The Oncology Aesthetics Podcast

Behind the Scenes: Who We Are and Why We’re Here

• Ricardo Fisas Natura Bissé Foundation • Season 1 • Episode 1

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The Ricardo Fisas Natura Bisse Foundation  is a 501c3 nonprofit focused on enhancing well-being through aesthetic skin and hair care services for people undergoing cancer treatment, along with professional education for spa industry professionals on how to safely serve clients with cancer.

Key Highlights:
• One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer, yet many are turned away from spas
• Cancer treatment side effects on skin and appearance may significantly impact quality of life
• Professional education helps create inclusive environments where clients feel safe
• The foundation provides in-person services in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and virtual consultations nationwide
• Brand-agnostic approach focuses on evidence-based ingredients rather than specific products
• Currently working with over 20 hospitals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area

To access services, contact the Foundation through Instagram @RicardoFisasFoundation, visit ricardofisasfoundation.org, or call directly. 

A medical referral is typically needed, but the team can help coordinate with your healthcare providers.


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Raejan:

This podcast is brought to you by the Ricardo Fisas Natura Bisse Foundation, produced by Lyons Creative. All the information contained in this podcast is intended only to provide general skincare guidance. The information is not a substitute for consulting with a physician or other qualified medical professional. Welcome to the Oncology Aesthetics Podcast, where we explore ways to enhance well-being, self-esteem and resilience while navigating cancer. We bring you expert skincare tips, practical self-care strategies and inspiring stories to help you rediscover strength, radiance and joy. Hello everyone and welcome to the Oncology Aesthetics Podcast.

Raejan:

I'm Raejan, your host and national educator for the Ricardo Fisas Natura Bissé Foundation. Today I'm with our executive director, Josanna Gaither, and we want to talk a little bit more about really just the baseline, who we are and what we do. So, first and foremost, we are a 501c3 nonprofit. We're dedicated to enhancing well-being and we do this in a couple of ways. First, we provide aesthetic skin and hair care services and self-care workshops for people undergoing cancer treatment at no cost. Secondarily, we also provide professional education for people that are in the spa industry, like estheticians, hairstylists, nail techs, massage therapists anyone that can really have an impact on that aesthetic self-care aspect. So, as I have Josanna Gaither here, I would love to hear from you, Josanna. How did this all get started? You've been here from the very beginning.

Josanna:

I love sharing this story because it's something that's been going on for a long time, so there's a lot of history to it. So to give you kind of the initial backstory, I worked for Natura Bisse for about 20 years. It's a Spanish skincare line based out of Barcelona. I had a lot of roles with them. I oversaw education for North America, I oversaw their spa division... many different roles.

Josanna:

And I was invited to go to the Barcelona offices and participate in an oncology aesthetics training and I was excited about it but I don't think I understood how that would kind of change the trajectory of what I was going to do when I went there for the training. The first portion of the training was theoretical, so it was learning kind of level setting health literacy, my knowledge of what is cancer, what are the cancer treatment options that somebody would go through, what are side effects that you might see on the skin, what are ways that you can talk to people, like lots of different things that all kind of culminate to help you understand how to better work with someone who's navigating this disease. The second part the training was hands-on.. We went into the hospitals and patient association centers and in those environments most of the language being spoken was Catalan. I speak English, I can understand some Spanish, but I didn't understand Catalan. But I did understand body language and tone. And so what I was so amazed by was how people would come in. Maybe they had just left their doctor's appointment, maybe they were about to go to one later, but they, you could tell they were just maybe overwhelmed. They had a lot on their mind. They were trying to figure out what the next right thing to do was, and I watched them come in and speak to the esthetician there, and if it was an initial consultation, they might have just talked. If it was someone coming in for a treatment, they may have received a facial or some work on a scar, but regardless of what they were there for, every single one of them left with completely different posture. They were happier, and I just remember appointment after appointment thinking this is what I want to do. This is amazing.

Josanna:

So I left Spain, coming back to the US, telling Natura Bisse we should do this. I very quickly learned that it's not necessarily so easy to just get into the medical space and say let's give away free treatments. But I was really passionate about give-back and I had seen the change that it made and so you know the team that the leadership of Natura Bisse say they were very supportive of us continuing to try and find a way. And so over the years that was kind of what we did. We just continued to look for different avenues or different ways that we could kind of touch this oncology space with a long-term goal of doing what we're doing now, which is the nonprofit being able to provide these services all the time.

