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Be Kind to Your Skin

Are you kind to your skin? 

I’ll be honest, I’ve been (super) unkind to my skin for most of my life. That is, until today’s Featured Guest, Beatriz “Betty” Newborn, inspired me to add skin-care to my self-care practice & taught me some valuable tips like the ones she’s here to share with us.

If you want to achieve healthy glowing skin, then pay close attention & stay till the end for your chance to win free give-a-ways from our awesome PARKner today!

SHOW NOTES:

Betty’s Skin-Care Tips [11:52 -22:06]

Quick Recap of Betty’s Skin-Care Tips at the end of Transcription

Click here to Learn More & Shop Rodan & Fields skin-care products

Connect on Instagram @BeatrizNewborn

BETTY’S FREE GIVE-A-WAYS INCLUDE:

Betty generously gave us several products from Rodan & Fields Essentials Line to give to one lucky Kind Qrew member: This free give-a-way is valued at $115 and will include:

Essentials Body Moisturizer, Lip Balm with SPF 15, Self-tanner and our newly formulated and the brand new and now completely sold out Essentials Body & Face sunscreen with SPF 50!

TRANSCRIPTION:

Welcome back PARKer, this is Episode #17 with Featured Guest, Beatriz Newborn. We’re all friends here so we can call her Betty!

Betty is a self-proclaimed coffee addict, Disney lover, skincare consultant, philanthropy guru, mompreneur and higher education professional too.

Betty is a long time PARKner and one of the first people to listen and reach out to me, offering to support our podcast as a sponsor.

I wasn’t surprised to receive her call to PARK because Betty’s passion is helping people and she’s been an active philanthropist since high school, just like me. Our shared passion for philanthropy and education has led us both to earn a master’s degree in higher education, only she has worked in the higher ed profession for nearly 20 years. Betty currently works at my alma mater, Florida International University, where she focuses on raising funds and awareness for parent and student philanthropy.

Like I mentioned, she’s also a wife, mom of two boys and a small business owner for the last five years as a consultant for Rodan + Fields, you know, the doctors that created the popular Proactiv solution back in the days?

Well, she’s our Featured Guest today to share her unexpected journey into skincare and teach us all a few valuable tips on how to be more kind to our skin. Even if you’ve never had a skincare practice before, like me! You’re going to want to stay to the end of the episode for your chance to win free giveaways from our awesome PARKner today. Let’s listen and learn.

[01:45] Marly Q: Welcome to the show, my beautiful friend and PARKner, Betty Newborn, thank you for making the time to be kind today.

[01:53] Betty: Thank you for having me. I’m so excited and just energized to be here with you. You know, I absolutely am such a fan of you starting this podcast. So, I’m so excited to be one of your guests.

[02:05] Marly Q: Thank you, and not just our guest, but a Featured Guest and a PARKner, one of the very first people who reached out and said, “Hey, I want to support your podcast, I want to be a PARKner. What do I need to do to get on the show?”, and you know, it’s not even about marketing, you’re just such a giver, you’re such a philanthropist. You’re like, “I just want to support you and your mission of inspiring kindness.”, and I just thank you so much for being one of our very first PARKners.

[02:32] Betty: Believe me, it’s my pleasure; I’m very excited for this. I think that you have quite the message, and I like, absolutely adore it. I think that especially, you know, the world that we’re living in right now, we need to be sharing about being kind to each other, to ourselves. So, I’m just very happy to be a part of it.

[02:50] Marly Q: Thank you! Yes, we do need to, not just make time to be kind but turn up the volume on kindness now more than ever, I agree with you. And our story kind of goes back a little more than a decade as a fellow philanthropist, that’s how we initially connected as volunteers, right? With the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life. I was a Volunteer of the Year, I helped to start the Florida International University Relay for Life event which is still going strong, we are both FIU Panthers and big spirited Florida International University fans. So, that’s how, you know we got started just as, through philanthropy, right?

