Isabela Blanchet, Your Teacher

In my mid twenties I started having reactions to beauty products and turned to advertized “natural” brands but I still reacted. So I abandoned everything. In my early 30s, I signed up for the Barbara Brennan School of Healing program because I knew I had “healing hands” but had to leave… for health reasons. A few months later, I met an amazing woman, a shaman. I knew there and then that I wanted to be her student.

With her, I learned about the plant world, the bountiful pharmacy it provides, how to use them, and connected with Mother Nature. Shortly after, she held a retreat where she showed us how to make a moisturizing cream with 1 oil, 1 floral water, beeswax, and a few essential oils. I was hooked! A 25+year journey started, learning about essential oils, ayurveda, energy healing, shamanism, and taking care of my outer and inner bobos. She also introduced me to yoga and meditation.

In 2000, my teacher asked me what I thought of the name Face to Grace. “Ok, I guess. Why?” She answered, “Because this is the name of your new business.” So I did start that business, making and selling skin care products, giving energetic facials, teaching, and blogging on my website.

With her I learned to question my belief systems and started the difficult training of my ego. Gradually layers of illusions left, which brought me closer to my own light, beauty and compassion. Even more surprising, people started telling me that I am beautiful. For a while I thought they were mocking me or that there must be something wrong with their perceptions. Over time my own perceptions shifted. 

During the first decade of 2000, I received the name Samyukta and wrote The Book of Beauty: Making Skin Care Products with Aromatherapy and Ayurveda.

A decade later I received a new name, Isabela. The business went on until 2018 when I had an accident. Not knowing if I’d be able to walk again, I closed the business.

Ayurveda being a powerful healing system, I went to India a few times to receive pancha karma treatments. They helped me regain the ability to walk and learn how to care for the remaining damage. I also discovered marvellous essential oils, spices and techniques.

During those painful years, although the business was closed, I could not stop making creams of all kinds, discovered new ingredients, bought a still to make hydrosols, learned how to make soaps and shared that knowledge when I could.

Then recently my teacher, with her antennas always up, identified my subconscious longing to revive Face to Grace. I was tickled at the prospect. Of course its face needs an update to meet the needs of our times. Wow, technology and marketing have changed since 2018!

So here I am with a refreshed look, beautiful products, a 1-year course on Teachable and seeking kindred spirits with whom to spread a higher, more sustainable and uplifting view of beauty in the world.

Will you join me in this journey? - Isabela Blanchet