Tis’ the season to creatively promote skin care! Well into the early fall, most salons and retailers start to get ready for the holiday season. They ramp up inventory, consider hiring more staff and plan special deals and marketing for the biggest selling season of the year. Once it comes time to start making the important marketing decisions that attract shoppers and clientele, all too often the busy season can force marketing to the back burner. The ideas were there in the beginning; however, the hustle and bustle of clientele and holiday appointments can get you off track.

This article addresses questions aestheticians frequently ask as they are trying to make wise choices to further their education, develop existing skills and knowledge, expand their earning capabilities, and fulfill requirements set by their states to practice their trade.
While this information may provide some resources – view the list below – it is neither a guideline nor a comprehensive analysis on education currently available to aestheticians. I have asked several of my colleagues to share their insight and they have done so generously. I would have wished to relate the opinions of many more skin care experts and educators; however, space is of course a limited commodity in print.

The concept of exfoliation is nothing new, and this most certainly is not the first article you have ever read on the topic. There are ever changing products and equipment for exfoliation. However, the one thing that doesn’t change is the physiological way your skin functions. With that in mind, let’s talk about what it is, why we need it, and how to determine when enough is enough!

I am often asked the question, “What equipment should I invest in?”, by colleagues who are new to the industry or those trying to decide what piece of equipment they should add next to their current inventory of modalities. My response is always, “What do you want to achieve?”
Our equipment choices should be based on how the chosen equipment will support the treatment offering that we provide. What is the main focus of your business? Is it high tech and clinical or wholistically based? Who are your clients and what are their skin concerns? How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Hopefully when you decided to become an aesthetician, your main deciding factor was your passion; Passion to help others look and feel better. It’s no secret that having passion for what you do is a major factor in an overall success formula. And, when you combine passion with skills, your chances for success are even greater, but your formula remains incomplete.
You need a solid investment program - an investment into the future of your career path, and what better than continuing education and advanced education. In the ever changing face of beauty products and beauty systems, it’s become even more crucial today for aestheticians to stay on top of their game.

Dermatologists, aestheticians, and technicians have used microdermabrasion for over 20 years to combat the signs of photo-aging on the skin, provide treatment for acne and discoloration, and minimize the appearance of superficial wrinkles, scars, and stretch marks on the face and body. Experts in the industry continue to make advancements in technology, technique, and sanitation to provide optimal results and protect their clients and staff. As treatments become all too standard, we must ask how much care are we putting into skin care regimens and treatments. It is important to understand the needs, skin types, backgrounds, and daily regimens of clients, otherwise microdermabrasion can be damaging to their skin and diseases may be spread.

The scope of sanitation requirements from the Cosmetology Commissions, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Center for Disease Control (CDC), include basic cleanliness, consumption of food, and protection from microorganisms. In the June issue we discussed the importance of maintaining your business facilities and equipment. This includes routine maintenance, such as, keeping the area in good order, hallways cleared, and furniture and appliances in good repair. Maintain daily, weekly, and monthly housekeeping schedules, and properly maintain procedure rooms to prevent cross-contamination of your product, clients, or yourself. Food and drinks cannot be sold, but you can offer them to your clientele.

Pat Hoffman suffered for years from osteoarthritis in her spine and hands and in her left shoulder, where she had the most pain and loss of motion. Fortunately for Hoffman, bi-weekly massage treatments proved to be extremely helpful in reducing tension and pain, which in turn helped to improve her mobility. Massage increased her energy, and the pain no longer awakens her during the night. "Usually the massage gives me a real high," Hoffman said. "Occasionally, I may experience several hours of pain after the treatment, but this goes away and is not a real problem."

We have all heard it before: “Lose 40 inches!”, “Better than Botox!” “World’s best serum that will make you look and feel like you are in your twenties again!” Are these false claims? Did you get the results that the product advertised? Did the aesthetician not understand how to use the product correctly? Was the product applied to the wrong skin type? What went wrong? You bought the product in good faith and it didn't live up to the claim. Why not? There are several reasons why we don't get the results from the magic that is promised in the bottle.

Ask, “What is the definition of spa?” and most replies will have something to do with water. Many historians consider the origin of the word spa to define a place where water is applied therapeutically. The most common image used to identify spas in logos or advertising is water; and in a true wellness spa, water is an iatrical (healing) component at the soul of the spa business.
We all recognize the calming sounds of water. We know we should drink eight glasses of water a day. Soaking in hot, moving water is recognized widely as therapeutic.

New ingredients are being introduced into the skin care market everyday and with the market being a multi-billion dollar industry, this phenomenon won’t slow down anytime soon. Having narrowed down the hundreds of ingredients, here are the top ingredients to look for in current skin care formulations.

Peptides are Here to Stay
First and foremost, we must discuss the continued interest of the use of peptides in the industry. Traditional actives formulated in skin care products consist of natural sources such as essential oils, plant-extracts, and vitamins. As helpful as these natural sources can be, they can be limited in their overall effectiveness.

