My name is Raquel & here's my story
I didn't start Ciao Bellezas because I had it all figured out. I started it because I didn't.
At almost 40, I'm still learning what it means to truly care for myself, not just my skin, but my whole self. I'm a mom to two incredible boys, ages 12 and 11, and like so many of us, I spent years putting everyone else first. Self-care felt like a luxury I couldn't afford, both in time and in guilt.
Growing up a part of two very different cultures in New Jersey, Puerto Rican and Egyptian, I never quite felt like I fit the mold. Not Spanish enough for one side of my family, not conservative enough for the other. I'd flip through magazines and watch TV looking for someone who looked like me, someone who represented the beautiful complexity of being mixed, of being me. But she wasn't there.
So I spent years trying to fit someone else's definition of beautiful. I yo-yoed with diets and exercise, always chasing some version of myself that looked like the models on screen.
My pregnancies brought complications and changed my body in ways I struggled to accept. Then came the mental health challenges: anxiety and depression that I pushed aside because I thought taking care of my mind was less important than taking care of everyone else. Recently, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's euthyroid, adding another layer to my health journey.
Through it all, one truth kept surfacing: I wasn't alone in feeling this way.
So many of us are navigating bodies that don't match magazine covers, juggling health challenges while trying to show up for everyone else, aging in a world that tells us to fight it rather than embrace it, and searching for representation that simply isn't there.
That's why I created Ciao Bellezas.
This community isn't about perfection. It's about acceptance. Accepting who you are right now, at this moment, in this body, at this stage of life. You don't need anyone's permission to define your own beauty. You don't need to apologize for taking care of yourself. You don't need to look like anyone else to be worthy of love and care.
Our products are made with the same care I'm learning to give myself: clean, honest ingredients that work with your body, not against it. Simple routines that fit into real, messy, beautiful lives. Because self-care shouldn't be another thing on your to-do list that makes you feel like you're failing.
Beauty Defined By You means exactly that. Not by magazines, not by social media filters, not by anyone else's standards. By you.
Beauty Unfiltered means showing up as you are, with the struggles, the growth, the imperfections, and the strength it takes to keep choosing yourself.
I'm still on this journey. I'm still learning to accept my natural beauty, to manage my health, to age with grace instead of fear, to look in the mirror and see someone worthy of care. Some days are harder than others. But I've learned that self-care isn't selfish, it's survival. And when we take care of ourselves, we show up better for everyone we love.
If you've ever felt like you didn't see yourself represented, like you didn't quite fit in, like you were never good enough, like self-care was something other people had time for, this community is for you. We're in this together.
You don't need to look like anyone else. You just need to look like you and treat that person with the kindness, care, and empowerment you deserve.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for choosing yourself.
With love and care,
Raquel
Founder and Chief Believer of Ciao Bellezas
Ciao's Mission
To empower everyone to take their journey of self-discovery, holistic beauty, and self-acceptance into their own hands, through clean products, thoughtful education, and grounded conversations.
We do not sell permission. We do not define beauty. We do not fix people.
We are a community going through the journey and sharing our experiences. We support people as they reclaim and define themselves.
A Letter From Our Founder
I Couldn't Find This Community. So I Built It.
Read the Full Letter
Hello Gorgeous,
Have you ever felt like you don't belong, or just can't get it together? Maybe a little lost too?
I have. And it is that journey, my journey of self-discovery and acceptance, that led me to create Ciao Bellezas.
For years, I struggled with self-acceptance, confidence, and even anxiety and depression. I was always questioning myself and my decisions. Not feeling good enough. Not feeling like I fit anywhere. It affected not only the way I looked and felt, but how I thought about myself and what I believed I deserved.
I searched for a community that understood that. A space where I could be honest about what I was going through, where I didn't have to perform wellness or pretend I had it all figured out. I couldn't find one. So I built one.
That is why Ciao Bellezas exists.
I created this community to share my journey of self-discovery and acceptance with everyone who is on their own. Because I believe deeply that it is all connected. The way we think about ourselves. The way we talk to ourselves. The way we care for ourselves. All of it shapes not only how we feel, but what we see when we look in the mirror.
True beauty is holistic. It lives in how we nurture our emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, and nutritional health. A deficiency in any one of these areas ripples into the others, affecting our confidence, our mood, our energy, and yes, even our skin. You cannot separate how you feel inside from how you show up in the world. We were never meant to.
Ciao Bellezas is a space that honors all of that. A place to explore clean, intentional beauty rituals. A place to read, learn, and connect the dots between your health and your glow. And most importantly, a community where your journey is welcome exactly as it is, in whatever chapter you are living right now.
You do not have to be healed to be here. You do not have to have it figured out. You just have to be willing to show up for yourself, one small, intentional act at a time.
So follow along. Share your journey. Contribute to this community. Because what you are going through matters, and so does the person you are becoming.
Beauty is Holistic. Beauty: Empowered, Unfiltered, and Defined by You.
Ciao,
Raquel
Founder and Chief Believer of Ciao Bellezas
Ciao's Promise
Ciao Bellezas is a participant brand. We share the journey, not the destination.
We connect people to resources. We don't provide them. We hold space. We don't fix.
We are not mental health professionals. We are a safe, moderated space to feel seen, share honestly, and connect with others on a similar path. We do not provide professional advice, but share resources that can help.
What We Value & Stand For
The 5 Pillars of Holistic Beauty
At Ciao Bellezas, we believe beauty is the natural result of caring for your whole self. These five pillars are the foundation everything we do is built on. When one thrives, they all do.
Mental Health
Your thoughts shape your world. When your mind is supported, nurtured, and given space to breathe, everything else shifts. We believe mental wellness is not a luxury. It is the foundation of every other kind of care.
Emotional & Spiritual Health
Your feelings are not a problem to be solved. They are information, wisdom, and proof that you are deeply human. We honor the emotional and spiritual dimensions of your journey because they are inseparable from the person you are becoming.
Nutritional Health
What you feed your body shows up in your skin, your energy, and your mood. Nourishment is not about restriction. It is about giving your body what it needs to show up fully for you, every single day.
Physical Health
Movement, rest, care, and ritual. Your body carries you through everything. It deserves to be treated with the same compassion and intentionality you give to everything else in your life.
Beauty & Self Care
Beauty is not the starting point. It is the result. When your mental, emotional, nutritional, and physical health are honored, it shows. We need to take time to nurture and care for ourselves. Clean rituals, intentional products, and a practice of self-care that reflects how worthy you already are.
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