What’s the most important aspect of great skin at any age? According to Amber Woods, founder and owner of Pink Light, the answer is creating a loving self-perception. Amber’s passion for natural healing began in her teens and inspired her to study nutrition, energy work, herbalism and esthetics. Her knowledge in all things natural healing is the inspiration behind each of her healing Pink Light products.
In this interview, we explore intentional skincare and treatments, the power in flower, crystal and gem essence formulas and why skincare is more than a self-care ritual - it’s holistic health.
Get to know boss lady, Amber Woods with us!
Tell us about the mission behind Pink Light:
Pink Light is a skin care brand that is rooted in the idea of creating a loving self perception, which I believe is the most important aspect of great skin at any age! We make gorgeous, luxury, herbal products that nourish the skin and improve its function. We aim to turn skin care into a self care ritual.
What inspired you to begin a unique journey into natural healing, self love and self care?
When I was 15, I did a report in school on the health benefits of vegetarianism. That research catapulted me into my lifelong passion for natural healing. I was truly obsessed as a young person, reading and trying everything I could get my hands on about healing the body naturally. Over the past 20+ years I’ve studied nutrition, energy work, herbalism, and have tried a little bit of everything! My entire life, I loved self care and grooming rituals, as they were the place where I found the most peace of mind. When I realized how I could marry beauty and herbalism and create a skin care brand based on self love and healing, the stars truly aligned for me!
Pink Light emerged with an entirely feminist perspective. I loved beauty as a child and was a skin-care and make-up obsessed teenager. But once I hit 18, I started to see how harmful and toxic the beauty industry’s standards for women are, and I fully rejected it. I was way too “feminist” to care about skin care or beauty, and I spent nearly ten years in this rejection, believing that all things feminine and beauty related were problematic.
Through my studies of holistic health care, herbal medicine, crystals, and intuitive healing & energy work, I fell in love with the beauty, health, and harmony that these things brought to me and my skin. My ultra-feminine skin care line was finally born when I realized that magic, healing, and self-care were deeply feminine and the true paths to beauty… that beautiful skin comes first from loving self-perception, and second from loving rituals with healthy, nourishing products. From there, I could fully embrace my gifts to bring beauty to the world without compromising my values, which felt truly feminist.
Tell us about your background as an aesthetician, formulator and herbalist:
I was an herbalist and formulator first, and had an a-ha moment that brought me back to school for my esthetics license.
I started out studying herbal medicine and working one-on-one with clients on any and all kinds of health care issues. During my training, I learned a great deal about how to work with plant ingredients and how to make bases for medicine such as balms, creams, and extracts. I had a childhood dream of creating a skin care line, and suddenly I found myself creating amazing herbal products for the skin using these herbal medicine skills. I immediately dreamt up and created the initial Pink Light line with four basic products.
I felt very serious about refining and expanding the line and sharing it by doing treatments with the products. I knew that I could combine all of my skills and passions this way. I had the vision of a holistic skin care practice, where you could get a facial with truly natural, herbal products and get advice for your skin based on nutrition and herbal medicine. That didn’t exist at the time, and I wanted to create it. I went back to school for my esthetics license and brought my vision to life.
As I’ve grown and evolved at Pink Light, all of these roles have informed each other and been valuable or highlighted at different points.
What inspired you to incorporate crystals and energy work into your products and healing treatments for clients?
This was an absolute given for me when I created the line and started doing facials. I had studied energy work and crystal healing for a long time, and I could see how they fit seamlessly into the practice of skin care. For me, doing a facial is energy work, I can’t separate them, so I put my best intentions into each treatment. Crystals offer shifts on a vibrational level, and can certainly shift your perception. I loved the idea of including an invisible energy into my products and services that makes people love themselves more.
You make your own flower and gem essences and add them to formulas based on what you’d like each client to experience. Tell us about this unique and personalized process:
Flower and crystal/gem essences are generally made by preserving the energetic vibration of a given flower or stone by bathing it in water. That water is then preserved (usually with some sort of alcohol) and used in homeopathic doses (small drops) that can be used internally or externally to shift a person’s emotional patterns and wellbeing. Each flower or gem has specific properties of healing. For example, the Rose Quartz, a popular stone, is known to be calming, softening, soothing, protective, and opening to the heart.
When I formulate with flower and gem essences, I add these homeopathic doses to the products to add whatever energetic properties I would like to infuse into the formula. For example, I use an essence of Rhodochrosite (a pink stone) in the Self Love Spray. Rhodochrosite is the ultimate stone of self-love and encourages a positive outlook. That’s a cornerstone to this formula and its effectiveness. This ingredient is nearly invisible, but you can tell there’s a depth to this spray that surpasses a typical aromatherapy mist.
Other examples:
In our Midnight Dew, we add the essence of Spectrolite, a stone that offers a fresh perspective and help us to accept the aging process with grace.
In our Crystal Facial Tonic and Clear Horizon Cleansing Oil, we add the essences of Gold and Diamond, which improve our self esteem and help us to act in alignment with our divine purpose.
I believe that an important part of skin care is to shift your mindset and to love your skin— To create a practice of viewing yourself with loving self-perception. The energy of flowers and gems aid in the process, and help to create the most beautiful skin care ritual possible.
What is your personal philosophy and how does it align with Pink Light’s philosophy?
Self care is the greatest gift I can give myself. Take time to care for and nourish yourself, or you won’t be able to care for and nourish others. I also find it vitally important to prioritize seeing beauty in life.
Pink LIght is all about beauty and self care rituals and is truly an extension of my being.
What does holistic health mean to you?
Holistic health is not compartmentalizing any issue or part of yourself. It’s about seeing the whole picture of your body, systems, and life and finding the best ways to bring balance to your being. This process will look a little different for everyone.
In terms of skin care, holistic health is knowing that your skin is often a reflection of everything else in your body. Though a great topical skin care ritual is wonderfully helpful, one must take nutrition and stress and emotional factors very seriously when wanting to nurture healthy skin.
What do you hope each client leaves with after they have a treatment or uses Pink Light products?
I want them to feel enveloped in pink light- the kind you see in the sky at sunrise and sunset- which I think is the most healing thing on earth. I want them to love themselves a little more.
It’s always been my goal to make all people of all genders, sexualities, sizes, ethnicities and abilities to feel beautiful and great in their skin.
What makes you feel proud?
When someone tells me they have created a skin care ritual for themselves that they love. I know that action will improve their well-being and quality of life and I’m beyond honored that I inspired any part of it.