Light and bright, fast and effective, from cosmopolitan cities to country counties, clear and even toned skin is the NOW and WOW factor that clients seek. It is the skin care professional’s business to support this aesthetic goal by promoting care and maintenance of healthy skin. How NOW can this goal be achieved, the WOW in the answer comes from excellent professional treatments and use of targeted products formulated with performance ingredients.
An excellent professional treatment is learned and practiced by the skin care professional through continuing education and qualification by reputable and responsible organizations.

OK, let’s get right down to it – your skin care products may contain ingredients that are actually classified as OTC’s. OTC stands for “over-the-counter” and refers specifically to non-prescription drugs. This isn’t necessarily a problem, although any skin care product containing an over-the-counter drug needs to be labeled as such. This may be a bit of a “gray area”, as you’ll see.
Before we shed light on the labeling dilemma, let me give you some technical detailing set forth by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and it’s corresponding Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (from now on referred to as “FD&C Act”) which sets definitions and protocols for our industry.

The exact cause of acne is not known. It is one of the most common skin disorders and can affect teenagers and adults. Acne occurs when the skin's pores are blocked. Certain factors can worsen the condition, such as cosmetic and skin care products that contain oils and petroleum jelly or using make-up tools (brushes, sponges, spatulas and palettes) that have not been properly cleaned and sterilized, subsequently transferring bacteria onto the skin and into the pores.

Every day an estimated 123 million people are using the Internet for all kinds of business including banking, paying bills, shopping, research, and entertainment. Some of the most popular sites include Ebay.com, AOL.com, MSN.com, Yahoo.com, Myspace.com, Craigslist.org, and Amazon.com.
The majority of people on the Internet are using it to research new products. If you’re not competitive in this market you are missing a significant opportunity! According to TrueLocal.com, 25-60 percent of people are searching the Internet for businesses and services in their community, with Spas and Health Clubs being top search categories. Is your spa/skin care center on the Internet, are you exploiting this new market growth?

We frequently encounter questions such as: what is the best way to handle a disgruntled client? Why are we having problems mastering waxing? Where can we go for answers? Expanding your knowledge is the most powerful investment you can make to further your growth not only professionally, but financially. Education is a must from the novice therapist to the seasoned aesthetician. The opportunities to attend seminars, trade shows, and classes are available, but taking the time from work or spending the money is sometimes very difficult. Sometimes we need answers right away and waiting for the seminar is not a choice. What to do?

From over-the-counter creams and lotions that consumers were required to self-apply, to customized spray tans applied in a few minutes by trained technicians, the airbrush/spray tanning industry has evolved to become one of the fastest growing and most lucrative facets of the beauty industry.
Salons, spas, dermatologists, and other skin care treatment centers have discovered the affordable and profitable opportunity in adding spray tanning to their menu of services, to open the door and invite in new clients.
Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) is a colorless 3-carbon sugar that, when applied to the skin, causes a chemical reaction with amino acids in the surface cells, producing a darkening effect. DHA does not damage skin as it only affects the outermost cells of the epidermis (stratum corneum).

Ancient Egyptians revered the aloe vera plant and considered it to be the “Plant of Immortality.” The glamorous Cleopatra regarded aloe vera as her beauty secret. Legend states that the Pharaoh kept the Aloe as a palace plant, assigning it a very high status.  Drawings of the aloe plant have been found inscribed in the tombs of the pharaohs. Supposedly, Alexander the Great in 333 B.C., was persuaded by his mentor, Aristotle, to capture the Island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean for its famed Aloe supplies, needed to treat his wounded soldiers.

As a spa professional, it is important to be aware of the effect toxins have on the skin and the internal system. Being aware will in turn motivate you to become knowledgeable on how to select the right products, equipment, and treatments that can have a positive impact on repairing damage caused by toxin exposure.

Consumers should not be afraid to make an appointment at a “mediclinical” spa because of complex words like aesthetics, paramedical, and cosmeceutical. These words have one mission in common: consumer relaxation with results. Today’s Mediclinical spa concept is the millennium’s answer to a “one-stop healing shop.”
The American spa industry has grown exponentially in the last two decades and thankfully so. Proudly, I can say I was an aesthetician in the mid-1980s when skin care was just taking off in the United States, before licensing was available, and when the European facial “invasion” was just beginning to take hold. Ladies were coming in to relax and enjoy treatments that offered them pampering and a topic for conversation.

In electrolysis, each professional has her own working habits, her own personal touch. These differences, from one electrologist to another, are sometimes the object of inquiries even intense discussions. On the list of subjects that are the most controversial in electrolysis, is the one about the best interval of time between treatments. How many weeks should go by between each session? Two, three, four, six, or eight weeks? There are many answers from one electrologist to another. At the second rank on the list, is the question about whether or not a temporary method of hair removal should be used between sessions.

