Trust Your Innersense™ with Joanne Starkman

Innersense Organic Beauty
  • 5.0 (47)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Trust Your Innersense ™  with Joanne Starkman invites you to slow down, reconnect, and come home to yourself. Rooted in self-love and everyday rituals, this podcast explores what it means to live with intention—starting with the relationship we have with our bodies, our breath, even our hair. Joanne, a holistic beauty founder and gentle guide, shares real conversations and mindful practices to nourish your inner and outer world. Each episode feels like a cozy cup of tea with a wise friend—full of heart, honesty, and tools you can actually use. From soulful storytelling to simple shifts in daily habits, you'll find inspiration to soften, listen inward, and move through the world a little more rooted and real. Trust Your Innersense is a quiet nudge toward the truest version of you.

  1. 8h ago

    82 - Follow Your Curiosity: Dr. Brent Ridge on Medicine, Martha Stewart, and Beekman 1802

    The Letter He Sent to a Prison in West Virginia In this fascinating and genuinely surprising conversation, Joanne sits down with Dr. Brent Ridge, co-founder of Beekman 1802, the beloved beauty and lifestyle brand built around the science and practice of kindness. Brent's path is one of those stories that seems impossible until you hear him tell it. He grew up in rural North Carolina stocking grocery shelves at 13 and working factory lines at 15. He went on to study aging at Harvard, trained at Columbia, and landed at Mount Sinai, where he developed a groundbreaking center for the science of healthy aging. Then he did something that most people would never dare: he wrote a cold business proposal and mailed it to Martha Stewart using the address he found at the bottom of a New York Magazine satire piece. A few weeks later, someone from her office called. And the week she walked out of prison, Brent drove to her farm in Bedford, New York, played Scrabble and walked out with a collaboration that would change both of their paths. What Goats, a Recession and a For-Sale Sign Taught Them In 2006, Brent and his husband Josh were living the New York City dream, doing their autumn apple-picking tradition of closing their eyes over a map and pointing to wherever they would go that weekend. Their finger landed on a tiny town called Sharon Springs, New York. On the drive home, they passed what they thought was a historic museum, pulled in and found a for-sale sign. Two 30-year-olds, a million-dollar mortgage and a plan to use it only on weekends. Then 2008 happened. Josh's ad agency folded. Brent's health and wellness division at Martha Stewart Living folded. Snow blew under the farmhouse door and did not melt because they could not afford to heat the place. A neighbor's note in the mailbox asking if 100 goats could graze on their land became the first act of kindness that Beekman 1802 was built on. Brent and Josh Googled what you can make with goat milk, learned to code a website and started selling bars of soap. Brent also gets into the actual science of goat milk here and it is genuinely remarkable: the same pH as human skin, oligosaccharides nearly identical to those in human breast milk, and over 116 billion exosomes per milliliter that help build collagen and control inflammation. The old wives' remedies were right all along. The science just finally caught up. Kindness Is Not Free. It Is Hard Work. Brent has been talking about the science of kindness for nearly 20 years, and this part of the conversation is where things get truly beautiful. He explains what actually happens in the body when you give or receive a genuine act of kindness: a surge of oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine that changes not just how you feel but how you age at the cellular level. And then he gets honest about something that most people never say out loud: kindness is hard. It’s not that people don’t care. It’s that kindness can feel uncomfortable. They are embarrassed about how it might land. But the research consistently shows that the recipient almost never responds the way the giver feared. Brent shares a story about receiving an AI-generated prompt to reach out to a junior employee he had never met and feeling that same embarrassment himself, even after all these years of championing kindness. He did it anyway.  And it mattered. This episode is an invitation to get out of your own way, choose kindness and discover how finding your own peace can create more of it for everyone around you. Beekman 1802 — Our Story Meet the Founders — Brent Ridge & Josh Kilmer-Purcell G.O.A.T. Wisdom — Brent & Josh’s Book Follow Brent Ridge & Josh Kilmer-Purcell on Instagram Beekman 1802 Kindness Coaching Chapters  01:44 Introducing Dr. Brent Ridge and Beekman 1802 03:33 Following Curiosity: How Brent Approaches Life 04:59 Growing Up with Grandparents and Finding a Calling in Aging 06:27 What Elders Teach Us About What Really Matters 08:26 First Jobs: Factories, McDonald's, and Skills That Last 11:11 Choosing Medicine and Discovering the Business of Aging 12:44 Developing the Center for Healthy Aging at Mount Sinai 13:42 The Cold Letter to I.M. Pei That Actually Worked 15:26 Writing a Business Proposal to Martha Stewart in Prison 17:23 Playing Scrabble at Her Farm and Starting Something Big 19:02 The Apple-Picking Tradition and Sharon Springs 19:53 Finding the Farmhouse, Taking Out the Mortgage 21:50 The Recession, the Goats, and the First Act of Kindness 23:18 Building Beekman 1802 From a Bar of Soap 26:03 The Science of Goat Milk: pH, Oligosaccharides, and Exosomes 29:10 When the Path You Are Meant to Walk Finally Shows Up 32:41 The Neurochemistry of Kindness and How It Changes How You Age 34:49 Why Kindness Is Hard and Why We Hold Ourselves Back 36:18 The AI Kindness Prompt and Overcoming Self-Doubt 37:06 Self-Care as the Starting Point for Kindness Let’s chat! podcasts@innersensebeauty.com  Join the Innersense™ Community https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up  Let’s Stay Connected https://www.instagram.com/joannestarkman  https://www.instagram.com/innersenseorganicbeauty/  https://www.instagram.com/innersensepro/  https://www.facebook.com/InnersenseOrganic/  https://www.youtube.com/c/InnersenseOrganicBeauty  Clean hair care & body products Use code JOANNE15 to save 15% on first purchases at https://innersensebeauty.com/ Want to elevate your salon? (New Pro Clean Color Line) https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/salons https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/education

