In a society that seeks an instant fountain of youth in a pot, ingredient or treatment, an essential role for the aesthetician is to be able to understand and choose professional products and treatments that are safe and appropriate for each client. How does the aesthetician decipher the hundreds of product ingredients in a chosen skin care line? It stands to reason that many of us become perplexed as to what product/ingredients will best serve our client. Are the ingredients compatible with your client’s skin? Will they truly produce a result? A greater picture here is the ability to link a skin condition to suitable ingredients that elicit optimum correction without causing an immune response that further compromises the client’s skin. Read More

Oftentimes, a person’s smile is the first thing that draws attention. Whether a smile is effortless or genuine, it can attract more than admiring looks. It can also portray personality or determine whether someone is shy or outgoing. However, a smile can also depict more than a person’s inner and outer beauty. According to the American Dental Association, a person’s smile – or more directly, their teeth – are the window into their body and can actually say a lot about their overall health. As skin care professionals, it is important to have an overall understanding of your client’s well-being before performing treatments. By evaluating the teeth and gums of a client, you can be clued in to problems they might be facing which can affect the rest of their body, including their skin. Read More

When I was a child, I had an old fashioned doctor who would always ask me to stick my tongue out and say AH. I never wondered why and, like many things in childhood, just accepted it as normal. As an adult, I discovered that both the Chinese and the Ayurvedic medical systems have a method for reading the tongue.As Dr. Vasant Lad says in his book Ayurveda Science of Life, “Examination of this important organ (the tongue) reveals the totality of what is happening in the body.” Dr. Maoshing Ni states in his book Secrets of Self Healing, “The tongue is the most important diagnostic area.” Dr. Lad uses a diagram (see diagram below) to show which parts of the tongue reflect the health of each of our other organs. Read More

According to both Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, lips have a great deal to tell us about our clients. Their shape, size, color and condition broadcast not only the state of our health but also personality traits. The most wonderful aspect of this diagnostic ability is that it can be used to prevent serious illness. It has been said that your mouth is a neon sign of your digestive health. The top of your upper lip reveals how your stomach is functioning and the bottom of the upper lip shows the condition of your small intestine. The lower lip corresponds to the colon. The corners of the mouth show the condition of the duodenum, which is the valve connecting the stomach to the small intestine. It follows that the conditions that are visible in the lips are also present in the internal digestive organs. Read More

The International Iridology Practitioners Association (IIPA) states that iridology is “the study of the iris, or colored part, of the eye. This structure has detailed fibers and pigmentation that reflects information about our physical and psychological makeup. It identifies inherited dispositions (how our body reacts to our environment and what symptoms are most likely to occur), risks (what areas or organ systems are more likely to have symptoms) and future challenges (where we are likely to have more problems as we age). Iridology helps identify inherited emotional patterns which can create or maintain physical symptoms, as well as identify lessons or challenges and gifts or talents available to us.” Read More

The first responsibility as an aesthetician is determining your client’s skin type and possible skin conditions. These two factors will determine what treatment series is best suited for their individual needs and what home care products you, the skin care professional, should recommend. Aestheticians are meant to use their knowledge and make an educated guess about what is going on beneath the surface of the skin and how the lower/non-visible layers of the skin are functioning. Unfortunately, many clients use the absolute wrong products for their skin type and conditions that result in more problematic conditions. Read More

If a picture is worth a thousand words, skin is worth a million. As the largest organ of the body, skin is also the most exposed to not only the elements, but also our observation and critique. From the moment we meet our clients we can begin evaluating their skin. From hydration to repetitive stress and facial expression, the integumentary system is an open book with profound implications for client’s bodies, lives and environment, making it a priceless evaluation tool.In both Eastern and Western theory, lifestyle choices are imperative to the health of skin, making exercise and diet essential. Read More

Walt Whitman wrote, "I sing the body electric," and he was literally right. The body constantly fires out an electromagnetic charge that may be measured by a variety of scientific devices. And in addition, the body speaks in other ways, sending thousands of messages simultaneously, both subtle and overt. Read More

Skin is the ultimate time-keeper. Our skin keeps ruthless score, revealing our genetic content, our overall health, recording every emotion, every hour of sun exposure, every scratch – from the top layer of epidermis down. But the relationship between time and skin is far more than skin deep. Skin and time are intimately bound together, especially in the context of professional skin care. When shaping your skin care strategy, the concept of time and what it means to your clientele has never been more important. Read More