When a guest comes into your establishment, what do they see? What do they feel, smell, hear, and maybe even taste? Your focus on the details of client care gives the ability to take a satisfactory experience into an extraordinary and magical one. This magic can reside in a one room spa studio or in a 10 room mega spa. It can exist in the surgi-center medi-spa or the multipurpose treatment room in the back of a conventional salon.

Let’s face it (no pun intended): aesthetic equipment is an investment. By following the manufacturer’s care and maintenance guidelines, you may prolong the life of your machines beyond the warranty as well as practicing safe aesthetics.
When it comes to caring for your equipment, cleanliness is next to Godliness. If you think the spots, cloudy water, dust, or wax drips go unnoticed by your clients… think again. As a spa client, the first thing I do when I enter the room is observe my surroundings. I expect that whatever is being used on my skin is disposable, sterilized, sanitized, or disinfected and is in good working order.

What’s new? What’s now? What’s hot? What’s not? Have you asked yourself these questions lately? If you’re looking to sustain, grow, or expand your business in 2008, these questions should be on your mind. I started thinking about this in June of this year!
As this year comes to an end and the new year approaches, it is an important time to evaluate where you are and where you want to go. Let’s take a closer look at this by answering this question: When reviewing your current treatment offering, what are your cash cows, stars, question marks, and dogs? Let me explain.

Theory of Corporate and Business Planning, Conflict Resolution, Human Resource Managers, verbal and written reprimands and warnings, OSHA, ADA, and ACLU are all important topics when it comes to owning a business. After pondering these topics for oh… 15 seconds, I came to realize that the main reason we became business owners is because we love the industry and are passionate about our work. The employees that we surround ourselves with at our place of business, although with many differences, are all practicing the same end philosophy, 100 percent customer care that is physical, social, and therapeutic.

Bosses! Just saying the word can send chills up one’s spine. Our direct supervisor is the one person who can be the biggest ally in our career or make our lives miserable. When it comes to employment, there will always be someone there who is the boss!

The Cheerleader
Some bosses are always nice and happy with a peppy, cheerleader-type attitude. They don’t like confrontation. If someone takes a problem to them, they tend to listen, nod their heads and say “yeah, yeah”, but nothing gets done.

There was a time when most of us thought of spa treatments as a luxury - something we may or may not allow ourselves to indulge in depending on how much we needed a pamper session. That form of mind conditioning is "nearly" a deliberation of the past. Rightfully so!
There's so much more to mud than facials and body wraps – although I'm the first to say I love the skin-nourishing effects of having both those treatments regularly. And sure, mud treatments are successfully used for relaxation, stimulation, and many other wellness purposes that "anticipated" spa mud treatments provide.

I love to travel... so much in fact that most of my extracurricular reading and television viewing somehow involves learning about other places around the world. I read about romances and restaurants in foreign lands. I watch shows that detail the sights, sounds, and foods of other locales. When I am having a less than perfect day at home, I often perk myself up by browsing various Internet sites that advertise long-term and vacation apartment rentals…or even sales…in exotic locations that I long to visit. And of course I check out all the related information on area spas!

While in most states laser and other light-based treatments remain the prerogative of physicians, the growth of medical spas, and the greater consumer awareness about these devices mean that aestheticians, whether working with a physician or at a day spa, will encounter questions about these treatment options. Much has been published in various professional skin care publications about lasers and light-based devices. The following article looks at lasers and light-based devices from a more technical, technological angle. What exactly is a laser? How do lasers work? How do lasers destroy a specific target without injuring the surrounding tissue? These are the types of questions answered in this review.

The industry has been abuzz for the last few years about Light Emitting Diodes (LED, also known as Photodynamic Therapy or Light Therapy) for acne clients, but what does it truly mean to the aesthetician in daily practice?
First of all, it is best to understand the terms we talked about above, so that as a professional there is no confusion when talking with manufacturers, other practitioners, as well as in your work environment in relating to your medical or paramedical colleagues.
The term LED refers to the method by which the light is produced for photodynamic therapy.

Let’s start with a very pertinent question. Is it your belief that a baby boomer’s primary concern today is how to look younger and feel better? If so, wouldn’t you want to position yourself as an expert in this burgeoning market?
By incorporating an array of facial machines into your practice, you can immediately set yourself apart and raise your status in the increasingly competitive professional skin care field. And as you put together machine-based solutions that achieve the results necessary to help boomers look younger and feel better, you’ll not only get a reputation as an “expert”, but also a nice piece of the corresponding dollar pie.

Communication is key in any relationship: our husband, wife, family, and friends. It is paramount in your business relationships as well.
When was the last time you sat down and actually sent a hand written thank you note to a new or regular salon/spa guest to thank them for their business? In these days of cell phones, World Wide Web, Blackberry (which I thought was only a delicious fruit), iPods, e-mail, and all the multi-tasking we do, handwritten communication like writing notes, letters, and cards is slowly becoming a lost art.

