March 28, 2025 • 41 mins
Carla Ross is a dynamic veteran who served in the United States Army as a Topographic Engineer. She acquired a Bachelor of Science in business from St. Augustine’s University and used her skillsets to become a Special Investigator and, currently, a Master Esthetician for the last 18 years. With her deep understanding of skincare and holistic health, Carla blends the science of advanced treatments with a personalized, caring approach. Known for her ability to identify and address complex skin concerns, Carla’s expertise empowers clients to take control of their skincare journey. She ensures everyone feels radiant, confident, and more educated about their skin.
Ultimately, her joy and innate desire are to create a legacy and a positive, lasting impact on the world by contributing professionalism, integrity, and education in skin care, one service at a time. She equates her gifts to God and her life experiences that reflect her love of skin, beauty, and passionate view of the world.
Website: Mapyourglow.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/carlassugar
Email: Carla@mapYourGlow.com
Ultimately, her joy and innate desire are to create a legacy and a positive, lasting impact on the world by contributing professionalism, integrity, and education in skin care, one service at a time. She equates her gifts to God and her life experiences that reflect her love of skin, beauty, and passionate view of the world.
Website: Mapyourglow.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/carlassugar
Email: Carla@mapYourGlow.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Are you a transitioning military or veteran woman looking for support, guidance,
and inspiration. You've come to the right place. Welcome to
Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform with your host, Renee Jones Hudson.
Renee brings powerful stories, practical advice, and expert insights to
help you redifine, rediscover, and reaffirm your life after military service,
(01:08):
whether navigating a career change, seeking personal growth, or focusing
on your well being. We're here to empower you every
step of the way. So welcome the host of Living
Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform, Renee Jones Hudson. Let's embark on
this journey together.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Everyone.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Welcome back to the Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform podcast.
I'm your host, Rene Jo and Sutton, and I'm so
glad you're tuning in today. So this podcast is all
about helping veterans navigate their journey after the service and
doing so with clarity, purpose, and boldness. Today's guest is
someone who truly embodies the meaning of transformation and legacy
(01:57):
legacy and I'm so excited to inch produce her to
you today.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
She is Miss Carla Ross.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
She's an Army veteran who served as a toper graphic
engineer I had to practice that, and someone who spent
the last eighteen years healing others through the world of
skin care and holistic wellness. She earned her degree in
business from Saint Augustine's University and has worked as a
(02:23):
special investigator, and she now serves as a master esthetician.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
That's another word I had to practice.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
So she blends science, skill, and soul in a way
that not only transformed the skin, but empowers people to
feel confident and radiant in their own lives. So now,
I know people may think skincare is just something serface,
but for many variants, it's so much deeper than that,
(02:50):
And at times we don't even realize that after years
of putting on the uniform, completing mission after mission, and
surviving environments where your physical self didn't get much attention,
skin care can actually become one of the first ways
re reconnect with who we are. It's a small but
powerful form of self care, and that's why I'm excited
(03:13):
to have miss Carla here with me today to talk
more about that. So Carla, welcome to the show, and
let's dig in. I thank you, Yes, I'm so glad
you you know you accepted the call.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Yeah, thank you?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Right, oh, of course, because it's all true, right, I
want to just share this with everybody. I was asking
Carla what a topographic engineer is, and y'all don't judge me.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
So I was like, wait, is that what did I say?
Speaker 5 (03:53):
I said, Oh, my gosh, I forgot because it was
so funny.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
But yeah, it was completely said, is something with the earth?
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Right?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
You said it was the Earth? No, you said map y.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
So we made maps and read satellite imagery and did
you could do a lot with topographic engineering. You can
help with creating bridges, you can do for a station, street.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Mapping, all of those stings.
Speaker 5 (04:20):
But what we did was create maps, and a lot
of those maps that you see now in your GPS
and Google Earth was made in the military.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Absolutely, Yeah, that's what I said.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
It was with the weather. That's what I said. It
was the weather.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
That's what you said.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
That was funny, all right, So Carlo, tell us a.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Little bit more about yourself, like what made you decide
to join the military and what was that experience like
for you?
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Yes, so it was too easy.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
My recruiter I met when I was seventeen and told
me about the delayed entry program, and so I was
in there, and of course my mom did not want
want me to go into the military, so I kind
of was nervous more for her. So I did one
year of college, but as I was also working and
going to school, I says, I would be a super
(05:13):
senior at a community college, meaning you're supposed to graduate
in two years, but in this track you won't finish
until four years. And so it was during the Clinton
administration where it was really heavy on education and you know,
and so I just thought for myself and my future
family that I would be able to do military service
(05:35):
and enjoy getting some life skills, travel, but also obtain
my education and do it in a way that's better
streamlined than what I was doing before. So I officially
joined at nineteen, and thanks to my amazing recruiter, William Lane,
we are still cool.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
He's amazing.
Speaker 5 (05:53):
He has given me so much insight before, during, and
after the military, and that helped me to choose my
job as a topa engineer, which hardly anyone knew about.
But I was so grateful I was able to get
that information.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yeah, yeah, because I didn't know. I did you know,
I didn't know. I just see the maps and I
just thought they appeared because that right, you know, they
just poof appeared. So now, after serving, investigating and transforming
(06:30):
lives through skincare, what's your why and what kind of
drives you today?
Speaker 5 (06:36):
Wow, that's a heavy question and I'd like I like
to just dissect it with two parts. When I initially
started skincare is because I saw how much makeup was
being used on women when I was modeling independently, and
I thought to myself that the industry was synonymous with
(06:57):
more looking the part instead of being the part. And
so I thought about, how can I offer some value
behind the scenes so that you can find working intrinsically
to express your beauty extrinsically in a nice, healthier way.
And so that convoluted into now what my why has
(07:17):
always been, which is helping people to express the beauty
that is within them by understanding and literally mapping out
what your particular glow is and helping you to do that.
Because skincare is healthcare, this is your third kidney. So
that's my why and it continues to grow as our
(07:38):
needs grow.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
So that's where it is today.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I just want to say this.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
You know, people may think just you know, skincare, She's
just going to play with my skin. Look, when I
first went to Carla, it was a whole experience. Like
it was too what was two and a half hours,
Like I really didn't know what to.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Expect, but it was.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
It was so much deeper than that. She educates you
on your you know your skin, what's going on with it,
talk about you know, how the body from the inside out.
So it's more than just you know, her playing on
your face. It's a whole experience, the whole experience.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
So thank you for that.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
So so you've been a master's I can keep practicing
this word. Okay, you have forgot it for eighteen years.
That's a long time pouring into people. What drew you
into skin care in the first place. I know you
(08:39):
kind of talked about it a little bit and when
no more so, like when did you know that was
your calling?
Speaker 5 (08:48):
Quite honestly, I was, I would say maybe a year
into being being an esthetician.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
When I started out of school.
Speaker 5 (08:59):
There was a star, a five diamond hotel and spob
being built in Carrie, North Carolina, and I was living
in North Carolina at the time, and I don't know
what it was, but something pushed me to just go
and interview. I was like, I had no experience with
the accession of a degree, and my military experience, which
is completely opposite, which I'll also share, is also now
(09:22):
a transferable skill set, hence the name map or glow.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
But I decided that it needed for me to be.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
More focused on what I'm providing and giving, because when
you learn at a five star place, it's all excellence.
