Well, hello there.

I opened San Francisco’s first holistic acne skin clinic back in 2008 in a one room studio and within a few months had a 1 year waitlist. Word quickly spread and a following outside of SF grew.

These remote clients too saw great results (even without clinic visits) employing our acne-safe lifestyle education, truly effective acne-safe skin products and ongoing expert support. Since then, we’ve cleared up over 3000 clients, without prescription drugs or BS. 

I’ve distilled everything I know from all my years of case studies and education into to our lifestyle library and in my book Clear Skin for Everyone, so that you too can achieve long-term skin clarity, and liberation with and within. 

I’m so glad you’re here. I look forward to hearing your stories, seeing your before and after pictures, and learning about how having clear skin has changed your life.

Love, Kim

PS - This is an unretouched photo of my actual natural, makeup-free skin at 41 years old. I only have eyeliner and mascara on. I do the things I write about in my book, use my own products and this is how it's worked out for me!

(Thanks to Lauren for the headshot)

Things Kim's Done

• Licensed esthetician since 2004, the SF Institute of Esthetics & Cosmetology (and countless continuing education courses)
• Stints across San Francisco’s spa scene from neighborhood salons to luxury day and medi-spas
• Experienced unconventional, holistic, medical, and business ideologies of the industry
• Studied and worked directly with acne pioneers Laura Cooksey (Face Reality) and Dr. James E. Fulton Jr. (co-creator of Retin-A, pioneer of acne research + product development)
• Opened skinSALVATION — SF’s first holistic adult acne clinic in 2008
• Trained over 10 estheticians who collectively treated 3000+ clients (and counting)
• Formulated skincare products in-house
• In 2021, refocused the organization to empower folks to clear their acne up themselves.

First, mad props.

Laura Cooksey, founder of Face Reality Skincare in San Leandro, CA was a major influence and mentor during my start in acne. Through her, I was able to learn about and meet Dr. James Fulton in 2008, whose work revolutionized the way acne is treated.

For several years, I was extremely fortunate to study under him and learn first hand how he formed the foundation of knowledge surrounding comedogenic ingredients that so many, myself included, base their product formulation philosophies on today.

To both of these mentors and others such as Dr. Albert Kligman, Dr. Mark Lees, estheticians Olga Valencia and Shilpa Makhija RN, I am forever grateful.

Everyone deserves access to clear skin.

There’s a lot of noise in our modern world, and it’s easy to get distracted from what’s important and real. Stressful living is normalized, and its negative effects on our health has become the status quo.

We’ve done the work to find the most fundamental game changers in stress and skin management for your everyday life. Skin is what protects you from the outside world and is oftentimes a messenger of imbalances that occur from within.

We believe in:

• Always being educational, honest and straightforward about our method.

• Empowering you with the tools that will clear up your acne.

• Making and selling only 100% acne-safe products that have been vigorously tested on humans, never animals.

• Supporting you and teaching you to be kind to your skin and grateful for how resilient it is. 

The skinSALVATION method is designed and proven to be effective and efficient. We’ll teach you how to clear your acne as quickly and sustainably as possible. 

We believe in collective wellness.

You can’t spell wellness without WE, and it’s within our joined efforts in which we can all move toward a just society full of health, wealth, and happiness for all. Everyone has a different relationship with their skin and different resources (or lack thereof) to take care of it.

Aside from our promise to provide the tools necessary to create the healthiest skin possible for every person we treat, we also fully stand with our global BIPOC and LGBTQIA2A+ families by supporting and elevating their underrepresented voices.

We support organizations such as AAPI Women Lead, Women’s Earth Alliance, People’s Breakfast of Oakland, Sogorea ‘Te Land Trust, Mi Familia Vota, ACLU, On Lok and many others. These groups have been and continue to create awareness, solidarity, and access to funds and resources for such marginalized groups.

Learn why Kim chose these organizations, what impact your support allows us to make and how you can get involved on the blog.


POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Thanks for being part of our journey.

We know a lot of time, resources and pain have gone into your acne situation. We appreciate your willingness to try one more thing — us — to get your skin and mind right.

Everyone everywhere from all walks of life deserves to be healthy, happy and whole, and we're happy to help guide you there.

We appreciate your trust and support, and work hard to pay it forward to communities in need of a better world.

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