  2. Sep 10

    81 - Your Hair Is Alive: Laura Sullivan on Hair Harmonics, Sacred Geometry & Healing

    How a Burnt Brillo Pad Changed Everything In this deeply special and one-of-a-kind conversation, Joanne sits down with her longtime mentor and beloved friend Laura Sullivan, the woman behind Hair Harmonics and one of the most unique healing arts in the world. Laura's path began in New York working in television and film production, then carried her to Los Angeles as a working actress. She was cast as the lead in a 400-seat theater production, her biggest break to date, when a Beverly Hills hairdresser left a body wave solution on too long and burned her hair to a crisp. A few weeks later, a chance meeting at a workshop led her to a man named Mercury who spoke about working with hair as sacred geometry. She had no idea what it meant, but she knew she needed it. She walked out of that session feeling something she had never felt before in her hair, something alive. And from that moment, an entirely different life quietly began. Your Hair Is Alive and It Has Been This Whole Time Laura makes a case here that is both ancient and newly backed by science. Your hair is not dead. Every follicle forms in the first trimester in utero because hair is an essential part of your nervous system. It reaches out beyond the body, picks up information from the environment and signals back to the brain. Those goosebumps you get when you hear something true? That is your hair talking. Laura walks us through what a Hair Harmonics session actually looks like, from the silk-draped chair and grounding ritual before anything is touched, to the sacred geometry pattern of cuts that literally connects the hair to the body's meridians. She shares how her own hair transformed from long and straight to naturally curly, how men have come to her for decades just to stop hair loss, and why the healthiest hair has always been the most beautiful. Not because of how it looks, but because of the energy it carries. What Your Hair Is Trying to Tell You Laura lost her hair three times in her life due to stress, including after losing her son at full term during delivery and surviving three emergency surgeries in the weeks that followed. She talks openly about what that experience taught her about how the body prioritizes nutrients under extreme stress and why hair is always the first thing to go. Then she shifts into something even more tender. For anyone out there who has spent years fighting their hair, forcing it into something it is not, or simply never feeling at home with it, Laura's invitation is this: start by acknowledging it is alive. Talk to it. Praise it for what it is doing, even if it is not yet doing everything you want. Because your hair has a consciousness. When you treat it like a precious friend instead of a daily battle, something shifts. This episode is a reminder that sometimes the most powerful healing tool we have has been right on top of our heads all along. Explore Hair Harmonics: https://hairharmonics.com/faqs Explore Hair Harmonics Hair Harmonics Training | Becoming a Practitioner Book: Awakening Hair: Caring for Your Cosmic Antenna Book: The First Cut: Traumatic or Empowering? Chapters 01:41 Welcoming Laura Sullivan and Hair Harmonics 02:44 From New York Television to Los Angeles Actress 03:38 The Big Break, the Beverly Hills Hairdresser, and the Brillo Pad 05:05 Meeting Mercury and the First Hair Balancing Session 06:34 Learning the Work and Becoming the Last Person Who Knew How 07:51 His Malibu Clients Found Her and Everything Changed 09:44 Hair Is Alive: What Science Is Finally Catching Up To 11:08 Hair as Part of the Nervous System and How It Communicates 13:45 Making Your Hair an Ally Instead of an Enemy 14:53 What a Hair Harmonics Session Actually Looks Like 16:54 Sacred Geometry, Meridians, and the Healing That Happens 18:22 How Hair Transforms Through Balancing 20:20 Hair Loss: Why It Happens and What to Do About It 23:12 Nutrients, B Vitamins, and Getting Ahead of Stress-Induced Hair Loss 26:12 Who Is Hair Balancing For? 29:45 The Healthiest Hair Is the Most Beautiful 31:02 It Is More Than a Haircut. It Is a Healing. 32:12 For Anyone Who Has Spent Years Fighting Their Hair 33:26 Talk to Your Hair and Listen Back 35:18 Balancing Hair as a Stylist: Why It Renews Instead of Drains Let’s chat! podcasts@innersensebeauty.com  Join the Innersense™ Community https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up  Let’s Stay Connected https://www.instagram.com/joannestarkman  https://www.instagram.com/innersenseorganicbeauty/  https://www.instagram.com/innersensepro/  https://www.facebook.com/InnersenseOrganic/  https://www.youtube.com/c/InnersenseOrganicBeauty  Clean hair care & body products Use code JOANNE15 to save 15% on first purchases at https://innersensebeauty.com/ Want to elevate your salon? (New Pro Clean Color Line) https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/salons https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/education

