Abril grew up being a nomad and studying Ayurveda in Chile and then in India. Her life and the impact motherhood had on her, allowed her to go back to her native Mexico and start a project close to her heart: Faciales Ancestrales, inspired by Ayurvedic philosophy and blended with Mexican herbalism and plant medicine.
Wellness, Wellbeing & Beauty
Mexico
Q: So, Abril, Ayurveda is a huge part of your work and path. How did you get there?
I’ve always tried to be spiritual. However, life led me to study international business, which took me on a very different path. Work allowed me to travel to many different places around the world where I was able to see things from a different point of view. I was exposed to different cultures and I loved learning about them. I moved to Chile for work and, once there, I got really sick. I was bloated all the time and every type of food would be a burden on my stomach. And a friend told me that there was a big Ayurvedic community from India in Chile and suggested I get an intake which basically changed my life.
Q: How so?
A: Well, it was so impactful because all of a sudden I was asked about my emotional health and how it felt to have moved countries and where my roots were. I started making the connection between emotions and your health overall. So, I felt empowered to take control over my health through my habits and emotional awareness. That was really my path towards healing.
Q: And what happened next?
A: I got obsessed with this type of healing. With the connection to the earth and how to use what is available out there to feel better. I took on all the courses I could find: from making your own face oils, to how to harvest your own food. I felt truly alive. After that, I knew that I wanted to do something else with my life. I left for India for work and there I learned that one of the main principles of Ayurveda was to see someone’s health through their skin. Meaning that the skin will tell you absolutely everything about someone’s emotional, physical, and spiritual health. I then went deep into how the skin works. I took a million courses to learn from the Ayurvedic, to the western, scientific way of looking at the skin.
Q: Is this when Faciales Ancestrales was born?
A: Yes! I went back to Mexico to ground and root in my own country. I came back with a child and my Chilean husband and met a French girl with whom I felt that I could start this Ayurvedic skincare line rooted in ancestral techniques. From there, I wanted to teach people how to apply the oils and ended up learning how to treat the body through the face, how to use acupressure and the principles of acupuncture to treat my patients. So, the creation of the oils went hand in hand with the start of the facials.
Q: Amazing. I understand that you are now applying Mexican herbalism to your ancestral oil making. How is that process going and why did you decide to add Mexican ancestral medicines to your craft?
A: I reflected on the fact that these ingredients were coming from the other side of the planet and then also, during the pandemic, I learned that Mexico had plants, herbs and spices that were very similar and were used to heal the same issues. So, I went and studied herbalism at the university of Chapingo. Now, I’m starting to introduce Mexican herbs and local plant medicine to my oils. There’s so much knowledge around herbal medicine in Mexico, it’s really powerful to be able to apply the same healing practices using local plants.
Q: What do you envision for Faciales Ancestrales?
A: I feel that in this world and especially in Mexico, there’s this notion that you have to suffer to reach an ideal beauty. I feel that it’s rather counterproductive to approach health and beauty in that way. What I want to achieve with Faciales Ancestrales is to allow people to go back to their roots, to empower themselves, and to understand an alternative and more grassroots path towards healing. I also offer a natural face-lifting, to provide an alternative to botox or any type of synthetic filling. I want to inspire Mexican women (and men) to adopt better and more wholesome beauty habits.
Q: Finally, what has Hermanas meant for you and your project?
A: Well, when I came back to Mexico after many years living abroad, I was afraid of starting again from zero. I wasn’t even in the groups but women started coming into my center saying they got recommended in this group called Hermanas, and then I knew that there was something special about this community. I felt that I didn’t have to go to the world, but that the world was coming to me and then I learned about the community. It’s been such a nurturing space. The project has blossomed there. So, I’m happy to be a partner of Hermanas and elevate the community from within.
Comments