It's all creating an experience. It's not just like you said,
putting products on your skin. It's more of connecting with
the people there. And in order to do that, you
have to do some internal work for searching yourself and
(09:55):
making sure that you have enough to provide, even just
on a physical level for energy and to be on
top of the music, the katawels, the you know, making
sure that they're comfortable, making sure that you drape and
meaning how do you put the blankets on people in
a certain way. Everything was methodical and strategic, which was
(10:17):
easy for me because after doing what I just did,
it says I can make a blanket feel like a.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Hug if I need to but I knew then that
it was done and thank you.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
And I knew then that I was destined to do
this because everyone could not believe that I was not
experienced as far as the years of being an esthetician,
but in my offerings and my share of the gifts
was overriding the experience level. And so I knew about
(10:49):
a year in that it was this is my destiny,
and I didn't know how it was going to weave into.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
The beauty aspect. But here we are eighteen years later.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
You know what I love about US veterans and I
think for most of the guests that I have on
the show, we are not even doing the things that
we in our mos is right, you know, we're not
doing the things in our degrees, Like I have a
master's in criminal justice.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I'm not doing anything in that. You know.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
It's just how and it just shows how much more
we have, how much more we can evolve. You know,
we have all these skills from the military and the
other thing that you said that that I find that
it's it's it's a theme for us. Is I just
lost my train of thoughts. It'll come back, you know
(11:43):
how that is. But I just love how we can
oh our leadership skills we start a business with, you
know what we know from what we got in the
leadership right you in the military, I should say, you know,
we start, we start, we just jump into stuff because
we have the basics of leadership, and then we just
(12:03):
take off.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
And for many of us, we just learn along the way.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
We know what we need to you know, we get
into space. Is that okay, you need to do this
and you need to do that. So I love that
about us veterans.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
You know, we just have We just have so much
in us, so much.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
Yes, And to be fair to speak to that point,
I actually tried, I'm gonna be honest with you, being
a topographic engineer with years of skill sets at the
age of twenty three going into these offices with the
older men who were like, who.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
Do you think you are?
Speaker 5 (12:37):
I was prevented from getting into that engineering field. But
it also opened the door for me to see, how
can I turn that into something else? Because sometimes what
we think we're supposed to do is not what we're
destined to do.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
That's hard. Yeah, that's so true. That is so true.
So I know skincare can be viewed.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
As a luxury or something that's not urgent. And I know,
you know when you talk to me, you asked me what.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
My routine was? What routine?
Speaker 3 (13:16):
But you know, just was in being with you you
realize that it's also deeply personal and there's some healing
behind me.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
You know.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
So what have you noticed when veterans, especially women, start
to care for their skin?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
What? What?
Speaker 3 (13:32):
What shifts in them? What do you what do you
notice from that? You know that whole trends. That's another
transition in my opinion.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
Yeah, so I have to pat myself on the back
and be honest and just say, you know, because of
the work I've done internally, it's helped me to know
the people who come to me, they're ready to do
more than just a facial And what I noticed is
especially with women, and I'm going to share this information
(14:02):
where I learned how we have so much we carry,
especially as veterans that have a certain experience. It's a
different experience that you can't speak to unless you've had
it yourself.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
We carry stress a lot differently, we carry pain and.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
Just the way we literally suck it up it to
inhibits the self in the body.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
You know. So because I've learned that the body keeps core.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
Once I help women, especially as veterans, where we break down,
like worry affects your liver, not your liver, your stomach,
anger affects your liver, grief affects your lungs, and then
of course stress affects the heart. So knowing that we
carry that in certain ways that we can't really speak
(14:56):
to and a lot of us.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Do it silently.
Speaker 5 (14:59):
As I notice a lot of my veteran clients come
through that process of knowing themselves, that self awareness shifts
literally gear self care through that self awareness in a
way where I see women literally just end up teaching
me some amazing things because they've taken off in their
own skincare, which is the part of their health care
(15:23):
that they forgot to access.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Because once we.
Speaker 5 (15:26):
Know something, it's like when we're serious and dead on
with it, we just our focus can be laser. But
a piece of that requires self awareness, which is not
something we were always able to do.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
In the military.
Speaker 5 (15:40):
We had to do things for the team, We had
to put ourselves last and making sure that we did
things for the collective. But when you have that ability
to take that energy and then place it into yourself.
They become better mothers, they become better leaders, women and
sisters and wives whatever that they're wearing. But there's a
(16:02):
certain laser focus and concentration that we have. It's either really,
and it's not even the middle way. It's either we
fall off all the way because we do things all
the way or yeah, one point. That's what I've noticed most,
especially with our women ventors and women period. You know,
we are so multifaceted. So once we take hold to something,
(16:25):
when it comes to us in a unilateral way, it's
super It's amazing to watch.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Really, it's definitely a therapeutic experience. I'm telling you it's
it's it's I had the first Our first session was
like you know, it was really like therapy.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
So thank you for that you bring.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Yeah, you bring such a holistic approach to the skin
and it's not just about products or treatment, you know.
So can you talk a little bit how about how
you balance this science of skincare with helping people heal
emotional in youths. I think you just kind of touched
on that a little bit, but can you get a
little bit deeper into that.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Sure, Well, for one, I treat everyone individually. None of
my facials outside of the med spa is customized, and
I make it customized to your condition, your needs. I
try to be all encompassing and think of what sense
would they like to smell, what type of a rooma.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Therapy will be helpful in this session? You know?
Speaker 5 (17:35):
Am I going to also need to give you more
attention to a certain muscle you know that's given me resistance?
And the skin science is just there's certain things that
you know. Everybody's so spa savvy with the world of
technology now, right, But I give you what's practical in
your world.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Right.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
So some of my wonderful ladies, they are really into
they understand the difference of the layers they know, vasil
layers versus some women who are just all about ingredients
and some women are about the brand names and the
efficiency of results. I literally pinpoint who you are because
who you are is going to show up in the
(18:18):
ways of what you need in your healing process. And
I'm only a facilitator, right, so I actually help you
to see yourself in the way that you can be
reminded when I'm not around you, these are the indications
that you may need to do these things in tweak
in this area and then too, I just really, honestly,
(18:39):
I speak in a way that is allowing for people
to open themselves up because let's be honest, we lie
to our healthcare practitioners. Okay, we lie to our hairdressers.
We don't tell them everything you didn't tell you know,
your skin people do things that we withhold information and
sometimes is not not on purpose, but as we allow
(19:03):
a space where you can feel safe. And because I
used to do special investigations in dealing with people's personal
identify identifying information for so many years, I've learned to
make people understand the confidentiality and the importance of how
our information gets transformed into your facial to make it
more unique to your healing experience so you can create
(19:27):
the self mastery.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
And I just help you along with journey.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Yeah, and you.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Know, I love all of what you said. And as
you were talking, I was thinking about you know, men,
you know what you know your male clients?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Do you have male clients? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (19:44):
So what are some and you know, you know, women,
we are more apt, We're more likely to get our skin,
you know, pay attention to our skin. But what are
what are some of the differences or you know, even
with you looking at the skin, how.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Are men and women.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Approaching skincare differently? And how are we like managing stress
in our skin differently or do we do the same thing.
Speaker 5 (20:13):
It depends on the man, quite honestly. If they have beards,
you know, skincare is looked at completely different for them.
