Holiday

gift guide 

I love this season so much for so many reasons. The holidays, my birthday, the magic of Christmas, and just the happiness it brings. And one of my top love languages might be gifts. So — I put together a gift guide of things I love, brands I love, and steals + deals! Some shops have their sales live and others do not. 

ETHICAL WEARS

Christy Dawn! I love this ethical brand so much! The pieces are timeless, beautifully and ethically made. They very much feel like one of a kind pieces. They make small batches of the dresses with different dead stock fabrics. This is a dress complements the body through different seasons. You will have it for many many years! They are having a Black Friday sale of 30% off currently going which is a rare discount! 

Everlane is one of my favorite brands. Not only is the clothing amazing it fits my body so well. They are also ethical and transparent. This is wonderful! Some items I might grab this year would be — The Cotton Quilted Jacket, The Arc Canvas Pant, The Organic Cotton Waffle Henley, The Belgian-Waffle Henley in ReCashmere, The Texture Cotton Cardigan, or The Felted Merino Half-Zip Sweater.

EYES

Let’s talk about eyes! Let’s be real if you are a mom or over 30 you most likely need an eye cream or serum. And there is no shame in that! No one has time for dark circles. My top two favorites are the Countertime Ultra Renewal Eye Cream by Beautycounter and the Holi(Glow) Ageless Eye Serum by Agent Nateur. The Counertime Eye Cream is like your traditional eye cream with a plant-derived retinatural complex and persian silk tree extract that reduces the appearance of under-eye shadows and crows feet. The Holi Eye Serum is a serum that leaves a refreshing cucumber feel that smooths, tones, soothes, lightens, and blocks blue light. You probably need both of these if I’m being honest. Plus, they would make great stocking stuffers. 

Countertime Ultra Renewal Eye Cream — 15% off until November 29th + free shipping on orders over $100 (Shop my affiliate link)

Holi(Glow) Ageless Eye Serum — 20% off at Selenite Beauty until November 30th (shop small) 

SKIN

One more skincare item is on my must have for the Holiday season and just life in general. The Counter+ All Bright C Serum! You guys it’s good — like really good. It has over 3,500 five star reviews. This ultra-potent blend of two forms of vitamin C instantly brightens skin and helps reduce the appearance of existing dark spots, while antioxidant-rich turmeric and camu camu extracts help protect against new ones. The formula also helps defend skin from the damaging effects of environmental stressors—revealing a more youthful-looking complexion. And it works for all skin types….just add to cart! 

Counter+ All Bright C Serum — 15% off until November 29th + free shipping on orders over $50 (Shop my affiliate link)

FACIAL TOOLS

Everyone needs one facial tool! I am currently loving the Gua Sha from Wildling. Known for its rejuvenating properties, Bian stone was created when a meteor struck a mountain in ancient China. It is said to emit ultrasound pulsations, far infrared rays, and negative ions as a result of the cosmic impact — all of which are known for their antioxidant and anti-aging effects on cells and DNA. Sign me up for that! Also, I am not at the age where a good facial tool gets me excited about life. It’s fine. Everything is fine.

Or grab this Sculpting + Toning Facial Cupping Set — Sculpt, tone, restore, and repeat. With two sizes for targeted treatment, these high-quality silicone cups gently suction to the skin to increase circulation while easing the look of fine lines and dark circles. Use daily as a workout for skin that appears chiseled, fresh, plump, and reinvigorated.

HATS

OKAY, who doesn’t need a Christmas hat! Those of you that know me know I am a HAT girl! I love a good hat moment. I have had hats from all different types of companies and I keep coming back to Gigi Pip. The hat styles are so fun, the quality is incredible, and they are just beautifully made. They have options for every head shape and style. As well as different sizes — which is so important. I typically wear a 55 which is considered XS. Make sure you follow the measuring tips so you get the right size. Stiff brim hats are my absolute favorite. And, I have an exciting announcement — I am now an affiliate with Gigi Pip! So, when you shop my link you are not only getting a great hat but you are shopping with me. Super fun!

Gigi Pip — Everything will be 10% off, 20% when you spend $125, 30% when you spend $225 November 23rd-30th (Shop my affiliate link)

ACUPUNCTURE MAT

I have been very intrigued by this Acupuncture Mat Set. Acupressure has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years to support overall wellness, reduce occasional stress, and manage minor pain. Acupressure mats, like this one from WTHN, are designed to press and massage hundreds of acupressure points across the body. Incorporating one into your stretching routine can promote relaxation and help relieve tension. This could be a great gift for someone who doesn’t have a bomb acupuncturist or someone into wellness.

