Cielo Ruiz shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Cielo, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do you think others are secretly struggling with—but never say?
Burn out. I know some people are vocal about it and it is becoming less taboo to express it, but I notice that some people still feel more comfortable with “suffering in silence” sometimes, and I get it. Social media keeps showing every moment of our lives, but we don’t always see the hard times behind the camera. We want to put up this facade that everything is okay all the time, and that’s just not realistic, and it’s okay to need a break and to take time for yourself. That’s why I’m such an advocate for self-care!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Cielo Ruiz, a California licensed Esthetician since 2012. I have worked at Burke Williams and as an Educator at Face Haus, and now I own my facial business in Studio City, Cielo Skin + Wellness. I focus mainly on treating skin, like aging, acne, and hyper-pigmentation on a superficial level, so all of my treatments are non-invasive and mostly help rebuild the skin barrier. My approach is less aggressive treatments over time for less irritation, including home care. I treat people of all walks of life, women, men, seniors, pre-teens and teens, all global skin tones, and I am pregnancy, menopause and oncology informed.
Other than my facial treatments, I retail my own cruelty-free skincare line called SKINWELL by Cielo, and I do my signature energy clearing service called Energy Reset, which is a fusion of Reiki and subconscious clearing.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
My Mom. Of course my dad had a similar approach as my Mom did, but what really sticks out to me is how honest my Mom was. She passed in 2015, but her ethics are alive and well in me. She was devoutly pious and really taught me to not just work, but live with integrity and do what’s honorable. She showed me to be kind, polite, professional and welcoming and I remember her visiting me at most of my jobs, supporting me in any way she could. She also instilled in me that being a good person is the most important work there is. The money comes along with that.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
One defining wound was losing my Mom. At the time I was managing the West Hollywood Face Haus location, and we had just opened. There was pressure to run this budding business: train and manage staff, bring in and retain clients, and organize administrative reports- all while still taking clients for facials. About six months after her passing, I was still grieving her loss, a breakup and running the business until one day it dawned on me that I needed to step down from management and take care of myself. I ended up just solely doing facials, and without having the responsibility of running everything, I started traveling and dancing again. I immediately booked a UK Tour by myself and revisited salsa dancing and making time for friends. Getting back to having fun and enjoying life truly helped me heal.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
I aim to be as genuine online and in public as possible. I know all the smoke and mirrors sell, but I’m the type of person that values truth, integrity, and authenticity so I set out to be that person myself. I won’t lie and say I’ve never used a filter in my life, but when it comes to my skincare content, I like being as transparent as possible and not use filters and just have more flattering lighting so I don’t look sick or too tired. I get we all want to look our best, especially when it comes to online content that can be seen over and over and scrutinized for everything. At the same time, I think it is very important that we keep seeing real faces online. We’re becoming trained and brainwashed to think everyone looks done up and flawless, ageless, skinny, clear, etc, but the truth is, we age, we gain weight sometimes and we’re human. Most of what we see online isn’t real anyway and I wouldn’t feel right trying to sell someone on anything based on a lie.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
I think I understand emotions more than most because I feel so deeply. I know society tends to just want to see happy emotions and brush unpleasantness under the rug, but I think it’s healthy to express yourself and to learn and lean into your emotions, because they are messengers. Most of the time when we suppress what we’re feeling, we miss the lesson and the opportunity to heal. When I experience a difficult emotion, I investigate it instead of resisting it. Many times, it’s our neglected inner child trying to be seen and heard. That’s why I like doing my Energy Reset service because it gives people the opportunity to tap into these e-motions = energy-in-motion and process them in a relaxing and safe way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.CieloRuiz.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/cieloskinwell
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cielo-ruiz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cieloskinwell
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cielo-skin-wellness-los-angeles
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@cieloskinwell
Image Credits
Cielo Ruiz