If any of them look at skincare, I mean, the
marketing they receive is totally different from ours, the exceptions
maybe over the last ten years. Excuse me for the
shaking here. So I find that they are either one
(20:35):
or two things. I'm doing more education to the men
on first of all, what skincare really looks like and
not that three and one shower business, you know, or
stop using your wife or girlfriends because not all of us,
you know, it's not one size fits all. And the
(20:58):
other part is, like like I said earlier, because they
come to me, that lets me know that there's more
that they're desiring than just the quick fix you know
skincare situation. So if you have a beard, I end up,
you know, doing beard treatments and helping you to navigate
what you need to do for the skin underneath that
(21:19):
beard to maintain it while you have have the hair
on the face.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
Or just really creating a routine.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
And quite honestly, some of the conversations are different, with
the exception of the beard part.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
I've not had a woman with a beard, don't judge me, but.
Speaker 5 (21:35):
The conversations are the same with women in regard to
you know, what is your approach to skincare? You know,
what do you know about skincare? What are your products?
Speaker 4 (21:45):
You know? And if you're all about brand names and I'm.
Speaker 5 (21:47):
Looking at your skin and it's not creating the results,
you're wanting what type of ingredients you know?
Speaker 4 (21:53):
So we go based on that direction. Gode.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
I find that sometimes, you know, it just really depends
on the person that I do find some of the
same issues or questions I'm finding with both.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Men and women. But men have.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
They're a lot more open because they don't have, Like
I said, the marketing is not the same, like we
have thousands of products. It's like, yeah, with women, it's
either you have no products at all and you've been
munched yourself, or you're a product junkie and you're trying
to figure out what this Korean fifteen step skincare when
you have ten minutes and five kids.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
So it's but I enjoyed both.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
And I've actually the youngest client I've had with three
years old, and.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
She didn't need the skincare more.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
I just was doing more facial massage because the facial
is also a workout for your skin. You have muscles
behind these wonderful, amazing spaces here and we don't tone
them enough. There are movements and things that we're taught
to do to waken up those cells and to help
tone those muscles. So that's pretty much what I did
(23:05):
for her, and it keeps me on my toes to
learn from everyone and just to be able to still
customize their needs.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yes, see what I'm talking about, y'all, the education, all
this information.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
That's why you can't go once. You gotta keep going.
Thank you for that.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Yeah, that's that's that's very interesting. So you talk about
legacy through your work, What does that mean to you
and what kind of impact do you hope to leave
through the services that you provide.
Speaker 5 (23:38):
Oh, you asked the every question. Let me take a
sip of my lime water. That's the first thing you do.
That what you do internally, so it can happen to
you externally.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Yeah, okay, wow. Legacy is a huge word to me, right, So.
Speaker 5 (23:58):
I'm literally here to create more of those who are
leaders in their own healing journey, and that means being
aware of themselves first, if it means just through skincare
you know, and I say just very loosely, because this
is the largest organ of the body and it's your
(24:21):
third kidney, So literally, you have so much indication on
the skin that usually people look at themselves in a
way that don't see themselves fully until I see them
in a way and give a mirror to them. So
my legacies for people to see themselves the best way
that they can, and I create that through helping you
(24:42):
map your glow.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
But I also want to create just an army of.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
Amazing, wonderful men and women who know themselves inside and out.
Like I don't know, if you know, we grew up
in an era where it was cool to be different, friend,
you know, where you wanted to not wear the same clothes,
and you know, part of that is learning who you are.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
You know, everyone can't.
Speaker 5 (25:10):
Look like and shouldn't want to look like Kim Kardashian
because she is who she is because that is for her,
you know. So when I hear clients wanting to look
like other people, it just implores me to lead the
legacy of you know yourself, and if you see me,
and you can see me fully truly, that means that
(25:30):
you have the opportunity to see yourself as well. I
am a reflection of you, and so I want to
inspire while I ask fire in my own journey in
my forties maintaining my own beauty, you know, and you
already know my story, but this is legacy building. After
having three generations lost in one night, I know that
(25:54):
I had such a real big bull and passion to
create something that lasts beyond me. So for my mom,
it's her words, it's her records, it's her anecdotal wisdom.
My grandmother, it's her loving calls when I heard from
her in the times I needed her the most, the
way she used to take care of us, you know.
(26:16):
And my grandfather, we used to laugh at him all
the time. But you know, these are the things I
hold to with them, but the world doesn't know them.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
I know them.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
So I want my daughter to know that the world
can know you too, and through your works, through your
gifts and if that example starts through me, then I'm
signed up.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
Because I signed up for the Army, I could sign
up for this.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Yeah, thank you for sharing that, Thank you for just
being so open with that. So you worn a lot
of hats soldier, investigator. I was so impressed by that investigator,
investigator ross.
Speaker 5 (26:57):
I guess that's the investigator that yes, special, let's not
let's lead a special.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
Off not sure plus special, don't play?
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
So you know, and wearing all those hats soldiers, special, investigator,
business woman, and now esthetician, Like, how have those experiences
shape the way you show up for your clients today?
And I know you dally dialed into it while you know,
talking talking to all this stuff, but you know, just
a direct question, how how has that shaped? Those experiences
(27:35):
shaped who you are and how you show up today?
Speaker 5 (27:38):
Sure, So the first place I want to say is
Jacqueline Diane Brooks. My mother was regimented and helped me
to structure. So that helped me in that department going
into the military, of course, leadership, teamwork, and then my
mos as a topographic engineer, I'm able to look at
(28:01):
the skin as a map. Literally if by bit.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 5 (28:08):
The aspect of special investigations, I had to listen. I'm
sitting in the situation room in the White House, you know,
with people giving me information so I can write up
their statements and things of that nature so they can
sure to stay with their security clearance. So having the hear,
(28:28):
to really hear the underlying things of what people are
saying and disseminating information, you know, I do that with
my clients all the time, so it really helps me
also to streamline it as well, because especially I want
to say, after and since the pandemic, we have shorter
attention spans, so I have to, you know, be very
(28:51):
quick in what it is that you know, I receive
from you so I can best suit and help you,
but also be able to captivate you while educating you,
because this is you know, five and seven second attention
span versus people who used to read encyclopedias like me.
Speaker 4 (29:08):
You know.
Speaker 5 (29:08):
Yeah, I call everything transferable, skill set, everything, yeah, all
encompassing if you kind of break it down to where
how do you use these things? And you know, I
don't like that jack of all trades thing first of all, right,
but having many trades, but knowing how to encompass it
(29:29):
in one thing that's making a difference it all. It
makes it all worth it, all those years of work,
it made it all worth it.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
But I love how you tie all of that seamlessly
into what you what you're doing. I really like you
got you had me captivated.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
I mean, I talk and I'm still like, oh, thank you,
so I love I love it.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Thank you so much for coming on today though, because
this is I think this is really important and I
think it's something you know, skincare We know, you know,
you know, it's like we know there are things that
are important, but there we push them back, like you said,
you know, and we don't understand sometimes it's that that
one thing, you know, like you a lot of stuff
(30:14):
shows up on our skin. We have we get pimples
when you're stressed, you know, we break out, you know,
all of that stuff. So, like you said, the skin
is the is a it's a big organ and it's
our therapy that everything's coming through. So what would you
say to a veteran, especially a woman veteran who's struggling
with her identity after the military. Maybe she feels disconnected
(30:39):
or unsure about you know her next step.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
What what advice would you give to.
