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Lunch With Ernest

Number cruncher now fights teen acne

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published March 31, 2006

When Rhonda McDaniel was working as an accountant for Price Waterhouse Coopers, she would drive by a small strip center on Lumsden Road and say, "Some day I'm going to have my own place right there."

She wasn't talking about having an accounting firm. McDaniel longed to become a licensed aesthetician to help people with their skin conditioning. Two years ago, she finally walked away from the corporate world and began A Caring Touch Skin Therapy in that center at 1318 E Lumsden Road.

Over breakfast at The Brunchery, McDaniel talked about helping teenagers deal with acne, the desire to start her own business and the challenges of being a military mother and wife.

Pull up a chair and join us.

ERNEST: What would you say is the most rewarding part of your job?

Yeah, that is kind of bold.

Are people ever offended?

No. Sometimes I'll preface it by saying I'm not trying to offend you. I haven't had anyone who said they were offended.

Tell me about some of the teens you work with. As adults I think we forget about how difficult it can be for teenagers, especially with the teasing.

It can be depressing. The girls don't think they're attractive, they have all the acne and it affects their self-esteem. If we clear it up, that can boost their self-esteem. And they have a lot of stress right now. We forget as adults that teenagers have a lot to deal with, the pressures of school, the pressure to get good grades.

And we tend to just say, "you'll be okay."

You'll be okay, your skin will clear up when you get older. Don't worry about a date. When I was a teenager, if a guy didn't ask me out or I didn't get to go out, that would be kind of depressing. I listen to the kids when they come in. It's like our little session. They can say whatever, I'm not their parents. But if it's something that I think they should discuss with their parents, I have a better chance of getting them to do that.

What do you think is the biggest problem when it comes to acne? Diet? Skin care?

Actually, it's diet. It's hormones when you're dealing with ages 12 to 13 and 16 to 18. And then it's stress. Stress plays a big part.

I wouldn't think teenage girls' lives would be that stressful?

It's not only teenaged girls, I have a lot of teenaged guys who come to see me. I deal with all teenagers. In fact, I probably have an equal amount of boys and girls. Guys, if they're in sports, especially if they wrestle, that's a big thing. They hit that mat, they don't clean their face properly and acne can happen. You have to make sure they clean their face properly.

I would imagine with guys, you're lucky if they use soap and water.

Actually, they're more disciplined than the girls, believe it or not. They have my cell phone and they call me and say, I need to get in, I have a breakout. I need you to look at this.

So overall, treating acne is about more than vanity?

Yes, it's more about taking care of your skin because acne doesn't go away. It happens in adults and I have a lot of adult clients.

How did you get into this line of work?

I've always been interested in skin care. My sister had acne for more than 10 years. She's always had acne and tried everything under the sun. She went to dermatologists, tried everything over the counter and it started getting into her skin. She came to visit me last year. I worked on her skin. She's using my products and her skin looks better. She was my first acne client that I worked on.

What other services do you offer?

I do makeup, I'm a professional makeup artist. I do makeup for weddings, and I teach people how to put on makeup for proms, homecoming. I do facials and body wraps, and I basically treat the skin. I was once a Mary Kay consultant, and people were always covering up imperfections. So I thought, why not treat the imperfections instead of covering them up?

Your husband served in intelligence during his stint in the Air Force, and at times, you couldn't reach him or were uncertain about his whereabouts. How did you deal with the difficulties of having a military husband?

I've just had to be strong enough to hold up and make sure the kids know that dad loves them and he's doing an important job. It gets hard. When Operation Freedom was going on and during all of that stuff, it was tough. He wasn't in Iraq, but he was in Qatar and you never know how far places are from each other. When the war started, I was like everyone else - watching on TV.

Was it nerve-racking?

It was a little nerve-racking but you can't let the kids see you upset because you don't want them to be upset. You have to decide how you're going to deal with the challenges. I tell any military dependent person, yes it can be stressful, but if you can get involved in something, it makes life a lot easier.

DESSERT: A postscript from Ernest

At the height of Operation Freedom, McDaniel actually did a little more than watch on TV. She organized co-workers at Price Waterhouse to put together more than 250 care packages for soldiers. By the way, McDaniel didn't just deem herself a skin specialist. She earned a license and has studied with Pensacola dermatologist Mark Lees and Texas dermatologist Fathi Fam. McDaniel has raised four kids while juggling the demands of being a military wife and mom.Rhonda says some day she's going to appear on Oprah. Don't laugh. She's made all her other dreams come true.

Ernest Hooper also writes a column for the Tampa & State section of the St. Petersburg Times. He can be reached at 226-3406 or hooper@sptimes.com.

[Last modified March 30, 2006, 14:07:33]