From Gut Health To Glowing Skin: A Functional Approach

The path to clearer, calmer skin may start with your plate, your stress levels, and your daily routine—not another “miracle” bottle. We sit down with Samantha, a certified esthetician and functional medicine practitioner, to connect the dots between gut health, hormones, nervous system balance, and what you put on your face. If you’ve tried everything from drugstore serums to luxury creams and still feel stuck, this conversation offers a grounded, step-by-step way to create change you can actually see.

We unpack why so many women in perimenopause and menopause experience new breakouts, dark spots, and sensitivity, and how teens’ acne often has overlapping root causes. Samantha explains how functional testing for gut bacteria and hormones can reveal the real drivers of inflammation, making it easier to stick with a plan because the “why” is finally clear. We compare medical-grade skincare to mass-market products, highlight where fillers and low-dose actives fall short, and show how fewer, better formulas outperform crowded shelves. You’ll hear a candid take on collagen quality, protein intake, and why animal-derived options often deliver the full amino acid profile skin needs.

The heart of the episode is simplicity. Start with a gentle cleanser and a smart moisturizer. Remove common triggers like gluten, dairy, processed sugar, and ultra-processed foods. Use paleo or keto frameworks for easy swaps, and test one change at a time for 30 days so you can see what truly helps. We also spotlight the role of stress and the nervous system: when cortisol is high, healing slows. Practical tools—better sleep, breathwork, and monthly facials as assessment and care—help the body shift into repair mode and let topicals finally work.

If you’re ready to trade confusion for clarity, this is your roadmap to skin that reflects whole-body health. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show. What’s the one small change you’ll try for the next 30 days?

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In Health,

Shelly

Transcript

Keep It Simple: Small Changes

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You know, just take it simple. You don't have to change, make all these changes at once. You know, start with like simplify your skincare routine, just eliminate all the unnecessary products, and then just start like eliminating one thing at a time. You know, and maybe it could be adding a little bit more water, or maybe you you've been thinking about getting rid of gluten, so just try it and see how you feel. You know, it doesn't have to be forever, but I would say try it for 30 days and just see how your body feels.

Meet Words Of Wellness

Guest Intro: Skin Meets Functional Medicine

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Do you get confused by all of the information that bombards us every day on ways to improve our overall health and our overall wellness? Do you often feel stuck, unmotivated, or struggle to reach your wellness goals? Do you have questions as to what exercises you should be doing, what foods you should or shouldn't be eating, how to improve your overall emotional and mental well-being? Hello everyone, I am so excited to welcome you to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelly Jeffries, and I will be your host. My goal is to answer these questions and so much more. To share tips, education, and inspiration around all of the components of wellness through solo and guest episodes. With 35 plus years as a health and wellness professional, a retired college professor, a speaker, and a multi-passionate entrepreneur, I certainly have lots to share. However, my biggest goal and inspiration in doing this podcast is to share the wellness stories of others with you. To bring in guests who can share their journeys so that we can all learn together while making an impact on the health, the wellness, and lives of all of you, our listeners. The ultimate hope is that you leave today with even just one nugget that can enhance the quality of your life, and that you will, we all will, now and into the future, live our best quality of lives full of energy, happiness, and joy. Now let's dive into our message for today. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelly, and I am your host. And today, my guest is a certified esthetician, and she is a functional medicine practitioner. And I am thrilled to be learning more about what she does and learning more about how we can keep our insides healthy to help our skin and our outsides be healthy. So, Samantha, welcome. Hi, Shelly. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. It's great to have you. And I'm really looking forward to our conversation as I know how important it is, almost more important, what we're putting on the inside of our bodies versus creams and lotions that we're putting on the outside. So I'm excited to have you share more about that and educate our listeners a little bit more in that area. Yeah. I'd love to do that. So are you working as a currently esthetician? You do the functional medicine and you combine the two? I do. I combine them.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

And is it your own practice? It is, yes. I've had my business 16 years.

Women’s Skin Challenges And Hormones

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Wow. Wow. And what do you see is one of the biggest issues? And I'm gonna, I guess, focus on women. I know my last podcast was a lot on about women as well, but what would you say is the biggest challenge for women when it comes to their skin?

