I Let Astrology Decide My Skincare Routine — & It Actually Worked

I’ve never been good at sticking to a skincare routine. I love testing and collecting products — whether for work or myself — but using them every single day? Extremely difficult. It often felt like another task I couldn’t commit to, even when I knew my skin would thank me for it. 

I needed a nudge in the right direction, and who better for that than licensed esthetician Mikaela MacLean? What sets MacLean apart from the many other skincare experts out there is that she specializes in “Human Design.” 

Depending on who you ask, Human Design is either a wellness system that blends elements from astrology, Kabbalah, I'Ching, the Hindu Chakras, and quantum mechanics or an esoteric approach to self-discovery. Using the date, location, and time of your birth, Human Design practitioners create a “body graph” that ostensibly offers insight into how you're wired to make decisions in life. While most people use the concept to help influence their career path or improve their relationships, there's no reason why it can’t be applied to other areas. In fact, beauty is Human Design's new frontier. As an astrology girlie and tarot reader, I’m all about this kind of mystic and spiritual structure, but I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure how it would work with skincare — a scientific and physical endeavor. 

Combining wellness, mental health, and beauty is nothing new. Psychodermatology as a concept has been trending over the last few years. We’re seeing more and more brands jump on board and market themselves as neurocosmetics, suggesting that skin issues aren’t just physical concerns; they can also be mental ones. Even celebrity estheticians like Joomee Song believe in a holistic approach to skincare, looking at the skin as part of a larger, interconnected system, not just something to be treated topically with products.

This holistic approach to skincare is important to MacLean, who believes that nothing is ever skin deep. “We're all stressed, we're all dysregulated,” she told me. Scientifically, we know this has an impact on how we look. Stress, for example, raises cortisol levels, which can lead to increased oil production with breakouts for some and a weaker skin barrier with dryness for others. “To me, there's a missing piece, which is the inner piece,” she continued. “If you don't feel happy and beautiful with who you are on the inside, it doesn't matter what's going on on the outside.”

McLean suggested taking a look at my Human Design profile to see if it could potentially uncover the secret formula for me sticking to a skincare routine. 

The first step was a virtual consultation, where MacLean walked me through my Human Design profile and explored the significance of specific elements. She describes it as “reading lab results from the universe.” The experience reminded me of getting my birth chart read by an astrologer, and for good reason: “In Human Design, you get two sides of the chart. One corresponds to the normal astrology chart, and the other is 88 degrees of the sun or approximately three months before your birth, which is really cool because there's all this imprinting that happened before we were even here,” MacLean told me during the consultation. These two sides are also called ‘Personality’, which describes our mind or the subconscious, and ‘Design’, which describes our tissue and physical bodies. 

The first half of the consultation focused on my emotional and lived experience, and how my profile validated that — my struggle with finding community, my sensitivity, and even my gift for writing. Afterwards, I received a 100-page PDF breaking down everything about my profile and MacLean’s interpretations. At a glance, out of five possible main types and 12 profiles, I’m a “Projector” type with a 5/1 profile, the Heretic/Investigator. According to MacLean, everyone has a two-number profile that defines key personality traits. Mine — 5/1 — represents a “powerful blend of leadership and foundational knowledge, with a profound potential to help others. I’m also non-sacral, which means my energy levels are inconsistent — something I need to learn to work with. 

I also have a “smell cognition,” which means I process information through scent. I’ve always sort of known this about myself (I’m obsessed with fragrance), but MacLean reminded me that that means my skincare products need to smell good for me to commit to using them. MacLean also called out other interesting aspects of my profile and how I could use them to live closer to my “inner design”, which is when your actions are in harmony with your Human Design profile. For example, in my profile, my North Node (my soul purpose) in Virgo (daily routines, wellbeing, and health) is in Gate 46 (the love of the physical body) and my Venus (the planet that represents the goddess of love and beauty) is in my Gate 19 (sensitivity). All of these are important placements for me to harmonize with my inner design. It means I need to think of my skincare as a ritual and that I should prioritize products made for sensitive skin.

