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Are you still using skincare products that might be doing more harm than good?

Ever wondered why so many beauty products rely on unsustainable, animal-derived ingredients that don’t align with nature?

Or perhaps you’re curious how daily rituals and natural skincare can transform not just your skin, but your overall well-being?

In this eye-opening conversation, I’m joined by Bhavna Suri, founder of Terra Tonics — an award-winning plant-based beauty brand that’s doing skincare differently. Together, we dive into everything from the unnecessary use of animal-derived ingredients in makeup to the business side of running a nature-first skincare brand. 

Tune in to learn: the deep-rooted connection between Bhavna’s upbringing and Terra Tonics, why you should think twice about what goes on your skin, why the structure of your skincare matters, the science of H3O2, why simplicity is the ultimate key to a glowing complexion, and how embracing mindful rituals can transform both your skin and your life.

So if you’re ready to switch to toxic-free skincare, simplify your routine, and nurture your skin in a way that feels aligned with your values, then press play now… This one’s for you.

About Bhavna Suri

Bhavna Suri is the founder of Terra Tonics, a skincare brand rooted in sustainability, nature, and compassion. Raised in an Ayurvedic and aromatherapy-focused home, Bhavna’s passion for the healing power of nature began early, but it was her transition to a plant-based lifestyle over nine years ago that sparked her deeper commitment to living in alignment with the planet. After witnessing firsthand the damaging effects of chemical-laden beauty products while working in the modeling industry, she sought to create skincare that prioritized efficacy and ethical practices.

Terra Tonics’ first product, the award-winning Clean Collagen, set the standard for plant-based alternatives to traditional skincare ingredients. Bhavna is dedicated to using only the purest botanicals and minerals, crafting formulations free of fillers, synthetics, and animal-derived ingredients. Her mission is simple: to reconnect people with nature, allowing both skin and planet to flourish.

In this episode we chat about:

• Her unique upbringing and how it sparked her mission to transform the skincare industry (04:02)
• How nature-forward, bioactive skincare is revolutionizing industry standards (07:29)
• The importance of questioning animal-derived ingredients in your beauty products (11:14)
• The power of simple, natural rituals to elevate your skincare and your life (14:18)
• What it *really* takes to build an award-winning, sustainable beauty brand from scratch (18:24)
• The critical importance of boosting our children’s confidence (24:26)
• The surprising daily habits and routines that set her up for success (33:40)
• Powerful techniques to positively impact your health, finances and love life (36:21)
• The must-know toxic ingredients to avoid putting on your body at all costs (37:48)

Episode resources:

• SheLaunch (join here)
• Mastering Your Mean Girl by Melissa Ambrosini (book)
• Open Wide by Melissa Ambrosini (book)
• Comparisonitis by Melissa Ambrosini (book)
• Time Magic by Melissa Ambrosini and Nick Broadhurst (book)
• Terra Tonics (website)
• Terra Tonics (Instagram)
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (book)

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The following transcript has been automatically generated and not checked for accuracy.

Melissa: [00:00:00] In episode 625 with Bhavna Suri, we are talking about the lies the beauty industry tells us. Why you need to switch to toxic free products. And we’re diving deep into the most beautiful skincare confidence and self love rituals. Plus so much more. Welcome to the Melissa Ambrosini show. I’m your host, Melissa, bestselling author of mastering your main girl, open wide comparisonitis.

And I’m here to remind you that love is sexy, healthy is liberating, and wealthy isn’t a dirty word. Each week, I’ll be getting up close and personal with thought leaders from around the globe, as well as your weekly dose of motivation so that you can create epic change in your own life and become the best version of yourself possible.

Are you ready, beautiful? Hey beautiful. Welcome back to the show. I’m so excited. Because I love this brand [00:01:00] so much. And for those of you that have never heard of Terratonics, it is one of the most delicious, clean, organic skincare companies that I just adore. And the origins trace back to Bhavna’s childhood.

Now her father owned an Ayurvedic clinic and her mother was an aromatherapist. So she was immersed in the healing power of nature from the very beginning, which is so beautiful. How amazing is that? However, her true awakening came when she embraced a plant based lifestyle over nine years ago. Now this shift illuminated the profound impact of her choices from food to skincare to household products and even clothing and on all areas of her wellbeing and on the planet.

And she began to see her body as interconnected with a much larger system, which it is. Now delving into the skincare farming and manufacturing practices further opened her eyes to the harmful practices in the beauty industry. Now she came from a modeling background so she experienced firsthand the impact of chemically laden products on her [00:02:00] skin.