SPEAKER_00 3:30

A lot of times it's acne, aging, dark spots, you know, even like skin sensitivity. We're seeing more and more of that. So I feel like a lot of the clients that I deal with are in the perimenopausal, menopausal age. And then they'll bring their kids in for acne. So I treat pretty much all skin types.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

You know, it's interesting because my daughter, even in into her early 20s, was dealing with some acne. And I know the poor thing, she would get so frustrated because she didn't have it very much in her teen years. Okay. And kind of learned as she went forward, kind of learned a little bit more about how perhaps her hormones they were playing a part, and then also her gut health. So all of these things, like you don't, you know, yeah, um, what's going on in the inside makes such a difference, right? On what's going on with our skin.

Inside-Out Skincare And Testing

SPEAKER_00 4:19

Yeah. That's why I went, that's why I went I went back to school to become a functional medicine practitioner because now I can actually look at someone's skin and you know, determine like exactly I can do gut testing or hormone testing or you know, any kind of testing. But those are the two primary tests I run, but I can get the exact answers as to what's going on with their gut and to why their skin might be acting the way it's responding or acting the way it's acting.

SPEAKER_01 4:47

And that's so valuable because I know, you know, through all the years, I I kind of learned more about this just probably in the last maybe 10, 20 years, just the significance of it. And it's kind of interesting to think back, and you maybe probably did this as well, trying so many different skin products. Yeah. And all the while I just I look back to some of the things I tried and I went, oh my gosh, what what a waste of money. Right. Which I know we all go through that, right? Yeah. Um, I have finally at this stage of my life, I finally have found some products I absolutely love. Oh but you know, it's a it's such a journey and it's kind of trial and error, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Right. I mean, yeah, and usually if you're doing it yourself, like if you have, if you find an aesthetician, we can really assess your skin, take a look at it, and we can take all that guesswork out because we can say, Oh, your skin's doing this, this product will work for this. And you know, we can we understand how the skin functions. That's what that's basically what we're doing when we give a facial. Everyone thinks it's all about like massaging product in the face, which that's part of it. But it's like I when I give a facial, I'm really studying the skin and watching how it's responding to my touch, to the products. Like I'm really learning and understanding what your skin, what your skin needs during that facial.

Products: Medical Grade Vs Store Aisle

SPEAKER_01 6:07

Which is so important. I know I was at an event recently, and there was a gal there who had she was a vendor and she works at a med spa, but she does facials and she was recommending. And I honestly I can't remember the the brand of the skincare, but um I'm sure you have certain products that you use and you recommend. And what are your thoughts on some of the products? Because I know many times you can some are worth the the investment, and sometimes you can buy like a great cream for like 20 bucks. I mean, what are your thoughts on that as far as the cost goes?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Yeah. I personally, a lot of over-the-counter stuff, it has a lot of filler product in there. So while it's less expensive, it doesn't do as much for the skin. Like professional or medical grade, like something you would buy in a med spa, they have more actives and they're formulated differently because when they what when they mass produce for like Ulta or Target or any of those stores, they have to create such a large quantity that they cannot, they they just can't come up with the demand. So like they put like a trace amount of an active in there and then they'll they'll market it as such. So um, you know, that's just I've I've worked with formulators in the past, and it's like it's really eye-opening when you learn about like what they do to over-the-counter products versus like professional or medical grades.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

So I it's it's very eye-opening. I I don't know as much about the creams, um, skincare. I can only imagine I I know that it when it comes to nutritional products, you know, there's so many same kind of thing, right? So many fillers and and extra ingredients that just really is not not good for us at all.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

Exactly. Yeah. Do you feel like all the industries now? They're they're all kind of set up the same. It's like, you know, you have your good quality products and then you have the masses that they just sell to everybody. And do you have a specific product that you recommend?

Personalizing Care And Root Causes

SPEAKER_01 8:10

I'm sure you do, or is it like a combination? Because I know sometimes it can be a couple, two or three different companies and products that can be recommended. Yeah, I have a couple of companies I work with. I love that. So, what would you say when it comes to becoming a functional medicine practitioner? I think that is so wonder that you wonderful that you've combined that with being aesthetician. I just think that is just the best of both worlds and how how amazing you you can help your clients, you know, so much more what's going on on the inside and internally. What are you seeing most? Like I I would again, again, guess it's more of a gut health issue that affects the skin the most.

