In this exclusive interview with LIFESTYLE.INQ, the clinical herbalist and beauty entrepreneur shares her insights on business, health, and finding balance in it all.
It's very rare in life to meet someone who genuinely welcomes failure. For most people, they usually despise it. They may fear the idea of not succeeding at something, or even have a hard time accepting defeat in times of adversity. I am one of them sometimes. Maybe you are too?
But Rene Rosario Rodrigo is different from most people.
In an interview with LIFESTYLE.INQ, Rodrigo is sitting in a cozy corner of his home. It's been a long night for the clinical herbalist and beauty-slash-wellness entrepreneur. Beyond her career, Rodrigo is also a wife and mother of three children. Perhaps these roles are the ones she cherishes the most.
Read: Cynthia Almario talks about finding balance inside and outside of her interior design practice
see next
About her roots in holistic health
A native of New Jersey, Rodrigo grew up in the suburbs on the East Coast with a large family. She told me how her childhood home had a huge garden and the four seasons allowed her mother to grow an abundance of plants, fruits and vegetables. . “My mother always tried to heal us naturally. That was her thing. She gave birth to all seven children at home. She was the most natural in our family. Apart from this, Rodrigo has a more traditional approach to healing and health through her family on her birth father's side, who had relatives who were traditional medical practitioners and scientists. I shared how I found balance. Additionally, her younger sister also later pursued her career in the field of science. “I was kind of caught in the middle. I'm really interested in herbal medicine and natural healing, but what can I do to make sure I don't look like a charlatan?” I did.
René Rosario Rodrigo
Driven by a desire to learn more about holistic health, Rodrigo initially pursued a degree in nutrition, but eventually the opportunity arose to explore the field of herbalism. “I had been observing this school in the UK for a long time and they did not do any online education, but in the midst of the pandemic, they finally started online admission to the Bachelor of Clinical Herbalism program. I knew this was my chance.”
“I always tell people that when you're on a journey to heal yourself, it should feel like a journey. It should feel like a holiday. It shouldn't feel like a burden or anything. ”
During his four-year degree, Rodrigo juggled everything from delivering a baby at home to running a business and even taking additional courses at Ateneo de Manila University's College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It was a herculean effort for Rodrigo, who credits her family's support as her biggest driving force.
“Oh Holiday!” and finding balance in life
“Ah, the Holidays!” at Shangri-La The Fort Manila
When asked how being a clinical herbalist impacts his daily life, Rodrigo says: This way of saying it is very strange. Because I've never heard him say he wants to be a doctor because he thinks he can heal himself, you know what I mean? ”
Rodrigo had been suffering from endometriosis and infertility for more than 10 years. She saw several traditional medicine doctors who told her early on that she would have to live with this disease for the rest of her life and that she would need to take oral contraceptives regularly. I have been told. In addition to this, Rodrigo also dealt with other autoimmune diseases such as alopecia and hemochromatosis. “I got into herbal medicine because I thought it was interesting. I wanted to learn about it because I wanted to heal others. But what actually happened was… When I was practicing Chinese medicine, I accidentally cured my endometriosis while trying hormonal herbs.'' After a regular visit to the gynecologist, Rodrigo said. I was shocked to hear from my doctor that the symptoms I had been living with for over 10 years had suddenly disappeared. She said: “I had a blocked fallopian tube and the doctors told me it would never reopen, and then all of a sudden I got pregnant two more times through the blocked fallopian tube.”
Read: Art Roundtable: The role of women artists in abstract art
Through this personal progress, Rodrigo knew he was on to something and began specializing in hormone therapy, working with countless women and men suffering from similar illnesses. “I have colleagues who work in alternative medicine, and whenever they have patients with hormonal issues, they send them to me. There are herbs that can be used to restore balance. I think it’s the most effective medicine, treatment, medicine.”
Rene Rosario Rodrigo's “Oh Holiday!” Herbal Apothecary
Rodrigo's passion for holistic healing, powered by his personal experiences, has helped pioneer the natural wellness industry in the Philippines. In fact, she is the only UK Registered Clinical Herbalist in the UK. Ms. Rodrigo is committed to helping hundreds of people across the country through her own practice, through her pharmacist Oh Holiday! “The name of my business comes from my daughter. Her name is Holiday. When we first started, she was just a toddler and would run around while we worked. So my staff said, “Why don't we call it 'Oh Holiday'?” Rodrigo also notes how the name “Oh Holiday!” is used. It reflects the ethos of her brand as a whole. “I always tell people that when you're on a journey to heal yourself, it should feel like a journey. It should feel like a holiday. It shouldn't feel like a burden or anything. Yes, it was perfect.”
