EATING PRETTY, LIVING WELL: A CONVERSATION WITH WELLNESS-AS-BEAUTY EXPERT JOLENE HART

Jolene Hart, CHC, AADP is a Health Coach certified by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, a former magazine beauty editor, and the founder of the pioneering beauty coaching practice Beauty Is Wellness. She is the author of Eat Pretty, a seasonal guide to looking and feeling beautiful using nutrition and self care, and the upcoming guided journal Eat Pretty, Live Well (2016 Chronicle Books). Jolene recently co-founded the Nutritional Aesthetics AllianceTM - an educational organization with a mission to advance an integrative approach to healthy skin, and serves as its Director of Education.

What inspired you to become an advocate for clean eating and clean beauty? 

My personal struggle with skin issues is at the core of my current work—as well as my experience as a magazine beauty editor. I dealt with skin issues from cystic acne to sensitive skin and eczema for nearly a decade, and sought cures from countless experts, products, prescriptions, and skin treatments. It wasn't until I decided- out of desperation- to try my hand at changing my diet to heal my skin that I saw incredible changes in the way my skin looked, as well as the way I was feeling. I was working as a beauty editor at that time, and wanted to share my findings with women who were also looking for products or treatments to fix their skin issues, or make themselves feel better, or help their skin glow. There is just so much power in the food we eat, and we have an opportunity to change our beauty with every bite we take. 

Tell us a bit about your book, Eat Pretty

Eat Pretty is a seasonal guide to eating for beauty. It discusses the changing needs of our skin and body each season, as well as the foods that target those needs and help us to look and feel our best. But the book, and our beauty, goes beyond food as well; there are chapters on digestion, hormone balance, mindfulness and sleep. There are so many factors that go into beauty from the inside, and this book gives you the details. 

We have to ask - being a fan of superfoods for skin, do you love moringa as much as we do? How do you integrate it into your work and life? 

Moringa has some incredible nutritional properties for beauty, both inside and out! I am excited to try incorporating it into more of my recipes this year. And the moringa oil I’ve tried felt amazing on my skin. It’s a powerful plant.

What's your personal skin care routine (including a favorite recipe perhaps)? 

Because I still work as a beauty editor and do product reviews from time to time, my routine changes all the time with new products I’m trying. That’s how it’s been for years! I find that as long as I have a solid nutritional foundation for my skin, it glows without needing one particular product or brand in my regimen. In general, I remove my makeup with coconut oil, use a gentle cream cleanser, a hydrating facial mist, a facial oil, and an under eye cream or oil. I make sure that all of these products are natural or organic. I love using raw honey as an exfoliating enzyme mask- just apply a few teaspoons of honey to clean, damp skin and leave on for at least 20 minutes. Wash off with warm water and a damp cloth. Your skin will be silky smooth afterward!

What's one fun fact about you that we might not know?

For a short time after college, I was a red carpet reporter for a celebrity magazine!

What do you love most about your job? 
In general, I love showing my audience how much they can affect the way they look and feel with small changes to their diet and lifestyle. When you figure out what your body needs to look and feel its best, it’s life-changing! And I love working with clients one-on-one, which gives me the privilege to see amazing shifts happen in people’s lives. 

What practical advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs and folks looking to quit their day job to pursue a passion? 

Take time to think about what you uniquely bring to the field you desire to be in, and make that a cornerstone of your work or your brand. Everyone has something unique to offer, and when you tap into that, you not only stand out more easily, you remind yourself exactly why you’re doing the work you do, and it helps to energize you every day. 

What's the next big thing for you?

I have two more books coming out in 2016; the first one is a guided food and mindfulness journal called Eat Pretty, Live Well that helps you put the beauty nutrition approach from Eat Pretty into practice in your life, in a way that is unique to you, while creating opportunities to set goals and reflect. I’m so excited to share it!