We recently connected with Carolina Villanueva and Maria Villanueva and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Carolina Villanueva and , thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

We both agree on this… Our parents taught us to love and admire nature and to live simple lives. Since we were little our we spent so much time at the farm, where we played among coffee plantations, ate fruits picked from the trees, participated in planting and farm duties and simply enjoyed the outdoors. Our parents have always been very simple and they have always taught us the value of things, of work and of family.

Carolina Villanueva and , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

We grew up in a small city in Colombia in slow paced environment, enjoying the outdoors, eating healthy whole foods. When we moved to the United States our lives became stressful and our habits became unhealthy. This brought many health issues for both of us, so we began searching for ways to heal naturally and experimented with different natural healing therapies. Caro-
My personal healing was not easy, but trying to figure out the root cause of my health problems (I dealt with constipation, hormonal imbalances and loads of stress) took me on a long journey of experimentation and personal growth. For many years I worked in a corporate setting where I began feeling totally drained and disconnected from my roots. It wasn’t until I decided to completely follow my purpose, change my habits and lifestyle that I began my own healing process. I introduced more whole foods, super foods and herbs into my diet and personal care. I started connecting and listening to my body in ways that I had never had before. I was always deeply fascinated with the psychological and energetic aspects of humans, so I immersed myself in the world of personal growth and meditation- Travelled to India in search for information and also became a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Reiki instructor and herbalist.
I use my knowledge and passion to teach clients on how eating whole foods, changing simple habits and being more focused, in tune with themselves and the present moment can help them increase their energy, heal digestive issues, balance hormones, relieve stress and emotional distress and live healthier and happier. Every human is unique and individual; therefore, I focus on teaching each person how to connect and listen to their own intuition, explore what works best for them and trust in their body’s ability to heal.

Maria- I’ve always been passionate about beauty. Since I was a child I would do mani pedi and selfcare to my mom or dad. I came to the US when I finished high school, and I started to go to school for hospitality management as an international student. One day my sister took me to a Facialist (At that time I was suffering from acne) and I just felt in love with her work and the whole concept of helping people with their skin care.
So I started looking for a holistic approach in beauty and found a really good school called Florida College of Natural Health. I did 2 years there. After a total of 4 years of going to school, I went back to Colombia (my home country) and worked with a Plastic surgeon for a while. I then understood even more, that I wanted to work in the industry; and that I was more passionate about the holistic approach and not the invasive and fast fixes.

I was able to come back to Miami and immediately started working at the Standard Spa Miami Beach, I worked with the best of the best clean beauty brands out there. Years later I realized I had so much passion for what I did, so I started buying my own non invasive machines, and creating my own protocols. I called everyone that I knew, and offered them my services. 7 years later (present) I have my own practice, I’ve learned that nothing is impossible when you do it with Joy and discipline. I’ve helped many of my clients with conditions such as acne prone skin, melasmas, hyperpigmentation, and premature aging.
I want people out there to know that this is why holistic wellness- learning to work with the mind and body can be a gateway to whole health. As a skin care professional, there is an opportunity to practice beyond topical treatments. I became a guide on my client’s journey when I integrate mind-body healing.

After many years of talking and dreaming about it, we decided to join forces and create a brand in which we both could use our knowledge and experience and in which we could help people feel beautiful, and be naturally healthy inside and outside.

So during the Pandemic we came up with Calma Rituals- Holistic beauty products that are consciously crafted with high quality and effective plant ingredients, free from toxics and animal cruelty. our ingredients are grown and produced in sustainable and ethical ways and are chemical free from the soil to the bottle. Our main ingredient is Calendula, We love this plant because its healing properties, and because it’s been used in our family for so many years. We know how powerful this plant is, and we have experienced its wonderful benefits first hand.

Our brand is our little baby. We have put so much love and passion into creating each product. Because we are nature lovers our goal is to make good and healthy products for humans and for the planet too. We believe that beauty should be safe for all, it should not harm our health, nor the environment and it should deliver amazing results.
We believe that regaining our lost connection with nature will not only heal us but will also heal the Earth.
We also believe that self-care and rituals are essential parts of our lives and through them we can connect to our essence and live healthy and happier. That is why we created a ritual for each one of our skincare products. So that people can do a ritual instead of a daily routine and enjoy the mental as well as physical benefits.

We have lately been developing a sustainable lifestyle collection to our brand; curating handmade, artisanal and eco-friendly products from mainly indigenous communities in Colombia and Central America. In this way we support the preservation of their ancestral knowledge and the wellbeing of our planet.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The secret for us has been purpose + honesty + selling high quality products + providing amazing customer service. These 4 ingredients we have been a good recipe to grow organically our business.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Caro- I had the experience of completely changing the direction of my life and career. I graduate with an BA in Mass Communications from Florida International University. I was passionate about my career and I worked for many years in the field; however as time passed and I started feeling more disconnected with my work. So I began learning more about my new interests, slowly by slowly gathering new education in a new field that I was completely passionate about. For me it was scary to leave my comfort zone, quit my job and venture into something completely new; however it was the best decision I’ve ever taken and I am now happy that I followed my heart. I always say fear is my compass showing you where to go, and I rather regret something I did in my life instead of regret something I didn’t do because I was afraid.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://calmarituals.com/
• Instagram: @calmarituals
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calmarituals