I can definitely relate to that. In all my years of being in TV and dancing and modeling and TV presenting, the products that they used to put on my face and in my hair, oh my goodness. Ugh, I just cringe thinking about it. Now, she yearned for skincare products that deeply aligned with her values, but they seemed non existent.

This is when the lightbulb moment struck for her, and she realized that she could be the change. She could create that skincare company, which I just absolutely love. And Terratonics is committed to using only what is absolutely necessary in their formulations. No fillers, synthetics, or animal derived ingredients.

Their plant powered approach never compromises. These products are organic, clean, plant based, and only have a couple of ingredients, which I just said. So, come home to Terra is more than a tagline, it is their truth. When people reconnect with nature, they heal themselves and the planet. And their customers often speak of the glow that they experience, a radiance that she believes reflects the beauty of [00:03:00] nature, finding its home within themselves.

Isn’t that just so beautiful? Now for everything that we mentioned in today’s episode, you can check out in the show notes. That’s over at melissaambrosini. com forward slash 625. And if you want to try the Terratonix amazing products, there’s only three, which I absolutely love. You can use the code Melissa to get 15 percent off.

And I’ll put that in the show notes for you as well. Now let’s bring on the incredible Bhavna Suri.

Bhavna, welcome to the show. I’m so excited to have you here, but before we dive in, can you tell us what you had for breakfast this morning? Yes. 

Bhavna: I always love to start with the juice. And today I’m doing, going into spring, I’m kind of doing a cucumber at the moment, which is so refreshing, so hydrating and a little bit sweet, which is amazing.

And then I had a beautiful bowl of fresh, juicy local fruits, lots of papaya, just like really beautiful, hydrating foods to start the digestion system. [00:04:00] 

Melissa: Yum. Delicious. I’m so excited to chat. Your journey with Terratonics seems deeply rooted in your personal history and values, which I just absolutely love.

So can you share how your upbringing in an Ayurvedic and an aromatherapy focused home shaped your approach to skincare and ultimately inspired Terratonics? Take us back. 

Bhavna: Yeah, so for me, I mean, personally, this first part of the journey was for me about around 10 years ago when I kind of went through. a big lifestyle transformation.

I’d kind of slowed down from my work at the time, which was modeling, and started to live a more slower paced lifestyle, should I say. And in doing that, I changed to a plant based way of eating as well, and that basically kind of just opened the door for me to start questioning everything. Because I’d learn about the practices of the industry and from doing so, I then was like, okay, well, if I hadn’t known about all of this and made that [00:05:00] connection, like what else is there that I haven’t made the connection to in my life?

And that kind of unearthed the looking into fashion, my clothes, my food, everything I used in my house. And ultimately my skincare. Now even though we kind of had a bit of a, a good start to that, with my mum, she was our own therapist, so at home everything was a herbal remedy. I mean the poor dog used to get tea tree and herbal washes, but I think when you’re at that age you don’t always Understand it completely at that time as to the effect that it has on you.

So it wasn’t until I had gone through living and traveling, which was through modeling and having all these things consistently put on me that it made me go back and question and then go, okay, now I can see why. And I’ve really understood the connection that my parents tried to give me through aligning ourselves more deeply with nature rather than these outside extra load of chemicals and toxic products that are completely 

Melissa: [00:06:00] unnecessary.

Yeah, absolutely. So then how did Terratonix get created from there? 

Bhavna: Yeah, so through that path and unearthing all these products in my household. I really just went down this path of, wow, what a toxic load I had been putting on my body for all these years. And in doing so, it basically made me look at what at the time was very booming in the industry, which was collagen.

It’d become this big thing that everyone was talking about. But what I noticed again in this space was there was a lot of. Missing information. There wasn’t a lot of transparency. There wasn’t a lot of education around how it’s made, like how it comes to market. And it basically was an amalgamation of all of my values going, well, if you’re not happy with what’s going on and you can’t find the product that you want to support you, then what are you going to do?

You can wait for someone else to do it, or you can go out there and actually make the [00:07:00] change that you want to see. And so Terratonics is really about. Bringing something to other people to share all of the learnings and growth that I’ve made personally and have a product like you said that’s based on values because I think in business it gets lost a lot.

We see products come to market or businesses started from profit and not from value based systems and I think that’s where you know we really need to see a change and that’s how I personally love to shop is to know where I’m sourcing and buying my things from. 

Melissa: Yeah, so how is Terratonix different to many other skincare products out there?

Bhavna: Yeah, so also for me when starting Terratonix, it wasn’t about just bringing, I say clean product, that word gets used a lot, but genuinely a clean product to market. It was like, okay, what do we actually need? I was heading into my 30s at the time and obviously of course starting to look at how I can preserve my skin and preserve my youthfulness.