CURATED GIFTS

Covet Atelier is the cutest local to clt that curates goods and supports makers/artisans in the Carolinas. You can shop online or pop into the store to curate the cutest gifts while supporting artists and shopping small. I will list some of my favorite Covet gifts below that I have and love! Covet also offers classes in person and online for a fun chance to learn something new from local artists. 

Everyday oil — Everyday Oil is a natural, unisex body oil for the face, body & hair.  A blend of organic cold-pressed plant oils and steam-distilled essential oils that are cleansing, hydrating & balancing. Handmade in Black Mountain, Nc. 

I like it here Club Jewelry — Heirloom fine and demi-fine jewelry line created by designer and goldsmith Yeager in Wilmington, NC. The brand promotes positive energy, adventure and reflection, daydreaming and night dreaming and clear, pure joy.

Old North Shrub — A traditional vinegar-based beverage made with ingredients forged in the foothills of Nc. This is so fun to add to sparkling water for a mock-tail. 

Use code — KRISTIN10 for 10% off your purchase (shop small)

JEWELRY

Mejuri — the new luxury. History says fine jewelry for occasions, we say fine jewelry for every day. Minus the traditional markups, with new, limited-edition drops every Monday of the year. Handcrafted like the olden days, but designed for the golden days ahead. The most beautiful jewelry at fair pricing! Currently, on my Christmas list is the Locket Necklace. The sale this year is 10%  off of 1 item, 15% off 2 items, and 20% off 3 or more items.

RELAX

And for a luxurious Christmas gift, I’m sure no one would be disappointed by the Cloud Cotton Robe from Parachute. Lounge like you mean it. Soft, light and luxurious, this super comfy robe features fluffy 2-ply gauze, a snug waist tie and two hidden side pockets. Made from premium 100% long-staple Turkish cotton and designed to have a relaxed, comfortable fit. I mean yes please! 

And you could grab my absolute favorite diffuser that is already on sale! The Poosh — Saje collaboration is perfect. I have the white diffuser and it is beautiful. This diffuser humidifies while infusing your air with the healing power of plants, releases negative ions to elevate your well being, revitalizes the air in your space using 100% plant-based and beneficial essential oil blends, preserves the full integrity and properties of your essential oil blends using a heat-free system, and gives your atmosphere the same refreshing feeling as standing near a waterfall. Who doesn’t want to stand near or sleep near a waterfall.

GIFT CARDS

Some other fun local ideas would be grabbing a gift card for loved ones for a massage at Abode Wellness Lounge, an acupuncture session with Jocey, or your favorite local plant store! 

Mask

I love having spa time at home. I mean who doesn’t. But — it took me awhile to find my absolute favorite masks that actually make a difference in my skin all while being clean!

1 — Josh Rosebrook’s Active Enzyme Exfoliator

Regular exfoliation is a skincare best practice. This scrub does double duty by giving skin a clean and clear appearance with a smooth, soft feel. I love this scrub, it’s gentle on my very sensitive skin but effective.

 2 — Counter+ Charcoal Mask

This nutrient-rich kaolin clay mask with activated charcoal purifies and balances, absorbing excess oil and drawing out impurities. Salicylic and lactic acids aid in a gentle exfoliation, giving skin a smooth, polished look with a minimized appearance of pores.

3 — Leahlani Mermaid Mask

This emerald superfood smoothie for the skin that nourishes, purifies and revitalizes the complexion on a cellular level. Brimming with pristine, nutrient-dense Hawaiian spirulina, raw honey, cleansing sea clay and the most cleanly-sourced chlorella on the planet, this green goddess harnesses nature’s abundance to give your skin a radiant aloha glow.

4 — Josh Rosebrook’s Advanced Hydration Mask

This is an innovative treatment designed to help replenish and retain maximum skin cell hydration. Aloe Vera, whole organic actives and rich plant oils deliver potent nutrient synergy to support true skin regeneration. This Mask will help lock in moisture, plump, condition, and improve skin circulation which protects and supports healthy dermal function and slows skin decline.

Additionally, there are always add ons that can make your experience masking at home even better. I have two favorite add ons!

1 — Josh Rosebrook’s Hydrating Accelerator 

This is a multi-action hydrating mist delivers nutrient-dense, herb-infused aloe water, and fatty acids to lower skin surface tension and effectively penetrate the stratum corneum to enhance the delivery of hydration, antioxidants, and phytonutrients into the skin. I will sent both Josh Rosebrook’s Masks with this mist.