[03:31] Betty: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it’s so funny, every time that you know, Miami is very big, but it’s very small, and it seems– I moved back down here from New York in 2010, started working at the Cancer Society and you had just left you know, stop kind of really volunteering massively as you were one of the founders of the FIU Relay. And so, then I go to FIU and I’m the consult– like, the manager there and all of a sudden, I see Marly, I’m like, “Our paths crossed again. I love it.”. And of course, we stayed connected and it’s so great, because you’re an event planner. I mean, I’ve called you throughout so many times, needing, kind of event guidance and support and just, you know, kind of seeing your events roll out and seeing how we can involve others. So, we’ve always kind of stayed connected. And then, we started connecting, you know, on a different level, in a way that you can be kind to yourself and something’s different. And so, this is really fun, too.

[04:23] Marly Q: Yes. I love that the journey has morphed and shifted, but it’s always been with the underlying foundation of kindness, right? I definitely always prioritize being kind to others my entire life, and it’s only as of the last, really, six years or so that I’ve been practicing self love and kindness and actually making time to be kind to … me!

And one of the last things that I ever added to my practice of kindness was being kind to my skin. So, when you reached out to me wanting to be a Featured Guest and a PARKner on this show, I’m like, “How perfect is that?”. We’re right, you know, in the heat of summer here in Miami and sunny South Florida, it is just hot. And I know that I have a history of being really, really unkind to my skin and you’re the first person; the only person really that I like confided in to be like, “Hey, can you help me out here? I’ve hit my 30’s and I don’t even like moisturize my skin. What do I do?”, so, thank you for being my kind guide as it comes to skincare, and that’s really what I want to focus our time today on is, first your journey. Because you’re a mom of two, we talked about you being a philanthropist like all your life as well, working in nonprofits and in university settings, but you’re also a small business owner, and you started your own consultancy a couple years ago that I’d love for you to share, just that journey in that shift and how now you’re helping people be kind to their skin.

[05:55] Betty: I think it’s really interesting, you know, as we grow up, maybe you’ve had a mom or a sister or someone tell you like, “Oh, you need to moisturize.”, and that was definitely me. My mom always said like, “Oh, you have to moisturize.”, but that’s the extent of what I did, you know? Moisturize, right before my makeup, I put some moisturizer on.

And about five years ago, you know, because of my work at FIU as a, you know, a fundraiser, I was taking part in our fishing tournament where we have a silent auction. And one of my sorority sisters said, “I would love to support you, I would love to give you one of our regimens from Rodan + Fields, so that you can auction it.”. And we made like $300 off that item and it was so great, because the money supports our scholarships, and we were so excited. And so, I called her, and I wrote her like a little thank you note, “Thanks so much for, you know, your support to our student scholarships, we’re so grateful.”. And she said, “Oh, you know, I would love for you to come, you know, over to my house and so you can see some of the products.”. And then, you kind of felt like, “Okay, now I have to go because she, you know, helped us raise all this money for scholarships, and we’re so grateful.”, aside from the fact that I would love to catch up with her and all that fun stuff, I kind of felt like, “Uh oh, she’s got me. You know, this is a direct marketing.”.

[07:06] Marly Q: She’s going to sell me something

[07:08] Betty: Yes, exactly. And so, I actually went to her house with no wallet, just my license, okay? Because I didn’t want to buy anything, and then I got there and she told me the whole kit and caboodle, and I was like, “I just wanted an eye cream, maybe like, that’s all I wanted.”. But she told me, I’m becoming a consultant, and she basically said to me, “Look, you–“, I gave her every note in the book. I said, “Well, my husband’s a teacher and he’s off for the summer, and you know, he’s not getting his full pay check, right now.”, all these things. And then she asked me like, “Look, we have a 60-day money back guarantee, and you can make money in like, the summertime that you’re waiting for your husband to get his full pay check.”. And I was like, “Well…”, and then she’s like, “If you don’t make the money that you think you can make, you could just return it, empty bottles and all.”. And I was like, “All right.”. So, I called my husband literally and I was like, “Give me your credit card.”, and he’s like, “Oh my God.”. I’m like, “Just don’t ask questions. I just need my black credit card.”. And that’s how I started as a consultant, and that was like, early June, and I did nothing until my birthday weekend, which was at the end of the month, and I had like a little gathering, a little brunch at my house, and I told my family and my friends, like, “Hey, I decided to do this crazy thing, I’m now a Rodan + Fields consultant, and the products are great, I’ve been using them for two weeks, and I actually like them. We have this 60-day money back guarantee, if anybody wants to use them, I’d love to introduce you to them.”, and that’s how I got started. And you know, a lot of people do the events things, I’m really not about it, I go, and I support my teammates and my co-workers that do Rodan + Fields events.