A woman looks in the bathroom mirror, taking inventory. Her skin has seen thirty-something summers, perhaps more. There is a nick of indentation at either corner of her mouth, a deepening line or two beside each eye, some expressive wear, perhaps, to the forehead. She touches these places and considers her options. Maybe a series of exfoliation treatments before her next birthday, maybe some wrinkle fillers.

But these familiar indicators of the aging process don’t trouble her as much as the growing cluster of comedones and breakouts at the side of her chin or appearing on her jawline.

Perfection. It’s what we all strive for in life, our families, and business. But, beginning at a very young age, it’s the perfection of the reflection we see in the mirror that becomes a daily goal. From the moment we notice that first flaw, perhaps the small whitehead or the “it happened overnight” exacerbated and full-blown pimple, the first attacks on facial perfection can quickly escalate to a full-blown war.

You’re finally enjoying a few days away, and you decide to take part in what your valued clients experience as they visit your spa on a regular basis. A phone call later and you’re heading to the best spa in town.
Lady luck prevails, because the facial treatment blows you away. Since you can’t take the service provider home with you, at least you can offer that particular service at your spa when you return.
Bring home as many details as possible, and go to work bringing this new service to life in your spa.

Bring the spa experience to your clients, via a mobile day spa. It is the popular craze of pampering guests at their doorstep these days. A mobile spa is comprised of a network of traveling spa professionals and offers the essentials in day spa treatments such as facials, massage, bridal hair and make-up, body treatments, manicures, and pedicures, all with an atmosphere of tranquility created just like in a regular spa. Mobile spa treatments can be offered in private homes, offices, or hotels.
Consumers are busier then ever. They are increasingly seeking opportunities to pamper themselves in their own surroundings and not have to go out to feel relaxed.

Have you ever sat and wondered about your profession? Are you aware that you are in one of the best professions? Did you know that it offers an incredible number of opportunities?
Many of us, when we graduate from aesthetic school, cannot wait to find a job to do facials, whether that is in a salon or spa. All we do is think and think about doing a facial cleanse, tone, and moisturize. Who will be our first client? Will they rebook? Will they tip us? But, our license offers us so many other opportunities that the possibilities are truly staggering.

As electrologists, it is essential for us to understand sight and how vision problems may impact both us and the patients we serve. Basic knowledge about the effects of aging on our vision and the importance of proper lighting will help us provide quality treatment.

A Misconception
The practice of electrolysis will not harm our eyesight; however, vision does decline with age. This does not mean you cannot study to become an electrologist if you are over 40, nor does it mean you will have to give up your electrology practice at the age of 65.

In our not-so-distant past, the pursuit of smooth, hairless skin drove people to extreme measures. They would scrape their suffering skin with seashells, scour themselves raw with sand, even apply disgusting concoctions consisting of “resin, pitch, white vine or ivy gum extracts, ass’ fat, she-goat’s gall, bat’s blood, and powdered viper” in an effort to—WHAT? – gross their hair out of growing? Sounds painful, smelly, and frighteningly drastic, but it is a clear indication of how much value is placed on hair-free skin. What these women—and men—needed, however, was a calming, skilled someone to take their hairy hand and say, “Let’s work together on this and you’ll be smooth faster than you can say, ‘Tigris and Euphrates’.”

Cultivating your entrepreneurial spirit is vital to your success as a spa owner. You can become a successful entrepreneur if you have motivation, willingness to learn, and a positive spirit. The motivation to starting your own spa requires an entrepreneurial spirit, a spirit that is within each of us. For some, it may be a dying ember that needs to be sparked, while in others it may be a passion that cannot be extinguished.
The desire for money alone is not a strong enough reason to start a business. Any business, large or small, needs to make money to survive and grow.

Dear Readers and Fans,
As we all know, the profession of aesthetics is all about embracing progress both internally and in the world of technology. And, as we encourage positive change in our clients so must DERMASCOPE work to update and improve what it bring to its many loyal subscribers. For 2007 the editors have planned a new and refreshing format for educational content and feature stories, a decision I heartily applaud! Ah, but new additions often require sacrificing certain traditions and this upcoming revamp of DERMASCOPE is no exception. So, with regret and relief I announce that this is the final installment of the monthly Business Solutions column.

When Sarah Hughes skated off with the gold medal, she pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history. Her surprisingly simple secret? “I didn’t skate for a gold medal. I went out and had a great time.”
Athletes say it all the time: “I just went out there and had fun.” And, admittedly, they do look like they’re having a great time.
Fortunately, fun isn’t the sole province of superstar athletes. It can work for the rest of us in the skin care industry, too. The link between having fun and business success has been proven in countless studies.

For many of us, it was a complete surprise to learn upon graduation from aesthetics school that we were not adequately trained to compete in the rapidly-changing world of aesthetics. We discovered that we were entering our new careers without the competitive edge. To make matters worse, we found that the field of aesthetics was under increasing attack by the medical profession… and for good reason. Under-trained aestheticians are making mistakes and people are having bad experiences, sometimes even resulting in injuries. In the age of “Extreme Makeover,” feeling good about ourselves has become a lot more complicated.

