In a nutshell, I have been in the beauty and wellness industry for over 20 years.
As a woman of color, I have been blessed and fortunate with many experiences within this industry.
As a matter of fact, I own two companies in this community, Guided Flame Spa & Wellness being one and the second Guided Flame Co.
I graduated from a holistic skincare school called Pure Aesthetics in my hometown Tucson, Arizona. Immediately after completing my certification, I started working in day spas, resorts, medspas, and selling products at skin care trade shows across America. Some were lucrative, some not so much, but they provided me with great opportunities and experiences.
However, at my most lucrative skincare gig ever, a plastic surgery center, I became incredibly depressed and very unhappy. My ethos and morals as a female working in the beauty industry were being compromised, and in 2015 I was at my all time low.
I was miserable, out of shape, not practicing what I preach and not even doing what I originally studied to do. I wanted to do my job out of love, awareness, and compassion, more than anything else.
Working for beauty brands, it became clear that so many of them were owned by men and monetized off of women’s insecurities. I wanted to break the narrative of what we were being fed by the beauty and wellness industry.
At my last place of work before becoming a full time small business owner, I worked in a plastic surgery center. There was a shift already happening, more so an awakening within me during this time. Something big was on the horizon. I could feel the change. But the last final straw was working for the plastic surgeon that had tried to convince me I needed lipo, rhinoplasty, and chin implants…because my face would then become symmetrical and I would be more beautiful. Not to mention, insurance fraud was being encouraged and committed. I was so convinced to have these treatments done that I had scheduled the surgeries for one week before my birthday. Then it was like a light switch; something went off; instead of walking in for surgery, I walked in and put in my two-weeks notice and never looked back.
And then it began, the evolution of my own healing journey. The becoming of who I wanted to be. It came down to the same loud lesson over and over, I had to love myself first and foremost. Through the ups and downs, loving yourself isn’t always easy. Trust me I understand this deeply. Acceptance and compassion are essential here. It’s not just about accepting yourself but giving yourself more grace and time. I strive to be an advocate, a voice and help empower other women from a place of authenticity. That was exactly when Natural Feeling Spa was born.
It wasn’t easy, but I was determined, so I took all the money I had out of my savings, and I mean all of it. I had no loans, no sugar daddies, no investors, just me, and I started building Natural Feeling Spa. I first started off renting a small space in Beverly Hills and then eventually found a brick-and-mortar off of 3rd and Crescent Heights in Los Angeles. What I was truly most excited about was having a space for building a community.
I knew I wanted to work out of passion and love, not motivated off capitalizing off people’s insecurities, pain or discomfort.
I take pride in everything I do because I fucking love what I do. I am blessed to wake up everyday and go to work and be of service. And when you have passion, love, and motivation in what you love doing to the fullest degree, the abundance will eventually follow and flow.
I have been blessed to build a community where people can feel safe and heal throughout my years of being in the beauty and wellness industry. I am honored to see people open up and release built-up tension and stress and allow me to facilitate that.
I’m known for skincare, but it’s become more than that throughout the years. I noticed my regular clients were still having some skin concerns and issues. When I started combining healing modalities such as Reiki and sound therapy, that’s when I started seeing a huge difference in their overall complexion. We often don’t realize that what we’re suppressing internally will show up externally. It will literally manifest itself into breakouts, cancer, fibroids, skin rashes, and skin sensitivities.
Finally, at 36, I fully embrace who I am and love all of it. As a woman of color, I grew up flipping through magazines before social media (which was 20 years ago) to get my inspiration and the latest trends. I was fed the “idea” of what I was supposed to look like through these images, and even though that was just with magazines, there was still pressure on young women like myself to be skinner, lighter complexion, bigger boobs, and perfect highlights.
The significance behind creating Guided Flame Spa & Wellness was not only to create a safe haven of holistic healing but a safe space for all women to freely express themselves and heal at their own pace. My personal healing journey has been pivotal in the services that I offer and in building the community that I have and love.
Welcome to the community and thank you for trusting me.
With gratitude and joy,
Adina Diaz