Raejan:

That's awesome, and how did it actually get started in Spain? I know you've talked to me a little bit about this, but I would love for our listeners to understand where this came from, even from the very, very beginning. .

Josanna:

That's a fantastic question. So, going back to Natura Biss, this Spanish skincare line that I worked it for, it was started by a man named Ricardo Fisas and his wife, Gloria, and from the very beginning of them starting that skincare line, there was always a give back component. They felt very passionate about ensuring that they were helping to enhance well-being and helping to better the lives of people that were in maybe more vulnerable situations. So at the beginning it was maybe focused on helping to provide micro credits or micro loans to people to help them be able to build businesses for their families. As Natura Bisse grew, so did the donations that they were providing. So when it was time for kind of that generational handoff, so the second generation took leadership of Natura Bisse, Ricardo and his wife Gloria started the Fundacion Ricardo Fisas in Spain, and that foundation in Spain was really focused on, initially, oncology aesthetic programs. They were able to work within the hospital systems there, which is what I mentioned earlier that I was a part of, and they also were in like patient association centers, and what they learned is that, as they were in these programs or offering these programs, the doctors and the medical teams that were partnering with them noticed that the patients that they referred were able to stick to their medical treatment better. They kind of handled their side effects better, and so what happened is they continue to get more and more referrals. The other beautiful part of that is from working in the hospitals and seeing how the skin responded, seeing the side effects that the skin responded, seeing the side effects that these medications provided, seeing the mental toll that it was taking on people. That's how the oncology aesthetic training program that we offer began, because it began from the knowledge that we were getting from these medical teams and these patients that were receiving these services, and we created this beautiful training program. And that training program is what then allowed us to train more people that could then sometimes volunteer and allowed that program in Spain to continue growing Since then.

Josanna:

The Fundación Ricardo Fisas also has some other projects that they work on in addition to the oncology aesthetics program, with a real strong mission of just kind of tying back to Ricardo's core belief of making the lives of other people better. He was someone that I was fortunate enough to meet and in meeting him you just understand that he kind of was the embodiment of his mission of helping to make others feel better. He had these like 10 rules that were not like some secret society rule. They were more just basic things like remembering people's names. Don't argue, because if you, when you're still losing Things like just making sure that you're accepting compliments, you're giving praises abundantly, I mean they're simple, simple things.

Josanna:

But all of them kind of culminated to be who ricardo was, and so it was a. It was a lot of fun when I first went and was able to see this foundation in action and to see like his, his vision of helping to make people feel better actually come to life. It just became a passion of mine to be like this needs to be in more places. So that's kind of the history of how we got here and then where we are today.

Raejan:

Thank you so much for sharing that with us. You talked a little bit about kind of Ricardo's main mission. His intention was really just kind of help enhance wellbeing and people around us, and I feel like we really see that in the foundation that we have going here in the States. You know we do offer these services at no cost but we also provide, like you're saying that, training for other spa professionals. I've seen a lot of how much opportunity there is for learning in this space as we continue to come across students who have really no experience or understanding of what to do when they have a client that comes to them and says, hey, I'm going through cancer treatment, but you've been in this industry for a while. So I would love to hear from you what you see in that opportunity Like. Why is it such an important aspect of what we do to teach other spa professionals?

Josanna:

Well, I think the number one reason why it's such an important aspect is, unfortunately, one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in time. So when we look at the numbers, it's a lot of people. And so when you look at that in regards to the spa industry and as you're thinking of the people walking into your doors, oftentimes people are walking into your spa because they want to feel better, because they're trying to have a moment of escape. And if you're going through kind of a diagnosis of cancer and navigating what that looks like, there are definitely probably moments that you want to feel better and you may want that moment of escape. But for many years it was contraindicated for someone to provide service to someone who was going through cancer treatment. So what happens is kind of out of this abundance of caution. Even though it's not contraindicated, there are ways that we can provide safe services, we can modify treatments.

Josanna:

There's still this, this kind of air on the side of caution, where when people don't have an elevated health literacy, they don't understand cancer, they don't understand what people are going through.

Josanna:

Because they don't want to cause harm, they just say no, and so I think for me that's where the education is so important and it really takes an army. I mean there are a lot of people in this industry working as hairstylists, working as estheticians, as massage therapists, as nail techs, as someone working at a front desk. They're all speaking to people and being able to provide the education of how to kind of navigate. When someone says, oh, I really want a book of service, but I'm going through cancer treatment or I've had cancer in the past, it's important to help create an environment where those people don't get told oh, the only thing we can provide is our relaxation area, it's out of an abundance of caution, but it's still not the right thing.