Yes. And. The two main things that we do need are collagen, which starts to slow down [00:08:00] and hyaluronic acid. These two things, you know, our production of those does start to slow down as we move into our thirties and beyond. And it was okay, well, if I’m going to bring something to market, it needs to be something that’s going to support us and the necessities of our lives.

What we and our bodies need, but also in the best possible way. So mostly things are created from a profit standpoint. You’ll use marketing and then you’ll decide on what’s left in terms of funds to create a product. I did it completely the other way around. Which is not the most financially, but if I’m going to bring something to mark, I want it to be the very best.

So it was, what is the best ingredients that I can find? What is going to actually give results? What’s actually going to make a difference to your skin and your health? And not just be a band aid for our skin concerns over time and what’s actually going to support the body. And our bodies are self healing systems.

Like nature has created us and created us. everything on the earth for [00:09:00] us to be able to sustain ourselves in the best way possible. So it was about aligning us back to what nature has provided and doing that in a way that is also taking care of what we actually need rather than this bombardment of products and toxic load, which is completely unnecessary.

Absolutely. 

Melissa: I have spoken for years about the importance of what you put on your body because it gets absorbed straight into your bloodstream. I learned this 14 years ago in 2009, where I learned about what we put on and in our body and how important that is. And I remember thinking, why wasn’t I taught this in school?

My mind was blown. Like our skin is our largest organ. No one had ever told me that everything I was using was completely toxic and affecting my hormones and you know, the endocrine disrupting and all of these things, like no one had ever told me these things. [00:10:00] And so I remember going into my bathroom and at this time I was a professional dancer, acting, TV presenter, did modeling and I got a big black garbage bag and I went into the bathroom and I literally just tipped everything in there and I went cold turkey.

And then I went to a health food shop and I started buying, you know, okay. I was like, okay, I need toothpaste. So I’d buy toothpaste. And then I bought deodorant and I would just buy one thing after the other when I needed it. And at that time. The skincare and the makeup, there was like one makeup brand, it was a mineral makeup brand and it was not very good.

I remember it like falling off, you know, but over the last 15 years, this world has become so much bigger and more popular, like organic skincare and beautiful organic makeup as well. And it’s such a low hanging fruit, you know, for women, we’re putting this on and we’re doing it every single day. And that toxic accumulation.

Is adding up. It is [00:11:00] affecting our hormones. It’s affecting everything in our body, our fertility, everything. And so I have banged on and on about the importance of what you put on your body and how it gets absorbed straight into your bloodstream. And not only that, you talk a lot about how the beauty industry, it relies on unsustainable and animal derived ingredients and how it’s unnecessary.

And totally harmful. How does teratonics address these issues, and what makes your products not only different but better for both people and the planet? 

Bhavna: Yeah, so the liquid structure of plants is actually H3O2, which is the structure found in our cells. So, I mean, there in itself nature is showing us that the best thing we can use is teratonics.

And the best thing that’s going to align with ourselves and actually make a change is H3O2, which is found in plants. I mean, it’s as simple as that when it comes to, you know, overcomplicating, because like you were saying earlier, we get [00:12:00] bombarded with so many things and we’re not really sure, you know, for someone who’s not in this space, they don’t know where to start.

And all I would say to that is it’s like coming back to yourself, away from all of that, simplifying, coming back. What does your body tell you? What is your reaction? What’s your body showing you? And when it comes to the practices in the industry, this is why I wanted the products as well to be a way to create rituals because ritual is a way that you can take something ordinary that you do every day and make it and give yourself the space to pause.

to reflect, to give yourself that moment of peace and actually think about what you’re using and what you’re doing. And in those moments, then we can really connect to what it is that we have, whether it be food, whether it be product. And I think in those moments for me, that’s when I questioned, why are we creating products using [00:13:00] animals, life, you know, sentient beings for the sake of beauty, which we know we don’t need.

The less we do. The more we are ourselves, the more we are radiant, when we strip back all of this, is when we really see our true selves. And the idea that we have been sold is that we need to use other sentient beings for this. When, you know, for me, it’s just looking at the importance of our connection to life as well.

And I think that’s what’s been forgotten here is we get so wrapped up in. All these different marketing media advertisements that we don’t question where things are sourced from and sentient beings, you know, is the idea that we are consistently over consuming and over using these products is something that we need to stop and question ourselves about, which is why Terra Tonics is a solution based brand.

It’s giving you a solution product to what your body actually [00:14:00] needs support with in a way that’s aligned with nature, that’s aligned with yourselves and isn’t causing harm to any other being. Instead, it’s, it’s given you a choice to choose better with effectiveness actually works because it’s aligned the way that nature intended it to be.