The last part of the consultation was the “auric facial”, where I was instructed to turn off my lights and lie in bed while MacLean constructed a crystal grid in the formation of my profile and played 528Hz frequency. It felt similar to experiences I’ve had with Reiki: I went to a meditative headspace and opened my eyes feeling new and light. 

The first thing MacLean recommended was to replace the word “routine” with “ritual” to start thinking of it as part of my spiritual practice. “This is the physical vessel. And so, you have to really love that and really take care of it,” she told me. I connected with that right away. As a tarot reader and bruja, this change of perspective already worked wonders — and I hadn’t technically done anything yet! 

One of my placements “sensitizes the entire system,” making me sensitive in every area of my life — a fact I know all too well, and I’ve had to learn how to manage, whether it’s my dry skin, my chronic pain, or absorbing other people’s emotional burdens. Because of this and my smell cognition, MacLean chose products that were safe for sensitive skin and had aromatherapeutic benefits. 

As the lead educator for organic beauty brand LilFox, MacLean selected all of my products from them. I received my lineup a few days after our consultation, and I couldn’t wait to get started. Taking photos along the way, I tested my new skincare ritual for three weeks. A disclaimer: I used only the products she recommended, except for a pimple patch. 

Step 1: First, I was to begin the ritual with a special intention. I used it to get closer to my guides, thank them, and ask for protection. Then, I would get started, massaging the Amazon After Dark cleanser onto dry skin, and rinsing it off. I liked it, but it wasn’t anything too special. My skin never felt stripped or tight like some other cleansers have left it, but it felt clean. 

Step 2: Applying the Bitter Orange Neroli Toning Mist and the Flower Goo Botanic Ferment Stem Cell Serum. The serum is formulated to tackle dehydration, dullness, hyperpigmentation, loss of firmness, and fine lines, while the mist hydrates and brightens. This was, by far, my favorite step in the ritual — I sprayed way too much of the toning mist every day, and I’m now almost out. It smells amazing and feels incredible on the skin. MacLean instructed me to mist before every step of the ritual, but I definitely did a little bit more than just one spritz in between. 

Step 3: Massaging one-to-two pumps of Dewy Bean Dream Smoothing Night Serum + Retinol Alternative into skin at night to address uneven texture, redness, acne, and more. Because retinol instills fear in me, I used one pump to begin with, just in case of any adverse reactions. But as I got more comfortable and I had no reactions, I used two pumps. 

Step 4: Misting skin with Bitter Orange, then applying Succulent Pudding Super Calm Emulsion to soften and soothe sensitive skin. This is a rich cream, which I would use more on my dry, colder days. It felt incredible, and I used it around my eye area. I would then mist skin again with Bitter Orange.

Step 5: Applying two to five drops of Maracuja Face Nectar. The oil felt luxurious, and I would feel the urge to slowly massage it into my skin, like I was giving myself a facial. Finally, I would finish with a final layer of Bitter Orange mist. 

Step 6: This bonus step was meant to be incorporated once a week and required applying the Moss Hydra-Bright Mask. I only ended up using this product a few times during this experiment. While it smelled incredible, I’m not much of a mask girlie and had so many other products that I ended up loving more. 

When I first saw the recommended ritual, I was worried it would overwhelm me and my skin, and I assumed using so many products would feel too heavy. I had gotten used to my three-products-every-other-day routine, so I was skeptical of going back to a six-product routine. Except, this was different: this ritual was designed for me. I looked forward to it every day, and I will continue to, even after this article is published and it’s not “for work” anymore. Everything from the scent to the feel of the products made it feel like I was at a spa getting a facial every night. Ultimately, the products weren’t what made that difference; it was my change of perspective. The way I approach skincare has taken a complete 180, and I no longer dread the task of a routine. Instead, I look forward to my ritual of taking care of myself.