Josanna:

And so the idea behind the training is how do we help to elevate the knowledge? How do we help to kind of level set the understanding so that people that come into the spa space can experience what they're looking to experience? You know, I know tons of spa directors as friends that have their own personal stories of welcoming in a group of ladies that's coming in for a party and one lady can't receive her service because their guidelines are that they wouldn't be able to provide it. And so I think a lot of the spa directors and the leadership within this industry are kind of leading this charge, because they're the ones that are having to have these conversations to say, oh, we can't serve you when there are ways that we can, we can serve them.

Raejan:

Absolutely. I love how you explained that, and from my perspective too, as a service provider, I've had so many clients express to me their own stories of being that person that was told you can't receive a service today and it's devastating. You know, people are in a vulnerable time where not only is their skin actually in need of comfort, but so is their well-being, and it just kind of puts that sort of more othering aspect to it. So, also as an esthetician, I love our education components, because I've found it to be so empowering for other service providers to say you know what? Now I feel like I know what to do and I know how to provide these services safely but also effectively, and it just brings another element that helps them feel just more prepared.

Josanna:

And I think that's a lot of what it is you talk about. Safely and effectively. That's the goal of a spa provider across the board, regardless of who is in their treatment room. But when we're talking about someone who is navigating cancer, we want them to feel safe enough that they also will say what they're going through.

Josanna:

I've heard multiple stories where the estheticians say, I had no idea my guest was going through anything. I went through our whole intake program. The guest said that, no, there's nothing, no big medical issues. And halfway through a facial, I find out they're having a mastectomy next week. And that is concerning, because then the esthetician is like oh wait, what am I doing? But they got there, because the guests knew that if they told the truth and said I'm going through cancer treatment, they're going to be told they can't be there. So it's really on us as the providers and as the leaders within the industry to create an environment where our guests feel safe to speak the truth and to say what they're going through, knowing that our goal is to create an inclusive and welcoming environment where they can receive a treatment that is safe and is what they're looking for, absolutely.

Raejan:

. So I know that we started in 2024 of just trying to like actually put this initiative into the ground, get the ball rolling and get going. So we've been doing this for just a little bit We have provided a lot of no-cost services, we've done a lot of training. a year and, honestly, from my perspective, we've had a lot going on. We're really, you know, trying to build up our hair care program right now too, because it's such a unique space and such a huge opportunity that we see right now. I would love to hear from you a little bit more about what we are actually doing. And then, where do we want to take this?

Josanna:

That's a great question, I think. Where do we want to take this? Is we just want to continue growing our offering of how many services we can provide at no cost to people that are going through a cancer journey.

Josanna:

I think that, looking back at where kind of 2024 took us, I agree with you it's insane, as someone who watched over the course of a decade of trying to figure out how can we make this happen. To January 2024, we have a dedicated team to the nonprofit and by June of 2024, we were adding on another full-time esthetician. And by the end of 2024, we were working with 23, 24 different hospitals in the Dallas Fort Worth area. It's a little crazy in all the good ways, but it was definitely. For me, it's a testament of knowing that when it's the right time, it's going to work out, because I watched it for many years just like not work out. And then now we have this beautiful program that was crafted way beyond our capability I mean it's just the way that dots aligned and things just worked has been so incredibly fun to watch, even this week of having people come in and say you know just different ways that they want to connect us to different people. It's just mind boggling at one point in time, but I think more than that, it's that instead of worrying about how we do it, we just kind of want to keep doing it. So the goal will be to continue driving more in-person services in the Dallas Fort Worth area. You know that's where our home base is. So if you're in this area, our goal is to create kind of a network of salons and spas that if you want to go pay for a service there's a safe space that you can go. But if you financially can't afford to go in and receive a treatment because you're kind of worrying about how you're going to pay for other things while you're going through cancer treatment, we want to be there as a resource and to be able to provide those free treatments. So you know that's a big part of what we're doing is just growing those offerings.

Josanna:

You mentioned at the beginning our kind of skin care workshops that we also provide. Those are so fun because we do them in person in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but we also have done like some pop-up environments in either Austin or Houston or sometimes in California, because it's the right thing. It just kind of depends on where it is. But I think, continuing to grow those skincare sessions because they're such a great way to kind of network people that are experiencing a similar thing but in their own unique way. I think the one thing we teach about cancer a lot is that every person's journey is unique, but there's things that you can hear from others that help you realize that, even though your journey is unique, you're not alone.

Josanna:

And also growing our virtual offering.

