Founders Story

Hello everyone, I’m Christy Hall, Founder and CEO of Mikel Kristi Skincare. Today I’m sharing my own story. Why did I get into this profession? Why do I love skin so much? Why did I create Mikel Kristi Skincare, and why do I love Medical Aesthetics? 

For those of you that don't know me, I'm a board certified PA and owner of Skin Appeal Medical Aesthetics and Mikel Kristi Skincare in Tucson, Arizona. I'm also author of the internationally best selling book, Your Beauty Advocate, A No Nonsense Guide To Age Defying Skincare. I have had nearly 20 years of experience and expertise in the field of cosmetic dermatology and medical aesthetics. I want to share that knowledge with you so that you can have the best skin of your life. 

So let's get started. I’ll be 48 in about a month and a half. And I started my journey in my late 20s, when I really had very, very low self esteem confidence. My skin had always been good up to this point in my life, but then, in my late 20’s, it really started to look very unhealthy. What was showing up on my skin is all the sun damage that I had done to myself as a teenager.  I grew up in South Carolina, so we went to the beach, the ocean, and the lake all the time. Because of this I had a lot of sun exposure which showed up in the form of brown discoloration on my skin.

I also developed eczema at this time. My skin was so dry and so unhealthy, that I would literally put Vaseline on my face every night before bedtime, and it still wasn't very healthy. I was using all the moisturizers I could find and I was wearing sunblock every day, so I thought I was doing everything right. I read all the big beauty magazines and I was following all of their tips. But still, I really just did not love my skin. I went to a dermatologist thinking that they were going to help me turn my skin around. I wanted to get rid of the acne, get rid of the eczema, get rid of that dry, dry skin, and also reverse aging. I was starting to see fine lines and wrinkles too. All of these skin issues were not boosting my self esteem, especially when I went from having great skin to not so great skin. None of that helped with my journey to feel better about myself. 

It wasn't until I entered the career field of cosmetic dermatology when things changed. Actually at first, I didn't even know that this field was an option! Back then, I had already been dabbling in lasers, Botox, and fillers on the side before I officially entered the field, so I had a little bit of basic knowledge. But Oh My Gosh, when I took a job in cosmetic dermatology, I fell in love. Not only was I able to transform my own skin, but I felt so great being able to empower my patients with the knowledge that they could achieve the results that they wanted. I love helping people figure out how we are going to get them where they want to be, no matter the budget. Do you want to look younger? Is it that you want to look more refreshed? Do you just want your skin to be more radiant and more beautiful? This is what I love to do, so much so that I started working on my own skin transformation on day one of my first job in cosmetic dermatology. 

Now at that point in time, I used a prescription retinoid twice a day, which was pretty aggressive. My skin went through this massive, massive red peeling stage. I looked like a lobster, and that lasted for about two months, I was also using this along with a medical grade skincare line. And most people would not be able tolerate that combination. But I was so eager to get my skin looking great that I endured it. It was a harsh regimen and my skin even cracked, and I had bleeding and my cheeks were a mess from going through that. I wouldn't recommend it and the majority of people have skin that wouldn't be able to handle it. But it really did make a huge difference in my skin.

So having worked in cosmetic dermatology at that practice for about eight years, I really learned over time what my patients could tolerate and what they couldn't. And it boiled down to the fact that only about 10% of patients could tolerate using prescription retinoids on a regular basis. And vitamin A, which is a retinoid for the skin, is really so good. There are three forms of retinoids - there are prescription strength retinoids, there are retinaldehydes, which are the ones I love, and then there are retinols which are the ones you find in the over the counter products. There are so many great upsides to using vitamin A, and I am a huge proponent of everyone using it for their skin. It not only makes your skin healthier by producing its own moisture again, it exfoliates the dead skin cells off the top layer so that your skin is more radiant, and it's smoother. It stimulates collagen production which helps firm the skin and prevents aging. It also helps protect the skin’s DNA against cancers. And it just makes your skin so amazing. So everyone should use be using a vitamin A product, in addition to many other great things. 

The name of our company, Mikel Kristi comes from my name and the name of my founding partner, Michael, who was actually one of my patients at my previous job. We just really melded beautifully together, and together, we created this line. Michael was very much anti-Vitamin A and very much into vitamin C. But when this new product came out, retinaldehyde, he knew I loved it and we partnered together to create our company, Mikel Kristi.

I started Skin Appeal, my medical aesthetics practice, about eight years ago. Very shortly after that, Michael and I developed  Mikel Kristi Skincare. I was so excited because I wanted to be able to take all of the knowledge that I had gained in cosmetic dermatology and medical aesthetics and really transform that into a skincare line that delivered amazing results, but was drastically more gentle on the skin. That's why I fell in love with retinaldehyde, because it offers incredible results, without irritation. By the way, Michael has since retired, and that's why you see me all the time now! He and I really built and launched this company beautifully, and over the last seven years, I’ve taken taken our product line from being an exclusive, in-house brand at Skin Appeal and introduced it to the world. This company is my way of making plant-based, professionally formulated, clinically validated, and results driven, yet gentle cosmeceuticals available to everyone. This is why you're seeing me so often. I want to educate women on their options, help them achieve the transformation they’ve been searching for, and the outcomes they are often promised, but rarely see. I just absolutely love to see our Mikel Kristi customers achieve the best skin of their life, while being an advocate for truth in the beauty industry, and a guide to the incredible results they deserve.