Speaker 5 (30:46):
The first advice I would say is, before you spend
a long time, remember who you are to other people,
because when you see the especially if you have children,
and even if you don't have children, if you pour
it into someone's life, because sometimes we don't see ourselves
(31:09):
fully in truth, even scientifically, the mirror version that we
see of ourselves, it's still an inverted version.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
And so that's one thing community in a way that
is congruent to not just what you need but what
you want.
Speaker 5 (31:27):
To be right, because we always get connected with people
based on where we are at that moment, but these
times we need to see more about getting together with
people who are inspired.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
You to go higher and greater, so places that will make.
Speaker 5 (31:44):
You accountable to yourself. And lastly, honestly, whatever your faith
belief system is, no disrespect to it. I go out
in nature and I connect with the God inside of me.
That's what I did when I moved to a whole
New States. All of the things and multi you know,
stressors that happened after experiencing military life and then coming
(32:07):
into being a civilian. You know there are you know,
we say there are resources. But when you don't have
those resources, because there are some of our veterans in
rural areas, yeah have access. One thing we do have
access to is tuning into nature as much as possible,
even if you're not an outdoorsy person, going out and breathing,
(32:29):
because I've gotten my most information when I was silent
and when I was tuned into my body and had
an awareness so I could figure out, Okay, what do
I really want?
Speaker 4 (32:40):
What is my next move?
Speaker 5 (32:42):
Do I want a job right now? Or am I
just getting a job because it's right to do. Or
maybe there's someone I can talk to that can direct
me and give me a life path direction instead of
giving me options to you know, put a band aid
on a wound that I don't know have. And then
also to finding a sounding board, you need a sounding
(33:04):
board somebody that you know, whether it's a counselor or
a therapist or a really good friend.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
Who has the emotional capacity.
Speaker 5 (33:11):
And I'm saying that specifically to hold space for you
because we all have done some really amazing things, but
some of us also experience very traumatic things that resume different.
So we in order to not hurt ourselves and hurt
others while we're trying to grow. We want to make
sure that we're in right spaces that are holding the
(33:32):
proper emotional bandwidth.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
For what we have to share. So that's what I
would offer. I hope that's not too much.
Speaker 5 (33:40):
But of course financial resources, like don't be afraid to
talk about that. You know, don't know anything about credit.
You know of the baby and most of us were
so ask questions. Don't be afraid to say ask and
we will find you. All the veterans we seem to
find each other. Yeah, So don't be afraid to ask
(34:04):
and say what you need. Find out what you need
first within yourself and be honest and keep saying with
nature as much as you can.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Well, thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 3 (34:13):
I think another thing, too, is to be okay with
not knowing where you want to go right now. You know,
I think you know because we're so used to having
a mission, we're so used to having to do something
in the military, you know, we're moving, we're constantly moving.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
So coming out and just realizing, man, I really don't
know what I want to do, It's okay.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Take some time to figure that out, and you know,
tap into all of the things you say, community spaces,
you know, make sure you get into those spaces where
you can actually stretch yourself, you know, just to reiterate
what you were talking about, because that's.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
All of what we you and I did and you know,
continue to do.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
And a lot of us are not going to put
ourselves out there because you know, we may be ashamed.
Speaker 2 (35:04):
Like I was ashamed when I got out that.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
I just felt like I didn't know anything, you know,
and I isolated for a little bit because I was like.
Speaker 4 (35:12):
I shouldn't know this, you know, I shouldn't.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Yeah, I did all this stuff, I got degrees. I
shouldn't know what I want to do. But so it's intimidating,
it's intimidating.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
Yeah, So thank you for sharing that and thank you
for making you know, for your voice is so soothing.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
So like I keep getting drawn in, I'm.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Like I.
Speaker 6 (35:38):
Have to keep fullowing myself back, like okay, don't get
too close, you know, but no, but thank you for
just having I know, the same, for being you and
for just having that you know, that kind of energy
as well. So I want to ask you this question,
and you you touched on it, you know, what does
(35:59):
it mean to you? To live unapologetically beyond the uniform.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Ooh.
Speaker 4 (36:05):
First of all, ooh, that's a good question.
Speaker 5 (36:08):
I love that question because being able to feel free
enough to find who you are is what that means
to me. Like it's more than just oh, I've grown
my hair, passed regulation, I've grown.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
My you know, it's like getting a bunch of piercings right,
Like that's beautiful.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
You know, and no judgment. You know, the bodies are.
Speaker 5 (36:34):
But for me, it was like I get to play
and figure out with hopefully more wisdom, more resources on
who I am in this season without so many restrictions.
And also living unapologetically is speaking my story because not
every one of us had the same experience in the military,
(36:56):
and if the organism I believe any organization is get better,
the ones who are the most inhabited and who have
been invested and experienced in it are the ones that
can help it make it better by speaking to what
their experience was like. And so living unapologetically is also
just being the most amazing, wonderful woman that I could
(37:20):
be and not having to worry about having to quiet
that down in this season, especially for those who are
used to so much conservative ways that we even having
our own podcasts and saying, you know, I can go
ride horses, I can go do you know what I
(37:41):
want to do on the weekends and still go cook
it home. You know, There's so many things I can
be and so I'm happy about that. Unapologetically living life
beyond the uniform for sure.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
I love that. I love that. Thank you, Carlos, Thank
you so much Lunch for sharing your journey and your
heart today. I love that.
Speaker 3 (38:05):
Yes, I love the way you've taken your life experiences
and pour them into something that heals, you know, people
inside and out. You're not just transforming skin, You're transforming confidence, identity,
and legacy. And that's that's really powerful. That's really powerful.
Thank you for sharing. Yes, thank you for sharing.
Speaker 4 (38:29):
So I'm graciously owner.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
You're welcome.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
How can how can the listeners reach you and get
their glows mapped by you?
Speaker 5 (38:41):
Okay, great, So I am Map your Glow by Carla
all spelled correctly everywhere with the exception of Facebook, and
Renee's going to help me with that. But find me
on LinkedIn under Carla Ross and it's map your Glow
dot com and on Instagram and every other platform. It's
(39:03):
Map your Glow by Carlow or Map your Glow, but
I should pop up quite easily. I'm still learning the
ins and outs of technology. It keeps changing, so I
have to switch up.
Speaker 2 (39:11):
To thank you for sharing that. Okay, to all of you,
to all of you listening.
Speaker 3 (39:19):
If you want to connect with her, just you know,
connect with her at all her, all her, her, Map
your Glow dot com and on LinkedIn, just book a
service with her, or just learn about you know how
skincare and wellness can be a great part of your journey.
And as always, I want to thank you for being
(39:39):
a part of this community. If this episode, if today's
episode gave you something to think about, if it encouraged
you in any way, please like it, share it, and
subscribe so we can keep these conversations going. Remember to
join us every Friday at eleven am Eastern right here
(40:00):
on the Bold Brave TV Network on YouTube. And I
can't wait to see you back here next week. So
until then, keep living unapologetically, keep healing, and keep honoring
your next your next chapter. See you all next week.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
This has been living Unapologetically beyond the Uniform with your
host Renee Jones Hudson. We hope you found inspiration and
valuable insights in today's episode. Remember your journey of redefining, rediscovering,
and reaffirming your life post military is unique and powerful.
