Welcome to Viriditas Beautiful Skin Therapies.
HI! I'm Laurie Neronha, esthetician and herbalist with a certification in Environmental Health.
I opened Viriditas in 2007 to help people just like you cultivate that healthy glow using a science based, holistic approach to skin wellness.
Our awesome team of highly trained estheticians and I work together with you identify and target issues that are dimming your skin's radiance.
Whether its acne, aging, sensitive skin, pigmentation, even plain old dull skin, when you partner with Viriditas, everyone will ask if you "had work done". And we'll do it without painful needles or potentially harmful ingredients.
Why are we so passionate about skin? We know what it feels like to have acne.
No no please don’t take my picture…
My entire teen years were marked by constant pimples. There were always at least 3 or 4 big red zits on my face, and that was on a good day.
Back then you only went to a dermatologist if your skin was *really* bad.
I should have gone to the dermatologist. But you know, I was supposed to "grow out of it".
Right.
I used to use Visine on my blemishes, and it would magically take away the redness for a few hours. And right on schedule, the big red painful nodules would be back.
I started breaking out when I was in 4th grade, so I was 9 years old. Yea, that’s really young for acne.
I went to Catholic school for a few years and I distinctly remember at 9 years old, standing by the door, waiting to go outside for recess.
The Nun, Sister Bonaventure was stabbing at her own face with her gnarled bony fingers, scowling at me sneering, “What's this? What's this all over your face?
Don’t you WASH?”
If I could have willed myself to die I would have. I prayed for God to take me right then and there. Or at least let me disappear so everyone would stop LOOKING at me.
I tried everything: stinky Clearasil paste, coal tar soap, toothpaste, Oxy 10, Clean and Clear, and I bought gallons of Sea Breeze. I convinced myself that the strong medicinal smell and the stripped feeling my skin had after I used it just HAD to be working somehow.
Yes, I occasionally went to school with a band-aid on my face in a feeble attempt to cover up a zit I picked at. (For the record, everyone knows it's really a pimple, don’t think you're fooling anyone.)
Herbal medicine had always fascinated me, even as a little girl. Along the way, I started studying herbs and wellness. My skin definitely improved, but the acne was still there. Like an unwelcome house guest.
Years passed. Even at 27 years old I STILL had acne.
Eventually I found myself working at the Body Shop. I realized I really enjoyed skin care. I became a licensed esthetician in 1997, and 10 years later I opened my own practice, Viriditas Beautiful Skin Therapies.
For me, esthetics is the perfect way to blend herbal medicine, wellness and skin care. Especially when it comes to challenges like acne!
Can I tell you how many skin care manufacturers have no clue how to clear acne? I’ve worked with lots of different skin care lines, and very few of them are actually effective for acne. Many are loaded with ingredients that often make
acne worse.
I FINALLY figured out how to clear my acne.
It's way more than just using the “right product”, or eating the “right foods”. It's a combination of things, and it's a little different for every person. That’s why it can be SO HARD to get clear on your own. If you have true acne prone skin (like me!) you will always have to stay alert to keep acne controlled. If you also have sensitive reactive skin (like me) you may have secondary issues with your skin too.
Don’t be discouraged. We really can help.
What the heck does “Viriditas” mean?
“O most honored Greening Force,
You who roots in the Sun;
You who lights up, in shining serenity, within a wheel
that earthly excellence fails to comprehend.
You are enfolded
in the weaving of divine mysteries.
– Saint Hildegard von Bingen 1098-1179
Accredited to Hildegard who was a nun, mystic, composer, herbalist, and artist, Viriditas is the marriage of two Latin words, most commonly translated as Green Truth or Green Life Force. For us, it means lush, healthy, vibrant skin.
Laurie Neronha, lifetime herbal explorer and licensed esthetician since 1997, has been practicing a wholistic and integrative approach to skin care from Day One.
Mom, wife, small business owner, cat mom, avid reader and designated house spider rescuer, she can usually be found spending time with her family (sans spiders).
