We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Hughes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
At my core, I’m someone who likes to fix problems. I’m always thinking about how things can be better, especially when the standard “solutions” aren’t really working. I also firmly believe that the body knows how to heal itself and that any medication or treatment should work with the body, rather than overpowering it. Stronger is not necessarily more effective. In my dermatology practice, I saw at least 10 people each week who were suffering from dandruff, even though they were using dandruff shampoos. After repeating my “dandruff is a chronic condition and there’s no cure” speech a few thousand times, I realized that I could find a better solution, one which worked in harmony with the skin and tackled the real cause of dandruff.

I’m in the process of formulating my next product, this one for eczema and sensitive skin, using the same principles, so that people can avoid flares and use less harsh and harmful prescription medication.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a dermatologist by training and practiced for more than 20 years. While I loved practicing medicine and caring for patients, I also realized that conventional medicine is far from perfect. After a patient recovered completely from a supposedly chronic and incurable illness, my eyes were opened to the potential of the body to heal itself. I became obsessed with studying health from all angles, especially outside the box approaches. Along the way I became a yoga instructor, a health coach, and an energy medicine practitioner, as well as researching and formulating skincare products, using my own kitchen as my first lab. The hardest thing I have had to face on this journey is not having a path to follow. In medicine, from the minute a student enters medical school, her path is laid out. She knows exactly what she has to learn and exactly where she is going. And she knows there’s a group of her peers going through the exact same process.

There’s no such thing as a sure path as an entrepreneur and it can feel a little strange to be off the beaten path, but I have learned to embrace blazing my own trail.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I think that this is supposed to be about Miami, and since I’m not native to the area, I’d need someone to show me the sights! What I’d love to see is parks and nature trails. And definitely would want to try some food — the weirder and more unexpected, the better.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my kids, because being their mother has made me a better person.

Website: www.BeyondDermatologics.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beyonddermatologics/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethhughesmd/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeyondDermatologics

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutMiami is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.