How I became a gut-skin author!
I've always had a connection with skin, health, and the desire to help people. Since 1996, I studied skin therapy at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. Immediately after graduating in June 1999, I started my own skin therapy practice, "Huidtherapie Haaften." That's where my interest in understanding the causes of certain skin conditions began to grow.
In my first years as a skin therapist, I focused primarily on skin therapy from the outside, not from the inside! This included edema therapy, outpatient compression therapy with bandages, scar therapy, acne therapy, and laser treatments (hair and vascular).
Marcelline Goyen BSc skin therapy
My attention was quickly drawn to the influence of the gut, and therefore also digestion and diet, on the skin. It became clear to me that what you eat and how you feel about it significantly impacts your health, especially your gut and skin. By asking about this in my practice, I discovered that many people with skin problems also had vague and/or clear problems with their gut and digestion, as well as with their bowel movements and stool.
In 2009, I trained in gut therapy. After that, I began helping my clients with skin conditions like eczema and acne through gut therapy. I had their stool analyzed to determine the composition of their gut microbiome, so I could develop a treatment plan. Gut therapy proved to be the solution for truly relieving my clients of their skin problems or achieving visible improvements. The key lay in a different diet, an improved lifestyle, and restoring the gut and microbiome.
After seeing many successful results, even with severe and chronic eczema (see photos), I wanted to find scientific support for this connection between the gut and the skin. Therefore, I spent over six years delving into scientific literature, reading hundreds of published articles and books, and documenting my insights. This pursuit culminated in the publication of my first scientifically based book, "The Skin-Gut Connection" (April 2019, 632 pages).
Seborrhoic eczema: before and 1 month after gut therapy
A couple of months after publishing my first book, I moved to another town and decided to close my practice to focus 100% on sharing my knowledge about the skin-gut connection through lectures, training sessions, webinars, podcasts and writing articles and, of course, my books.
I had long wanted to create a 'simpler version' of my first book, so that people who are not working in the (skin) care field could also read about this fascinating subject. Four years after publishing my first book, I found the time to write this second one. It became an easily readable version (summary) of the first book, incorporating several practical examples, including a short course on stool analysis and general tips for maintaining healthy skin and a healthy gut. This second Dutch-language book was published in July 2023 under the title: "De wonderlijke samenwerking tussen huid & darm" (= 'The amazing cooperation between skin & gut') and has since been a great success and a bestseller in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Due to this success, I decided to have my 2nd book translated into English so that I can share this important knowledge about the 'gut-skin axis' with people all over the world.
Presenting my 1st book at Microbiome R&D congress in Amsterdam NL - 2019
My Mission
My mission is to contribute to a healthier world by sharing knowledge about the skin-gut axis and the human microbiome. Thanks to my books, other healthcare professionals like you can quickly integrate this knowledge into your practice, allowing you to help your clients with skin problems even faster and more effectively, by nourishing the skin not only from the outside but also from within by gut therapy, a healthy diet and lifestyle. This way, you too can contribute to my mission of making people around the world even healthier!
My favorite quote: "Knowledge is power, sharing knowledge is strength."
My personal life
I live in the center of the Netherlands with my new Spanish shelter dog, Pippi. My personal life has revolved around rescuing shelter dogs for over 25 years, and I've been able to offer several dogs from abroad a beautiful and loving home. I'm always grateful for the unconditional love I receive from my dog(s). They brighten my life every day!
I enjoy walking my dog, teaching yin yoga, and being creative in my free time with painting and drawing (see Dotje and her portrait on Instagram @Marcelline.art). I enjoy listening to music, regularly play Scrabble with my 84-year-old mother, and enjoy quality time with friends and family.
May I inspire you with my books?
I wish you a beautiful and educational journey
through all layers of the skin on the way to the intestines and back,
..... and above all, enjoy reading!
Introduction
Thank you for visiting my bookshop website for books about the 'skin-gut axis' (or 'gut-skin axis').
My name is Marcelline Goyen, BSc skin therapy (1999, Utrecht - The Netherlands, University of Applied Sciences BSc) and I live in a beautiful old town in the centre of The Netherlands (NL).
Work experience:
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Skin therapist in my own practice (1999-2019),
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Gut therapist (2009-2019),
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Speaker since 2009,
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Author since 2012.
My own company Opus Nova:
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Author of books about the skin-gut axis (2019, 2023, 2024)
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Publishing my own skin-gut-axis books since 2019
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Speaker and trainer,
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Creative illustrator.
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