  3. Sep 3

    80 - What Your Skin Is Trying to Tell You with Dr. Sarah Villafranco

    From the ER to the Soapmaking In this warm, wise, and deeply honest conversation, Joanne sits down with her longtime friend and fellow industry veteran Dr. Sarah Villafranco, the physician turned founder behind Osmia Skincare. Sarah spent ten years as an ER doctor, showing up for people during the hardest moments of their lives. But something was quietly burning out inside her. After losing her mother and with a three-month-old on her hip and a head full of grief, Sarah signed up for a soapmaking class at a local ranch in Colorado. And everything changed. She talks about what it felt like to hold that spark inside herself before she was ready to say it out loud, how her mother's voice from the other side gave her the courage to finally go for it, and what it looks like to leave one calling and step fully into another. What Goes On Your Body Matters More Than You Think Sarah has never been afraid to say what she knows. In this part of the conversation, she pulls no punches about the two ingredients she would remove from everyone's life if she could: synthetic fragrance and sodium lauryl sulfate. She explains why the data around synthetic fragrance is pointing somewhere we cannot ignore, why dermatitis, eczema, and even some autoimmune patterns may have more to do with our daily products than we realize, and how she actually discovered the power of Osmia's black clay facial soap by using herself as the test subject. This is the kind of conversation that makes you go home and read every label in your bathroom, in the very best way. How Good Are You Willing to Have It There is a question Joanne once asked Sarah at an event in Denver that Sarah has never forgotten. How good are you willing to have it? Sarah carries it into her meditation practice now, and she shared it here with all of us. This final part of the conversation opens into something bigger than skincare. Sarah gets honest about aging, about the days she looks in the mirror and hears the mean girl voice, and about how catching that voice has become its own form of progress. She talks about what she truly wants for her daughters, why she refuses to center her brand around anti-aging, and why doing good work and good work together is the answer she always comes back to when she starts comparing herself to others. Fifteen years in and still going, Sarah is a reminder that staying rooted in your purpose is its own kind of beauty. Meet Sarah Villafranco, MD and OSMIA  Visit OSMIA Skincare Website  Explore Osmia's Skin & Wellness Resources  Follow Sarah Villafranco, MD on Instagram  Follow OSMIA Skincare on Instagram Chapters 01:41 Welcoming Dr. Sarah Villafranco 03:31 Ten Years in Emergency Medicine and What Felt Unsettled 06:29 Losing Her Mother and the Moment That Changed Everything 09:24 The Soap Making Class That Lit Her Up 10:23 Holding the Spark Before She Was Ready to Share It 12:12 Courage to Pivot and a Husband Who Said Yes 12:54 What Researching Skincare Ingredients Revealed 15:16 The Problem with Synthetic Fragrance 17:11 Two Things to Ditch for Healthier Skin 18:43 Sulfates, Dermatitis, and Why Your Skin Might Be Struggling 21:03 Expanding Our Definition of Beauty 27:08 Inside Osmia's Products: Where It All Started 28:46 Perioral Dermatitis and the Black Clay Facial Soap 32:42 What Is Lighting Her Up Right Now 35:03 Seasonal Scents and the Craft Series 37:50 How Good Are You Willing to Have It Let's chat! podcasts@innersensebeauty.com Join the Innersense™ Community https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up Let's Stay Connected https://www.instagram.com/joannestarkman https://www.instagram.com/innersenseorganicbeauty/ https://www.instagram.com/innersensepro/ https://www.facebook.com/InnersenseOrganic/ https://www.youtube.com/c/InnersenseOrganicBeauty Clean hair care & body products Use code JOANNE15 to save 15% on first purchases at https://innersensebeauty.com/ Want to elevate your salon? (New Pro Clean Color Line) https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/salons https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/education Let’s chat! podcasts@innersensebeauty.com  Join the Innersense™ Community https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up  Let’s Stay Connected https://www.instagram.com/joannestarkman  https://www.instagram.com/innersenseorganicbeauty/  https://www.instagram.com/innersensepro/  https://www.facebook.com/InnersenseOrganic/  https://www.youtube.com/c/InnersenseOrganicBeauty  Clean hair care & body products Use code JOANNE15 to save 15% on first purchases at https://innersensebeauty.com/ Want to elevate your salon? (New Pro Clean Color Line) https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/salons https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/education

  4. Aug 27

    79 - Survivor 50 Winner Aubry Bracco on Trusting Yourself, Resilience, and Becoming Who You’re Meant to Be