“I think having order in your life requires a combination of time management, discipline, and self-confidence. Will, motivation, it comes and goes. I never rely on motivation.”
When asked about how this business of hers started, she fondly said that it was a “business of mistakes” in the sense that it was not the business she had planned at all. “When I was getting my bachelor's degree, I was blending all kinds of teas and experimenting with tinctures…I always posted it on my Instagram stories, and surprisingly, people… I said, “Oh my God, can I order one of these?'' And I thought, “Oh, that's weird.'' Rodrigo. After asking the professor if it was okay and double-checking the dosage, he began selling the blended herbal tea at cost price. Her motivation was the positive feedback she received from people testing her, and she didn't care about making a profit. It wasn't long before Rodrigo's followers started asking if he could blend teas for all kinds of troubles. Acid reflux, gastroesophageal reflux disease, you name it. She laughed and said to me: “There were weeks when we had as many as 70 orders. At that point, I was like, 'I don't think we should do this for free anymore!' And so we started Oh Holiday! ”
The shelves of Rodrigo's pharmacy, Oh Holiday!, are lined with a variety of herbal blends.
With so many different jobs, it's no wonder Rodrigo is often asked how he manages to devote the same amount of time and effort to all his endeavors. In addition to being a clinical herbalist, she is also the founder of her herbal spa “Beré”, which opened in 2014. Rodrigo also directs two Ayumi Lash studios in Manila and will soon launch one in New York City. Most recently, Rodrigo launched FaceSculpt, the first lymphatic drainage and body sculpting clinic in the Philippines. “I feel like people think there's some secret to it. But you know, there's this quote from Benjamin Franklin that I always tell people: Spend time on each part of your business. ” This quote is written down in my notes. I watch it every day. ”
“I believe in karma. I always tell my staff that everyone who comes into the store, we need to be able to help them in some way. We want to make their lives better. I need to be able to do better. At the end of the day, I just want to improve people's lives.”
Rodrigo says maintaining order in all aspects of his life has a huge impact on how he handles his day-to-day responsibilities. “I think having order in your life requires a combination of time management, discipline, and self-confidence. Will, motivation, it comes and goes. I never rely on motivation.”
On her business ethics and learning to grow through failure
Throughout each of Rodrigo's entrepreneurial endeavors, she emphasizes the role her values play in shaping each company and how they serve as a compass as she navigates the sometimes challenging beauty and wellness industry. doing. She says, “All my business, my values and morals have to resonate with my partners. I will not partner with people who I think will take shortcuts just to make money.” I won’t.”
see next
see next
The longer we talked, the more I began to understand the work flow that Rodrigo had built his career on. At face value, Rodrigo is in the beauty and health business. But if you look closely, you'll see that she's actually nurturing. Whether through her pharmacist, herbal spa, or eyelash studio, Rene Rosario Rodrigo has carefully built a career around her single mission: to uplift, empower, and care for other women. Ta. “Doing this job in the Philippines really makes me feel like a pioneer. I like it. I want to be the first because I want to be the one who might fail. I love failure. ” Rodrigo's statement may sound strange to some, but she emphasizes how failing is the only way to understand what really works. I am clear about my feelings.
René Rosario Rodrigo
With each success and failure, Rodrigo has consistently emerged from the other end with more wisdom and knowledge than his previous experience. What is her driving force? Her independence and her desire to build a better life for herself and her family. “My mother worked a lot of jobs. She was a single mother and didn't have much money, so I started working at age 11. By the time I was in high school, I was working a lot at one time while still being a student. I was working two jobs 60 hours a week. To be honest, the first thing that motivated me to become an entrepreneur was the money to get out of that situation.”
Through sheer grit and innate altruistic desire, Rodrigo has successfully bridged the gap in the Philippine beauty and wellness market by championing purity in every aspect of her work. “I believe in karma. I always tell my staff that everyone who comes into the store, we need to be able to help them in some way. We want to make their lives better. I need to be able to do better. At the end of the day, I just want to improve people's lives.”
—
Photo by JT Fernandes
Produced by: Angela Manuel Go