Spas come in all shapes and sizes from the mega resorts to the independent day spas; well so do clients and their needs. Are you prepared to meet the needs of all your clients? Young, mature, pre-teen, petite to large size clients are all looking to spas for waxing to massage but are you prepared. I know you are thinking YES… but while many spas are prepared for the average size clients many are not prepared for ALL. There are many things to consider including ADA requirements, equipment strength, and therapist etiquette.

Selling spa products is like exercise: you know it's good for you and you feel better when you've really got it going. Ah, but when you fall off of the routine it can be hard to get back in the selling groove. Sometimes, it simply takes a short-term challenge that is fun and achievable to get back on track. Committing to do local 5K walk or run can magically provide the push you need to get you to the gym. Likewise, committing to an achievable goal can get you out of your retail rut and on to improving the health of your business.

Have you ever considered the possibility that we all have been aging our client’s skin over the last decade with the many traumatizing treatments we provide? Would you believe me if I told you that the current mainstream approach to anti-aging skin care is not working? I’m sure you have wondered why it is so hard to get lasting results for most of our clients. Get ready for a paradigm shift in the way we approach these skin conditions. Skin care professionals spend most of the time putting the skin in a compromised position in order to achieve “results” which are often marginal, temporary improvements in the epidermis.

The skin is the largest, most complex, immune organ that challenges the practicing aesthetician today. Due to its interface function between the body and the environment, the skin is chronically exposed to both endogenous and environmental pro-oxidant agents, leading to premature aging and impaired cellular function.

Compelling evidence of premature aging suggests that oxidative stress is the major cause involved in the damage of the skin’s cellular constituents i.e.; keratinocytes, melanocytes, Langerhans, Merkle, mast, fibroblasts, etc. and their DNA, cell membrane lipids, and proteins.

Since the beginning of civilization, humans have been continually searching for the cleanest, best tasting water with the most health benefits. In fact, the quest for pure, sweet tasting water has been going on for longer than the quest for the Holy Grail! Today, the popularity of water is evidenced by the well being of the bottled water industry, creating a convenient way to get the health and good taste of waters from around the globe.

There is truly nothing more important than education to the success of any business, especially in the skin care industry. Manufacturers may tend to forget this-they think that their potential success rests with their products. Actually, the key is in the education of the people who use their products. I have dedicated the past 30 years to the education of skin care professionals. But here's what I've discovered: our clients also need to be trained. In fact, they are badly in need of a sort of Client Boot Camp.
I agree with the great Dr. Samuel Johnson, who said that "A little learning is a dangerous thing."

It’s always been your dream and you know now is the right time to make it happen. You have researched and planned and prepared and at this point there is only one thing standing between you and the doors of your spa – money. You envision a waiting list of clients, a talented and attentive staff, and because of your success you will be profitable early on and be able to pay back your loans early! You are sure that because your business and marketing plans are so well designed, you will have multiple lenders ready to offer you the money you need to launch your spa into business.

Let’s get it right from the start, anyone, any skin type, any skin color is at risk for skin cancer. Indeed, nobody is safe from skin cancer. Skin type and skin color do not fully protect an individual from skin cancer. Skin safe, sun safe practices do protect and do help in skin cancer prevention.

Lynne Kurashima, Hawaii Licensed Aesthetician, says, “It’s a misconception that darker skin types think they’re fully protected.” This common myth continues today because of the belief that darker skin types have natural melanin protection from solar radiation exposure.

For many years, acids were the profit-producing darlings of the skin care industry and skin care professionals believed they were the answer to younger-looking and acne-prone skin. But now, with new products and services developing, the days of ‘always make’em peel’ are moving into the past and professionals are coming to believe acids should not be the only tool for anti-aging, but a tool-among-many. More and more are utilizing them in specifically indicated cases only and are finding other alternatives available to them. 

Equilibrium
We grapple daily to stay on top of elements that threaten our health and well-being. The need for equilibrium is dire. The concept of a medi-spa is not mysterious in the least. Neither is it new. Indeed, it’s such a natural union of spa and corrective, aesthetic medicine that one wonders why the idea hasn’t hit center stage earlier. In these times, it’s easy to forget that a holistic approach to medicine and well-being has been a long time coming. For quite a while, medical practice has been, for want of a better word, largely conservative, with “alternative” approaches sidelined to the secondary.

In a 16-year career as a licensed aesthetician, nothing made the experience more rewarding than the people I was privileged to serve. And, while some clients were more memorable than others (for every conceivable reason) a notable handful unintentionally left valuable, indelible lessons for which I’ve long been grateful. Those accidental teachers might never have been encountered in any other career—the cyclical visits or extended time together in safe seclusion—an uncommon characteristic of most working environments. We may meet and touch thousands of people during the full term of our professional lives so it would be a wonder that a few of them wouldn’t somehow alter the course of it slightly or substantially.

