I love those omegas help with sebaceous flow. Zinc is going to help with the inflammatory aspect which is also really important too. Probiotic for gut health, that's a big thing. The gut and the skin guys, once you learn that they're connected, everything changes. You can't have poor gut health and good skin just does not exist. So probiotic is key and just like feeding yourself nutrient foods that are going to help restore your gut. I'm trying to think honestly adding in magnesium and glucose. I want to say gluconolactone but that's not what it is. It's glutathione. So many words are the same in this industry. Like they're just like sound so similar. Those have helped my skin a ton. So magnesium for stress levels, helping you sleep, very important. And then I'm gonna try to say glucon. Gluconolactone again. It is glutathione. Glutathione is a really good powerful antioxidant. It just helps like with all over skin health. It's been amazing for my acne. So yeah, my skin honestly has never looked better since adding in Ondo lipid serum, taking out anything with salicylic in my regimen. My skin hates salicylic acid like that. Nothing pisses my skin off more than salicylic acid. So yeah, and that's okay. It's not for everybody but I think a lot of people, they get like in this rabbit circle with their skin. I don't even know if that's a term, a rabbit circle, but it is now. Yeah, a little circle of rabbits. I don't know. That's just what I'm going to call it because they think salicylic is like the acne product and it's been toted as like the acne product for years. But not everyone can tolerate it. It's a beta hydroxy acid. It goes a lot deeper than an alpha hydroxy acid and it can be really sensitizing and irritating to people. And also if you have like an aspirin allergy, you can't use salicylic acid or at least try to use like smaller doses of it and everything again the doubles in the dosing with everything in life. So if you feel like, you know, maybe you can do it, like, a couple times a week or just a, like, lower percentage, you can definitely, like, weasel your way and finagle your way around using salicylic acid, even if you're someone that can't tolerate it. I personally, there's so much other stuff that I use that has managed my skin, so I just don't really care for her. And then taking supplements and drinking water, lowering my stress levels, which is hard when I'm building a house in a spa and all of the other shit that I have going on on the back end. Yeah, but healing frequencies have helped a ton of. And meditation and breathing exercises actually have been really helpful for me. It's actually crazy. I did a breath work thing with one of my healing therapists that I see here in Dallas, and I hated it. I don't know if anyone's ever done one of these before. Oh, my God. It was kind of, like the worst thing that I think I've ever done. But then it got better. Like, my whole face was, like, hot and tingly and felt weird. Like, it was just so uncomfortable. Like, I felt like I was, like, levitating. I don't even know how to describe it. Like, my tongue went numb. I hated every second of it. And she, like, was, like, forcing me through it. But it's helped in the long run. But, like, the first time I did it, man, I was like, can we fucking stop? Like, I hate this. Like, I hate it. So it's like a lot of, like, breathing and, like, really rapid, and then, like, you go really shallow, and then you go really deep and then, like, really fast. It's like this whole, like, rhythm. And then, yeah, my body just felt fucking crazy. Like, my whole body was, like, hot and, like, tingling and, like, it just felt, like, weird. Like, I felt like I was, like, withdrawing off of, like, a hard drug. Honestly, like, I've never withdrawed from a hard drug. But like, that I hear. You know, I watch documentaries and shit. I love documentaries. And how I've just heard through the grapevine people describe, like, drug withdrawals. I feel like, probably like that. Like, it was, like, just the most uncomfortable feeling I've ever felt. But in that uncomfortability, like, I feel like it made me stronger and really helped me, like, focus. Because meditation was really hard for me because my mind just is never silent. And, like, I'm like, it's a waste of fucking time. But honestly, meditation's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Makes you more like mindful and just better. So I love it. Okay, let's see what we have next. I thought vitamin C is for the AM only, so they're probably talking about. Because I posted about alto today. Alto from Skin Butter. Alto and Alto Advanced you can use morning and night. Funny enough, stable enough to use twice a day. So, yeah. Okay, guys, I think that is it for today. Love ya. Hopefully Tyler will be back next week. But let me know if you guys are enjoying the solo podcast episodes, the vibe of it, because he would love to get off the hook for a couple episodes. I have to, like, drag him here. He loves talking to you guys. But yeah, just let me know what you think. It's your. It's for you guys. I do this for you guys. I don't get paid to do the podcast. I actually lose money doing it. But I think. Actually, I don't think that's true because I think it creates more of a community and trust. But, like, I don't, like, physically. There's not like a direct exchange from. I don't have sponsors, I don't have ads. So it's for you guys. It's for the boat of besties. So if there's something that you guys love or want to know, please be kind when you give feedback. And I'd prefer it on a DM than a review because I do read those and they do hurt my feelings. I am sensitive. Okay. So love you. I hope you guys had an amazing Monday. And if it's just getting started, it's gonna be a good day. Claim it. And I've said this a million times, but just remember, it's your life and you don't have to do it. You get to do it. So put our big girl panties on, let's get to work and make our dreams come true. Love you guys. By.