    The Curious Girl Who Never Stopped Asking Why In this exciting and moving conversation, Joanne sits down with Aubry Bracco, Survivor 50 winner, marketing consultant and one of those rare people who makes you feel truly seen the moment she enters the room. Long before the world knew her as a four-time Survivor competitor, Aubry was a serious, curious little girl who always wanted to sit at the adult table. She played the harp for more than 10 years, dreamed of becoming a newspaper journalist and spent her career learning how to slip into other people's worlds and truly understand them. She helps executives show up authentically, telling stories that feel true to the person in the room and always looking for what’s real beneath the surface. This episode starts right there, with who she was before any of it, and what it finally took for her to turn the lens on herself. Seven Years, One More Chance and a Leap of Faith Aubry shared about what most people never saw coming: a third Survivor season that broke something in her, seven years of doing the real inner work and an unexpected phone call in 2024. She said yes. In this part of the conversation, Joanne and Aubry dig into what it actually felt like to let go of the outcome while staying grounded in herself and why working with an intuitive healer helped her find her way back to trusting her own voice. The victories that matter most, it turns out, tend to happen in the quiet moments before anyone else is paying attention. It Was Never About Winning. It Was About Becoming. This episode is about so much more than Survivor. Aubry talks about how the game taught her to stay present in her body while reading the entire room around her, and how a cold email from CEO coach Mark Moses during COVID turned into one of the most meaningful professional relationships of her life. She shares his four daily questions, which she used every single morning on Survivor 50, and the simple but powerful mantra she carries now for anyone standing at the edge of giving up: keep the faith, keep going, because sometimes one small shift in energy is all it takes to change everything. Show note links: Follow Aubry Bracco on Instagram Follow Aubry Bracco on X Connect with Aubry Bracco on LinkedIn Read PEOPLE: Survivor 50 Winner Profile Aubry Bracco's IMDb Profile Aubry Bracco's Survivor Contestant Profile (Survivor Wiki) Episode 45 — Making Big Happen with Mark Moses Chapters 01:41 Welcoming Aubry Bracco to Trust Your Innersense  02:08 How This Conversation Came to Be — and Finding Out She Won  04:47 Growing Up: Curiosity, the Harp, and Never Quitting  08:35 Emotional Intelligence and the Heart of a Journalist  10:05 From Publicist to Survivor: Understanding People Deeply  12:05 What Survivor Is Really Like Behind the Cameras  15:09 Telling Her Own Story for the First Time  16:20 A Panic Attack, a Breakthrough, and a Leap of Faith  19:00 Seven Years of Inner Work and One More Chance  21:15 Learning to Let Go and Trust Herself Again  22:59 After the Game: Messy Moments and Moving Forward  29:04 The Greatest Gift: Transformation and Unexpected Connections  30:43 How Mark Moses Changed Everything  32:17 Words of Wisdom: Keep the Faith and Keep Going  Let’s chat! podcasts@innersensebeauty.com  Join the Innersense™ Community https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up  Let’s Stay Connected https://www.instagram.com/joannestarkman  https://www.instagram.com/innersenseorganicbeauty/  https://www.instagram.com/innersensepro/  https://www.facebook.com/InnersenseOrganic/  https://www.youtube.com/c/InnersenseOrganicBeauty  Clean hair care & body products Use code JOANNE15 to save 15% on first purchases at https://innersensebeauty.com/ Want to elevate your salon? (New Pro Clean Color Line) https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/salons https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/education

  5. Aug 20

    78 - A Mother’s Intuition Built Once Upon a Farm: Cassandra Curtis on Clean Food, Motherhood & Purpose

