Keira Barr, M.D.
Board-certified dermatologist
Keira Barr is a seasoned dual board-certified dermatologist who is redefining the delivery of skincare and founder of Resilient Health Institute. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, her degree in dermapathology from the University of Florida, and is the former Associate Residency Program Director at UC Davis Medical Center. Drawing from her professional expertise and her own experience with skin cancer, Barr is leading a movement that empowers individuals to feel comfortable in their skin so that they can show up powerfully in it. Understanding that the correlation between the skin, mind and body is the key to productivity, better health, emotional well-being and resilience, Barr works with women all over the world to revitalize their lives and re-energize their bodies to achieve and exceed their physical and personal goals of happiness, confidence and success. She is also a global speaker and internationally best-selling author of The Skin Whisperer: A Dermatologist Reveals How to Look Younger, Radiate Beauty and Live the Life You Crave.
connect with Keira Barr, M.D.
Q&A
What is your wellness philosophy?
It stems from a question a mentor posed in a conversation….what feels like love? This simple question had a profound impact on how I approach my health, wellness, relationships, career and everything I do. We live in a society where there is a demand to constantly be “doing”, always in motion with little time to pause and contemplate how it all feels and the impact it’s having on our wellbeing. The result is an overwhelming sense of anxiety, overwhelm and depletion with illness in its wake. But when I pose the question, “what would feel like love right now?”, I push the status quo and intentionally choose actions that nourish self-care that have far reaching effects beyond my own wellbeing.
What brought you into wellness?
The saying, your “mess becomes your mission,” is definitely true for me and what set me on my wellness journey. Despite being a physician with nearly 20 years of experience, my health crumbled about 10 years ago. I thought I was doing “all the right things,” but they weren’t right for me and I wound up with gut issues, hormonal imbalances and having to diagnose myself with melanoma. Given that skin cancer and melanoma was the focus of my career as a dermatologist at that point, this was not only a humbling moment, it was a wake up call that how I was thinking about health and wellness needed to change. I realized how disconnected my mind and body had become. Our skin and bodies are a source of wisdom, and learning how to tune into those messages and take action from that place has been my greatest lesson. If as a physician, I hadn’t learned this lesson in medical school, I knew that there were so many people who hadn’t learned it either, so it has become my mission to share it so we can collectively heal.
What does You. We. All. mean to you?
What we do on an individual level impacts what happens on a global level. We can’t pour from an empty cup, so choosing to focus on inner work is vital, but also making that choice with an understanding that there is an intricate connection between the inner work we do and the outer world. The best version of the collective starts with connecting to and nourishing the best version of ourselves.
What gets you up in the morning?
Aside from the wet noses and licks from my 3 dogs, it’s the anticipation of witnessing the unfolding of who my kids are becoming as they mature into young adults and who I am becoming as my role shifts not only in their lives but in my own life.
What's your favorite ritual?
My kids would say it’s to embarrass them in public, but I would say it’s throwing myself a solo dance party with the music blaring and disco ball twirling, to help shed the stress, tension and release stuck emotion.
What’s your best piece of wellness advice?
Give yourself the same grace, compassion, love and kindness that you give to your loved ones. The greatest gift we can give to ourselves is learning how to manage our minds so we can turn down the volume on our inner critics and experience a life lived from self acceptance, self trust, and self-love.
