How My Mom Helped Shape Moonstone Skin & Body Care Into One of Novato’s Best Skin Therapy Studios

In honor of Mother’s Day, I wanted to share how my mom helped shape Moonstone Skin & Body Care into one of Novato’s best skin therapy studios.

My name is Janie Escamilla, and I am the founder and lead esthetician of Moonstone Skin & Body Care. I moved to California over 25 years ago for college and a career in the tech industry… only to choose to follow my heart and instead take my abuela’s footsteps by opening a business that would gift women the opportunity to enjoy natural and effective skin care in their day-to-day lives.

The Beginning of Me and My Mom

I’ve always been told by family members and acquaintances alike, “You look just like your mother!”

...And for most of my life, I didn’t like that statement!

It wasn’t that my mother isn’t a beautiful woman; she is. It boiled down to the fact that I wanted to be my own person and wanted to be seen for me, not who I reminded other people of.

Some readers may relate (and some may think I was ungrateful!) but my identity has always been a point of struggle for me.

My mom and I joke that we were the original Gilmore Girls, only Latina: she had me when she was just 19 years old and, as such, I always saw myself as her equal. That wasn’t easy on my mom; we lived with two roommates (one gay black man and one white man who had just gotten out of the military) for a time, who quickly became honorary additions to our family. Slick, the first man, would frequently let me braid his dreads. Fred, the second man, would eventually marry my mom and officially become my step-dad. Together, they gave me my brother and sister.

These times of growth and change, unbeknownst to me, became the bedrock for shaping Moonstone Skin & Body Care into one of Novato’s best skin therapy studios… years before the idea for it was even formed!

My Mom: My Role Model and Inspiration

Throughout my life, my mom would tell me how important it was to graduate from high school and how I needed to go to college so that I could take care of myself and never have to rely on anyone. I remember one Sunday, my mom dropped us off at Catholic Mass, but she did not attend with us. 

I would learn later that the priest told the women that wearing dresses and not pants would be ideal to show respect to God. I laugh now because my mom told me later that no man would tell her what to wear and she was certain God had other important matters. 

Another time, when I came home from school crying because a boy at school had told me I needed to get back on my raft and go back to the country I came from, she said that we never came on any boat or across any border and if anyone had to go back it was him and not let ignorance ever define me or make me cry. Unfortunately, there would be many more racist experiences like that, but I would see my mom many times rise above racial slurs and prejudiced beliefs with no tears or anger seen on her face.

My mom showed me how to rise from life challenges and when they go low, we go high… way before Michelle Obama made that statement! Her resiliency is something I took on board when I became a spa owner; it’s what gave me the strength to forge ahead during tough times, namely 2020. I didn’t let spa closures get my spirit down and, even when I felt like throwing in the towel, I kept pushing forward with new and innovative ways to connect with and serve you all. Moonstone Skin & Body Care is an extension of myself… and my mom!

In short, when people now tell me that I look like my mom, I wholeheartedly agree because she is a face of strength, resilience, and feminism. And I am happy to honor those qualities with a smile. 

Thank You, Mom, For Shaping Moonstone Skin & Body Care Into One of Novato’s Skin Therapy Studios

Whether it be becoming a part of the Moonstone Skin Care Fans Facebook group, enjoying one of Moonstone’s many virtual offers, or coming in for an in-spa treatment, the Moonstone Skin & Body Care that you know today is all thanks to the lessons my mom imparted.

Thank you, mom, for shaping Moonstone Skin & Body Care into one of Novato’s skin therapy studios. Happy belated Mother’s Day!