MOTHERMUSE | Asha Evertsz
Meet Asha Evertsz — award-winning Naturopath and Corneotherapist with over 13 years of experience guiding adults through the most stubborn, confusing, and chronic skin concerns. Known for her deep understanding of adult acne, bacterial overgrowths, and the skin microbiome, Asha takes a truly holistic approach — combining functional testing, clinical precision, and compassionate care to uncover the root of what she calls “WTF” skin issues. Her mission? To help you finally feel calm, confident, and completely at home in your skin.
With acne being rooted in inflammation, what are the most common sources of inflammation you see in your clients?
90% of the time it is going to be connected to the gut. Leaky gut, pathogens, parasites, friendly bacteria that has been wiped out due to antibiotics and acne meds...those are the issues I most commonly see. Another lesser known source of inflammation is low minerals. Zinc, Magnesium, Calcium, Selenium, Boron to name a few. Minerals get churned through by stress and oral contraception, and are a huge root cause of inflammation. Particularly magnesium.
How can someone identify which type of inflammation is actually contributing to their acne?
On your own you can work on sleep, an anti-inflammatory diet, sauna, electrolytes & stress reduction. But to get to the root cause you'll need to work with a naturopath or functional medicine practitioner to do stool testing and other assessments. Inflammation is silent, and usually the biggest symptom is skin.
Are there supplements such as zinc, probiotics, or omega-3s that you find particularly helpful for acne?
You can't out-supplement lack of sleep, movement or a poor diet, so work on those areas first. I'm see too much 'supplement roulette' in my new clients and it concerns me as I base all supplementation on pathology testing. Too much of a mineral or nutrient is just as damaging as not enough. Again, let's go back to food. Oysters + red meat for zinc. Fermented foods like kimchi, saurekraut and kombucha for probiotics. Sardines, mackeral, anchovies and wild caught salmon/trout for omegas.
What topical treatments do you usually recommend for acne-prone skin? Do you think extractions should be tolerated or avoided?
First and foremost before looking to treatments we need to work on repairing the skin barrier, microbiome and pH. 99% of people with acne or a skin condition will have a compromised skin barrier. So using barrier supportive ingredients in your home care is the most important foundation. Avoiding preservatives, emulsifiers, acids and chemicals/parabens in all products (including SPF). After we see improvement with the barrier, it's time to start targeting our active ingredients topically like Vitamin A, Zinc, Niacinamide,
Are there specific skincare ingredients that acne-prone individuals should absolutely avoid?
Most skincare contains preservatives. This gives the product longer life, but also kills the good bacteria on our skin. Remember that our skin is the second largest microbiome of the body next to the gut! My biggest ick would be micellar water. It is full of solvents and breaks down the barrier and drives sensitivity and inflammation.
What do you recommend when it comes to sun protection, would you suggest a mineral or chemical SPF?
Only ever Mineral (Face & Body SPF 50 yes!). Using chemical SPF on a barrier impaired skin is like using gasoline on a fire. It will massively drive inflammation.
What are your favourite acne-healing habits? any daily rituals or holistic lifestyle practices you suggest or love?
The first hour of the day is going to either make or break our skin and hormones for the day. Making sure that the habits in that first hour are intentional. Having lemon + mineral/sea salt in hot water first thing. Avoiding screens and gettting.5-15 mins of daylight. Eating 30-40 grams of protein within 60 mins of waking. Bonus points for brightly coloured fibre like berries/greens. Avoiding coffee and fasted workouts.
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