But for me, it’s just been about contacting friends and family and just you know, that personalization of a Facebook message and sometimes, it’s kind of funny because MLM, they’re called multi-level marketing companies, have these really bad stereotypical ideas of like, “Oh, the girl that I talked to from high school is going to call me and ask me for, you know, if I want to start using skincare that she’s selling.”.

But the truth of the matter is that, I might be the only person that’s calling someone. So, if you say no, that’s okay; I’m totally okay with it. But at least I gave it a shot, right? I introduced you to it. And I kind of fell in love with the products, I started doing more research as a consultant like, how I can help people, how I can help my customers, my friends, what they were going through, I have friends who have like super sensitive red skin, “Oh, what do I do?”, “Well, we have a product for that.”. And then we have people that have super oily skin and, “What can I do?”, so, I started doing research and I actually love skincare, and I didn’t really know I liked it until you know I gave it a shot.

So, it’s just been a really fun way to do something different, to connect with people that I haven’t talked to in a long time, some people from high school, some people from grade school. I had a friend, just this weekend that purchased one of our amazing products, our pore cleanser, it’s like a vacuum for your pores; I love it. And literally, she and I know each other since fifth grade and she’s a health coach, she’s super smart, super great. We haven’t connected, we like totally lost touch somewhere around high school and got to, you know, connect and talk and to see what her life is like now and what my life is like now and then she decides to buy one of my products and support me and my family and it’s a great way to support people, to be kind to each other, to kind of– for people to be kind to me. I mean, this supports my family. They say that whenever you support a small business, an actual person does a happy dance. Well, I am the person that does the happy dance over here when you’re buying skincare from me. So, it’s really fun.

[10:28] Marly Q: I could totally picture you doing the happy dance!

[10:31] Betty: Wow. Oh, for sure.

[10:32] Marly Q: I love it. Well, Betty, I really think that your journey of philanthropy has merged you into this small business opportunity with Rodan + Fields on purpose, right? Not all of us have a mom or a role model that has encouraged skincare; I had the complete opposite of that, my mom doesn’t even wear makeup, okay? Like, I didn’t even– I mean zero. She’s an incredible role model for other things. But as far as taking care of yourself and prioritizing you, this was an area that I really needed some guidance and you were that kind friend, really not through, you know, the persistence or like you said the MLM marketing stereotypical spiel it was really more through giving.

You constantly putting out tips and information and just encourage people to remember like, “Hey, you know, your skin is the largest organ in your body. And hey, you’re made up of 70% water, are you hydrating enough? Are you taking care of your skin? Because the more you take care of your physical skin, the more that it glows.”, right? I mean, I’m pregnant now, and people are like, “Oh, your skin is glowing.”. And I’m like, “I’m not sure that it has to do with my pregnancy. Why don’t you talk to my friend Betty because I use Rodan + Fields.”?

[11:49] Betty: Yay! I love that. Absolutely, yes, ma’am.

[11:52] Marly Q: So, I’m just really grateful for you being that kind guide and I’m hoping that today on the podcast, you’d be willing to share, maybe just a couple of your top skincare tips, and maybe for people like me that might be listening, bring some awareness as to ways that we are being unkind to our skin, like things to not do, I think are just as valuable as tips on what to do.

[12:16] Betty: Yes, absolutely. Well, you know, it’s so funny, like I said, when I started as a consultant, I had a six-month-old, I was super crazy busy, I did not think I could do both. But I started like, reading up more about what the company does and how I can help people because what I didn’t want was for someone like you, that like was trying to like, start their skincare journey, and ask me like, “Oh, what do I do for this?”, and then I’d be like, “I don’t know.”, and sometimes that does happen; we don’t know everything. So, I started like, getting to know the doctors more and so these two doctors that started Proactiv way back when, our Stanford educated women who are super smart, and so they have tips. And so, I started kind of adopting them as my own tips because obviously they’re the dermatologist, they know what they’re doing, as a consultant, I’m here to be your helper and your guide. But really, I rely on the super smart doctors that created these amazing products. And so, some of them are very– are things that we’ve all heard like you just said hydration, that’s my number one tip.

