Introducing Rhoslab
Hi, thanks for reading our first blog post ♡
I’m Rhoda, I thought it would be great to introduce my baby Rhoslab (pronounced rose- lab) because why not?
What is Rhoslab about?
Rhoslab is a well-being platform that supports individuals to deal with stressful experiences better. This is done through informative content, workshops and more!
Why did I start Rhoslab?
I’ve always been passionate about health and well-being be it physical or mental health. However, I wasn’t familiar with many wellness brands that emphasised how our physical health (skin and body) and mental health (managing stress, our thoughts and behaviour) are connected. Considering there are overwhelming research that these work hand in hand, I wanted to create a brand that educates people on the mind-skin connection.
My interest in skincare started from an early age and I blame my mum! I remember always seeing skin care magazines, products etc around my house. Both my parents are Black African, Ghanaian to be specific — and they have great skin. I am ever so thankful.
Mental health affects our skin | Skin affects mental health
Personally, I started understanding the connections between both mental health and skin during my second year of university when I studied for my BSc in Biochemistry. I was stressed, anxious and mentally drained. Stress affected a range of areas in my life such as my memory, eating and sleeping habits but more importantly my skin all of which made me even more stressed. It felt like a revolving door of stress and ‘bad’ skin!
University was when I had my first encounter with acne breakouts, rosacea flushes and eczema flare ups all of which are worsened through stress and very difficult to manage — well it was for me anyway. I remember hating my skin without makeup.
My doctor prescribed me a range of steroid creams and that was it. If I’m honest the creams did partially improve the appearance of my skin (also left my skin discoloured) however it didn’t treat the fact that I was still stressed and didn’t have healthy coping mechanisms to deal with it.
Come to realise, my confidence plummeted severely. This comes as no surprise as our skin is the first thing we see in the mirror, and usually the first thing other people notice about ourselves.
Mental health | Physical health
I started taking a more holistic approach to selfcare, which for me meant focusing on improving both my physical and mental wellness.
- I began to do home workouts in my bedroom before I signed up to the gym to keep me physically fit.
- I started documenting when I felt stressed and why to help me notice my triggers and how to best manage them. I think this is extremely important but often undermined.
- I began researching a range of vitamins from Holland and Barret’s to boost my concentration, energy and the appearance of my skin all of which improved my overall health and wellbeing.
- I began a mini skincare routine where I used homemade natural skin recipes and I regularly combined these with the The Body Shop— ‘Drops Of Light’ range which can be found here.
I will be sharing some of my home made skin recipes soon!
This was what my selfcare routine consisted of at the time and even some elements of it are still the same today. Selfcare has a different meaning to each of us and can also change depending on our needs which is also ok.
I have learnt that a skincare routine does not have to be expensive, lavish or have several steps as Capitalism wants us to believe. I think it’s important we build a personal relationship with our skin, finding out its likes and dislikes in order to help us feel more confident in it. As Olay says ‘Love the skin you’re in’
In a nutshell Rhoslab aims to draw out the links between skin and mental health, which the field of Psychodermatology greatly explores. Research shows nine in ten dermatologists believe more importance needs to be placed on the psychological effects of skin conditions. The mind — skin connection is so interesting and is one of the reasons why I went on to Master in Psychology. The knowledge I’ve gained from both my degrees have been so pivotal to me as a person I wanted to capture a lot of my learnings and some personal experiences into Rhoslab.
It’s important I mention I am not a skincare expert/ dermatologist. I’m driven by passion!
Looking forward…
I want to create a brand which combines a scientific yet social approach to:
- Highlighting the relationship between our mental health, skin and our self-care rituals
- Supporting individuals who are going through stressful experiences to look after themselves through informative content and workshops.
- Creating a safe space to address topics that affect us as a society
Look out for a range of:
Blogs around skin care and mental health, Imposter Syndrome and other related topics.
Mental health workshops focused on emotional intelligence, confidence and looking after your mental health.
Follow us on Instagram and Twitter to stay updated.
Written by Founder, Rhoda Quist