Melissa: Yeah. Beautiful. One of the many things that I love about your brand is there’s only three products. That’s it. And it’s the essentials, you know, I feel like it’s so confusing unless you’re an expert. Like, I’m like, do I need this eye cream? Do I need this? Do I need this? I don’t know. Do I need all of these things?

Like for me, less is more. I have never been The face mask at home type of girl. I really appreciate those women that love to spend a lot of time doing their skincare routine. I see them on Instagram and I’m like, you go, you good thing. And I’ve tried it, but it’s just not me. It is not me. I am more of [00:15:00] a, give me the two things I need and let me just do it and enjoy it and then move on.

So I love that you guys only have three products. I just love it. And they’re so beautiful. The packaging is beautiful. They’re clean. They’re just so gorgeous. However, I will say, you know, touching on the self care rituals, you know, the confidence rituals, that beautiful opportunity to turn your skincare routine in the morning and evening into a beautiful ritual I love.

And I don’t always do it, not going to lie. I really would like to say that I do that. Most of the time it’s just like quickly rush, slap it on and move on. But the other day my daughter was in the bath and sometimes I get in with her, I’m not right now because I’ve got a broken ankle. But I just sit with her and so while I was sitting there chatting with her, I decided to do my skincare routine.

And so I got out my gua sha and my jade roller and I got out all of these things and all your beautiful products and I just sat there while I was chatting to her doing this [00:16:00] routine and taking the time and I cannot tell you how beautiful and luxurious it felt. And it was so simple and such a beautiful act of self love.

It was so beautiful. And it didn’t take long and I really enjoyed it. So you’ve inspired me to take a little bit more time. I just love that. And I love that you guys only have three products, so it’s just very helpful for a working mama like me. 

Bhavna: Yeah. And I think, you know, you’ve made a great point there with what, what’s really beautiful about that is you’re also showing your daughter the love and self care and also that the need for not much to take care of yourself, which is really lovely.

But the reason also that we have three products is, like I was saying, it’s going back to the simplicity. We are in a, in a world at the moment where we are bombarded with toxins at every area. And so it’s really about just taking care of what the skin needs. And also, it’s coming back to the skin. Yes, we need these products are beautiful to support our collagen, hyaluronic acid and our radiance every day.

But there are [00:17:00] other elements that impact our skin health. Which is why we keep our skincare too simple and effective because we also need to look at all the other areas in our lifestyle, you know, whether it be stress, a balanced, healthy diet. to support our skin as well. So if you’re having to take like an hour every morning to do your skincare and then you’re rushing out and having to have, you know, a terrible breakfast that isn’t going to support your body, it’s not a real balance there and that’s something that we really advocate for with Terratonix is the foundation of everything we do is holistic health.

It’s based on taking care of mind, body and soul because one is connected to the other and we need to kind of look at all these areas in terms of feeling our very best. 

Melissa: Yes. And so is it all certified organic? 

Bhavna: Yes. So we use only Australian and Indian botanicals. Two of those botanicals are Slosmengia organic and here we use organic or wild crafted depending on the fruit and where it is in terms of Australia, whether it’s Tasmania, locally in the northern [00:18:00] rivers.

So yes, either organic or wild crafted. I love that so much. 

Melissa: I have a list of things that I. Want to do in my life at one point, not right now. One of them was creating my own organic skincare line. It’s not something that I want to do right now. You’ve done it for me, which is lovely. Thank you so much. Tell me about the business side of things, you know, for someone who’s listening and wants to create their own organic skincare or own.

Organic perfume or makeup or want to start their own business. Tell us about your business journey. Like how long has it been since you started? Tell us about this business journey, getting this off the ground. Like, did you have funding? Can you talk to us about that? 

Bhavna: Yes. So the process probably started now around 2017 is when it kind of, the idea came to light.

From there, it was then, like you said, looking at, okay, [00:19:00] what do I actually want to do and why do I want to do it? The why is a very big part of that, because if you don’t really know why, then you’re working with all these different people and companies, they’re just going to take over and you’re not really going to have a product with any passion or value behind it.

So figuring out your why, like why are you doing it? What was your why? For me, personally, it was like, first of all, animals. I wanted to see a change in the industry. I wanted to see a value based business that really cared in that space. But I also wanted a product that actually worked and said what it did whilst the person behind it Believed in it too and lived that way.

For me, that was huge. I was seeing good brands at the time, but then when I would look who was behind it, they weren’t living in line to the brand. And so that was very confusing to me because then I’m going, well, if you’re selling a brand, but you’re not living that way, do you actually believe in it?