Josanna:

So you know, I talk a brand-agnostic lot about we offer in the US or in DFW, but throughout the US and Caribbean we offer our virtual sessions. So being able to offer, you know, to someone who's navigating this maybe they don't have someone that they can reach out to and they're like, hey, I'm experiencing hair fall, I need to do something we're happy to jump on a call, schedule them, just a quick call of understanding how is the best way to shave your head if that's what you're looking to do, how maybe you're experiencing really extreme dryness from the cancer treatments that you're going through and you live in Montana, who knows? We want to be able to kind of connect with you. So, I think, growing that virtual offering where we can meet with people and share the skincare knowledge that we have with them and give them recommendations that they themselves can do is really nice, and it's not bound to having to be in DFW. But, yeah, I think the goal is just to find ways that we just are able to continue serving more people and networking and sharing this information.

Josanna:

I love that the information we provide is brand agnostic. We have in some of our other episodes. You'll learn a little bit more about the skincare guide that we have on its own about different ways to care for the skin, but what I love is that it's tips and recommendations based on key active ingredients, but also based on you know, not telling you, hey, this is the one thing you need to go buy, but helping you understand research is showing these ingredients work well, and so you're able to then take that knowledge and be able to go to wherever you want to buy your skincare and find things that will hopefully work for you.

Raejan:

Yeah, that education piece I feel like is so powerful. Obviously, like we've talked about, we educate spa professionals so that they can provide these services. But I think often times what people might not consider is the huge because of education just within the general population, whether they're going through cancer or they know someone who's going through cancer, or very few people really have a baseline understanding of what to do with their skin in the first place. And then you add in all of these factors of maybe the skin is more sensitized now going through this cancer treatment, maybe the skin is drying out a lot more while going through this cancer treatment. So, having those resources that we do and doing these workshops, I just find so much joy in it because you see how much it empowers people to actually do something for themselves and feel like they have a little bit of control but also just a little bit more knowledge on how to kind of manage some of these symptoms.

Josanna:

Yeah, I, think you just said it right there Like that little bit of control is something that gives people a nice sense of kind of peace and joy in the midst of the storm. They didn't ask for Because, you know, when you get this diagnosis, we all know that life just kind of stops and then it starts to take its own turns, and we know, a lot of times the side effects that may show up on the skin are exactly that they're side effects. Side effects are typically temporary, and so for many people involved in the conversation they're like oh, it's a side effect, it'll go away. But for the person living it, the person going through it, who it's their skin, they're experiencing it, it's their daily reminder that something's different.

Josanna:

And so I think for me and, as you said, for you, for our team, we love sharing this knowledge because it gives a little bit of that semblance of control back, puts it in the hands of the person going through it to say, yes, this is a side effect, but there's ways that I can help mitigate it today. I don't have to wait for it to go away later, but I can address it today and I can feel more comfortable, which in turn enhances their well-being, helps them have a better outlook on life, helps, at the end of the day, with their relationships, with how they leave the house, with how they go to work. I mean, we don't always realize that how being uncomfortable in our skin can impact so much else until we're living it, and so I think that's where, for me, it's so fun, and from the very beginning, when I watched this back in 2013, it was just being able to see how you could provide kind of this immediate sense of, there's something I can do to make myself feel better, and why not do that Definitely.

Raejan:

Josanna. To wrap this up, let's talk a little bit more how people can get in contact with us. We'll have a link in our show notes, but how else can people get in contact if they want to do an in-person or virtual service?

Josanna:

The best way to get in contact with us would either be sending us a message on Instagram at Ricardo Fisas Foundation, or you can come to our website, ricardofisasfoundation. org or message us through instargam @ricardofisasfoundtion . You can also call us, but we'd love to help get you in for virtual service or for an in-person service. Everyone that we see typically has a medical referral, so if you don't have a medical referral from your doctor or navigator, or if the idea of getting that kind of stresses you out, feel free to reach out to us. We'll work with your team to make sure that we get that. We just want to make sure we're in alignment with their goals for you as well. But we'd love to have you. We'd love to welcome you. If you live in Texas or if you live anywhere else, we'd love to see you.

Raejan:

Amazing. Thank you so much for being here, Josanna Thanks for having me.

Josanna:

I'm excited to hear all of the other podcasts.

Raejan:

Thanks for having me, I'm excited to hear all of the other podcasts. Thank you for joining us. We hope you found this information helpful. It's your reviews and feedback that help make this podcast even better. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who might benefit. Until next time, take care, stay radiant and we'll see you soon. You.