    A Mother's Intuition Changed Everything In this nourishing and inspiring conversation, Joanne sits down with Cassandra Curtis, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Once Upon a Farm. Cassandra's story begins in a kitchen, with a mother's love and a deep desire to do better for her children. Unable to find refrigerated, truly fresh baby food on store shelves, Cassandra took matters into her own hands. What started as four hours of Sunday meal prep and a refrigerated van making deliveries across San Diego grew into one of the most trusted names in children's nutrition, now available in over 25,000 stores across the US, Canada and more! Nourishing Families Without Compromise Cassandra pulls back the curtain on what it actually takes to build a food brand rooted in integrity, from the science behind HPP (High Pressure Pasteurization), the technology that keeps Once Upon a Farm's food as close to fresh as possible, to the non-negotiables that have guided every decision. Together, Joanne and Cassandra explore what it means to protect the heart of a brand as it scales, why organic and clean ingredient labels matter more than ever for our youngest eaters, and how a simple but powerful mantra that says “find a way or make one” carried Cassandra through highs and lows of entrepreneurship. Staying Rooted While Reaching Further This was more than a conversation about baby food, this episode is a beautiful reminder that the most meaningful things we create often begin with listening to our instincts, to our children, and to that quiet inner voice telling us something can be better. Cassandra shares how yoga, music, and time with family keep her grounded as the business continues to grow, and what she hopes her three children understand about why she built it. Whether you are a parent, an entrepreneur, or someone learning to trust their own vision, this conversation will leave you feeling encouraged to follow that voice and nourish what matters most. Visit Once Upon A Farm's Website Save 40% on Your 1st Once Upon A Farm Subscription Box: Code SUB40 Take the 60-Second Quiz for Age-Based Recommendations + Special Offer Follow Cassandra Curtis on Instagram Connect with Cassandra Curtis on LinkedIn Follow Once Upon A Farm on TikTok Follow Once Upon A Farm on Instagram Follow Once Upon A Farm on Facebook Chapters 01:02 Introducing Cassandra Curtis and Once Upon a Farm 02:02 Growing Up with an Entrepreneurial Spirit 05:34 Raising Adventurous Eaters — Tips for Parents 11:35 The Origin Story: From Kitchen to Refrigerated Van 14:36 What Is HPP and Why Does It Matter? 18:57 The Entrepreneurial Journey: Highs, Lows, and Letting Go 23:11 Going Public and Protecting the Heart of the Brand 25:14 What Building Once Upon a Farm Taught Her About Herself 27:17 Staying Grounded Through Yoga, Music, and Family 30:00 What She Hopes Her Children Understand 34:30 Words of Wisdom and Closing Reflections Let’s chat! podcasts@innersensebeauty.com  Join the Innersense™ Community https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up  Let’s Stay Connected https://www.instagram.com/joannestarkman  https://www.instagram.com/innersenseorganicbeauty/  https://www.instagram.com/innersensepro/  https://www.facebook.com/InnersenseOrganic/  https://www.youtube.com/c/InnersenseOrganicBeauty  Clean hair care & body products Use code JOANNE15 to save 15% on first purchases at https://innersensebeauty.com/ Want to elevate your salon? (New Pro Clean Color Line) https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/salons https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/education

