Keep It Clear

If you've ever typed a long acne question into our DMs at midnight, this is the episode where we finally answer it.
In this episode, Katie and Cris run a rapid-fire listener Q&A, and Katie doesn't give Cris a single question in advance. They work through thirteen of the questions that land in the DMs most often, with Cris taking the root-cause side and Katie taking skincare. From Accutane relapse to perimenopause breakouts to one-sided acne to the difference between a dark mark and an actual scar, this one covers a lot of ground fast. If you've been doing everything right and your skin still isn't behaving, you're going to hear your exact question in here.
In This Episode We Cover
Why Accutane relapse usually shows up four to six months after your last dose, and what Cris has seen after multiple rounds.
Why breaking out worse at 34 than at 16 is about accumulated load, and how the health bucket model explains it.
What actually shifts in perimenopause, from declining ovarian estrogen to the estrogen and progesterone imbalance that follows.
Why one-sided breakouts point to spleen involvement, sluggish digestion, and TCM heat patterns, plus the Louise Hay left and right side framework.
Why Katie uses a retinal (retinaldehyde) instead of a retinol, and how skipping a conversion step means no purging or stinging.
The difference between dark marks and scars, and why only one of them responds to vitamin C, azelaic acid, and red light.

Resources & Links Mentioned
Clearer Skin in 30 Days (Katie's recommended starting point, named twice in the episode)
The HTMA Testing Package (the hair tissue mineral analysis Cris wants run six months before a wedding)
You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay (the book Katie references for the left side and right side energy framework)
Current Body (mentioned as Katie's preferred red light mask brand for dark marks)

Work With Us + Connect
Ready to start working on your skin? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.
Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellness
Loved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

If you've been handed a blood pressure prescription and no explanation, this conversation will change what you ask at your next appointment.
In this episode, Katie sits down with Mark Young, PhD, CEO of Zona and host of the Age Defiantly podcast, to talk about why heart health stops being a men's issue somewhere around age 45. They get into what happens to your blood vessels when estrogen production drops, why hypertension became its own diagnosis instead of a clue, and how the same root-cause thinking Katie uses for skin applies to your heart. From protein folding and why every drug label says "side effects may include," to the isometric hand grip research that came out of a US Air Force study on fighter pilots, Mark connects dots most people never see connected. If you've ever been told something is just part of getting older, this one's for you.
In This Episode We Cover
Why estrogen is one of the body's primary vasodilators and what happens to your blood vessels when production drops in perimenopause.
How the same blood flow restriction that men act on immediately gets quietly accepted by women as normal aging.
Why only about 10 percent of the body's proteins have been mapped, and what that means for the phrase "side effects may include."
How hypertension became an insurance billing code, and why that single change stopped clinicians from looking upstream.
The three-part mechanism behind isometric hand grip work: nitric oxide release, sodium to stop muscle spasm, and potassium to soften the endothelium.
Why the endothelium behaves like a sponge, and what a hardened one does to your body's ability to regulate pressure.

Connect with Mark
Website: zona.com
Podcast: Age Defiantly
Instagram: @themarkyoung
Discount code: KatieStewart for 100 dollars off at zona.com

If your blood work keeps coming back "normal" but your skin, sleep, and hormones say otherwise, this episode explains exactly what's getting missed.

In this episode, Katie and Cris pull back the curtain on the functional labs they've been using in their acne practice since 2020, long before anyone else was using them for skin. They break down why standard blood labs only capture a snapshot of one moment, how your body quietly buffers its blood chemistry to keep things looking "fine," and why that masking is the reason so many people feel awful with textbook-normal results. From the HTMA they run as a foundation, to the GI Map for gut, to the DUTCH for hormones, they walk through what each test actually reveals, the exact order they run them in, and why "more is more" testing usually just wastes your money. If you've ever been handed a clean lab report and told nothing's wrong, this one's for you.

In This Episode We Cover

Why your blood labs can look "normal" while deeper imbalances are quietly wrecking your skin.
How your body buffers blood pH by pulling minerals from your bones and tissue (and why that hides deficiencies).
What an HTMA reveals about your minerals, stress patterns, and heavy metal exposure that blood work never will.
Why Katie and Cris always run an HTMA before a GI Map or a DUTCH.
The top three mineral imbalances they see again and again in acne clients.
Why starting with a DUTCH hormone test is usually a waste of your money (and when to actually run one).

