Carolyn really knows skin. I have tried so many other products and she nailed it on the first try. Bye bye oily skin!

About Carolyn

Carolyn Ash from Ballet to Beauty

Carolyn at age 12

A passion for health, healing, and the human body led Carolyn Ash to a career as an aesthetician and a renowned skin care specialist--but her unique understanding of skin and the body can be traced to her years as a ballet dancer.

A dancer since the age of four, Ash studied on scholarship at Balanchine's School of American Ballet in New York City before injuries forced her to give up dancing. Yet it is her experience as a dancer that is what she attributes to her unique insight about the connection between mind, body, and spirit.

"Ballet dancing really puts you in-tune with your body like nothing else can," says Ash. "Through dancing I learned to appreciate the key role that diet and exercise play in determining how we look and feel."

At age 23, Ash decided to follow her avid interest in health and healing and moved to Dallas to attend skin care school. In 1986, when the Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas decided to open a spa, Ash was hired as a facialist and massage therapist.

While at the world famous Spa at the Crescent, her talent as an aesthetician quickly became recognized. In '86 and '87 she received the distinction of "Best Facial in Dallas" by D Magazine and "Best Facial" by W Magazine. Celebrities such as Kim Alexis, musician Lisa Loeb, and journalist Robin Leach also discovered Ash's talents as a skin care expert and many celebrities have continued to seek her advice over the years.

In 1990, Carolyn left Dallas to live in Los Angeles, working for yet another renowned spa at the Biltmore Hotel in Beverly Hills, as well as Dr. Harold Murad's A Sense of Self Day Spa in Brentwood, California.

After two years in L.A., Ash returned to The Spa at the Crescent to share her new knowledge with her Dallas clientele. A year and a half later, she fulfilled her long-time dream of opening her own skin care center, which was located in the prestigious Highland Park neighborhood in Dallas.

In 2002 Carolyn moved to Chicago and opened a successful salon on Lincoln Avenue. Since opening her salons, she has built a clientele that includes people from all over the country. Based on her experience with literally thousands of clients, she was inspired to write about how to have and maintain healthy skin.

"I wrote Timeless Skin and Skin Care A to Z because I believe people want to be told the truth," says Ash. "I wanted to dispel the myths and falsehoods floating around about skin care and instead offer sound advice to maintain healthy skin...for a lifetime. It all comes down to following a simple skin care routine, protecting your skin in the sun, and finding ways to balance the stress in your life."

"We are all concerned about aging. But aging is a natural process--one that we should embrace not run from. Accepting this inevitable process, acknowledging your inner beauty and realizing that the Fountain of Youth is found within, is what aging gracefully is all about," says Ash. (To Top)