Mikel Kristi Skincare was based on the concept that I wanted really great ingredients that were cosmeceutical grade. Cosmeceuticals kind of takes the concept of pharmaceutical, which is a prescription strength product, and combines it with over the counter, which tends to be NOT as effective for most people. I'm sure most of you have tried every over the counter products. For me, that's one of my pet peeves, wasting money on products that don't really give you the results you want. I find that if you spend a little bit more and get a few less products, with higher quality ingredients and expert formulations, you will see much better results and more efficacy. You're going to see a huge difference in your skin. Mikel Kristi Skincare might seem a little pricier than OTC products you’ve tried before, but you are literally going to start to see a lasting transformation of your skin within a week or two. 

Mikel Kristi is a scientifically based skincare line. All the ingredients that we use have cutting edge scientific research behind them, because I want to make sure they work. That's what a cosmeceutical is. Like I mentioned before, cosmeceuticals combine the over the counter (OTC) concept of gentleness with the effectiveness of prescription strength skincare. I definitely push the edge with that. We're going to give you those amazing results, but without dramatic irritation on your skin. I see patients all the time and they come in using those prescription retinoids. They just constantly look dry and irritated, and I know most people don't enjoy that. Most people don't want to have constant flaking skin, so the retinaldehyde vitamin A really opened the door for me to be able to transform, not only my skin, but all of my patients as well. My skin actually looks better now on Miikel Kristi products than it did on the prescription strength products. It's healthier, and it's more beautiful. I don’t usually wear makeup either, other than a little tinted sunblock. I love that because I hate the feel of makeup on my skin. I feel like I'm wearing a mask and I can't stand it. But I really wanted to take my own results and be able to deliver them to everyone! That's why I'm so passionate about educating people, because if you just make a little bit of an investment, and really use products that are going to transform your skin, you're going to be so much happier.

You don't have to switch up all of your products. This can be very simple because we want to make life easy. I always make fun of myself, because when it comes to my morning routine,  I'm very lazy. I'm not one of these people that does a 15-20 minute skincare routine in the morning and in the evening. Mine takes about two minutes. And that is perfect for me! I'm not the type of person that's going to spend that kind of time, although it is great for you to do that, as well as some selfcare, if that is what you enjoy.  I think that time CAN help you appreciate your own beauty and teach you to love what you see in the mirror. I usually do my own little home facial for my own selfcare about once a week.

When I formulate our products, I do so using European Union standards. The European Union has the strictest guidelines in the world for ingredients applied to the skin. The US guidelines are not very stringent and a lot of ingredients don't even have to be included on the label. We include every ingredient on our labels. So you know we are formulating with ingredients that are very safe, clean, and aren't going to cause any skin, health, or internal problems for you. That is very important to me. 

We also focus on sustainability. We don't put our products in packaged boxes because I think it's a waste of paper. We use bottles that give you a controlled dose, so that you are always using exactly the amount you need for optimal effectiveness. With this controlled dosing, one of our bottles usually lasts at least three months, which is really nice. If you purchase our Core Collection, that breaks down to less than $2 a day, which is very reasonable. I don't know how many people go to Starbucks regularly, but for less than a daily cup of coffee, you could be seeing a huge transformation for your skin.

As for the dispensing of our product, these bottles have a twist top, so you kind of twist it, pop it up, and then you pump it out. Just one pump goes a long way. And you may have heard me talk about this before, but you can cocktail our products together. For example, cocktailing any of our number 3’s, which are our serums that act like heavy duty treatments for the skin, is really going to make a huge difference when it comes to skin health and anti-aging. You can also mix thos 3’s with our number 4’s, which are moisturizers. So I take a little bit of this and some of that, and I mix them together. And then I just apply that mixture all over. This really makes things easy. That’s how we can get through a skincare routine pretty quickly with really great results. 

For me, it's all about results. And I really want you to love your skin, I want to see that transformation for you. If you do have to go through a detox period, like what I discussed earlier, we're here to help you walk through that!

I hope you Now have a deeper understanding of why I love this field so much. To be completely honest, it was my own selfish needs that lead me into this profession. But I wanted to feel better not only on the outside, but on the inside too. I feel like I look better now at almost 48 than I did at 30. My skin is way healthier, and it's way smoother. I feel like I look younger and fresher. And that's  saying a lot when it's 18 years later! And now I want to deliver that to you! 

If you have any questions, you can go to our skincare concierge on our website, and I encourage you to reach out and ask me any questions you have. Also, I have an amazing team of expert skincare advocates that can help you with anything you may need! You can also subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on all the cutting edge tips, tricks, and news we're talking about at Mikel Kristi, and learn about all the new products that we have coming up!!!