  6. Aug 13

    77 - Clean Beauty & Fertility: Jeannie Jarnot on Beauty Heroes & Living Lighter

    From Waikiki to Beauty Heroes In this warm conversation, Joanne sits down with Jeannie Jarnot, founder of Beauty Heroes and a passionate advocate for conscious, clean beauty. Raised in Hawaii where the hotel lobbies of Waikiki were her playground, Jeannie uses her deep sense of hospitality into everything she creates. From her early career as a spa director to building one of the most trusted curated clean beauty destinations in the world, Jeannie shares how a lifetime of asking better questions about what we put on our bodies led her to create something truly meaningful. Her philosophy is simple and profound: it should not be this hard to know what is actually in your products. A Personal Wake-Up Call That Changed Everything Jeannie opens up about the deeply personal experience that became the heart of Beauty Heroes. When she was diagnosed with a hormone disorder and infertility in her early thirties, a quiet but undeniable connection began to form between the hormone-disrupting ingredients she had been studying professionally and what was quietly sitting on her own bathroom shelves. What followed was a courageous, thorough overhaul of everything in her home, and within months, the natural pregnancy she had stopped believing was possible. Together, Joanne and Jeannie discuss how listening to your body, trusting your instincts and being willing to look a little closer can lead you exactly where you are meant to go. Live Lighter, Love More Jeannie’s business motto, Live Lighter, Love More is a philosophy that shapes how she moves through every area of her life. From the products she carefully curates at Beauty Heroes to the way she is raising her son and how she thinks about the planet we all share. In this conversation, they discuss the beauty of choosing quality over quantity, why living more consciously does not have to mean sacrifice or extremes and the exciting next chapter Jeannie is stepping into with courage and curiosity. This episode is a beautiful reminder that every small, intentional choice we make has the power to ripple outward for ourselves, our families and the world around us. Live Lighter and Love More Today The Beauty Heroes Standard Jeannie Jarnot’s Favorite Things  Follow Jeannie Jarnot on Instagram  Call Me JJ on Substack  Connect with Jeannie Jarnot on LinkedIn Follow Beauty Heroes on Instagram Chapters 01:45 Jeannie Jarnot's Path to Conscious Beauty 10:02 When the Personal Became the Professional 16:59 The Gift of Motherhood and New Perspective 19:57 Live Lighter, Love More: A Philosophy for Life 27:09 Inside the Beauty Heroes Experience 32:01 What's Next: Future Dreams and New Ventures Let’s chat! podcasts@innersensebeauty.com  Join the Innersense™ Community https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up  Let’s Stay Connected https://www.instagram.com/joannestarkman  https://www.instagram.com/innersenseorganicbeauty/  https://www.instagram.com/innersensepro/  https://www.facebook.com/InnersenseOrganic/  https://www.youtube.com/c/InnersenseOrganicBeauty  Clean hair care & body products Use code JOANNE15 to save 15% on first purchases at https://innersensebeauty.com/ Want to elevate your salon? (New Pro Clean Color Line) https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/salons https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/education