Stay connected with us for more stories, advice and support.
(40:45):
Until next time, stay strong and stay empowered. Listen Fridays
eleven am Eastern on the Bold Brave TV Network, powered
by B two Studios
Are you a transitioning military or veteran woman looking for support, guidance,
and inspiration. You've come to the right place. Welcome to
Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform with your host, Renee Jones Hudson.
Renee brings powerful stories, practical advice, and expert insights to
help you redifine, rediscover, and reaffirm your life after military service,
(01:08):
whether navigating a career change, seeking personal growth, or focusing
on your well being. We're here to empower you every
step of the way. So welcome the host of Living
Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform, Renee Jones Hudson. Let's embark on
this journey together.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Everyone.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Welcome back to the Living Unapologetically Beyond the Uniform podcast.
I'm your host, Rene Jo and Sutton, and I'm so
glad you're tuning in today. So this podcast is all
about helping veterans navigate their journey after the service and
doing so with clarity, purpose, and boldness. Today's guest is
someone who truly embodies the meaning of transformation and legacy
(01:57):
legacy and I'm so excited to inch produce her to
you today.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
She is Miss Carla Ross.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
She's an Army veteran who served as a toper graphic
engineer I had to practice that, and someone who spent
the last eighteen years healing others through the world of
skin care and holistic wellness. She earned her degree in
business from Saint Augustine's University and has worked as a
(02:23):
special investigator, and she now serves as a master esthetician.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
That's another word I had to practice.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
So she blends science, skill, and soul in a way
that not only transformed the skin, but empowers people to
feel confident and radiant in their own lives. So now,
I know people may think skincare is just something serface,
but for many variants, it's so much deeper than that,
(02:50):
And at times we don't even realize that after years
of putting on the uniform, completing mission after mission, and
surviving environments where your physical self didn't get much attention,
skin care can actually become one of the first ways
re reconnect with who we are. It's a small but
powerful form of self care, and that's why I'm excited
(03:13):
to have miss Carla here with me today to talk
more about that. So Carla, welcome to the show, and
let's dig in. I thank you, Yes, I'm so glad
you you know you accepted the call.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Yeah, thank you?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Right, oh, of course, because it's all true, right, I
want to just share this with everybody. I was asking
Carla what a topographic engineer is, and y'all don't judge me.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
So I was like, wait, is that what did I say?
Speaker 5 (03:53):
I said, Oh, my gosh, I forgot because it was
so funny.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
But yeah, it was completely said, is something with the earth?
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Right?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
You said it was the Earth? No, you said map y.
Speaker 5 (04:06):
So we made maps and read satellite imagery and did
you could do a lot with topographic engineering. You can
help with creating bridges, you can do for a station, street.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Mapping, all of those stings.
Speaker 5 (04:20):
But what we did was create maps, and a lot
of those maps that you see now in your GPS
and Google Earth was made in the military.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Absolutely, Yeah, that's what I said.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
It was with the weather. That's what I said. It
was the weather.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
That's what you said.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
That was funny, all right, So Carlo, tell us a.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Little bit more about yourself, like what made you decide
to join the military and what was that experience like
for you?
Speaker 4 (04:47):
Yes, so it was too easy.
Speaker 5 (04:50):
My recruiter I met when I was seventeen and told
me about the delayed entry program, and so I was
in there, and of course my mom did not want
want me to go into the military, so I kind
of was nervous more for her. So I did one
year of college, but as I was also working and
going to school, I says, I would be a super
(05:13):
senior at a community college, meaning you're supposed to graduate
in two years, but in this track you won't finish
until four years. And so it was during the Clinton
administration where it was really heavy on education and you know,
and so I just thought for myself and my future
family that I would be able to do military service
(05:35):
and enjoy getting some life skills, travel, but also obtain
my education and do it in a way that's better
streamlined than what I was doing before. So I officially
joined at nineteen, and thanks to my amazing recruiter, William Lane,
we are still cool.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
He's amazing.
Speaker 5 (05:53):
He has given me so much insight before, during, and
after the military, and that helped me to choose my
job as a topa engineer, which hardly anyone knew about.
But I was so grateful I was able to get
that information.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Yeah, yeah, because I didn't know. I did you know,
I didn't know. I just see the maps and I
just thought they appeared because that right, you know, they
just poof appeared. So now, after serving, investigating and transforming
(06:30):
lives through skincare, what's your why and what kind of
drives you today?
Speaker 5 (06:36):
Wow, that's a heavy question and I'd like I like
to just dissect it with two parts. When I initially
started skincare is because I saw how much makeup was
being used on women when I was modeling independently, and
I thought to myself that the industry was synonymous with
(06:57):
more looking the part instead of being the part. And
so I thought about, how can I offer some value
behind the scenes so that you can find working intrinsically
to express your beauty extrinsically in a nice, healthier way.
And so that convoluted into now what my why has
(07:17):
always been, which is helping people to express the beauty
that is within them by understanding and literally mapping out
what your particular glow is and helping you to do that.
Because skincare is healthcare, this is your third kidney. So
that's my why and it continues to grow as our
(07:38):
needs grow.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
So that's where it is today.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I just want to say this.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
You know, people may think just you know, skincare, She's
just going to play with my skin. Look, when I
first went to Carla, it was a whole experience. Like
it was too what was two and a half hours,
Like I really didn't know what to.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Expect, but it was.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
It was so much deeper than that. She educates you
on your you know your skin, what's going on with it,
talk about you know, how the body from the inside out.
So it's more than just you know, her playing on
your face. It's a whole experience, the whole experience.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
So thank you for that.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
So so you've been a master's I can keep practicing
this word. Okay, you have forgot it for eighteen years.
That's a long time pouring into people. What drew you
into skin care in the first place. I know you
(08:39):
kind of talked about it a little bit and when
no more so, like when did you know that was
your calling?
Speaker 5 (08:48):
Quite honestly, I was, I would say maybe a year
into being being an esthetician.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
When I started out of school.
Speaker 5 (08:59):
There was a star, a five diamond hotel and spob
being built in Carrie, North Carolina, and I was living
in North Carolina at the time, and I don't know
what it was, but something pushed me to just go
and interview. I was like, I had no experience with
the accession of a degree, and my military experience, which
is completely opposite, which I'll also share, is also now
(09:22):
a transferable skill set, hence the name map or glow.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
But I decided that it needed for me to be.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
More focused on what I'm providing and giving, because when
you learn at a five star place, it's all excellence.
