It was through age-old word of mouth that Biba de Sousa found success.

The celebrity aesthetician, based in Los Angeles, has treated a who’s who of Hollywood stars, even resonating with the younger generation; her regulars include Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus and Hailey Bieber. She also treats Eilish’s brother and bandmate Finneas O’Connell, Justin Bieber — and for years, the likes of Emily Blunt, Emma Roberts and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

“People found me,” she says one afternoon in her work space, situated in an not easily seen constructing in L.A. “People just found me.”

Completely self-funded, the eye she’s received has come from spontaneous shout-outs from her celebrity clients in magazines and online.

“I’ve never paid for publicity,” she says.

She hasn’t needed to; with a dedicated rotation of holiday makers, she rarely takes on latest clients.

But she’s still a small business, and it was only recently that she hired her first worker — an operations manager. “I’m bootstrapped.”

De Sousa has been treating skin for nearly twenty years, consulting for various brands and developing a namesake line of her own. Made within the U.S., with 32 stock keeping units, it’s available direct-to-consumer.

“It was mostly for my clients,” she explains of launching products, that are priced between $16 and $95. “I eliminated unwanted ingredients. And I added what I wanted.”

Her ultra-hydrating Cream Barrier moisturizer is the talk of beauty circles in L.A. — as are bestsellers that include The Plant Stem Cell Serum with peptides and The Zinc Mask, recently reformulated with goji berry prebiotic.

“I actually learned,” she says. “I do know skin. I do know the business. I do know technology. I do know product ingredients.”

Before venturing into beauty she studied art, in addition to law and language — she speaks five — in former Yugoslavia. She left for the U.S. because the region was erupting in war, landing in California.

“I grew up in a holistic environment,” she says. Her mother indulged her in beauty rituals, from homemade egg-based shampoo to bathing in milk.

“She was an enormous pamperer. I had a perm at 13,” she laughs.

By age 16 de Sousa showed an interest in pursuing work in beauty, but her family disapproved.

“My parents said, ‘You’re not going to scrub anybody’s dirty hair,’” she continues. “That was their response. I just needed to abide.”

It was in San Francisco, seeing the life her best friend’s boyfriend was living as a hairstylist, that she decided to pursue her passion and enroll in beauty school.

“I literally walked through a portal after which never looked back,” she says. De Sousa was working in design on the time, transitioning through different professions.

She began making a reputation for herself in beauty in 2007. She was working at a preferred L.A. spa after relocating from northern California.

“Although it was popular and advanced, it wasn’t enough,” she says of the experience. “It wasn’t specific enough. It was a spa, right? It was treating people as a business whereas I used to be focused on helping individuals with their skin problems.”

She was nervous but encouraged by her peers, de Sousa says, of stepping out on her own: “I used to be really scared. I summoned the courage, but I didn’t have the religion. That was the part I needed to work on.”

In the primary week alone, she had 15 clients.

“The practice grew to the purpose where I had 50 people on a waitlist,” she says. “I began to get super busy and overworked. I worked 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.”

She’s now in a distinct phase; de Sousa is busy but works at her own pace.

Her goal has remained the identical: “I feel as a facialist, it’s about helping people and making their lives higher.”

Known for clearing up problematic skin, she says the number-one myth in terms of pimples is that it’s brought on by bacteria.

“It is just not brought on by bacteria,” de Sousa says. “Bacteria is just an element of the entire technique of pimples formation.”

While many consumers are treated with harsh medications and lasers, she says plenty of pimples — particularly when it’s inflamed — typically comes from using comedogenic products that block pores. (She has a pore-clogger checker on her site, bibalosangeles.com, where visitors can search whether an ingredient is non-comedogenic or not.)

“Ninety-eight percent of folks that I clear were using comedogenic products,” she says.

Together with pimples, there are five other common skin issues, she explains: dehydration, hyperpigmentation, aging, sensitivity and rosacea.

With a holistic approach, she’s consistently reading the most recent scientific research to assist clear up skin together with her methods and products, de Sousa says. And in terms of tools, “I’ve had every gadget under the sun,” she adds. “What I can say is I’m sticking with a pair true and trusted.”

She utilizes “a few exfoliating modalities and modalities that impart hydration,” she says. “Microcurrent is wonderful, massage tools, lymphatic drainage.”

Next, de Sousa may develop her own device. “Possibly,” she says. “We’ll see.”

Pausing, with a smile she adds, “Ideas are low cost.”

Developing personalized massage techniques through the years, ultimately — working closely with skin — it’s all the way down to basics: “I feel that the worth is within the hands.”