Like, does it work then? Cause that kind of is very conflicting. So for me, that was huge. And so in terms [00:20:00] of business side, yeah, finding a why, and then looking at for me in terms of product, it was looks, I started, it was the research of like, what did I want to do? What was the solution going to be? It’s not just a product.

I mean, it was a solution. If it’s not a solution, then I don’t want to do it. There’s no point bringing something to the world that doesn’t need to be there because there’s so many products and businesses. So it was looking at. The solution. And then looking at what was the very best for that solution.

There is a, like I’m saying, there’s a multitude of, of beautiful brands or products or ingredients out there. But for me, again, it was like, like I was saying, it’s aligning to what our body actually needs. So it was looking at the best way that we can incorporate botanic rules in their truest form. That took time because it was a slow process in terms of finding a company that was willing [00:21:00] to believe in what we wanted, which was very hard.

Also to find a company that offered what I really wanted and was able to work with us and our values. And then it was about finding the best way to bring that to market and to speak to our audience in a way that aligned with them as well. And I think that’s where Terratonix has really grown is we’ve always been true with our messaging and very transparent and showed our values on our sleeve when it comes to the brand.

And I find that people have, yes, been looking for a solution, but the feedback that I’ve got over the years has been so beautiful from our community is that they align so much with what we do. And that’s always been why I started the brand. And so that’s the passion and drive that it’s kept me going through the brand is through the hard times, through the ups and downs, which happens in every business, especially when you’re wanting to keep things as local as possible.

For me, that was very big. And I think if you can do that as well as a business, it’s a really beautiful way to make a change where [00:22:00] you are. You know, it’s always about, for me, it’s like starting local. We see things all over the world going on, but if we can start local and start making change where we are, that’s only going to expand and grow.

So we try to source, we try to work with as many local companies as we can and you know, looking at doing things with this little damaging or negative impact. And instead looking at ways that we can regenerate and make a positive impact. And for me, the core message through the brand from the beginning is like looking at ways that we can choose better.

Because like you said, it can be very overwhelming and there are a lot of things we wanna change, but how can we do something every day to choose better and make a difference? 

Melissa: Beautiful. So often many companies are born out of the desire to have that product themselves or to have that themselves. You know, that’s one of the reasons why I had wanted to over the years create my own skincare or makeup or clothing line or active wear or things like that because I want to create exactly what I want.

But you know, yeah, there are amazing [00:23:00] brands like yours that are doing so. I love that so much. And I love that it is born from that place, that pure desire to have the best for you and also share that with others. You mentioned something that is so important, and it is why. Why do you want to start this?

And this is what we teach inside SheLaunch, which is my program that helps female coaches Consultants and service providers grow and scale their business to six and seven figures without burning out. And one of the beautiful things in the program at the very start is we get them to do this exercise on uncovering their why, like, why do they want to do this?

Because when you are so connected to the why, when you have a really strong why, you’re able to just stay on your path so much more easily. You have a North Star. But when you’re doing it for profits or you’re doing it for the wrong reason, business is going to be a lot more challenging. And it’s not easy, like running a [00:24:00] business is not easy.

It’s not all rainbows and butterflies. But when you have a really strong why of like, why are you doing this? Those days where it’s hard or you feel unmotivated or lacking productivity or creativity. You just come back to your why, and you’re like, this is why I’m doing this. And it stays as your North Star, and it’s just so much more easy to stay on paths.

This is what I teach inside Qilinj, so I love that that is where it started for you. Now, I want to pretend that you have a magic wand. And you could put one book in the school curriculum of every high school around the world. Can be on any topic. What book would you choose? 

Bhavna: I have actually been reading recently, which I think is an amazing book.

It’s called Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. She was just so ahead of the time of understanding what exactly what we’ve been talking about today, which is the toxic load from the environment, but also where it started from and how we can [00:25:00] be aware of it and be more connected to nature and also be aware of what we’re being told.

And I think from a young age, we go into the school system and we’re told all these things, but we don’t always question. And I think that’s such an important thing is to learn to listen to our intuition, learn to question. And find the answer that feels right for you because we are in a world that media is everywhere.

And I think intuition and listen to our bodies is a great place to start from. And I think from a young age, we don’t always, we kind of get our intuition maybe turned off and let’s listen to the adults. And I think intuition is just a really beautiful thing that we need to learn to listen to with our health, with our minds and connection to each other.

Melissa: With my daughter, she’s three and a half, and this is something that I really want to foster in her, is like that inner compass, I really want [00:26:00] that so dialed in for her that she listens to that, and that’s always her North Star. So, you know, sometimes after she’s eaten lunch or after she’s eaten dinner, she’ll say, can I have a banana or something like that?