It's all creating an experience. It's not just like you said,
putting products on your skin. It's more of connecting with
the people there. And in order to do that, you
have to do some internal work for searching yourself and
(09:55):
making sure that you have enough to provide, even just
on a physical level for energy and to be on
top of the music, the katawels, the you know, making
sure that they're comfortable, making sure that you drape and
meaning how do you put the blankets on people in
a certain way. Everything was methodical and strategic, which was
(10:17):
easy for me because after doing what I just did,
it says I can make a blanket feel like a.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Hug if I need to but I knew then that
it was done and thank you.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
And I knew then that I was destined to do
this because everyone could not believe that I was not
experienced as far as the years of being an esthetician,
but in my offerings and my share of the gifts
was overriding the experience level. And so I knew about
(10:49):
a year in that it was this is my destiny,
and I didn't know how it was going to weave into.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
The beauty aspect. But here we are eighteen years later.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
You know what I love about US veterans and I
think for most of the guests that I have on
the show, we are not even doing the things that
we in our mos is right, you know, we're not
doing the things in our degrees, Like I have a
master's in criminal justice.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
I'm not doing anything in that. You know.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
It's just how and it just shows how much more
we have, how much more we can evolve. You know,
we have all these skills from the military and the
other thing that you said that that I find that
it's it's it's a theme for us. Is I just
lost my train of thoughts. It'll come back, you know
(11:43):
how that is. But I just love how we can
oh our leadership skills we start a business with, you
know what we know from what we got in the
leadership right you in the military, I should say, you know,
we start, we start, we just jump into stuff because
we have the basics of leadership, and then we just
(12:03):
take off.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
And for many of us, we just learn along the way.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
We know what we need to you know, we get
into space. Is that okay, you need to do this
and you need to do that. So I love that
about us veterans.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
You know, we just have We just have so much
in us, so much.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
Yes, And to be fair to speak to that point,
I actually tried, I'm gonna be honest with you, being
a topographic engineer with years of skill sets at the
age of twenty three going into these offices with the
older men who were like, who.
Speaker 4 (12:35):
Do you think you are?
Speaker 5 (12:37):
I was prevented from getting into that engineering field. But
it also opened the door for me to see, how
can I turn that into something else? Because sometimes what
we think we're supposed to do is not what we're
destined to do.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
That's hard. Yeah, that's so true. That is so true.
So I know skincare can be viewed.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
As a luxury or something that's not urgent. And I know,
you know when you talk to me, you asked me what.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
My routine was? What routine?
Speaker 3 (13:16):
But you know, just was in being with you you
realize that it's also deeply personal and there's some healing
behind me.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
You know.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
So what have you noticed when veterans, especially women, start
to care for their skin?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
What? What?
Speaker 3 (13:32):
What shifts in them? What do you what do you
notice from that? You know that whole trends. That's another
transition in my opinion.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
Yeah, so I have to pat myself on the back
and be honest and just say, you know, because of
the work I've done internally, it's helped me to know
the people who come to me, they're ready to do
more than just a facial And what I noticed is
especially with women, and I'm going to share this information
(14:02):
where I learned how we have so much we carry,
especially as veterans that have a certain experience. It's a
different experience that you can't speak to unless you've had
it yourself.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
We carry stress a lot differently, we carry pain and.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
Just the way we literally suck it up it to
inhibits the self in the body.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
You know. So because I've learned that the body keeps core.
Speaker 5 (14:35):
Once I help women, especially as veterans, where we break down,
like worry affects your liver, not your liver, your stomach,
anger affects your liver, grief affects your lungs, and then
of course stress affects the heart. So knowing that we
carry that in certain ways that we can't really speak
(14:56):
to and a lot of us.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Do it silently.
Speaker 5 (14:59):
As I notice a lot of my veteran clients come
through that process of knowing themselves, that self awareness shifts
literally gear self care through that self awareness in a
way where I see women literally just end up teaching
me some amazing things because they've taken off in their
own skincare, which is the part of their health care
(15:23):
that they forgot to access.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Because once we.
Speaker 5 (15:26):
Know something, it's like when we're serious and dead on
with it, we just our focus can be laser. But
a piece of that requires self awareness, which is not
something we were always able to do.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
In the military.
Speaker 5 (15:40):
We had to do things for the team, We had
to put ourselves last and making sure that we did
things for the collective. But when you have that ability
to take that energy and then place it into yourself.
They become better mothers, they become better leaders, women and
sisters and wives whatever that they're wearing. But there's a
(16:02):
certain laser focus and concentration that we have. It's either really,
and it's not even the middle way. It's either we
fall off all the way because we do things all
the way or yeah, one point. That's what I've noticed most,
especially with our women ventors and women period. You know,
we are so multifaceted. So once we take hold to something,
(16:25):
when it comes to us in a unilateral way, it's
super It's amazing to watch.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Really, it's definitely a therapeutic experience. I'm telling you it's
it's it's I had the first Our first session was
like you know, it was really like therapy.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
So thank you for that you bring.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Yeah, you bring such a holistic approach to the skin
and it's not just about products or treatment, you know.
So can you talk a little bit how about how
you balance this science of skincare with helping people heal
emotional in youths. I think you just kind of touched
on that a little bit, but can you get a
little bit deeper into that.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Sure, Well, for one, I treat everyone individually. None of
my facials outside of the med spa is customized, and
I make it customized to your condition, your needs. I
try to be all encompassing and think of what sense
would they like to smell, what type of a rooma.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Therapy will be helpful in this session? You know?
Speaker 5 (17:35):
Am I going to also need to give you more
attention to a certain muscle you know that's given me resistance?
And the skin science is just there's certain things that
you know. Everybody's so spa savvy with the world of
technology now, right, But I give you what's practical in
your world.
Speaker 4 (17:55):
Right.
Speaker 5 (17:56):
So some of my wonderful ladies, they are really into
they understand the difference of the layers they know, vasil
layers versus some women who are just all about ingredients
and some women are about the brand names and the
efficiency of results. I literally pinpoint who you are because
who you are is going to show up in the
(18:18):
ways of what you need in your healing process. And
I'm only a facilitator, right, so I actually help you
to see yourself in the way that you can be
reminded when I'm not around you, these are the indications
that you may need to do these things in tweak
in this area and then too, I just really, honestly,
(18:39):
I speak in a way that is allowing for people
to open themselves up because let's be honest, we lie
to our healthcare practitioners. Okay, we lie to our hairdressers.
We don't tell them everything you didn't tell you know,
your skin people do things that we withhold information and
sometimes is not not on purpose, but as we allow
(19:03):
a space where you can feel safe. And because I
used to do special investigations in dealing with people's personal
identify identifying information for so many years, I've learned to
make people understand the confidentiality and the importance of how
our information gets transformed into your facial to make it
more unique to your healing experience so you can create
(19:27):
the self mastery.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
And I just help you along with journey.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Yeah, and you.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Know, I love all of what you said. And as
you were talking, I was thinking about you know, men,
you know what you know your male clients?
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Do you have male clients? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (19:44):
So what are some and you know, you know, women,
we are more apt, We're more likely to get our skin,
you know, pay attention to our skin. But what are
what are some of the differences or you know, even
with you looking at the skin, how.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Are men and women.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Approaching skincare differently? And how are we like managing stress
in our skin differently or do we do the same thing.
Speaker 5 (20:13):
It depends on the man, quite honestly. If they have beards,
you know, skincare is looked at completely different for them.
If any of them look at skincare, I mean, the
marketing they receive is totally different from ours, the exceptions
maybe over the last ten years. Excuse me for the
shaking here. So I find that they are either one
(20:35):
or two things. I'm doing more education to the men
on first of all, what skincare really looks like and
not that three and one shower business, you know, or
stop using your wife or girlfriends because not all of us,
you know, it's not one size fits all. And the
(20:58):
other part is, like like I said earlier, because they
come to me, that lets me know that there's more
that they're desiring than just the quick fix you know
skincare situation. So if you have a beard, I end up,
you know, doing beard treatments and helping you to navigate
what you need to do for the skin underneath that
(21:19):
beard to maintain it while you have have the hair
on the face.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
Or just really creating a routine.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
And quite honestly, some of the conversations are different, with
the exception of the beard part.