SPEAKER_00 8:53

Yeah. Yeah, our gut's connected to everything, even our nervous system.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

Yeah, everything. And you're able to do testing to really see, kind of get to the root of what's going on. Right.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Yeah. And it's really, it's really empowering because once you give, you know, a client that information, it's like they're more willing to do the work. Because in the past, like this is how I ran my business for years and years. I'd make suggestions because under my esthetician license, I can't say, oh, you should try this diet or this, or like, let's do this to your gut. Like, I couldn't do that. So I would make recommendations, like, oh, you should try cutting out these inflammatory foods and see how your skin does. But it's like, until they actually see all the results and see exactly what's going on, then they're more likely to actually put in the work because they're like, oh, this is really what is going on. So now I'm gonna do this. And then their skin ends up clearing a lot better than me just saying, oh, try this.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

It's so true. And I it's just I keep thinking it's just so much in alignment with with the whole nutrition industry as well. It's like it's not gonna be exactly identical to each person what they should be doing and what they should be consuming. I mean, we know some of the general recommendations, right? I mean, I understand in being in this industry for so many years and working in wellness and nutrition and longevity, but you still have to kind of cater it to each person, right? Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 10:19

Yeah, and everybody's so different.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Everybody's so different. What would you recommend to someone like if they were coming in with some issues, what would be the first kind of line of defense and recommendation you would you would make for them to change as far as their food, their intake, their skincare?

SPEAKER_00 10:38

So I always start with eliminating the inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, sugar, anything processed, and try to get them to eat more whole foods. I will start usually with like a ketogenic or paleo diet because I feel like those are the easiest to follow and make shifts because it's like, oh, instead of eating all of this food, you can have this instead. Because I feel like if you're gonna tell someone to get rid of all these foods, they're gonna look at you and they're gonna go, well, now what am I supposed to eat? But at least with like the paleo and the keto diets, it's like, well, you can't have gluten, but you can have this instead. Yes. You can have ice cream.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Um I love it. I know. Real life. It's our it's our reality. Thank goodness for editing, right? Hey, we could keep it in there. I mean, it's it's part of our it's part of our lives, you know, as families.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

Um where was I? Oh, it's oh, as far as substituting foods, that's right. Um so yeah, that's where I go. And then, you know, if they want to go further and actually do more of the gut testing, you know, that will give more answers. And then it just depends. Um, you know, certain like if you have certain bacteria that are off, it's like you have to give you you have to at least control the bacteria. Because there's good bacteria and bad bacteria, and it's like sometimes there can be too much good, which is also not a good thing. So it just depends on what exactly is going on with the gut. I feel like with gut testing, it's hard to say, oh, try this supplement and this supplement because everybody's so different and everybody's needs are so different. It just depends on you know what those results show up as.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

What do you find is the average amount of time that you start to see some clearing of the skin? Because I, you know, again, going back to my daughter, I know it was so sad because she she's now in her later 20s, but even just, I don't know, a couple two, three years ago, she was struggling and and just was upset about like she would have to kind of put coverage on. And now she's clear, she's changed some of her eating, but also she's changed her skincare routine. Um, and you know, it she has beautiful skin, but I just I it's so it was heartbreaking as a mom because I was like, I'm sorry, honey, I don't know what to tell you, you know.

Stress, Nervous System, And Healing

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Right. And it is frustrating, and sometimes it can be like if your nervous system is off, like if you're under too much stress, what'll happen is your body's in such a stress state that it can't heal. So even if you're putting, you know, products on it or you're healing your gut, if your nervous system is out of whack and you have too much cortisol, or your body just can't regulate itself, it's not gonna heal either. So there's that piece to it.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

I'm so happy you bring that up because I actually just did an episode about the stress, and I've talked about that kind of frequently over the years, but it it so much of what we experience comes back to that. And like you're saying, your body, not can your your body just can't handle it, but you it affects your skin. So I think that's such a great point that I think a lot of people might not realize the impact that it has, right? Um, and then it goes back to having the ability to manage our stress in effective ways so it doesn't show up in in ways in our skin or in our health or in sickness. So that's so so important. So what again, what's the I guess you it's gonna kind of a trial and error again, but what do you think is the average time it takes where you start to see your clients start to see results?

