Meet Molly Riddle

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

Hi Molly , so excited to have you with us today and we are really interested in hearing your thoughts about how folks can develop their empathy? In our experience, most folks want to be empathic towards others, but in a world where we are often only surrounded by people who are very similar to us, it can sometimes be a challenge to develop empathy for others who might not be as similar to us. Any thoughts or advice?

I didn’t really learn empathy—I grew into it.

When I was little, I felt everything deeply, even when I didn’t have the words for it. My family didn’t talk about emotions, so I learned to read energy instead. Sensitivity was always there; it just needed space.

California ended up giving me that space. I moved there in my early twenties, and found myself surrounded by artists and intuitives who treated feeling as a form of intelligence. For the first time, being open didn’t feel like a flaw, it felt like clarity. It felt like me.

Then came a moment that changed everything. At a corporate holiday party, a palm reader took my hand and said, “You don’t belong here. You’re a healer.” It landed deeper than I expected. A few months later, during the 2008 layoffs, I was let go, and that became the opening. I stepped into esthetics, and it instantly felt like the right path.

But my empathy really deepened when life did what life does. It cracked me open.
There were years of rebuilding, financial strain, big moves, relationships that dimmed my light, heartbreak, miscarriage, motherhood…the whole spectrum. Each season stretched my capacity to hold others with more sincerity, steadiness, and compassion.

And honestly, not every environment supported that growth. There was a point in my career when empathy was seen as a weakness. I was told it it was foolish and not an asset. But I’d lived enough by that point to not take that on. Instead, it helped me see something important: empathy needs boundaries. Without a container, it gets misunderstood or taken advantage of. But with structure, it becomes a real source of strength.

Over time, I’ve learned how to stay open without losing myself, how to listen without absorbing everything, and how to support others without draining my own energy. That’s what turned my sensitivity into leadership rather than a liability.

Now, sixteen years in, my treatment room is where everything comes together: intuition, presence, and touch. Empathy isn’t something I “offer”; it’s built in the atmosphere. Working for myself lets me protect that atmosphere and share it with clients who truly align. The energy feels reciprocal, and nothing gets diluted by someone who doesn’t understand the value of what I do.

I’m grounded. Lighter. Finally, fully here.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Vital Skin is a holistic esthetics studio rooted in intuition, presence, and deep care. My work blends advanced corrective skincare with ritual, nervous system support, and a slow-beauty approach that honors each client as an individual. What makes my work special isn’t just technique; it’s the atmosphere. Clients often tell me that the moment they walk in, they feel their shoulders drop.

I’ve been an esthetician for over sixteen years, working in San Francisco, Asheville, and now St. Petersburg. Over time, my practice has evolved into something fuller and more intentional: a place where skin, energy, and emotion all intersect. I hand-select product lines that align with my philosophy – consciously crafted, skin-intelligent formulations that work in harmony with the body.

One of the most exciting pieces of my work right now is expanding the studio’s offerings. I’ve brought in advanced peel systems, and microcurrent for more targeted treatment pathways that still honor the nervous system. I’m also in the early stages of launching an education platform for estheticians, focused on the parts of the industry that aren’t taught in school — intuition, energetics, and the art of presence behind the technical skill.

Vital Skin has grown organically, mostly through word of mouth, and I’m deeply grateful for the alignment of clients who find their way here. Every part of my business is intentionally small, intimate, and grounded — quality over quantity, connection over transactions.

The most exciting part? This still feels like the beginning. I’m building a studio and a brand that reflect who I am now: steady, intuitive, thoughtful, and deeply committed to creating beauty that’s felt, not forced.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Emotional Intelligence.
Being able to read what is not said, to sense what someone needs, and to stay present without fixing or forcing is a skill that has carried me through every chapter of my career. For anyone early in their path: pay attention. Listen more than you speak. Notice what rises in you around others. Emotional attunement is something you refine through awareness, not speed.

2. Resilience.
I rebuilt myself more than once. I moved across states, started over, grew through loss, heartbreak, and reinvention. Resilience is not about being tough; it is about being willing to stay with yourself when life reshapes you. My advice is to let the hard seasons teach you. You can pivot. You can rebuild. You can begin again.

3. Embodied mastery.
This work is intimate. You hold people’s faces, their stress, their vulnerability. You have to know your own boundaries, your limits, your energy. Mastery is not only technical; it is learning where you end and someone else begins. If you are just starting out, honor your nervous system. Protect your gift. Build structure around your sensitivity so it becomes strength, not exhaustion.

I believe the combination of those three qualities is what allows someone to create meaningful, sustainable work. You become grounded, intuitive, and capable of offering something real — without losing yourself in the process.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

Ideal clients arrive curious, not rushed.
They know great skin isn’t a thirty-second serum; it’s nervous-system rhythm, consistent ritual, and the courage to slow down.

They want presence, not performance.
They appreciate a treatment that listens to what their skin is saying that day, like a tight jaw, tired eyes, or held breath, and responds with touch rather than strict protocol.

They value relationship over transaction.
Trust is the first ingredient. They show up honest, receptive, and willing to meet themselves in the mirror without flinching.

They crave depth:
• beauty that unfolds, not one that is forced
• care that feels collaborative, not directive
• results that feel like relief, not just reflection

These are the clients who exhale the moment they walk in,
who leave lighter, clearer, quietly renewed,
who understand that being seen is the first step to glowing.

That is who Vital Skin was built for!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vitalskinstpete.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vitalskinmollyriddle
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vitalskinbymolly