Speaker 4 (21:30):
I've not had a woman with a beard, don't judge me, but.
Speaker 5 (21:35):
The conversations are the same with women in regard to
you know, what is your approach to skincare? You know,
what do you know about skincare? What are your products?
Speaker 4 (21:45):
You know? And if you're all about brand names and I'm.
Speaker 5 (21:47):
Looking at your skin and it's not creating the results,
you're wanting what type of ingredients you know?
Speaker 4 (21:53):
So we go based on that direction. Gode.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
I find that sometimes, you know, it just really depends
on the person that I do find some of the
same issues or questions I'm finding with both.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Men and women. But men have.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
They're a lot more open because they don't have, Like
I said, the marketing is not the same, like we
have thousands of products. It's like, yeah, with women, it's
either you have no products at all and you've been
munched yourself, or you're a product junkie and you're trying
to figure out what this Korean fifteen step skincare when
you have ten minutes and five kids.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
So it's but I enjoyed both.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
And I've actually the youngest client I've had with three
years old, and.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
She didn't need the skincare more.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
I just was doing more facial massage because the facial
is also a workout for your skin. You have muscles
behind these wonderful, amazing spaces here and we don't tone
them enough. There are movements and things that we're taught
to do to waken up those cells and to help
tone those muscles. So that's pretty much what I did
(23:05):
for her, and it keeps me on my toes to
learn from everyone and just to be able to still
customize their needs.
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yes, see what I'm talking about, y'all, the education, all
this information.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
That's why you can't go once. You gotta keep going.
Thank you for that.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
Yeah, that's that's that's very interesting. So you talk about
legacy through your work, What does that mean to you
and what kind of impact do you hope to leave
through the services that you provide.
Speaker 5 (23:38):
Oh, you asked the every question. Let me take a
sip of my lime water. That's the first thing you do.
That what you do internally, so it can happen to
you externally.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
Yeah, okay, wow. Legacy is a huge word to me, right, So.
Speaker 5 (23:58):
I'm literally here to create more of those who are
leaders in their own healing journey, and that means being
aware of themselves first, if it means just through skincare
you know, and I say just very loosely, because this
is the largest organ of the body and it's your
(24:21):
third kidney, So literally, you have so much indication on
the skin that usually people look at themselves in a
way that don't see themselves fully until I see them
in a way and give a mirror to them. So
my legacies for people to see themselves the best way
that they can, and I create that through helping you
(24:42):
map your glow.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
But I also want to create just an army of.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
Amazing, wonderful men and women who know themselves inside and out.
Like I don't know, if you know, we grew up
in an era where it was cool to be different, friend,
you know, where you wanted to not wear the same clothes,
and you know, part of that is learning who you are.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
You know, everyone can't.
Speaker 5 (25:10):
Look like and shouldn't want to look like Kim Kardashian
because she is who she is because that is for her,
you know. So when I hear clients wanting to look
like other people, it just implores me to lead the
legacy of you know yourself, and if you see me,
and you can see me fully truly, that means that
(25:30):
you have the opportunity to see yourself as well. I
am a reflection of you, and so I want to
inspire while I ask fire in my own journey in
my forties maintaining my own beauty, you know, and you
already know my story, but this is legacy building. After
having three generations lost in one night, I know that
(25:54):
I had such a real big bull and passion to
create something that lasts beyond me. So for my mom,
it's her words, it's her records, it's her anecdotal wisdom.
My grandmother, it's her loving calls when I heard from
her in the times I needed her the most, the
way she used to take care of us, you know.
(26:16):
And my grandfather, we used to laugh at him all
the time. But you know, these are the things I
hold to with them, but the world doesn't know them.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
I know them.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
So I want my daughter to know that the world
can know you too, and through your works, through your
gifts and if that example starts through me, then I'm
signed up.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
Because I signed up for the Army, I could sign
up for this.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Yeah, thank you for sharing that, Thank you for just
being so open with that. So you worn a lot
of hats soldier, investigator. I was so impressed by that investigator,
investigator ross.
Speaker 5 (26:57):
I guess that's the investigator that yes, special, let's not
let's lead a special.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
Off not sure plus special, don't play?
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Oh my god.
Speaker 3 (27:12):
So you know, and wearing all those hats soldiers, special, investigator,
business woman, and now esthetician, Like, how have those experiences
shape the way you show up for your clients today?
And I know you dally dialed into it while you know,
talking talking to all this stuff, but you know, just
a direct question, how how has that shaped? Those experiences
(27:35):
shaped who you are and how you show up today?
Speaker 5 (27:38):
Sure, So the first place I want to say is
Jacqueline Diane Brooks. My mother was regimented and helped me
to structure. So that helped me in that department going
into the military, of course, leadership, teamwork, and then my
mos as a topographic engineer, I'm able to look at
(28:01):
the skin as a map. Literally if by bit.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Yeah, and.
Speaker 5 (28:08):
The aspect of special investigations, I had to listen. I'm
sitting in the situation room in the White House, you know,
with people giving me information so I can write up
their statements and things of that nature so they can
sure to stay with their security clearance. So having the hear,
(28:28):
to really hear the underlying things of what people are
saying and disseminating information, you know, I do that with
my clients all the time, so it really helps me
also to streamline it as well, because especially I want
to say, after and since the pandemic, we have shorter
attention spans, so I have to, you know, be very
(28:51):
quick in what it is that you know, I receive
from you so I can best suit and help you,
but also be able to captivate you while educating you,
because this is you know, five and seven second attention
span versus people who used to read encyclopedias like me.
Speaker 4 (29:08):
You know.
Speaker 5 (29:08):
Yeah, I call everything transferable, skill set, everything, yeah, all
encompassing if you kind of break it down to where
how do you use these things? And you know, I
don't like that jack of all trades thing first of all, right,
but having many trades, but knowing how to encompass it
(29:29):
in one thing that's making a difference it all. It
makes it all worth it, all those years of work,
it made it all worth it.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
But I love how you tie all of that seamlessly
into what you what you're doing. I really like you
got you had me captivated.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
I mean, I talk and I'm still like, oh, thank you,
so I love I love it.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
Thank you so much for coming on today though, because
this is I think this is really important and I
think it's something you know, skincare We know, you know,
you know, it's like we know there are things that
are important, but there we push them back, like you said,
you know, and we don't understand sometimes it's that that
one thing, you know, like you a lot of stuff
(30:14):
shows up on our skin. We have we get pimples
when you're stressed, you know, we break out, you know,
all of that stuff. So, like you said, the skin
is the is a it's a big organ and it's
our therapy that everything's coming through. So what would you
say to a veteran, especially a woman veteran who's struggling
with her identity after the military. Maybe she feels disconnected
(30:39):
or unsure about you know her next step.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
What what advice would you give to.
Speaker 5 (30:46):
The first advice I would say is, before you spend
a long time, remember who you are to other people,
because when you see the especially if you have children,
and even if you don't have children, if you pour
it into someone's life, because sometimes we don't see ourselves
(31:09):
fully in truth, even scientifically, the mirror version that we
see of ourselves, it's still an inverted version.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
And so that's one thing community in a way that
is congruent to not just what you need but what
you want.