2 — Counter+ Overnight Resurfacing Peel

Goodnight, dullness. Good morning, glow. Featuring a proprietary multi-acid complex, this leave-on AHA/BHA peel improves skin texture and boosts clarity without irritation or over-drying. With glycolic, malic, and botanically derived lactic acid, the formula clears away dull surface cells, while arginine and essential fatty acids help soothe to reveal a brighter, healthier looking, renewed complexion. This peel changed the texture of my skin! Obsessed!

If you are local to clt you can find Leahlani + Josh Rosebrook at Selenite Beauty in Southend. And if you are interested in getting your hands on some Counter+ products let me know! I can get you a hook up on those two products especially in the month of July!

Acupuncture

for birth + induction

Ancient Chinese Medicine was something I turned to when I started to take my health seriously. I loved the history and healing that is found in it. I had the opportunity to sit down with Jocey Rodriguez to talk through what acupuncture is and how it can be beneficial for fertility, pregnancy, labor, and women’s health in general. Not only did I learn a good bit but I am so excited that this is available for all my local clients and friends in Charlotte, NC. Here are some things that we talked about…

What is Acupuncture? 

“Acupuncture is the medicine of putting sterile needles into specific points to help with the movement of circulation in that area. So, sometimes we use points because they are very obvious and right over the spot that needs treatment and other times use them because the function of that point is to do something that will be useful for you — maybe its an anti-inflammatory spot or a blood circulation spot.  You have so many specific points all over your body (over 400) and we use them as an antenna to guide the circulation to where it needs to go.”

Is Acupuncture safe during pregnancy?

“Yes, BUT you need to avoid certain points when you are pregnant. You need to go to someone who specializes in pregnancy and feels very comfortable treating someone who is pregnant.”

What can acupuncture help with during pregnancy?

“What can it not help?! The most common complaint that I receive is first trimester symptoms — constipation, morning sickness, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. Later on in pregnancy, I see more complaints of back pain, migraines, sciatica, etc; And of course labor induction. Acupuncture can treat all of those symptoms.”

When should I start seeing an acupuncturist during pregnancy and how often should I go?

“You can start anytime. You do not have to wait to be out of your first trimester because we want to address the symptoms from the first trimester. The frequency will depend on what’s going on. On a general note we like to see patients weekly for the first 8 weeks and then every other week until they exit the first trimester. After that every 4-6 weeks. We really just want to do maintenance and prepare the body for labor and work with whatever pops up throughout the pregnancy. I would also like to add — Acupuncture can be used for correcting Breech and Transverse presentation. Especially for the moms that would like to experience a natural or vaginal delivery. Acupuncture can help to create space and encourage the baby to flip head down.”

Can acupuncture induce labor naturally and how does it work?

“YES it can! The reason some Acupuncture points are contraindicated in pregnancy is because they can induce labor, so it certainly is effective to help promote labor naturally. I find that the most effective treatments focus on promoting the ripening of the cervix. Once this has been achieved, we can add points that promote contractions. First time moms are usually very anxious about labor and some of that anxiety causes the body to be tight and it is really hard for the body to do what it needs to do in that state. I like to do some stress and anxiety relief points as well. The frequency depends on where you are with labor. If your doctor is concerned about something and wants to induce by a certain time frame for one reason or another, you can have treatments every other day if you need to.”

“Usually, between 1-3 acupuncture sessions will be enough depending on the patient’s individual progression. If you have already had some dilation or effacement one session could be all you need. If you haven’t began to open up at all you might need closer to 3 or more sessions at a frequency of every other day. If they are pushing to induce at 38 weeks, starting your appointments every other day at 37 weeks will be very beneficial. Even if they still have to induce you, it tends to shorten the labor induction time and you tend respond a lot better to the Pitocin or whatever induction method they are using because your body is more relaxed and prepared. The majority of patients have approximately a 90% chance of going into labor naturally with 3 sessions. In addition to Acupuncture, I am also trained in Pelvic Hydrotheraphy/Vaginal Steaming and I like to instruct my patients on ways they can help induce labor at home (and even during labor itself) to promote a smoother labor and delivery.”

Should I get Acupuncture after I deliver? What are the benefits?

“Yes, it's really helpful for postpartum recovery. It can help with hormone balancing, overall healing, fatigue, and pain management. Postpartum acupuncture is more supportive. In Ancient Chinese medicine the blood loss in labor and delivery is believed to contribute to a-lot of symptoms that can arise after birth. It is very useful to help your body build your blood supply back up again and handle whatever has come up because of the birth. It can also help with supporting milk production. Postpartum recovery can also be aided by Pelvic Hydrotherapy/Pelvic Steaming. Steaming has been shown to promote healing of tears and stitched tissue as well as reduce hemorrhoids and help pass loch in a shorter tie frame.”

How does Acupuncture affect IVF and Infertility?

