Today we’d like to introduce you to Aïcha Sebaa.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started or where your interests originated?
Sure! This will open up some nostalgia. I can’t help but tie my interests and what I do today to my childhood.
A few household staples come to mind: apple cider vinegar, bee pollen, nigella seeds, honey, and olive oil saturated figs. These were some of the things my father would prepare for us as children while enchanting us with the benefits they possessed—probably because he wanted to weave in a foundation of nutritious-goodness to counter the unavoidable infiltration of childhood marketing. My mother: always a fun-loving jovial and artistic woman with the most upbeat personality I know. I took more after my studious-serious father (the OG Dr. Sebaa) but I love it when her sparkle rubs off on me. As kids, we still had our fair share of cereal boxes, Cheeto-fingers, drive-thru after school runs, and the ice-cream man mania as my mom hurried behind to make sure we didn’t dive blindly into the street. Good times. We did yoga with our martial artist father every Saturday morning after a binge of early morning cartoons. It was a balance of sorts. As a parent now, I appreciate it all. What I do now always brings out the little girl in me—an appreciation for the whimsical natural world with a parallel pulse on societal norms.
Tell us a bit more about where you grew up and how that sprung into your passion today.
I was born in Newport Beach, CA, raised in SoCal my whole life with a rich family lineage from the west coast of Algeria. While these areas may be more known for the coastal city life and commerce, we took full advantage of the natural environment readily around us with frequent camping trips and beach-days that I’ll always cherish fondly in memory. From a young age, I knew that I wanted to be a scientist, unraveling gems yet to discover—a doctor who can help remedy people through their pains.
I continued to develop a curiosity for the healing properties of what sprouts from the natural world. Whether it was hearing stories of traditional uses for herbs or finding edible sour grass stems in the valley down the road with my sister, I was in awe. Learning was fun and getting my hands dirty in the process was inevitable.
Tell us a memory that comes to mind that mirrors where you are today.
I remember this vividly: following my mom’s lead, I’d mix up yogurt, honey, and some “spices” to make a glamorous face mask. One day, I did this on my own; I’ll never forget the horror on my mother’s face when she saw the hot-redness that lasted on my face for hours. It was the wrong spice to add. I was that kid. 🙈
Experimentation for me was then and still is an insatiable part of me. I was excited about my future, already knowing what I wanted to “become.” The path into holistic medicine and green chemistry skincare was studded in my youth; I just didn’t know what that’d look like then. Looking back now, these formative years and the challenges I would later encounter truly shaped the way my practice is today.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Well, the road wasn’t exactly smooth. Despite the gift of a fun-filled and nature-rich childhood, that bubble abruptly popped in high-school—a time when I had to grow up fast.
I’d have to say that it was the pains I soon encountered in adolescence and young adulthood that refined where and who I am today.
During my sophomore year, our world turned upside-down. My father suffered a sudden massive stroke in the brain leaving him completely paralyzed for almost two decades now. My once active-alpha father fell into what we have witnessed to be one of life’s most challenging tests, to say the least. It was then that I quickly realized the limitations of the conventional medical model for patients like my dad.
I came to find that while allopathic medicine excels in acute-emergency care, the options in both preventative and chronic care are often severely deficient. I devotedly began to explore other models of medicine that address patients’ concerns beyond drugs and uniform protocols. So, I graduated high school early and enrolled in a nutritional consulting program while pursuing pre-med.
Amidst my search for med school options, there was a part of me yearning for a different take on health. I knew I wanted to be a doctor, but not in the conventional sense. I immersed myself in the study of therapeutic modalities beyond orthodox norms and realized that there was something intuitive, palpable, and visceral missing from most allopathic medical practices, and that is: the power of healing touch, bio-individuality, and a systems-based model of medicine–essentially, holism.