Speaker 5 (31:27):
To be right, because we always get connected with people
based on where we are at that moment, but these
times we need to see more about getting together with
people who are inspired.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
You to go higher and greater, so places that will make.
Speaker 5 (31:44):
You accountable to yourself. And lastly, honestly, whatever your faith
belief system is, no disrespect to it. I go out
in nature and I connect with the God inside of me.
That's what I did when I moved to a whole
New States. All of the things and multi you know,
stressors that happened after experiencing military life and then coming
(32:07):
into being a civilian. You know there are you know,
we say there are resources. But when you don't have
those resources, because there are some of our veterans in
rural areas, yeah have access. One thing we do have
access to is tuning into nature as much as possible,
even if you're not an outdoorsy person, going out and breathing,
(32:29):
because I've gotten my most information when I was silent
and when I was tuned into my body and had
an awareness so I could figure out, Okay, what do
I really want?
Speaker 4 (32:40):
What is my next move?
Speaker 5 (32:42):
Do I want a job right now? Or am I
just getting a job because it's right to do. Or
maybe there's someone I can talk to that can direct
me and give me a life path direction instead of
giving me options to you know, put a band aid
on a wound that I don't know have. And then
also to finding a sounding board, you need a sounding
(33:04):
board somebody that you know, whether it's a counselor or
a therapist or a really good friend.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
Who has the emotional capacity.
Speaker 5 (33:11):
And I'm saying that specifically to hold space for you
because we all have done some really amazing things, but
some of us also experience very traumatic things that resume different.
So we in order to not hurt ourselves and hurt
others while we're trying to grow. We want to make
sure that we're in right spaces that are holding the
(33:32):
proper emotional bandwidth.
Speaker 4 (33:35):
For what we have to share. So that's what I
would offer. I hope that's not too much.
Speaker 5 (33:40):
But of course financial resources, like don't be afraid to
talk about that. You know, don't know anything about credit.
You know of the baby and most of us were
so ask questions. Don't be afraid to say ask and
we will find you. All the veterans we seem to
find each other. Yeah, So don't be afraid to ask
(34:04):
and say what you need. Find out what you need
first within yourself and be honest and keep saying with
nature as much as you can.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
Well, thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 3 (34:13):
I think another thing, too, is to be okay with
not knowing where you want to go right now. You know,
I think you know because we're so used to having
a mission, we're so used to having to do something
in the military, you know, we're moving, we're constantly moving.
Speaker 2 (34:33):
So coming out and just realizing, man, I really don't
know what I want to do, It's okay.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Take some time to figure that out, and you know,
tap into all of the things you say, community spaces,
you know, make sure you get into those spaces where
you can actually stretch yourself, you know, just to reiterate
what you were talking about, because that's.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
All of what we you and I did and you know,
continue to do.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
And a lot of us are not going to put
ourselves out there because you know, we may be ashamed.
Speaker 2 (35:04):
Like I was ashamed when I got out that.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
I just felt like I didn't know anything, you know,
and I isolated for a little bit because I was like.
Speaker 4 (35:12):
I shouldn't know this, you know, I shouldn't.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Yeah, I did all this stuff, I got degrees. I
shouldn't know what I want to do. But so it's intimidating,
it's intimidating.
Speaker 3 (35:25):
Yeah, So thank you for sharing that and thank you
for making you know, for your voice is so soothing.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
So like I keep getting drawn in, I'm.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
Like I.
Speaker 6 (35:38):
Have to keep fullowing myself back, like okay, don't get
too close, you know, but no, but thank you for
just having I know, the same, for being you and
for just having that you know, that kind of energy
as well. So I want to ask you this question,
and you you touched on it, you know, what does
(35:59):
it mean to you? To live unapologetically beyond the uniform.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Ooh.
Speaker 4 (36:05):
First of all, ooh, that's a good question.
Speaker 5 (36:08):
I love that question because being able to feel free
enough to find who you are is what that means
to me. Like it's more than just oh, I've grown
my hair, passed regulation, I've grown.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
My you know, it's like getting a bunch of piercings right,
Like that's beautiful.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
You know, and no judgment. You know, the bodies are.
Speaker 5 (36:34):
But for me, it was like I get to play
and figure out with hopefully more wisdom, more resources on
who I am in this season without so many restrictions.
And also living unapologetically is speaking my story because not
every one of us had the same experience in the military,
(36:56):
and if the organism I believe any organization is get better,
the ones who are the most inhabited and who have
been invested and experienced in it are the ones that
can help it make it better by speaking to what
their experience was like. And so living unapologetically is also
just being the most amazing, wonderful woman that I could
(37:20):
be and not having to worry about having to quiet
that down in this season, especially for those who are
used to so much conservative ways that we even having
our own podcasts and saying, you know, I can go
ride horses, I can go do you know what I
(37:41):
want to do on the weekends and still go cook
it home. You know, There's so many things I can
be and so I'm happy about that. Unapologetically living life
beyond the uniform for sure.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
I love that. I love that. Thank you, Carlos, Thank
you so much Lunch for sharing your journey and your
heart today. I love that.
Speaker 3 (38:05):
Yes, I love the way you've taken your life experiences
and pour them into something that heals, you know, people
inside and out. You're not just transforming skin, You're transforming confidence, identity,
and legacy. And that's that's really powerful. That's really powerful.
Thank you for sharing. Yes, thank you for sharing.
Speaker 4 (38:29):
So I'm graciously owner.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
You're welcome.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
How can how can the listeners reach you and get
their glows mapped by you?
Speaker 5 (38:41):
Okay, great, So I am Map your Glow by Carla
all spelled correctly everywhere with the exception of Facebook, and
Renee's going to help me with that. But find me
on LinkedIn under Carla Ross and it's map your Glow
dot com and on Instagram and every other platform. It's
(39:03):
Map your Glow by Carlow or Map your Glow, but
I should pop up quite easily. I'm still learning the
ins and outs of technology. It keeps changing, so I
have to switch up.
Speaker 2 (39:11):
To thank you for sharing that. Okay, to all of you,
to all of you listening.
Speaker 3 (39:19):
If you want to connect with her, just you know,
connect with her at all her, all her, her, Map
your Glow dot com and on LinkedIn, just book a
service with her, or just learn about you know how
skincare and wellness can be a great part of your journey.
And as always, I want to thank you for being
(39:39):
a part of this community. If this episode, if today's
episode gave you something to think about, if it encouraged
you in any way, please like it, share it, and
subscribe so we can keep these conversations going. Remember to
join us every Friday at eleven am Eastern right here
(40:00):
on the Bold Brave TV Network on YouTube. And I
can't wait to see you back here next week. So
until then, keep living unapologetically, keep healing, and keep honoring
your next your next chapter. See you all next week.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
This has been living Unapologetically beyond the Uniform with your
host Renee Jones Hudson. We hope you found inspiration and
valuable insights in today's episode. Remember your journey of redefining, rediscovering,
and reaffirming your life post military is unique and powerful.
Stay connected with us for more stories, advice and support.
(40:45):
Until next time, stay strong and stay empowered. Listen Fridays
eleven am Eastern on the Bold Brave TV Network, powered
by B two Studios
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