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Yeah. I mean, some clients see results within a month. Typically, it takes a couple months before you start to see the clearing, especially when it comes to gut, because there's so much inflammation going on. So it's like you got to heal the inflammation. And then once the inflammation goes away, then the skin can begin to heal.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

And I know I've I've shared with with my clients when it comes to their nutrition or even like taking a collagen product, it takes up to, gosh, it can take up to what is it, 120 days for our cells to actually regenerate and renew. So I always look at it in those terms, right? Is to commit to something for that amount of time and really see the difference, and then from there make adjustments where you need to.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Right.

Timelines, Collagen, And Realistic Results

SPEAKER_01 14:54

Um, what are your thoughts about collagen?

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Yeah. I think collagen's great. I mean, we need amino acids, we need protein. And I feel like if there's so many people that don't eat enough meat or protein, so it's like you really need to supplement with that. I just I do feel that um animal protein is the best form of collagen and because it has all your amino acids that your body needs.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

Well, and it's true too. I I I see I've seen a couple people that I don't know but share about a collagen and saying that it's plant-based. But I'm like, okay, I don't think it can be plant-based because it has to have some kind of cartilage, right?

SPEAKER_02 15:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

So um, and that's there's been a real surge, I feel like. I don't know if you feel the same, but in the last, I don't know, couple, three, five years of collagen being on the market and more and more types. And yeah, I think it is it is important for sure, especially when we are up there a little bit in in years, yeah, to replenish that. For sure. If you were to share kind of some top recommendations for like our listeners when it comes to you know, nutritionally feeding our bodies, but also doing things that are will that will help our skin and help our skin be its healthiest. And I mean, we could go into all kinds of things as far as you know, aging skin. I know for me personally, I've had a couple um pre-cancerous spots removed on my face. And so there's there's that component. What are some of the top things that you recommend for people?

Simple Routines And Monthly Facials

SPEAKER_00 16:27

Yeah. I'm a simple person. I always recommend a very simple skincare routine. Like I have clients that come in and I have them bring their products in and they'll dump like 20 products on my table. I'm like, so we're gonna simplify, we're gonna use just a cleanser and a moisturizer for the next month, twice a day, and that's it. And they come back in in a month and they're like, my skin feels good. And it's like, your skin doesn't need all of that stuff. A lot of times, like our skin is a detox organ, which again, nobody realizes it's a detox organ. And so its job is to protect um anything from getting into the body or through the skin, and it purges toxins. So it's like you can put stuff on, but half of that stuff is just sitting on the surface. So it's like if you simplify, you're gonna save time and money, and your skin's gonna respond better.

Find A Pro And Cut The Noise

SPEAKER_01 17:17

I absolutely you're you're speaking my language there, especially at this stage of my life. I'm always saying simplicity. I want things to be simple. Yeah, it's so true. We get caught up in, I don't want to say like the next shiny object, but I remembered years and years ago when I would use not such great products. I, you know, I've gotten wiser when you know better, you do better. Um, but probably we're talking 20, 30 years ago, some of the stuff was just okay. And but I do remember, you know, even in department stores that I'm embarrassed to share, but trying like different things or something that would go on sale, or you know, they would advertise it as it does this and that and the other. Um, I mean, thankfully, I grew up with my mom being very involved in skincare. So she taught us at a young age to to the whole routine of the cleansing and all of the things. And so I am grateful for that. Um, but yeah, it's definitely a process, and I think simplicity is is a is a very good thing.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

There's there's again so many different things that we don't we use that we don't probably necessarily need.

