After Dr. Mariana Boneva received her MD license from Varna University in Bulgaria, she went to Germany to specialize in orthopedic surgery. Unfortunately, a promising future literally crashed when she was in a horrible car accident with her husband, Ivan Dimitrius, after arriving there – but she was not going to let that misfortune shape the rest of her life. Dr. Boneva immediately took back control.

The National Herald: What happened after the accident?

MB: In the morning, when I woke up at the hospital, I looked at myself in the mirror and asked the surgeon in the emergency room: "Do you think that I will ever recover from all of these 28 stitches on my face or should I jump through the window?" He smiled at me and said that most of them after, 2-3, years will be gone, but the deepest ones would leave me with scars. In the future, I would need heavy plastic surgery to be able to remove them.

After listening to this grim diagnosis, I started experimenting with every new technology that came out, practically trying any procedure in the market and combining it with very effective skin products.

After one year, the results were more than magical. My insurance coverage interview, which took place a year later, checked my paperwork three times because they couldn't believe that I am the same person after that tragic accident.

Those results changed my life and that's how I fell in love with skin care and transferred from orthopedic surgery to dermatology. I believe after all that has happened to me, that human skin, apart from being our largest organ, it is the most resilient.

TNH: So what are your basic goals now?

MB: I want to prove that most of the chronic conditions like eczema, psoriasis, severe acne, rosacea, etc., which are considered permanent and non-treatable, are actually TREATABLE. I have proved it already with the tremendous results on my suffering clients.

I have so many stories of clients with severe acne that persisted until they were 35 years old. Some of them said that they never really felt what love is because they didn’t dare imagine that someone would be interested in them the way they looked. They felt total despair. Now they all look great and this results are permanent. They are happily married and loved. That's what matters in the end. Seeing them happy makes me twice as happy!

TNH: What would your advice be to someone following your path?

MB: To love what they do and care about other people’s needs. To be very knowledgeable of new technologies, devices, and products in the market. To get a deep and correct understanding of the skin’s functioning and how to improve it. To share their professional knowledge with sufferers of different skin disorders. And to teach them how to control the flare-ups.

TNH: What did you gain from your work experience in Greece?

MB: Since my husband is Greek, I got to love Greece and I spent a year working in Athens. It was the best time of my life. A friend offered me a job in a small sophisticated plastic surgery clinic in Kifisia. It was a unique experience being among amazing professionals with great personalities. Greeks saved my life, mind, and soul, and gave me back hope for the future. They made me smile again, sing, dance and enjoy life.

TNH: How would you compare Greece to America?

MB: In Greece everything is more natural, the lifestyle, the products, everyday life is less stressful, people do not function like robots as they do here, they are real.

TNH: What about NY?

MB: OK, New Yorkers are living like robots, missing emotions, and love, which are the engines of life. Their babies are born with phones in their hands. This is the first information they receive because mom and dad are busy creating careers and making money. These are their goals in life and their kids, of course, copy them. They have forgotten how to socialize and they mainly talk online. As a result, they are missing endorphins, the hormones of happiness that make you feel healthy. So what can we really expect from a generation growing in this artificial and unhealthy way…

TNH: What is the driving force in your life?

MB: It's simple, everything is about love. When you love your work, when you love what you are doing, it all makes sense. There is a point to everything. We spend 2/3 of our lives working. If I don't help people feel better, look beautiful, and feel healthy, my work is pointless. I am thrilled because I have the opportunity to make a change in people's lives for the better by building their self-confidence.

TNH: How do you approach your clients?

MB: First, I have to eliminate the image of distrust they have, which has already been created after the bad experiences they have had. Then, I have to make them trust me and convince them that working together as a team, we will transform the skin and make it look healthy and beautiful, so they can go out without makeup and look great.

To get to this point, it needs hard work. I am lucky, sometimes it might have taken me longer, but always at the end, there was a magical transformation for my clients. It's not only the skin changes they get; at the same time, I help them change the bad habits into good ones, maintaining their new perfect skin and leading a much healthier lifestyle.

TNH: Where are you located?

MB: I have two locations, in Astoria and Manhattan. In Manhattan I also have a Colenz for colon hydrotherapy to cleanse out the system.

TNH: What distinguishes you from other dermatologists?

MB: All my clients, when they come in for their first consultation, keep saying that they have never been to a doctor who is as caring and considerate. I make sure to explain in detail everything about their skin condition, the reasons that caused it, how to permanently get cured, and how important diet, lifestyle, and high spirit of mind are. Doctors, in general, should be very attentive to people's problems and needs, especially with sufferers of chronic skin disorders. All patients spending their lives with severe acne at the beginning are very depressed. They have been to many doctors, tried all kinds of antibiotics, even Aquitaine, but nothing has helped. Although when they first started, they might have had a slight improvement, it was only temporary and their acne came back once they stopped the medication.

TNH: Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

MB: I don't like to make faraway plans because life is extremely unpredictable. I will be more than happy if I accomplish my mission in this life as a good mother, wife, and doctor.

TNH: What is the secret of your success?

MB: I think LOVE! I love people, I love myself, I love what I am doing, I involve love everywhere and in everything. Love is life’s only engine in every aspect.