14 min read
Sun protection, while once relatively straightforward, has become an increasingly challenging topic in recent years. Today's consumers are confronted with an often-puzzling array of product formulations, well-publicized concerns about the prevalence of vitamin D deficiencies, and conflicting information about the safety of technologies and ingredients employed in sunscreens. You could say that protecting our skin has become a bit akin to navigating a battlefield – and that is before we even step outdoors! Read More
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10 min read
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. with more than two million Americans diagnosed annually. Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma make up the majority of these cases. The third type, melanoma, arises from pigment producing cells called melanocytes. The ability to spread widely to other parts of the body is a unique characteristic of melanoma that the other skin cancers do not readily possess. This characteristic makes melanoma the deadliest, accounting for only four percent of skin cancers but 80 percent of skin cancer-related deaths. The number of new cases of melanoma is increasing steadily and dramatically. In the U.S. alone, the incidence of melanoma has tripled over the past three decades. In 2010, approximately 70,000 new cases were diagnosed. Read More
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13 min read
A LITTLE HISTORY Laser hair removal procedures in 2010 totaled to 936, 121, which reflected a -26.9% decrease from 2009 – most likely as a result of a flexing economy.1 It is a procedure, however, that continues to be popular. Lasers (including the CO2 laser) were introduced in dermatology and surgery as early as the 1960s.2 The CO2 laser became more popular during the 1990s for skin resurfacing to improve wrinkles, dischromias, scars, atrophic scars, pitted acne scars and others.3 These pioneering procedures also meant longer recovery periods. Read More
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9 min read
Whether you work with a company or for yourself, it is important to understand the value of you as the professional. Your client looks to you for advice, suggestions and result-oriented treatments. I think first and foremost you should ask yourself if you truly enjoy servicing others and providing solutions to their unwanted body hair and skin concerns. Passion is something that is lived! It reveals itself through your eyes, your smile and your energy. Here are the tools that I feel you will need to fully impact your suggestions. Read More
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8 min read
Since arriving on the scene in the late 1990s, the laser hair removal industry has gone through a metamorphosis. The technology has changed, the accessibility has changed, and in many states, the regulations have changed. While it can be tough to keep up with all of the regulatory changes, emerging laws, statutes and regulations are helping to strengthen our business and improve the overall client experience. I know this from my own experience in the industry. I opened my first medical spa in 2003 in Scottsdale, Arizona with my business partner Matthew Gould. Immediately we noticed a problem. While there was a high demand for laser hair removal and the other cosmetic laser treatments we offered, there was a shortage of practitioners who were adequately trained to perform the procedures in a safe and effective manner. Back then, the cosmetic laser industry was like the Wild West. There were few rules, a high risk of consumer injury (burns and scarring), and standardized laser training programs were nonexistent. Cosmetic laser education was limited to a four-hour equipment training session from the laser manufacturers. Basically, anyone could pick up a laser and zap a client. There are still no federal guidelines for Read More
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10 min read
All of these phrases contain a modicum of reality. However, in our clinic, we give a small amount of credence to all the above. Our focus has always been "root/cause" medicine and "root/cause" skin care. And when it comes to "root/cause" of any system or organ of the human body (including the skin), it is our opinion that nothing makes a more frequent, more meaningful, more accurate difference in the growth and maintenance of each and every organ than one determining factor … lifestyle. I like one particular dictionary definition for the word lifestyle, more than any other … "the way you live your life." Of course, this factor is really about the all-encompassing; it peels away the layers of speculation about the on-going existence of the human body. Read More
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8 min read
Despite such an advanced beauty culture, it is disappointing that a majority of the skin analysis conducted in aesthetics and skin care clinics is still to insufficient to be useful. The main reason for this is that in many clinics, detailed consultations and skin diagnostic tools are not being used. So with this utilization of old-fashioned terminology, diagnostic language and procedures (which are often no better than what a client could get at a department store) is it any wonder we have not grown past the five percent market share of the personal care industry? Read More
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11 min read
The great inventor Thomas Edison once said, "Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." This equation is also applicable to success in the skin care industry. Perspiration – in the form of the constant pursuit of knowledge – fuels success and ultimately inspiration. In this profession we have to stay on top of new, cutting-edge ingredients, product formulations and protocols, as well as marketing tactics, and knowledge of how each of these tools can be used most effectively. How do skin care professionals obtain the knowledge, and perhaps more importantly, how might it be applied, and what are the right tools? Read More
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10 min read
A few weeks ago, I was reading a post in a spa group on LinkedIn by the owner of a well known architectural firm that specializes in the spa industry; in this posting, he stated that when designing the floor plan of a spa, the best ratio was 1,000 square foot surface for each treatment room. This does not mean that the room dimension should be 1,000 square feet, but that if you want to have a spa with six treatment rooms, your spa must be a 6,000 square foot spa! No wonder such spas do not make a profit! Read More
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9 min read
Whether you are just graduating from aesthetic school or have been in practice a number of years, almost all skin care professionals dream of one day operating their own independent business. By nature we are creative beings; we envision the freedom and income that only a private practice seems capable of providing us. The envisioned benefits are convincing enough: working our own hours, charging what we want for our services, being our own boss and having total control over our professional life. What's not to like? Many aestheticians choose to begin by working with an established spa or salon with the idea of going independent as soon as they have gathered enough knowledge (and loyal clients) to break away and set up a private studio. Others feel that they have the ambition and business savvy to start their own business right away. Whatever you are planning to do, there are some important things to consider before and even after you begin an independent skin care practice. Read More
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