“In Ancient Chinese medicine “infertility” is not a diagnosis. Chinese Medicine believes that if you have a uterus, at least one functional tube, and one functional ovary (obviously on the same side as the tube) you can conceive. You may have a blockage or imbalance and we just need to remove that blockage or correct that imbalance. So that’s what we do!” 

“I use a protocol that was invented by a German acupuncturist that has been shown to increase chances of implantation with IVF. The idea is you have a pre-session and a post-session the same day as embryo transfer. The pre-session helps prepare the uterus to receive and the post-session helps with the implantation. If you can’t do it the same day you have a 48 hour window where it will still be clinically relevant to have the treatments done. But, you really want to get it as close as you can to the transfer date. It can double your chances. IUI patients should be having sessions three months before. This would positively impact lining quality, egg quality and circulation into the uterus.”

“I want to start working with a client before they get to the IUI or IVF point. I see the biggest impact in patients that receive 3-6 months of treatment. I also will encourage husbands to get a semen analysis done and if something comes up on their end I will also work with them to help improve sperm count and quality. We can avoid a-lot of procedures if patients start earlier. I usually get patients who have done everything and Acupuncture is the last resort. The whole point of acupuncture is to regulate and balance out your body. Their is a good chance that the reason you're not getting pregnant, unless there is something structural going on, is because your body is not being regulated or balanced. I like to address all different aspects of your lifestyle. I assess your nutrition, household products, toxins, supplements, exercise, sleep and so on. It’s overall health and wellness. For the best chance of success you have to be ready to be fully committed. You can be receiving acupuncture twice a week but if you have not adjusted other parts of your lifestyle you may not get the results you want. There is so much that goes into conceiving that doctors typically do not cover. Sometimes they suggest pumping you full of hormones to see what happens without checking your foundation. Chinese Medicine theory focuses on getting the foundation as good as we can get it. Once we have addressed the underlying imbalances your chances to conceive improve no matter which route you take — natural, IUI, or IVF. Conservatively, I have seen about an 85% success rate from clients who follow the recommendations I provide them with. If you decide that you would like to start trying to conceive tomorrow, book your Acupuncture session for tomorrow as well.”

Women’s Health and Wellness

“Acupuncture really shines when it is used as a preventative medicine. When it comes to Women’s Health, there are a lot of issues that go unaddressed that bring up bigger problems later on in life. For example, lots of women have Fibroids. If not dealt with in a timely manner, they can cause a lot of discomfort, excessive bleeding and really difficult menopause. Alternatively, most doctors will often push hormone treatments and surgical procedures including hysterectomies as the solution. All of this can be avoided by seeing a specialized Chinese Medicine Practitioner. Same goes for painful periods, endometriosis, and menopause. Regular treatments can alleviate all of these conditions and promote a much smoother transition into menopause.”

What does the training look like to become an Acupuncturist?

“At a minimum, a Master's Degree in Oriental Medicine is required in most states. Our training as Acupuncturists requires us to do clinical rotations before we can graduate. This means we have to provide supervised treatments to several patients before we can ever offer treatments professionally. In my case, I had over 1200 clinical hours and over 350 supervised treatments before I graduated back in 2009. After the clinical hours are satisfied and the Master's degree is earned, then you have to get board certified. Each state is a little different but it requires a student to pass a series of exams. At this point, once you have met all of those requirements, then you can apply for a license to practice in your state. After all is said you done, you still have to  receive continuing education and revalidate  the license to practice every two years. Physical therapists can take a course in "dry needling" and learn to insert needles but this does not make them Acupuncturists. Doctors can take a course in inserting needles in specific Acupuncture points and call themselves "Medical Acupuncturists". This is why it is extremely important to check the qualifications of your practitioner. Getting licensed requires a lot of love for the medicine and dedication. We can't just take a course and get licensed." 

Other Treatments at Inner Peace Acupuncture Clinic

“Gua Sha, Cupping, Acupuncture, Electrical Stimulation, Herbal Therapy, Tui Na - Chinese Massage, Pelvic Hydrotherapy/Vaginal Steaming, and Acupuncture Facial Rejuvenation.”

Cost

Pricing may vary depending on treatment needed. The initial visit with Jocey starts at $125 and $95 for regular visits after that. Some insurance companies will cover acupuncture for pain and acupuncture is typically covered by HSA or FSA.

I am so thankful for Jocey Rodriguez not only sitting down with me to share all this incredible information but for all the amazing work she is doing in the greater clt area! Jocey is currently located at the Abode Wellness Lounge in Davidson, NC. And of course a thank you to Sammie Kolk for letting me crash her peaceful session.