[13:16] Marly Q: Many people that are listening may not know that there’s a difference between hydration and moisturizing. Listen, I’m going to be totally real and transparent here as I always am. Ways that I was unkind to my skin, not only did I not drink enough water, I never moisturized. I’m talking about, I didn’t even have a moisturizer for my skin, not just my face but my legs, nothing. I’m pregnant now with my second baby and don’t hate me ladies out there, I’m going to say this now, I don’t have a single stretch mark, not one, and it’s because I moisturize all the time NOW, as of the last six years or so, and I drink water all the time as well. And I never wore sunscreen, I would go to the beach and put like the tanning lotion on like, just make me dark, I don’t want sunblock, never wore sunscreen like on a daily basis. I mean, these are really bad things, right?

[14:07] Betty: Yeah, that was my next tip. I mean SPF is so important, we are in– I mean, we are in Miami but others might be listening from around the nation and here’s one of the things is really important and people say to me all the time, “Well, I’m only going from my house to my car and from my car to my office so, I really don’t need to wear SPF”. You absolutely need to wear SPF every single day! And we were volunteers, we are volunteers you know in some ways for the Cancer Society, we know that skin cancer is the number one cancer that is diagnosed everywhere in the world and it’s the one that’s easiest to prevent. All you have to do is wear your SPF and I do know some cancer survivors who unfortunately have gotten cancer on their arms, why only their left arm? Because when they drive, you know you are driving, it may not be a long distance, but your skin may not be able to tolerate the sun. The other part is also cancer on the face, on the nose, it just happens all the time. And so, that’s something that, when we’re driving people on the left side might get a little bit of reflection, you might get, you know, that’s cancer because we need to wear our SPF. So, definitely my number one tip, it doesn’t matter if you’re going a short distance, a super long distance, you know, definitely use a moisturizer that has SPF already or if you need to go through that extra step of putting it on, definitely take that extra step. And sometimes we don’t do it while we’re young, it’s okay, start now. It’s never too late.

[15:37] Marly Q: That’s exactly what I would say to those listening because I know that, I kind of kicked my butt for a while for starting my skincare journey very late in life. But I am just so grateful that I started when I decided to start because I know that, here we are six years later of me actually prioritizing my skin or taking better care of it, I can be a lot better still. But at least I’m aware of it and I try to just be better the next day, and making sure that I am drinking enough water, wearing the sunscreen, that I’m cleansing my face in the morning and at night, moisturizing.

So, I used to wash my hands with like, I’m talking about scalding hot water, for some reason, I believed that if I wash my hands, and I wash my hands all the time, I’m not a germaphobe but I I wash my hands a lot and now with COVID-19 and all this I’m telling you, I wash my hands a lot! And I would always do it with hot water, not lukewarm, not cold. For some reason, my brain believed that I needed to wash my hands with hot water in order to kill all the germs. Please tell me how, like my poor little hands are still like– they look way older than they should be because I was so unkind to my skin.

[16:45] Betty: Well, that’s so interesting. When I had my first son, I had a lactation specialist come to the house because there was an issue and she came here like a week after he was born on a Friday night, my house was full of people wanting to visit the baby, and that’s the time that she was able to come and we were like, “Okay come over.”, and we were– I was fine with it. And so, we go through our whole consultation and at the end, she’s like, “Oh, let me see like how you bottle prep.”, and all this stuff just to see like how she can help me. And so, she notices the hot water, she’s like, “Why are you using hot water to cleanse the bottles?”, and I was like, “Well, because you know, disinfecting, and I want to make sure.”, and she’s like, “Don’t do that the germs, the germs are leaving with the soap and the water. The important thing is to leave the soap on the bottle for like, at least 20 seconds.”. And it’s the same thing they tell us now with washing our hands, right? 20 seconds of bubbles, 20 seconds of really washing everywhere and that’s the same thing I have been practicing, Thank God she came only a week after my son was born because my hands were already super dry from just one week of washing the bottles. And I have friends that wear the gloves and they’re like, “No, because the hot water disinfects.”, okay, so we boil the water– the bottles if we need to like, sterilize them.