And I’ll say to her, well, you need to ask your body if it’s full. I say, tune in, ask your body if it wants more, does it have room? And she’s so cute. She’ll be like, oh yeah, there’s room over here, mommy. But just something simple like that, where I’m asking her to go inward. To tune in, to listen is a little thing that we can do to really foster that within our children.

And I think it’s so important because like you said, we don’t question and we need to. For me, like I’d never questioned these products I was putting on my skin. And getting eczema and I would just put a steroid cream on top of it because that’s what I was told, you know, and we went to the skin specialist and then the skin specialist said here, buy this [00:27:00] expensive steroid cream, put this on the eczema and then keep using the toxic other cream.

It’s crazy. It’s absolutely crazy. And I think we are seeing so many more health issues, hormonal issues, infertility, like the rise of that is astronomical at the moment. And something so simple, like changing what you put on your body every single day, multiple times a day can really make a difference.

And also, my beautiful friends, we vote with our dollar. Every time we hand over money, we are saying, I believe in this company’s ethos. I believe in this company’s values. We are saying that by handing over our money. And so for me, when I learned that, I was like, wow, well, I’m not voting for that. Like, I don’t believe in that.

You know, I remember my [00:28:00] stepson, when he was in high school, they were doing a science experiment and they needed to buy like something from McDonald’s. And I was like, well, I’m not buying that. I can’t, I just physically cannot buy that because I don’t believe in it. And it was just so interesting. Like I had a full body aversion to buying it.

Like I just couldn’t do it. And I know some people might be like, Oh, just do it, you know, whatever. But I just had this full body aversion to it. Like I was repulsed, could not do it. And. That is how I live my life, you know, now it’s like I literally vote with my dollar and every time I hand over money, I am so intentional about it.

It’s something that I love. It’s something that I believe in. It’s something that is important to me. So not only is it affecting your health, your body and your mind, also you’re saying that you believe in that. And I think that’s a really important piece. 

Bhavna: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Choosing to support.

positive things, but we also don’t want to be spending our money [00:29:00] supporting industries that are causing harm. And I think that’s such an important key to remember is when we are spending money is to just take that moment to pause and think what we are supporting there. And it’s a really key point that you also mentioned about the uprising.

in all these issues and fertility and all these things and that’s a huge, huge reason that teratonics is growing in the way it is and something that we are going to expand on this year which is the health and educational side because I am seeing this so much in friends and family and it breaks my heart to see these issues arising are so unnecessarily and it.

Like you said, it can be these small changes at home and in our products that can make the world of difference. And so I’m very excited to start sharing that platform more towards the end of this year. 

Melissa: Yeah, that’s so beautiful. I think the education piece is so needed. It’s so important. And also, you know, I think about this often because I have a daughter.

She’s three and a half. She’s very [00:30:00] aware. And she obviously watches me do skincare. She watches me do makeup occasionally, not often. She watches me get my eyebrows threaded and I go and get my waxing done, you know, things like that. And, you know, From the first time she ever saw me do any of those things, I went inward and I was like, what message am I going to give her about this?

Because I don’t want her to think that I’m doing any of those things. Because I think less of myself. I don’t want her to think I’m putting on makeup because I need it. I don’t want her to think I’m getting my eyebrows done because I need it. I want her to think that mommy loves herself and is so confident in her skin.

And so I had a chat with my husband about this and I was like, what message are We going to share with her about this? Like, what is it? And what we’ve kind of come to is when it comes to putting on makeup, which I do for podcast interviews like this. I explained to her, like I [00:31:00] showed her that all around me, as you can see, I have white lights.

And I was explaining to her that those white lights then reflect white on my face. And so you need a little bit of makeup to basically shade your face and it’s fun, things like that. And so that’s what I was explaining. I was saying the white lights kind of make your face look white. And so I need some color on there to bring it up.

And just, it’s so tricky. Cause I’m like, I don’t want her to ever think that she needs to do any of those things. You know what I mean? And she looks at me doing my skincare and she’s curious. Like, I know she wants to have a look and I’m like, you don’t need that baby. And then I was like in my head going, well, how do I explain that?

Like, why doesn’t she need, you know what I mean? Like. It’s, there’s so much around this and I say, well, sometimes when you get older, I’ve spent a lot more time out in the sun and I need to give some hydration back to my skin, but your skin is perfect and your skin is so beautiful, but it’s so tricky because they do [00:32:00] just watch us.

They’re soaking up everything. They are modeling everything we do. And so the messaging around it, we need to be mindful of in front of our children. 

Bhavna: Absolutely. And I think that’s what’s a really beautiful about taking care of your skin in a ritualistic way is it’s, you’re bringing it back to feeling really good in yourself.

