Filipinos have gone beyond creating spaces within the Philippines and have made their mark even in Hollywood. Aika Flores is one of these people, leaving the Philippines at seven years old. Decades later, she’s the celebrity men’s groomer behind the polished, red-carpet-ready looks of Hudson Williams, Belmont Cameli, Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas—becoming a fixture in Hollywood, one of the most image-obsessed industries in the world. 

But ask her what beauty means, and the answer isn’t about a contouring technique she loves to do or the right products that work for her. It’s about growing up between two cultures and slowly unlearning a single, fixed idea of what beautiful is supposed to look like—a process that started long before she even picked up her tools professionally. 

Beauty in her own terms

Moving to the United States as a child meant Flores grew up without ever fully settling into one beauty standard. “In the Philippines, there’s a strong emphasis on presentation, femininity, and being put together, standards I still carry with me,” she says. But she was also, without quite realizing it, absorbing another set of ideals that contrasted with what she was taught: lighter skin, softer features, and the characteristics she once caught herself measuring against. 

It took working in creative spaces and eventually building her life abroad to shift that ideal into something that works both ways. “It taught me to approach beauty more freely and artistically. To see it as self-expression rather than perfection, and as something more fluid, intentional, and personal.” 

This shift matters more than it might seem at first glance. Flores isn’t rejecting that Filipino instinct of gravitating towards polished perfection; rather, she argues that being polished doesn’t have to mean perfection, and that self-expression can be influenced by numerous factors—the flawless and put-together sensibility she grew up with and the ever-evolving, artistic approach that reshaped her worldview on beauty’s front lines. 

Her wellness reset: lymphatic drainage facials

If there’s one beauty and wellness habit Flores has incorporated into her routine, it’s the lymphatic drainage facial—a manual or tool-assisted massage that moves fluid buildup out of the face and into the lymph nodes to de-puff the face, clear congestion, and brighten the skin. 

For someone constantly on long-haul flights, running on little sleep, and moving between nonstop production schedules, it’s become less of an indulgence and more a part of her maintenance routine. “This ritual always helps me reset,” she said, crediting how the procedure helps with the swollen and depleted feeling that comes with constant travel. 

It’s a recommendation she makes to fellow Filipinas, not simply as a beauty tip, but as the freedom to rest in their own time.” “I’d absolutely recommend it to my fellow Filipinas, especially since many of us are used to taking care of everyone else.” 

This treatment isn’t framed as merely just vanity; it’s recovery for a community she sees as barely resting enough for themselves. 

Aika Flores’ story isn’t about her move to Hollywood and making a name for herself as a celebrity men’s groomer. It’s about what happens when the standards you grew up with get questioned and eventually loosened up by distance and exposure to different perspectives of beauty. What’s left isn’t a rejection of where she’s from but a wider, more personal definition of beauty that she constantly reinvents.

For Filipinas anywhere around the world, that might be the more useful thing we can offer to the world: not a product, treatment, or viral makeup trend, but the permission to define beauty in our own terms—and to rest every once in a while.

Frequently Asked Questions

Aika Flores is a Los Angeles–based Filipina celebrity men’s groomer behind red-carpet looks for Hudson Williams, Belmont Cameli, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. She left the Philippines at seven and built her career in Hollywood.

Moving to the U.S. at seven exposed Flores to both Filipino and Western beauty ideals. She now sees beauty as self-expression rather than perfection—fluid and personal rather than one fixed standard.

A lymphatic drainage facial is a manual or tool-assisted massage that moves fluid buildup into the lymph nodes to reduce puffiness. Flores relies on it to counter jet lag and irregular sleep from travel.

Flores frames the treatment as recovery, not vanity, for Filipinas she sees as used to caring for everyone else first. She positions the ritual as permission to rest, not just a beauty fix.

Aika Flores has groomed actors Hudson Williams and Belmont Cameli, plus musicians Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas, creating polished red-carpet and editorial looks within Hollywood’s image-driven entertainment circuit.

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