I decided to pursue my study in East Asian medicine, completing the terminal post-graduate doctoral degree with honors. I soon found the fuel to a familiar flame in my heart. The child in me returned as I continued to learn about ancient healing wisdom from traditional medicinal studies to the sprouting developments of modern functional medicine. Traveling to one of the largest teaching hospitals in China and seeing rural herbal practices in Tibet further opened my eyes.
My creative side also flourished with formulating skin healing recipes that others have come to love. You can read more about my journey into skincare (https://www.drsebaa.com/drsebaa-skincare-story/).
I consider myself a lifelong learner; the process of gathering more insights and helping others only feeds my yearning to explore more. As a doctor of East Asian medicine, functional medicine clinician, and women’s health advocate, I hope to share what I’ve learned with others by empowering patients and practitioners of all kinds to take a more intuitive approach to health. And as a skincare formulator (my ongoing creative outlet – link to shop), I feel deeply honored to share skin-nourishing treats, both in the intimate setting of my clinic and now online, in intentionally released seasonal formulas (www.drsebaa.com/shop).
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do? What sets you apart from others and what are you most proud of?
A recent project I’m most proud of is the release of Dr. Sebaa’s ELIXIR Facial Oil Serum. This is a limited edition seasonal formulation-series that’s released twice a year: Fall/Winter (October) and Spring/Summer (April). We just closed the launch of the Fall/Winter edition with resounding success!
I full-heartedly measure this success by the incredible feedback from our customers. While I have a few products I’d love to see into fruition (online), I decided to release ELIXIR as the flagship product given its wonderfully multi-functional skin-healing and radiating capabilities that so many have come to love. It was a formula I developed for myself that inevitably made its way into my facial rejuvenation practice and now will be released online in freshly curated batches.
You can learn more about ELIXIR on the shop (https://www.drsebaa.com/shop) and although this season is sold out, stay updated on the Spring/Summer release (https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5f5e95f9b7124f88445a2740).
This serum is such a beauty and I can’t wait for people to get their hands on this truly special formula!
CLINIC:
In my clinical practice, I see women with all sorts of conditions. It seems that every phase of a woman’s life comes with its own set of challenges (and amazing blessings). I see teenagers with menstrual irregularities and acne, early-millennials who need help with fertility, overwhelm, and consequential digestive/immune concerns. I also see peri-menopausal women with lively personalities but a body that seems to be crashing far too soon. And, there’s so much more.
But with each and every person, when I read her body language, feel her pulse, and listen to her voice, I see an inner spark ready to grow. Despite the challenges that we all go through, fortunately, the human body is brilliant and has its own resilient self-healing capacity that we just need to recognize and tap into. I believe that with practically any issue, there’s a healing solution to be found that occurs naturally within the body under the right circumstances.
I tell my patients, ‘You are your best doctor because you know your body better than anyone else; I am only here as a detective to help you unravel your body’s potential healing opportunities.’ Always remember: your body wants to heal.
My passion to help women attain vibrant health is ongoing. Flourishing women make the world bloom into a better place. It’s a great honor to be a part of that.
The facial rejuvenation branch of my practice came about naturally since everyone wants to look and feel their best. This is where my skincare creations took off.
I’m able to tie the fun elements of beauty every woman and man aspires towards with true radiance that exudes from inner-wellness. I feel very fortunate to do what I love.
I’ll leave you with a few quotes that continue to inspire me:
“Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.” – Hippocrates “These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.” – Rumi
“There are no incurable diseases—only the lack of will. There are no worthless herbs—only the lack of knowledge.” – Avicenna
“You say that you are just a body, but inside of you is something greater than the Universe.” – Imam Shafi
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Oh, there are so many! I have a resource page on my website (www.drsebaa.com/resources) along with a Book Recommendations list on Amazon to check out in the library section (https://www.amazon.com/shop/drsebaa).
Contact Info:
- Email: aicha@drsebaa.com
- Website: www.drsebaa.com/
- Shop: www.drsebaa.com/shop
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsebaa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drsebaa/