So makeup then becomes. a playful, creative thing rather than a mask to make us feel better. So if we can look at how we can take care of our skin and our body in a way that allows us to feel our most vibrant self, then the use for all of these things becomes a fun, Joyful thing rather than this thing that, you know, it can show or the next generation can see that, Oh, I have to wear it or it needs to be done.

It’s the only way that I feel confident and we want to feel confident in ourselves. Like we wanted to be able to show the next generation that these things are fun and [00:33:00] it’s just a fun, creative thing. And you know, we’ve always done it for thousands and thousands of years. We’ve used beautiful pigments from nature, but it’s about going back to that simplicity and the internal, external.

health of ourselves and showing our true radiance and feeling our very best. And I think that’s something that I want to really hone in and with Terratonics is supporting our community and supporting each and every woman or man and who uses the products to feel vibrant and feel confident in themselves.

So they don’t feel they need makeup. They want to use it for fun. They want to use it to play. 

Melissa: Yeah, exactly. I love that so much. Now, we’ve spoken a lot about turning this into a ritual. I want to know about your day and how you set yourself up for the day. Talk us through a quote unquote typical day in your life.

Like what are your routines, your rituals? I’d love to hear everything. 

Bhavna: Yeah, well, over the years, [00:34:00] rituals have definitely come more and more important to me because as someone who has had, you know, ups and downs throughout the years with mental health and wellbeing, I just come to realize just how important they are for setting me up for the day.

Generally, always start in the day with a warm water and lemon, always, always. This is an absolutely non negotiable for me. It’s something I actually always grew up watching my dad do. Never drunk cold water a day in his life, always warm, which is beautiful. It’s a great way to start the digestion. And then after that, I will spend some time either meditating or listening to mantra.

So just giving myself the space to have time without. Allowing thoughts or media or emails to come in. So I can center myself. And then I really love to take time to move my body. It’s very important to me. For me, moving my body every day is like therapy. It’s the most beautiful thing and it’s just a way that I can show [00:35:00] myself that I’m important and I’m taking care of my health and my body.

So I’ll usually do like a Pilates session. I’ll go for a long, beautiful walk in nature with my dog. And then I will come back and start my day with some beautiful, fresh local foods. I love to shop at the local farmer’s market, so I’ll always prepare some fresh juice or fresh fruits, especially in this kind of spring summer season to keep my skin and body hydrated.

And then from there, I will make sure, for me, a clean space is a happy space and a happy mind. And so, I will make sure that everything in the house or in my area of the office is clean and allows me to dive deep into my work without any distractions, whether it be dust or something going on. So it’s nice to have a beautiful clean space.

And throughout the day, just make sure to kind of take moments to step away from the computer as well, you know, whether it’s getting outside for some sun, always [00:36:00] getting some fresh morning light in the body and the eyes, whether it’s connecting with my partner, with my dog, with a friend, just taking those moments throughout the day for myself and to reconnect so that when I go back to my work, I can really just give it my everything.

Melissa: Beautiful. I love that so much. So beautiful. So many beautiful, beautiful little rituals and things that you do. I love it. I have three rapid fire questions for you now. Are you ready? Yes. What is one thing that we can do for our health today? 

Bhavna: Drink spring water, eat more plants, move your body. Sorry, that was three.

Melissa: Yeah, beautiful. Love it. I love those three. They’re really, really powerful. What is one thing that we can do for more wealth in our life? 

Bhavna: Find our passion. Find what’s important to us. So I think if we can find our passion, we can ultimately do something that is important to us. And I think if we can do something that’s really important to us, then ultimately we’ll be able to create abundance in our lives.

Absolutely. And what’s one thing we [00:37:00] can do for more love in our life? Finding space for me is really important. Whether it be meditation, finding a moment throughout the day to sit with yourself, I think in those moments we can foster a deeper connection with ourselves and I think in doing that we can foster a deeper connection with others and in turn that’s going to create more love and connection in the world and taking those moments to pause and question is going to connect us deeper to the way that we interact with the world and all other beings in the world and I think that’s so important.

We aren’t the only. being on this planet, we need to keep showing more love and kindness to ourselves, to each other, and to all beings. 

Melissa: Yeah, absolutely. When it comes to skincare, what are some things that we need to look out for and avoid in the products? 

Bhavna: Well, the best answer is go as simple as possible.

[00:38:00] If you don’t understand something, question it, look at it, maybe don’t use it. And also things like fragrance. There are a lot of things that go into products that are just given a blanket statement name that in the industry, unfortunately, can be a mixture of so many things that can be very disruptive to our body, our skin, our educated system.

