Meet Sarika Diaz

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarika Diaz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Sarika with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
Simply put, my strong work ethic is in my blood. I believe I inherited it from my grandparents on my mother’s side.

My grandfather, Kwok Young Dong, immigrated to the US in 1950 to join my great grandfather who was living in NYC.
Like most Chinese immigrants of his time, he wanted to try and save enough money to bring my grandmother and aunt to the US. Having very little money and no knowledge of the English language he saved money by working any odd job he could get. After a few years of unstable progress, He decided to join the US army in hopes of becoming a US citizen and better the immigration process of his family. My grandfather was later deployed in combat as a US Medic and proudly served in the Korean War. All while still learning English and always carrying his handy Chinese-to-English pocket Dictionary. After the war ended my grandfather returned back to New York and was finally able to afford to bring my grandmother to the states. Sadly, they couldn’t yet afford to bring my Aunt Lily. She had to say back in China with my great grandmother for a few more years before immigrating to the US.

Over the next several years my grandparents continued to grow their family having 4 more children, my mother being the second to youngest. They were also able to open a few small businesses, commercial laundry, dry cleansers, alterations and restaurant to help support the family. I still remember being a small child playing with my cousins in the laundry carts- always lovingly looked after by my grandfather as he pressed shirts.

The story of how my mother’s side of the family came to the USA shows how hard work and discipline make people reach higher goals in life. Knowing the struggles and adversity that my grandparents went through to better the life of their future generations is inspiring to me. It’s been many years since their passing, but I would hope they can look down on me and be proud to see the hard-working entrepreneurial spirit they helped instill in me. I’m proud to be their granddaughter and to carry on their legacy.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in a mixed culture home with my mother being Chinese and my father being American. Both of my parents were very strict on us kids growing up and valued higher education. My mother was a nurse, and my father a former Marine Core PFC and BioChemistry Ph.D. As a teenager, I was Independant and stubborn, and naturally my parents had a difficult time with that. I had expressed interest in the cosmetology program in high school but my parents wouldn’t allow me to join. I remember my mom saying “That’s not a real job; you need to go to real school. Let’s try and focus on other things.” I moved out of my parents’ home when I was 17 to follow my high school sweetheart to San Antonio. I came home (to Houston) to visit family during the holidays and one of my Aunties asked how I was doing. I told her I hated working my retail job and knew I wanted to go to school but didn’t know if college was right for me. She suggested I look into Esthetician school. At the time she owned a busy day spa in the Heights, and I used to work summer jobs there in high school. I went back to San Antonio and enrolled at VOGUE beauty college. During my schooling I fully emerged myself in all thing’s skincare and beauty. I also worked a full-time job as a receptionist at a local salon/spa. I graduated and became a Texas Licensed Esthetician in Dec 2009. I was determined to prove to my patents that even though I didn’t go to traditional college that I could still be successful.

I quickly began working in an established upscale full-service salon/spa and built a loyal clientele. Summer of 2013, I decided to move back to Houston and broke up with my then boyfriend. I began working at Urban Retreat Salon and Spa but sadly lost my job when they went out of business. It was then I decided to further my education and go back to school to receive my Laser Licenses. In the Fall of 2014, I became a Licensed Laser Professional.

Now being a dual-licensed professional opened many more doors for me. I began working in a Medical Spa performing Aesthetic laser treatments and corrective skincare treatments. This is when I felt like I truly began to bloom as an Aesthetician and fell in love with the life-changing results I could help my clients achieve. I was fortunate enough to work for a Medical spa who’s sister company was a laser school, so I had easy access to all the continuing education courses I desired. I worked for that Medical Spa for 6.5 years and became their Esthetics department head and was in charge of onboarding and teaching new hires. I also began assisting with teaching and supervising students in the school. Many times, clients would ask me when I was going to open my own office. Or my Husband would say, “You work too hard for someone else who doesn’t appreciate you. You should look into opening your own place” I would just shake my head and say “I don’t want the stress” but after working there for so many years I decided to challenge myself and seek other opportunities.