There are different ways, but our face, does not need hot water my friend. And our skin really does not need that at all, we need like, even sometimes they say, you know, right before you leave a shower, do like a spritz of cold water to seal in the moisture, and absolutely I love it, it just reenergizes you. And it just really, I mean to me, I absolutely love it for my hair, but I mean, my skin appreciates that too. I don’t think definitely hot water is the way to go so, don’t do it to your poor skin, it does not need it at all.

[18:22] Marly Q: It’s just an awareness thing. And that’s why I wanted to put it out there, just in case anybody else was being silly like me thinking, you know that hot water was like the way to clean your hands because it’s going to clean them, just stop doing that. Because my hands have completely, you know, really healed themselves, and I felt so bad doing this because I just didn’t have the awareness, I didn’t know any better, right? So, I’m putting myself out there, vulnerably, I did something dumb for many, many, many, many, many years, and now, I don’t. And you know, soap and water are your friends, not hot water.

[18:54] Betty: I love it. And I wanted to go through three really quick ones, I don’t know how we are doing on time. So, I’m going to go quick, quick, quick on three things that the doctors actually said not to do. So, these are fast, okay? Don’t do these. Do not sleep on your face, okay? And I know that this one’s a crazy one. How do you stop– I’m a side sleeper so, this is really difficult. But they say basically, the gravity and the pressure after time is going to definitely add up to you having more wrinkles and fine lines on your face. So, definitely, if you can sleep on your back, I sleep on my side and I try to put the pillow like further back from my face and my face, I guess the gravity is not going to be so good but at least it’s not getting super squished. You know, that’s just me but, a little tip for you, do not sleep on your face.

Number two, and this goes along with one of your amazing podcasts before this one, do not drink from a straw. Straws not only are bad for the environment, but they also cause fine lines and wrinkles around our lips while we’re puckering. So, definitely, if you’re drinking from a straw all day long, you’re going to have those fine lines and you know, more and more surround your lips and, although we have an excellent lip serum that I would love to recommend for anybody that would like it, it leaves your lips super soft and it does work for most fine lines and wrinkles, if you do have them already, you know avoiding the puckering when you’re drinking from a straw is something that will definitely help you.

And the last one that they actually said, well, I have two more actually, I’m not going to lie. If you’re on an airplane, close the window because the sun at the higher altitude is so much stronger and it’s definitely worse for your skin and so you know, definitely, a quick easy one, just close the windows up, don’t leave that window shade up the whole time.

[20:36] Marly Q: It’s also kind to your neighbor, it’s kind to the person next to you that’s trying to sleep, close that thing!

[20:43] Betty: Yeah, absolutely. And it’s so funny, I’m like, “Who thought of putting windows?”, Maybe like claustrophobia or something. But it’s true when you’re high up there, the sun is like so much brighter.

Marly, here’s one that is super important for those that are not really skincare savvy, exfoliation. I didn’t really know about it exfoliation, as much as I should have, but here’s the thing, especially now in summertime, you have a lot of dead skin on the top of your upper, you know the skin that actually is under the dead skin, that’s the one that needs to get the moisturizer, the serum, the actual product that you’re spending money on. And so, you need to take away all the dead skin by exfoliating, we have an amazing exfoliator that is a vitamin C, sugar and salt scrub, it’s amazing. It’s called a micro-dermabrasion paste, and it really exfoliates, it’s a lovely product. I use it on my feet, I use it on my elbows, I use it on my face, I use it on my hands. Why? Because there’s a lot of dead skin in our body, and we need to get rid of it, in order for the products that you’re actually spending money on to actually work, get rid of all that dead skin.

Those are things that I really tell all my customers, that I live by because they’re so important, you know. So, I love the straw one, I thought it was so funny when I was listening to your podcast (Episode 2), I was like, “Yes and it causes wrinkles. Nobody needs that.”. So, totally, you know, some really, really smart things that we talked about today.

[22:06] Marly Q: Thank you so much for those tips. I’m going to make sure to highlight them in our show notes, because I know that they make all the difference. Again, if you’re out there and you’re skin savvy, bless your heart, I hope you still got some value from these tips. But if you’re anything like me, who is like, “What? Oh, yeah, my skin. What do I do with that?”, I’m just so grateful for you and your kind guidance always. And I know that you have some special gifts for our listeners. Don’t you have some really fun giveaways for some PARKers listening?