When we feel “out of balance” it is often a reflection of too much stress, which ultimately, if not taken care of, will manifest into a physical symptom and may lead to illness. We live in a symptomatic society. When illness is present, we immediately take a pill or call our family doctor to remedy the situation with a prescription. After taking a pill or seeing the doctor, we feel better, everything is ok until we get sick again and this continuous cycle keeps going.

These days, it's easy to get distracted. The real trouble is, the distractions take our attention from the issues which really count-client service being key among these.
We are such sensory beings, and barraged as we are with marketing messages, a simple trip to the store may turn into a phantasmagoric trip down the rabbit-hole. When I buy groceries, I will often see shoppers, apparently from other places, who cannot hide their amazement at the shampoo aisle of my local supermarket. Has washing your hair ever involved so many decisions? The same goes for purchasing a pair of blue jeans.

In 1983 I landed my first real job as a career aesthetician at a famous Union Square skin care salon in San Francisco, Calif. High on enthusiasm but lacking experience and clients I found myself positioned on the bottom rung of eight staff professionals that all received new customers ahead of me, leaving this new recruit with many an empty hour on his schedule. To help fill my time and, hopefully, earn a decent paycheck I proposed to the salon owner that we offer a complimentary make-up application to anyone following a facial treatment. I would do the work without compensation other than a commission on any product I sold.

Technique. This is a sacred word to skin therapists. To begin with, it's French-more on that in a moment. For generations, technique has been the skin care profession's raison d'etre-oops, I mean entire reason for being. Mastering the traditional posture, movements, and protocol defined the very essence of being a skin therapist, similar, let's say, to the discipline of a classical ballerina or a Cordon Bleu chef faceting perfect, six-sided baby carrot nuggets. But here's the big news: technique is not enough.

Thanks to the popular television series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy a sudden wave of men are having their eyebrows waxed and shaped to improve their appearance. Men have increasingly become enthusiastic customers of many traditional spa services, particularly therapeutic massage. But now we are seeing more opportunity for spas to work with male clients.
Men's health and fitness publications, travel magazines, and lifestyle television shows are routinely pitching the spa ritual to the male client, encouraging him to upgrade his level of personal care. Some spas dedicate specific time to men's treatments, and new spas are emerging that are designed to cater to men.

Take a moment and think of someone you know who has a vibrant glow in their countenance and a life-giving gleam in their eye. Perhaps they’re not the fittest or even the hottest person you’ve ever met, but something about them sparkles with life. What sets them apart?
Many people have a healthy glow at 30, but how do you stay shining at 50? You can pay big bucks for liposuction, butt lifts, face lifts, and any other lift that promises to defy gravity, but after a few years, your bank account will be sagging.

One of the greatest perplexities to any spa owner is advertising. When to do it? Where? What makes sense? How much should I budget? We all understand the business of skin and body care, but getting our spa-oriented mind into marketing mode takes a real push. Marketing and advertising is a vast field of possibilities-both good and bad.
Every business needs to market itself, to get the word out about the availability, uniqueness, and quality of its goods and services. In the increasingly competitive day spa industry it's important to make potential customers aware of a company's distinctive qualities.

The wonderfully tough-talking Rhoda Morgenstern character from the old “Mary Tyler Moore Show” liked to say she had a “bad puberty. It lasted 17 years.” For adults who’ve lived through severe acne, this quip is an understatement.

Adolescence is when most people have their first experience, though not necessarily their last, with acne. Acne affects at least 85 percent of teenagers in the U. S. regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender.[1] According to Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the L. A. County Director of Public Health, by their mid-teens, more than 40 percent of adolescents have acne severe enough to warrant treatment by a physician.[2]

Close your eyes and imagine being enveloped by the soothing embraces of a beautiful day spa. Mmmmmmm... What special images and sensations are drifting into focus? Make a mental list of these details as you indulge in this fantasy. Now, imagine what things would disrupt your serene daydream, regardless of how large or small the flaw might be. What comes to mind? More importantly, as a customer have you personally experienced both satisfying and irritating details at a spa? Yes? Then consider what the delight or disappointment was, how it affected your overall satisfaction, and what you, the spa professional, could do to either highlight or eliminate similar occurrences where you work now.

Does Your Spa Speak the Right Language?

Busy, but not too loud. Elegant, yet affordable. Relaxing but invigorating. It might be difficult, when thinking of your spa’s environment, to find a happy medium. Finding that perfect environment, one that speaks to all clientele – returning clients and newcomers to the spa experience, might be a daunting task.
It’s possible you’ve seen your ideal workplace…imagined the ambiance of the spa that you’ll call home, talked about it with fellow workmates.

