Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Taylor.
Brooke, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Many years ago, I was a fly-fishing guide in Colorado and spent years seeking fly-fishing in full sun locations like Belize, the Florida Keys and beyond. At some point, I realized my skin was suffering from all the exposure, so while in New York working for a company teaching fly-fishing, I went to school for esthetics. Over the next many years, I worked first as an esthetician, then for a skincare brand out of Australia, eventually moving there to run their global branding and education. Eventually, I realized my own health was suffering and I returned to receiving regular acupuncture appointments to feel better. Once back in the US for work, I learned I needed to stay in the US for treatment, my health was in jeopardy. This detour gave me time to slow down and re-evaluate. I realized I was burning the candle at both ends and that perhaps I had more to offer people than holistic skincare. I wanted to work with people from head to toe, inside out by seeing their skin through the lens of Chinese medicine. I went back to school for my master’s in Chinese medicine and acupuncture in my late 40s – an intense four years of study and passing four medical boards post-graduation. In the mix, I maintained my toe in the cosmetics industry, spending time with a formulator exploring ingredients and consulting for others. Ultimately, I combined all my experience in healing from my own health crises and years of working with the skin to help others unlock their overall health challenges and how they impact they face, including emotions, stress, habits, and skincare. Most of my patients now love the very hands on treatments, attention to their health, stress relief, and the alternatives to more invasive procedures – they get to look like the best version of themselves and feel amazing to boot.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The struggles were taking care of my mom through her end of life while in school full time and working. I was so blessed to have her with me, but trying to balance the demands of school and work with wanting to do the thing best for her was hard mentally – I needed three of me. I was also still working on recovering my own health – I had colon cancer prior to starting school – while I’m fine, the time of not being well took a toll on my energy and brainpower – which you need tons of to make it through the demands of school for Chinese medicine – I needed every little brain cell to cooperate! I’m grateful for amazing supportive friends and teachers that helped get me through, including when I lost my mom just prior to graduating. She was my biggest cheerleader, but others always stepped up to keep me going. I always knew it would all work out,
As you know, we’re big fans of The Road. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My business is called The Road… healing is rarely linear, so The Road represents the journey. I specialize in facial rejuvenation – all the alternatives to clinical interventions like injectables, peels, etc. I assess the overall health, as whatever is going on with your skin is not happening in a little microcosm, the whole body contributes to how it is playing out. So the patient receives a diagnosis, then acupuncture for the body/mind, diagnostic facial guasha, facial acupuncture, and they might receive light therapy, facial sculpting massage, facial cupping, and microcurrent. I also do bodywork with guasha, cupping and microcurrent. I work with lovely skincare lines, including those with ingredients we use in Chinese medicine (I have on a sheet mask while writing this!), carry loose leaf teas from a naturopath in Australia (still love all things Australian) to improve digestion and relieve stress, and a nutritionals line from California to support detox pathways, good digestion, improved sleep, and help the body with making collagen. My business thrives from referrals and word of mouth, and I feel super lucky as word spreads about these techniques. I think my work is a bit next level because of my skincare background, but I rely on wise colleagues for taking it even further with customized herbal blends to heal you at the root cause of your symptoms.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I have had skincare mentors along the way to help me go as far as I could in that arena, we are still in touch, and I anticipate working with them again in the near future. I think being in the spa industry for so long, I really absorbed how to care for others through touch and being present, I really appreciate that opportunity.
Some of my classmates have become my best friends. I currently work with one colleague and good friend (Kirsten Karchmer) to further The Road model to get to the bottom of people’s issues quickly by identifying the root cause. Another good friend and colleague, Dr. Mari Galle and I are expanding in the new year as our businesses reached critical mass – I am officially at the point where I need to expand to be able to help people the most efficiently. This is a fun project, and I wouldn’t want to do this without amazing partners.
I have been very lucky a few local ‘influencers’ and bloggers mentioned me on their platforms, from Camille Styles to Lauryn Evarts (The Skinny Confidential), as well as a few local celebrities. I’m finding they are happy to find something that helps them still be fully expressive on the screen but a little more sculpted, less puffy, well-hydrated, lines minimized, and feeling balanced and less stressed from their busy schedules. They definitely created awareness of this alternative, and I routinely get asked – who does what I do where they live!
Pricing:
- Initial Intake/Treatment (2021) $250
- Cosmetic Acupuncture $195
- Facial Sculpting (Yakov Gershkovich model) $250 and up
- Microcurrent, add-on or on its own, $50 and up
- Guasha (Eastern face lift), $145 and up
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@thisistheroad.com
- Website: www.thisistheroad.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theroadacupuncture/
- Other: tiktok: @brookeandtcm
Image Credits:
All images belong to The Road