[22:37] Betty: I do, I’m so excited! You know, one of the things that I absolutely love doing is sharing the products with people and so, we don’t have a ton of samples as Rodan + Fields consultants. And the reason that we don’t do samples is because, generally you need a little bit of time to know that the products work & that you love them. And so, we have a couple of things that you can you know, sample, our serums, you know, I’m happy to send those out to listeners and to friends, that, you know, really want to kind of get started, that are thinking this might be for them and you know, just leave an amazing comment for Marly Q on this podcast & I’m happy to send something out for you.

But then also, I’m also giving away our Essential body line, our Essential Skincare line. So, it has a couple of things, we have an SPF that just rolled out, which is SPF 50 for face and body, it can be used for both. It’s so great because it’s not oily or sticky. I absolutely love it. Our Essential Moisturizer, which is for your full body. You can use it anywhere you want, feet, hands, arms, wherever you want. And then, our essential lip balm, which is SPF 15, I absolutely love that. And then, I also have an Essential Tanner, and it’s fantastic because it won’t leave your legs or your arms orange and like, you know, painty so, definitely you use it with our exfoliator and you use it right after and it’s just fantastic. So, for those of you that don’t, are not like worshipers of the Sun, like me, and you want to have a little bit of a tan when you, you know, you’re wearing a skirt or you know you’re going to a wedding or you’re going to a special event, this is a great product. It’s, you know, fantastic from our Essentials line. So, I’m going to give basically almost all the products from our Essential line to one of your listeners and I cannot wait to share the products with anybody that’s interested.

[24:17] Marly Q: Oh, I love it. So, one of you that are listening that were inspired by this episode and aspire to take– to start taking care of your skin or to just start taking better care of your skin, we encourage you to leave a review on Time to be Kind podcast on iTunes, definitely reference Episode #17 with Betty and you may get randomly selected, for these awesome giveaways and prizes.

Betty, thank you so much again for making the time to be kind, I know you’re a busy mom of two boys, and you’re a full-time higher ed professional, and you also do your skincare consultancy. I mean, you’re just– you’re just such a wealth of kindness and you give that currency of kindness away so generously all the time. Thank you for joining us and making the time to be kind today.

[25:02] Betty: Thank you for having me, Marly, I’m so blessed to be your friend and your supporter. And I’m so excited to really just thank you for the opportunity to share with everyone, this is something that you know we’re all passionate about, you do have to take care of yourself in whatever possible way and this is a nice, easy way to love yourself a little bit more and to love others. So, you can always– if you fall in love with a product, now this is something that you can refer a friend and be kind to others too. So, it’s a super easy thing, you know, you can keep PARKing, and you possibly can. So, thank you for having me.

[25:35] Marly Q: Yes, keep the currency of kindness going. I love it.

[25:38] Outro: I hope you enjoyed this episode and learned a lot from our Featured Guest, because Betty is just the PARKner to help you and me learn how to achieve healthy glowing skin. As a skincare newbie myself, I took down lots of notes of what to do and what not to do. Here’s a quick recap of Betty’s Skin-Care Tips.

Quick Recap of Betty’s Skin-Care Tips [11:52 -22:06]

  1. DO hydrate
  2. DO moisturize
  3. DO use Sunscreen (SPF) every day
  4. DO exfoliate to remove dead skin cells
  5. DON’T use hot water to clean your hands or face
  6. DON’T sleep on your face
  7. DON’T drink from a straw
  8. DON’T leave window shade up the whole airplane ride

Connect with Betty for more great Skin-Care Tips via Instagram @beatriznewborn

Click here to Learn More & Shop Rodan & Fields skin-care products

Betty generously gave us several products from Rodan & Fields Essentials Line to give to one lucky Kind Qrew member:

BETTY’S FREE GIVE-A-WAYS INCLUDE:

Essentials Body Moisturizer, Lip Balm with SPF 15, Self-tanner and our newly formulated and the brand new and now completely sold out Essentials Body & Face sunscreen with SPF 50!

This free give-a-way is valued at $115 and it could be yours if you’re a member of our Kind Qrew AND leave a kind review on Apple iTunes.

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