I began working for an award-winning Physician and Plastic surgery office in Greenway Plaza. Here, I learned so many more things about the skin, surgical procedures, cosmetic injections, and how to run a profitable aesthetics practice. While working for the surgeon, I began to miss teaching. My position at the plastics office was very demanding and didn’t allow me much time to explore other teaching opportunities outside of work. This is when I seriously thought to myself about opening my own skincare clinic where I could focus on providing the best treatments for my clients while allowing myself to train and educate others. I decided to take another job at another Medical Spa that was less demanding to allow myself to focus on my end goal of opening my own office. In May 2022, I began teaching part-time at La Vida Aesthetics Institute and was happy to be back in the classroom teaching aspiring Aesthetics professionals.

In April 2023, I made my dream came true- True Skin Aesthetics was born! True Skin Aesthetics is a boutique skincare clinic with a focus on science-backed treatment plans. Founded by me (Sarika Diaz) Licensed Aesthetician, Laser professional, and Laser Instructor. Having over 15 years experience in the beauty industry, I am a multicultural skincare specialist who has devoted countless hours to learning the intricacies of skin of color. True Skin Aesthetics offers a wide range of corrective skincare treatments, from Facials, Chemical Peels, and laser skin rejuvenation. All treatments are customized biased on the clients’ unique concerns, lifestyle, and needs. I strive to create a welcoming and open space for all people. I truly believe that it is a transformative experience when someone can feel comfortable in their true skin. It touches my heart when I’ve had clients tell me how much I’ve helped them feel beautiful and more confident because their skin is healthier and clearer. My passion and purpose give me motivation to keep pushing.

I’m thankful to my husband and clients for believing in me long before I ever believed in myself. Entrepreneurship has its challenges, highs and lows, but overall, it’s been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my life. I’m proving to myself what I’m capable of even when I doubt myself. Putting myself in challenging situations and seeing what growth comes of it.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The top 3 qualities that have helped me most along this journey have been, determination, hunger for knowledge and working with heart and passion.

Determination is the driving force that gets me going in the morning. Even before I opened my own business, I was determined to make something of myself. I enjoy finding solutions to difficult situations and not waiting around for anyone else to solve them for me. On many occasions I’ve had to dig deep and find ways to make things happen. If it wasn’t for that drive, I don’t think any of this would be possible.

I’m naturally a very curious person. In my spare time I enjoy watching documentaries and listening to podcasts on various topics. Having this hunger for knowledge has helped me succeed in my career. My industry is ever evolving and constantly changing. I have to stay up to date on new technology and breakthroughs in skin science so I can best serve my clients. I’m a believer that knowledge is power.

Last but not least, is I always work with heart and passion. Life is too short to do things any other way. I think that anyone who comes through my clinic doors and speaks with me can say with certainty that I love what I do. If you are passionate about your work and focus working with your heart everything will fall into place.

I’m often asked by my students what advice I have for them starting off in this industry. I’ve always answered very simply; never stop learning, push for what you want, and serve your clients to the best of your ability.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
The most impactful thing my parents ever did for me was to teach me to work and the value of a dollar. I was taught from a young age that I needed to work for the things I wanted. I wasn’t entitled to anything and nothing in life comes free. My parents provided me with all my basic needs but as soon as I was of working age, I was responsible to pay for any “extras” like social activities with friends, leisure shopping for makeup or clothes, beauty appointments etc. One example that comes to mind- I remember being so mad that they made me pay for my own prom dress. I worked all summer to save up to pay for my dress, hair, makeup, and nail appointments for Prom. In the end I was proud of myself for working so hard for what I wanted. In hindsight lessons like this and others helped to teach me the value of money and work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.trueskinaestheticshtx.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trueskinaestheticshtx
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trueskinaestheticshtx