As we are all aware, the skin care business is booming! The portion of the skin care market that is especially hot is skin repair and rejuvenation. The baby boomers are aging and shelling out billions of dollars a year for services and products that help them restore, repair, and rejuvenate themselves to a more youthful appearance. Skin care is the fastest growing segment within the category of cosmetics today. People aged 50+ represent over one third of our population, Healing Arts Guide – MJL Associates.

"I've trained them and trained them but they just do what they want!" laments a frustrated spa owner with a staff of 17. As her business coach I sit and patiently listen to her story, observing the tense body language of a woman that feels powerless to change a stubborn and under-performing team. Turnover is approaching almost 100 percent for the second time in two years while customer complaints have risen sharply. Burned by a train them and lose them history my client has become embittered by the prospect of having to invest more time and money into employee development, and she doesn't want to do it again.

SKIN, the largest most complex immune organ of the body, is delicately assembled by millions of independent multifaceted spheres and existing inside these self-contained cells there lives settlements of compatible micro residents cohabiting together in water plasmic freedom. This complicated cellular quilt that protects every inch of the body, shielding against many types of bacterial and viral invaders, has also become the most sought after object of our affection for 21st Century beauty.

If you have tried repeatedly to get a focus on customers, customer loyalty, and customer profitability inside your organization with less than stellar results, you’re far from alone. Most companies jump in without evaluating how the organization works together, whether the CEO is truly committed, and if the patience exists for the long road ahead. These are the key issues that usually get in the way of making progress. See if you recognize any of them in your organization.

Every retailer dreams about inventory literally “flying off the shelves”, as the phrase goes. But unless the retailer doubles as a savvy air-traffic controller, carefully overseeing arrivals and departures of items each day, you may encounter turbulence over Milwaukee (or wherever your business is located)!
Effectively managing the flow of inventory from your manufacturer to your clients is one of the most essential aspects of ensuring the success of your business. Few things displease a loyal client more than learning that a favorite product is out of stock. Conversely, nothing deflates the buzz of shopping more than seeing dusty, shopworn merchandise on the shelf, which obviously isn’t moving—the result of over-ordering.

Masks are an incredibly effective part of one’s skin care regimen. Perfect pre-date or post-party as emergency care and weekly as a treatment routine, masks rule the medicine cabinet. So why are they are collecting dust on your shelves? Moving your retail masks requires participation of the aesthetician, spa management, the brand, and believe it or not, the client. Reverse the cycle and increase sales by learning the 10 reasons why the product is not moving:

There's one thing every experienced aesthetician knows for sure - new clients don't come quickly or easily enough! What with all of the new day spas opening everywhere and beauty schools minting flocks of trained skin care professionals the wait for a large client following can be long and excruciating. Can't afford an expensive advertising campaign or the latest skin-firming device? Not a problem! You have a low-cost and time-proven opportunity available to you that can do much to shorten the client building process while increasing your career income in short order: Make-up services and product sales.

For a woman who on most evenings chauffeurs kids, pushes a grocery cart, cooks dinner, does laundry and helps with homework, being likened to a Hollywood star may seem a little ridiculous.
Selling a fantasy sparks many successful advertising campaigns. Purchase a specific product and a life of romance, excitement, and glamour awaits you. Spritzing on the right perfume could lead you to stepping into a limo, wearing diamonds, embraced by Mr. Knock-Down Gorgeous. Buy the right car and you will drive along the Pacific Coast Highway like a scene from a James Bond movie.

And last but not least is the important consideration of your clients current skin care program. Directing your questions with respect to all of the products they are currently using will assist the aesthetician in finding areas of their existing skin care that may need to be addressed. I always encouraged my new customers to “bring their face in a bag” so I could review the products along with the ingredients. This snooping also uncovers how they use their products, how much, are they dipping their fingers in the jar, have the products been exposed, etc. Finding out how they care for their products means this would be time to instruct them how to use skin care properly.

After many years of 'thin-is-in' for the eyebrow, models and movie stars are showing a thicker, stronger brow for 2006. This year's brow is both highly angled and highly groomed, but sometimes appears casual with less of a defined arch. Not everyone can wear the latest thicker brow style, especially if their own brows are thinned because of hair removal, hair loss as a result of aging, or too few hairs for other reasons.

A couple of decades ago, offering cream and sugar for anything other than coffee or tea would have sounded quite ridiculous! But in today's realm of aesthetics and cosmetics promoting coffee and chocolate to soothe even the jitteriest skin, or offering sugar as a real hair removal solution to an age-old problem is very realistic. And as post treatment, applying a good trans-dermal cream to hydrate and moisturize the skin is simply a great, soothing and natural way to complete your sugaring service.

How many times throughout the week do we use the expression “the girls at work”? Dozens and dozens, I’m sure. “The girls at work said this,” “I went to lunch with the girls from work,” “The girls at work want to have a bridal shower for me,” and so on. All of my family and non-work friends know that I work in an all-women environment. Most of us in the spa business do. It is simply the nature of the beast that a great number of aestheticians, hair removal specialists, massage therapists, make-up artists, and other beauty professionals are women.