  7. Aug 6

    76 - Loni Jean on Finding Strength in Struggle, Grace, Empathy & Forgiveness

    Rooted in Grace In this heartfelt conversation, Joanne sits down with curl specialist, educator, and founder of Desert Curls Studio, Loni Jean Lafinier. Known to many as @‌desertcurlsstudio on Instagram, Loni Jean has spent years dedicated to helping people embrace their natural beauty and see themselves more fully. But behind every beautifully crafted curl is a woman whose strength was forged through some of life's most difficult seasons. Born into hardship and raised in uncertainty, Loni Jean shares with her humor and raw honesty how a childhood marked by addiction, abandonment and instability became the very foundation of her empathy, grace, and deep sense of purpose. What the Chair Teaches Us Loni Jean opens up about the profound parallels between healing and the work she does behind the chair every single day. From the client who worried about hair color during pregnancy to the simple, sacred act of feeling truly seen and heard, Joanne and Loni Jean explore how showing up authentically transformed both of their businesses and their lives. They discuss the power of vulnerability, the courage it takes to let people in and how the conversations that happen in a salon chair so often go far deeper than hair. Healing Ourselves, Healing Each Other More than a conversation about curls, this episode is a gentle and honest reminder that our wounds do not define us and that the inner work we do on ourselves ripples far beyond this moment in time. Loni Jean shares her long journey in therapy, the healing she has found in forgiving her mother and the deep personal growth happening in real time as she learns to listen to her body, release old abandonment wounds and trust herself more fully. Whether you are a beauty professional, a woman doing the hard inner work or simply someone who needs to hear that they are not alone, this conversation will leave you feeling held, seen and inspired to extend a little more grace to yourself today. Desert Curls Step by Step Online Styling Tutorials and Online Classes Book an Appointment with Desert Curls Studio Follow Desert Curls Studio on Instagram Follow Desert Curls Studio on TikTok Chapters: 05:26 Family background and personal influences 06:48 Growing up with family challenges 10:26 Childhood cul-de-sac memories 14:01 Talking about relationships and therapy 17:09 Reflecting on a mentor relationship 19:53 Reflecting on personal growth and influence 23:55 Embracing authenticity behind the chair 27:56 Feeling and managing emotions 31:15 Talking about life lessons 35:04 Mentoring Winter and Miriam 38:22 Focusing on passion in the salon 41:28 Embracing authentic beauty and self-worth Let’s chat! podcasts@innersensebeauty.com  Join the Innersense™ Community https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up  Let’s Stay Connected https://www.instagram.com/joannestarkman  https://www.instagram.com/innersenseorganicbeauty/  https://www.instagram.com/innersensepro/  https://www.facebook.com/InnersenseOrganic/  https://www.youtube.com/c/InnersenseOrganicBeauty  Clean hair care & body products Use code JOANNE15 to save 15% on first purchases at https://innersensebeauty.com/ Want to elevate your salon? (New Pro Clean Color Line) https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/salons https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/education

