Noraleen Danforth of Aquarius Rising has been hands-on in the skincare world since 2013. As a 17-year-old, fresh from high school with a myriad of interests and floundering for direction, aesthetics seemed like the ideal hands-on option for supporting herself and she figured she would figure out a college path once she was independent. Ten years and an Associate of Science from Chattanooga State later, skincare is still her number one passion - and she’s still growing.
“I worked for other people for the majority of my time in skincare, from a dermatology clinic to medical spa and more traditional spa environments,” Ms. Danforth shares. “I never found an environment that supported my growth without holding me back. As scared as I was to go out on my own, I always wanted more and knew I could create something better for myself and eventually for a team.”
After working out of a bodywork co-op for two years, Ms. Danforth took the leap to renting her own space in Highland Park and is forever grateful she pushed herself to dream bigger. She offers holistic skincare, waxing + tinting + lash services, reiki treatments, tarot readings and more. She has a massage therapist sharing one of her rooms, is expanding to an upstairs space with a friend who will be offering tooth gems and has opened her own online holistic skincare market. She offers reiki workshops that certify learners in levels I, II and III and is creating courses for other estheticians who want to further their learning and branch into holistic care.
“I am passionate about holistic skincare because it focuses on whole-being wellness rather than just minimizing symptoms of conditions that show themselves in our skin,” she says. “If we aren't going to treat the root of the problem, it's like putting a bandaid over a leak and calling it fixed - that's not good enough for me.
"Skincare is about so much more than just the outside surface of the body. You are worthy. Just as you are, right now in this moment. Not in the future, when you achieve that goal or finally lose the weight or get your dream job or clear your skin up: right now. When we start from a place of worthiness, everything we build towards is just icing on the cake and most importantly, we learn what to give ourselves in order to be able to serve the world from a place of fullness and security.
"Aquarius Rising means the start of a new age: collaboration over competition, innovation and free thinking, exponential growth in human consciousness, and the breaking down of traditions and the status quo to create collectively for the benefit of all beings. I believe when we lead from a place of love, our success overflows to benefit the people around us. Our growth lifts others up, too.”