The Fae, Flower & Stone Story
- Kathy Keh
- Jun 12
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 20
I started making my own skincare in 2019, toward the tail end of running my first health and wellness business—Bright Life, in Sarasota, Florida. During this time, I never made any products for sale, but I did share what I was making with many of my family members, friends, and customers.
Why did I start making my own products? Because I was so sick of not finding personal hygiene products that were safe for me to use, or finding them but at such high prices that it was prohibitive for me to buy them. I started to do a lot of research at this time on the ingredients that were being used (and are still being used) in our personal hygiene products and came to the conclusion that they were harmful. Also, knowing that the FDA sanctioned the use of these ingredients made me feel angry and disappointed, because I always believed our government would keep us safe.
It Started with Toothpaste
So it all started with toothpaste. I discovered that both drinking fluoridated water and brushing my teeth with it could potentially calcify the pineal gland, a small, pea-sized organ nestled deep in my brain, roughly parallel to the area between my eyebrows. In East Asian chakra traditions, this gland is deeply linked to our Third Eye Chakra. When this chakra is healthy and open we use our 6th sense - our sense of intuition, gut feelings - to tune into what the Universe has in store for us, to feel connected to our purpose and where we're regularly inspired with new ideas and broader understandings about life.
Anyway, when this gland calcifies from fluoride exposure, its physical functioning is compromised - it shrivels and dries up or calcifies - which interferes with its ability to produce melatonin—the body's primary source of the hormone regulating our sleep cycles and other vital bodily functions. From lack of sleep alone, our judgment is impaired, but if our ability to make melatonin is compromised, our entire circadian rhythm is thrown off. This physical and emotional exhaustion alone leads to poor judgment, poor life decisions, and ultimately we lose the ability to trust our own intuition.
While there are many theories about why fluoride is used in our water systems and toothpaste, for me, the priority became simply to get it out of my system. I stopped drinking fluoridated water and started making my own fluoride-free tooth powder, focusing on organic and natural ingredients that both cleansed and nourished my teeth.
To make a very long story short, making my own tooth powder was born out of both frustration and necessity. I've never been interested in beauty, cosmetics, or organic skincare. In fact, because I've struggled my entire life with depression, anxiety, and isolating, it's been incredibly difficult for me to prioritize self-care—and this absolutely included my personal hygiene, overall appearance, and the last thing that was on my mind was a skincare routine.
Anxiety, Depression and Isolation
Most people wouldn't have guessed that this was my reality, but it was. Although I appeared to others as social and extraverted - like I had my life together - what they didn't know was that I actually spent most of my time alone, not leaving the house and feeling overwhelmed with basic tasks that seemed effortless for others. I felt immense shame about having "mental illness(es)."
Growing up in an extremely judgmental Korean family, we were taught that if anyone was formally diagnosed with a mental illness or worse - institutionalized because of it - well they were seriously damaged goods, less than human, like wild animals, and without fail, at every family gathering we viciously gossiped about these members of our family, and in grave detail exposed their dirty laundry for everyone to see and laugh about - it was cruel. I'm ashamed to admit that I was a full participant in these discussions, but because I lacked compassion for myself experiencing many of these same struggles - all I could do was join in and pretend that I wasn't ill myself.
For this and many other reasons, I never talked about what was really going on in my life - not to my parents, not to teachers, friends, family members and not even to any of the therapists or psychiatrists I had been seeing regularly since High School. I have my theories as to why I've had these kinds of extreme emotional challenges since the age of two, but no matter what I did as an adult they didn't go away. In fact, they got markedly worse until I hit my mental bottom in my mid-50s when I had a total breakdown, and was put on the suicide watch list of my town - something I thought I wouldn't experience in this life, and I judged myself so harshly which made everything worse.
I can genuinely say now that I am grateful for these exact struggles I have faced. Having come through to the other side, I know I am a much better version of myself than I was even five years ago. Despite ongoing challenges, I feel happier than ever. If it were not for the alternative healing modalities I have been able to learn about—Feng Shui, chakra balancing, color, aroma, sound, and flower essence therapies—combined with the privilege of working closely with Nature in all its glorious forms, I know I would not be here on this majestic and wonderful planet today. I also know that I would never have had the courage and clarity I needed to give birth to Fae, Flower & Stone. I know that the healing magic of Nature got me through the roughest patch in my life and it's my belief that because of this I'm finally able to see and receive the blessings from my Guardian Angels—my father, my Uncle Yet, and from the God of my understanding—true Love and the wisdom of that Love that speaks to me through my Higher Power, guiding me every step of the way.
I hope that the Fae, Flower & Stone self-care products and experiences become a shortcut for people looking for emotional relief and recalibration. I hope that using these products becomes an opportunity to do regular self-care that is quick, easy, and most importantly, enjoyable and pleasurable. I am truly looking forward to this next chapter of my life with all of you and the Universe's unfolding plan for me. I will be forever grateful to the healing magic of Nature which restores my body, mind, and spirit in ways that nothing else could. I am confident that She can do this for you too.
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