SPEAKER_02 18:19

Right.

unknown 18:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:21

How often do you recommend? And I'm I've been really bad about this, so I need to be better, but how often do you recommend facials? Once a month. Yes, okay. I need to get myself in gear. That's one area, and I I I don't know why. It's like I love it and I when I do it, and then I but I just don't get in the habit of doing that. Something I need to incorporate for sure.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Yeah, I make my clients book before they leave. That's how I keep them keep them on track. Yeah, yeah, that's smart. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Um, gosh, I love this. Anything else you want to share that's uh important for our client or our clients, our listeners to know. Well, I mean, they could become your clients. I don't know.

unknown 19:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

I mean, I feel like, you know, just take it simple. You don't have to change, make all these changes at once. You know, start with like simplify your skincare routine, just eliminate all the unnecessary products, and then just start like eliminating one thing at a time. You know, and maybe it could be adding a little bit more water, or maybe you you've been thinking about getting rid of gluten. So just try it and see how you feel. You know, it doesn't have to be forever, but I would say try it for 30 days and just see how your body feels.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

And I think that's such a great recommendation. Try something for 30 days. I mean, it might sound like a long amount of time, but it really isn't, especially if it's gonna bring about the results that you're wanting, right? Just to give it a try. And I think that that's that's just so key is just trying it, eliminate it and see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 19:52

Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

And don't be extreme and do it all at once.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

Exactly. A lot of people come in and they're like, I'm just gonna get rid of everything. I'm like, you're not gonna stick to it because you're that's like way too extreme.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

You have to go. That was the next thing I was gonna say is like you have to do one thing at a time because you'll never know then what what was it that you needed to avoid or you could you didn't need to eliminate. So one thing at a time. Yeah, that's a great, great reminder.

SPEAKER_02 20:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

Well, I love this. I mean, I wish I lived closer. I would come see you for a facial for sure.

SPEAKER_00 20:24

Yeah. Next time you're in Chicago.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

I know, right? That's what I'm thinking. I'm gonna have to arrange that for sure.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

So for any of our listeners in Chicago, that is where Samantha is located. And uh I will definitely put your put your contact information in the show notes. But what's the best way for people to find you?

SPEAKER_00 20:43

Um, through my website or Instagram is where I'm the most active. My website is skindepiel.com and my Instagram handle is the same, skindeepil.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Okay, perfect. And I will add all of that in the show notes. And I just I want to encourage our listeners, even if you're not close to Chicago, I'm sure that Samantha can help you if you are, you know, dealing with some challenges with your skin. Because again, like she's sharing, it's it's all related, so much related to what we're putting in our bodies, um, our gut health, our immune system, the stress that we're going through, it's all related and it all impacts everything about our body and impacts our skin. So thank you for sharing that and making that point because it's so important.

SPEAKER_00 21:29

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 21:30

Is there anything else you want to share? Um, any last words of wellness or words of inspiration?

SPEAKER_00 21:38

I would say if you're struggling and if you kind of don't have like a direction, it is good to find a professional, whether it's an aesthetician, a functional medicine doctor, or um even like a health coach. You know, find somebody that you feel comfortable talking to and can help guide you. Because I feel like sometimes it is hard to start doing it on our own because. We get bombarded with so much information.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

No, that's really great. And it's true, it's true. I used to always tell my students that I said, you know, my goal is to give you some clarity and answer your questions because even as a professional in the industry of health and wellness, I go, I get confused. So it's it is there's so much noise, right? And just have to find a way to differentiate between what's actually accurate and what's what's a lot of hype. And there's a lot of hype out there, I'm sure you explained it.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

Especially with the influencers, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

100%. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. Yeah. Yes. They might have a million followers, but they might not have the the uh the the best the best advice for for you. So exactly such a great point. Well, thank you, Samantha. I so appreciate you being on. I'm excited to to share this, and and um I'll have to be in touch when I'm out your way the next time. Sounds good. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. And to all our listeners, take some time for yourself and your wellness on this day. Do something for your skin. Uh, be aware of what you're not just putting on your skin, but what you're putting in your body. And with that being said, have a blessed rest of your week and we'll see you next time on Words of Wellness. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode. I hope you gained value and enjoyed our time together as much as I did. And if you know someone who could benefit from today's episode, I would love and appreciate it if you could share with a friend or rate and review Words of Wellness so that more can hear this message. I love and appreciate you all. Thank you for listening. And if you have any questions or topics you would like me to share in future episodes, please don't hesitate to reach out to me through my contact information that is shared in the show notes below. Again, thank you for tuning in to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelley Jeffries, and I encourage you to do something for you, for your wellness on this day. Until next time, I hope you all have a healthy, happy, and blessed week.