For me, one thing I always look out for, whether it be like household products is fragrance, that’s something massive that goes into household products, especially skincare as well. And, like I said, I would just simplify, simplify, simplify, and if something is reacting in your body or your skin, then rather than bandage it and add something, maybe strip back and start fresh and give your skin time to breathe, time to heal, time to repair, and ultimately it will start to rejuvenate.

Melissa: Well you are the most beautiful walking billboard of your products. Your skin is glowing, absolutely [00:39:00] glowing through the screen right now. It’s absolutely beautiful. So that is testament. And I just want everyone listening to question every ingredient in everything that they buy. Skincare, makeup, cleaning products.

Really look at the ingredients list, question it. If you don’t know what something is, if there’s a number on there, look it up, look it up, look it up, look it up. You are allowed to question, and we want you to question and remember that you’re voting with your dollar and that you only get one beautiful temple.

One body in this lifetime. And so we need to treat it with love and kindness and respect. And a beautiful thing we can do is look at the ingredients of what we’re using every single day in our products, in our food, everything. So. I love that. Keep it simple. And that kind of like goes for everything. You know, keep your food simple, keep your makeup simple, keep your skincare simple, keep everything simple.

The more [00:40:00] things on the ingredients list, that’s concerning. That is a red flag to me. So I love that message, keep it simple and really strip it back and think back to what they would have done. They would have used beautiful plants to just, you know, put some pigment on their cheeks and lips and things back in the day.

And I just love that so much. I love your message. I love your beautiful company. What you’re doing is just so powerful. The heart, the intention, the love that you have poured into it. It’s just so beautiful. So is there anything else that you want to share with us? 

Bhavna: I mean, we’ve got through so many important things through this, probably so much more I’d love to say, but for me, a really important key that I’ve learned over the years to feeling confident in myself is Something that I just mentioned to you there is turning inwards, steering away from all the bombardment of messaging.

And it’s always great to have connection and talks and advice, but starting to tap [00:41:00] into your intuition, I think is really important. The closer we can get to understanding ourselves. Why we’re here and what our passion is, you know, we can just share so much more love in the world and create more peace and harmony.

And I think just learning to be our truest self is what’s gonna do that. You know, not trying to feel like we need to be anybody else or anything else but ourselves. 

Melissa: Absolutely. Beautiful message. I love. You are changing the way that women see themselves, the beauty industry. You are a pioneer, you’re paving the path, and I’m so grateful that you’re out there doing this work.

And I want to know what I and the listeners can do to give back to you. How can we serve you today? Oh, wow. Well, 

Bhavna: just 

Melissa: listening to this 

Bhavna: today and starting to question the things. That we’ve spoken about today and making those changes in your life is going to make me so happy because I know that what I’m doing is making a difference.

And if one [00:42:00] woman today goes out and changes those things in our household and changes her health and changes how she feels about herself, I will feel like I’ve, I’m on the right path and I’m doing the work. So listen, question, if you feel like you need a change, feel free to contact us. And we’re happy to support you.

If you’d love to try the products, of course, I would be so honored for you to use them. And to learn and educate yourself and feel your best. That’s all I want for you. 

Melissa: Beautiful. Well, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for creating these beautiful, beautiful products with so much love, so much heart, so much intention.

Thank you for spreading this message. Thank you for helping us with our health as well. Our mind, body, and soul health, because it’s all connected. And I’m just so glad that you’re out there doing this. Thank you so much. 

Bhavna: Thank you so much, Melissa.

Melissa: Hope this episode has really inspired you to remember that. You only get one temple, one body, [00:43:00] and to treat it with the most love and respect that you possibly can, to only use the best quality products and fuel your body with the best quality, remove all of the toxins. I really hope this has inspired you.

And if you love this conversation, please subscribe and leave me a review on Apple podcast, because that means that we can inspire and educate even more people together. And it also means that I can keep getting on these amazing guests for you. So jump on over to Instagram at Melissa Rambrosini and tell me what you got from this episode.

And if you’ve tried Terratonics or if you’re going to try it, don’t forget to use the code Melissa and you can get 15 percent off. And before I go, I just wanted to say thank you so much for being here, for wanting to be the best, the healthiest and the happiest version of yourself and for showing up today for you.

You rock. Now, if there’s someone in your life that you can think of that would really benefit from this episode, please share it with them right now. You can take a screenshot, share it on your social media, email it to them, text it to them, do whatever you’ve got to do to get this in their ears. And until next time, don’t forget that love is [00:44:00] sexy, healthy is liberating, and wealthy isn’t a dirty word.

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Thank you so much for listening. I’m so honored that you’re here and would be SO grateful if you could leave me a review on Apple podcasts, that way we can inspire and educate even more people together.

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P.P.S. Please seek advice from a qualified holistic practitioner before starting any new health practice.