They say, “Diamonds are a girls best friend”. In my personal opinion I have to disagree. I truly think frequent PROMOTIONS, free samples, special events, and monthly specials really create excitement in our salons and spas!
When Filene’s Basement department store in Chicago has a sale…the shoppers are actually waiting and beating the doors down to be the first ones to get in. It’s a sight to see. Who doesn’t love a sale?
It doesn’t matter if you have a skin center, nail salon, or spa. You don’t even have to own the business to practice this phenomenal idea.

The search for the Fountain of Youth has been going on throughout history, literature and mythology. People have fallen prey to charlatans and con men in the quest for rejuvenation. Even though we are aware of this, there is something in us that yearns to be younger, feel younger and look younger. We are often willing to spend thousands of dollars in this quest, but results usually are only temporary and only skin deep. What if there was a way to rejuvenate your body from the inside out.

To help you acquire the most out of this edutorial, analyze the following points of reference, which will be found through the length of the series, while reading along to assist you in answering the final questions.

The aesthetic industry is opening itself to what is unique about contemporary times, detaching from outdated procedures and instead adjusting them to our current needs. Cultural, environmental, and dietary changes within our society have altered how our skin interacts with traditional treatments. In order to provide optimal results to our clients we must begin by acknowledging various skin conditions that are on the rise in our culture, understand their source and adjust our procedures accordingly.

Some years ago I was in possession of a busy and lucrative skin care clientele, the result of 16 years of effort, trial and error, and devotion. Though now blissfully retired from that career, many of you have asked me what I would do if I had to do it all over again. To be honest about it, I was never absolutely certain that I wouldn't have to practice skin care at some later date should my subsequent career path suddenly tank. Fortunately, that hasn't been the case but I do like to keep a good plan handy for emergencies!

Professional skin care in the 21st Century has never been so exciting, technical, scientific, profitable and yes, extremely competitive. Open up a fashion magazine today and you will find no less than 30+ non-professional skin care brands claiming to reduce lines and wrinkles, improve skin, restore elasticity, replace Botox tm and on and on and on.
These companies also promise simulated “professional peels” and “microdermabrasion” in do-it-yourself at home product kits. Think about it, if you are reading these ads, it’s inevitable your clients are reading them too!

Light based technologies have revolutionized aesthetic procedures and medicine. Lasers are at the pinnacle of these technologies because of their brightness and intensity, but significant improvements in a wide variety of cosmetic conditions are also afforded by other light sources such as IPL's (Intense Pulsed Light Systems), LED banks (Light Emitting Diodes), and other Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT) modalities. Anyone working in the field of aesthetics should have a good understanding of the basic principles behind laser and light based therapies whether or not you are actually treating clients with these devices because they impact so many conditions in so many people.

Whether you're new in the spa industry or ready to relocate your career, finding the ideal (or any!) job can be a grueling and frustrating task. Where once spa operators were hat in hand trying to recruit qualified spa personnel, there is now a sea of applicants in many areas vying for the same precious opportunity to do their work. Beauty, massage, and aesthetics schools are minting new therapists faster than spas can be built, and a still down-turned economy has left many spas with more available appointments than customers.

Since its launch in 1975, DERMASCOPE Magazine’s purpose has been to empower the aesthetics industry with innovative information, unbranded education, and unprecedented platforms of continuing education. America’s first and most trusted professional skin care trade publication, “The authority on professional skin care” examines various educational topics such as chemical exfoliation, hyperpigmentation, acne, hair removal, trends, marketing, continuing education, and more.  Almost 90% of the magazine’s readers are aestheticians or spa owners who utilize the magazine as a reference tool for their businesses.

In addition to the monthly “Publisher’s Note” authored by second-generation publisher Amanda Strunk Miller, articles are written by licensed aestheticians, medical doctors, injectors, chemists, naturopaths, and other skin care professionals. Mainstay sections like “Game Changers,” "Fact or Fiction,” and “Put It Into Practice” appear monthly and tackle the skin care industry’s trending topics and popular ingredients.

Other prevalent resources are found at DERMASCOPE.com and bring exclusive webinars, events, and community blogs to the forefront of the skin care industry. In June 2020, an interactive “Ask the Experts” online forum launched where readers can now connect with skin care, wellness, beauty, hair removal, business, and body care experts. Also on the website are exclusive videos, articles, collaborative communities, product guides, and more. And in January 2021, DERMASCOPE debuted its first professional podcast, "The Aesthetic Report," where host Michelle D'Allaird-Brenner interviews the industry's brightest minds and offers listeners practical advice for immediate implementation in their businesses. Professionals can listen wherever they get their podcasts.

DERMASCOPE publishes 14 issues annually for readers in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Its weekly electronic newsletter is delivered to more than 50,000 subscribers and includes exclusives, industry trends, and spa humor. 

DERMASCOPE is social – follow the brand on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter with @dermascope.