  8. Jul 30

    75 - Beauty for Everyone: Inclusion, Accessibility & Representation with Kristin Rankin

    Hair Is Never Just Hair In this meaningful conversation, Joanne sits down with hairstylist, educator, advocate and founder of the Dresscode Project, Kristin Rankin. What began with a simple rainbow sticker in the window of their Toronto salon grew into a global movement after a transgender woman shared that it was the first time in five years she had received a haircut and truly felt like herself. That powerful experience inspired Kristin to challenge long-standing industry norms and create welcoming, gender-affirming spaces where every person can feel seen, safe and celebrated for exactly who they are. Creating Belonging Behind The Chair Kristin shares the heart behind the Dresscode Project and the Gender-Free Haircut Club, which provides free gender-affirming haircuts for marginalized queer communities through the generosity of volunteer hairstylists. Together, Joanne and Kristin explore how something as simple as a haircut can restore confidence, affirm identity and even change or save a life. They also discuss the importance of challenging outdated practices, embracing inclusivity and recognizing that salons have the power to become spaces of healing, trust and human connection. The Courage To Lead With Compassion More than a conversation about hair, this episode is an invitation to lead with empathy and create environments where everyone belongs. Kristin reflects on building a grassroots movement that now includes hundreds of salons around the world, the lessons learned through listening and why meaningful change begins with small, intentional actions. Whether you're a beauty professional or simply someone who wants to make the world a little more welcoming, this conversation is a beautiful reminder that compassion, inclusion and authenticity have the power to transform lives, one person, one chair and one conversation at a time. Show Note Links: The Dresscode Project Website Become a Dresscode Project Alliance Member Follow The Dresscode Project on Instagram Follow Kristin Rankin on Instagram Find a Gender Affirming Salon Near You Chapters 00:00 Transforming the Beauty Industry 07:56 The Birth of the Dress Code Project 13:11 Creating Safe Spaces in Salons 18:46 The Impact of Hair on Identity 22:49 The Gender-Free Haircut Club 27:39 Envisioning the Future of Beauty 30:09 Closing Thoughts and Community Engagement Let’s chat! podcasts@innersensebeauty.com  Join the Innersense™ Community https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up  Let’s Stay Connected https://www.instagram.com/joannestarkman  https://www.instagram.com/innersenseorganicbeauty/  https://www.instagram.com/innersensepro/  https://www.facebook.com/InnersenseOrganic/  https://www.youtube.com/c/InnersenseOrganicBeauty  Clean hair care & body products Use code JOANNE15 to save 15% on first purchases at https://innersensebeauty.com/ Want to elevate your salon? (New Pro Clean Color Line) https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/salons https://innersensebeauty.com/pages/education

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5
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47 Ratings

About

Trust Your Innersense ™  with Joanne Starkman invites you to slow down, reconnect, and come home to yourself. Rooted in self-love and everyday rituals, this podcast explores what it means to live with intention—starting with the relationship we have with our bodies, our breath, even our hair. Joanne, a holistic beauty founder and gentle guide, shares real conversations and mindful practices to nourish your inner and outer world. Each episode feels like a cozy cup of tea with a wise friend—full of heart, honesty, and tools you can actually use. From soulful storytelling to simple shifts in daily habits, you'll find inspiration to soften, listen inward, and move through the world a little more rooted and real. Trust Your Innersense is a quiet nudge toward the truest version of you.

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