Resources & Links Mentioned

The HTMA Testing Package
The GI Map Testing Package
The DUTCH Testing Package
Functional Blood Lab Bundle (includes the full panel list to bring to your doctor plus the blood lab decoder)
Gut Zoomer / Hormone Zoomer (mentioned for clients outside North America, a more comprehensive version of the GI Map and DUTCH) 

Work With Us + Connect

Ready to start? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.
Need one-on-one help? The Clear Skin Solution includes an HTMA for every client plus custom protocols and support for your whole six-month journey.
Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellness

Loved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

You've got the probiotic, the binder, and the gut protocol, and your skin still isn't budging. This episode explains the step almost everyone skips.

We sat down with Dylan Gemelli, host of The Dylan Gemelli Podcast, to talk about why nervous system regulation has to come before any protocol you run. Dylan shares the origin story behind his work (four-sport athlete, international model, two years in prison, a full rebuild at 30) and the emotional reset that changed how he approaches health. From what NAD actually does inside your cells to why injectable NAD doesn't work long term, to spore-based probiotics and why Cris caps most clients at four supplements, this one reframes what "doing everything right" actually means. If you're running protocol after protocol and nothing is sticking, start here.

In This Episode We Cover

Why a dysregulated nervous system keeps cortisol and inflammation high enough to stall every gut protocol you run.
What NAD does inside the cell, and why straight injectable NAD is too large a molecule to get in and work long term.
Why Dylan picks NMN over NR as a precursor, since NR has to convert to NMN before your body can use it anyway.
How Dylan took his own NAD from 24 to 72 in two months, and why standard blood panels never check it.
What makes a spore-based probiotic different, including shelf stability and surviving stomach acid to reach your gut intact.
Why Cris caps most clients at four or five supplements, and how biofilms and endotoxins drive those "die-off" reactions.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

The Functional Blood Lab Bundle (for the "your labs are normal but you're not" conversation)
The GI Map Testing Package
The HTMA Testing Package
The Dylan Gemelli NAD Optimization Protocol Powered by JINFINITI
JINFINITI Save 15% site wide with code DYLAN

Connect with Dylan

Website: dylangemelli.com
Instagram: @dylangemelli
Podcast: The Dylan Gemelli Podcast
YouTube: Dylan Gemelli Biohacking

Work With Us + Connect

Ready to start working on your skin? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.
Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellness
Loved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

You don't need a $500 stool test to know something's off in your gut. Your symptoms have been telling you for years.

In this episode, Katie and Cris break down the patterns they've seen over and over across hundreds of stool tests run on acne clients. They walk through the three umbrellas everything falls under: gut infections and overgrowths, broken-down digestion, and a leaky gut lining. From H. pylori and candida to low stomach acid and sluggish bile flow, they name the exact mechanisms connecting your gut to your skin, plus the everyday symptoms that point at an overgrowth long before a lab ever confirms it. They also get honest about why running a DUTCH before you've worked on your gut is usually wasted money. If you've been told your acne is "just hormonal," this one's going to reframe things.

In This Episode We Cover

Why H. pylori, candida, staph, and strep are the overgrowths showing up most often in acne clients.
How low stomach acid opens the door for bacterial overgrowth and blocks the protein your skin needs to repair.
What toenail fungus, a white tongue, and repeat yeast infections can tell you about what's living in your gut.
Why your estrobolome decides how well you clear estrogen, and what that means for jawline breakouts.
How sluggish bile flow starves your hormones of the fats they're built from.
Why an HTMA is a smarter first test than a GI Map or a DUTCH when money is tight.

Resources & Links Mentioned

The Gut Reset (new self-paced gut protocol mini course)
The GI Map Testing Package
The HTMA Testing Package

Work With Us + Connect

Ready to start? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.
Need one-on-one help? The Clear Skin Solution includes an HTMA for every client plus custom protocols and support for your whole six-month journey.
Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellness

Loved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