8 min read
by Ameann DeJohn 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. Read More
- Published in Uncategorized
4 min read
by Mary Van and Eileen Perkins Make-up by Nikki Burress and Mary Van Photography by Jason Wynn Mothers have been fretting over their teenage daughter’s ever-increasing cosmetic use and the threat it plays on their skin since cosmetics were invented. Now they can breathe easier for even teens can use cosmetics that are safe, effective, and made especially for them. Parents and teens should decide together what appropriate make-up is for their age. One option that you can offer parents as their daughter’s begin to wear make-up is a Skin Care and Make-up Primer Consultation. As a professional, it is your job to teach teens techniques that are age appropriate. Keep in mind it is usually a good idea to consult with the mother before meeting with the teen so the two of you have the same goal in mind. Along with technique, you will want to instruct teens on how to care for their cosmetics, skin, and eyebrows. Read More
- Published in Uncategorized
6 min read
by Noreen Young 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. It is time to remember the good old days when people would keep in touch in such a beautiful way. Sending formal thank you notes, postcards, quaint greeting cards, and letters on pretty paper, scented with a spray of perfume or a seal of wax with ones initial on the back of the envelope is almost unheard of today. Perhaps the time is now to think about taking a moment of time to sit down with your favorite beverage, relax, and tell your salon guests, old and new, just how you feel. Stay connected with your clients; without them, we have no business. It only takes Read More
- Published in Uncategorized
14 min read
by Tom Porter More and more, aestheticians and trained spa professionals are promoting and performing acne face and body services, joining dermatologists in co-managing this common, often disfiguring disease. As they expand their understanding of acne conditions, they also are questioning popular treatment methods and the topical compounds commonly used to fight acne. The next generation of care for acne will be a preventive and reparative approach of influencing hormonal imbalance, killing bacteria and reversing tissue scarring with a sharp focus on oxidation management. What many professionals do not know is that acne is a disease of oxidation. Oxidation affects acne both in terms of internal hormone function, and with regard to side-effects of treatment such as damage to skin following peels, and the potentially dangerous action of benzyl peroxide. Whether or not most professionals understand that most acne treatments employ oxidizers, it is common knowledge that they can be very drying and result in overexposure of the skin to damaging environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation. Skin care professionals know that both hydrating and protecting this uniquely sensitive skin is critical to its improvement and long-term health. Read More
- Published in Uncategorized
8 min read
by Annet King 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. She’s read that fabric softener in the wash can cause these eruptions; the softener coats the fibers of the pillowcase, which in turn coats the skin. Hmmm, maybe that’s it. Or maybe it’s that new “moisturizing” foundation she bought. It can’t be acne, she reasons. She didn’t have acne as a teenager. And now she’s too old! Besides, mothers of teenagers can’t have acne — her daughter does have the occasional flurry of outbreaks across her forehead and cheeks. The woman dabs a little of her daughter’s over-the-counter acne product on the “bumps”, and wonders what’s happening with her Read More
- Published in Uncategorized
13 min read
Sanitation is important, but there are often little things that can be overlooked when maintaining your facility. Unfortunately, there have been specific instances where the lack of sanitation has resulted in the spread of illness and disease. When proper sanitation measures are not followed, there can be fines issued to owners and licensees, which can lead to the closing of establishments. Many of you may think your facilities are clean, but what you cannot see is what needs to be combated. Basic biology and chemistry has taught us that the elements of our world consist of molecules, cells, bacteria, and viruses that cannot be seen. What we can see, in some cases, are the effects. Aestheticians treat acneic clients, who are prone to cysts, pustules, and open and closed comedones. All of these skin blemishes can harbor bacterial infections that can spread to other clients and the aesthetician if proper sanitation measures are not upheld. It is the duty of the aesthetician, stylist, make-up artist, nail technician, permanent cosmetic artist, and facility owner to uphold proper sanitation requirements issued by the States Cosmetology Commission and Federal Government and to keep everyone involved in maintaining a safe and clean work environment Read More
- Published in Uncategorized
10 min read
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. Read More
- Published in Uncategorized
8 min read
by Christine Heathman How well do you really know your clients skin? Are you one of those aestheticians who view all skin equally for remedy options? How would you rate your professional savvy selecting the exact product formula or clinical treatment for your client’s skin type? In today’s rapidly shifting skin care market, no room exists for lazy aestheticians arbitrarily advising inaccurate products based on marketing hype or uneducated judgment using treatments that can’t deliver results because the skin type and problem(s) have not been properly identified. Before an aesthetician initiates the first treatment, a prudent skin health check-up should be a mandatory preliminary step to ensure home care products and the recommended clinical remedies compatible with the correct “skin type”. Read More
- Published in Uncategorized
6 min read
by Ameann DeJohn 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. In order to do that, one of the most important questions you will ask is, “What should we charge?” In the past, the process you used to determine the answer to this question may have included some of the following steps: · Contemplating your cities economic climate (as compared to the city where you received the facial) · Evaluating the luxury and amenity factor (as compared to the spa you visited) · Searching the Internet for your competitors pricing of any similar services Sound familiar? Many of us who own or manage spas or skin treatment rooms have been guilty of this Read More
- Published in Uncategorized
8 min read
by Melinda Copp E-newsletters are one of the best ways to openly communicate with your clients and build repeat business. You can offer advice, highlight special offers, and reveal new services you bring to your spa. E-newsletters encourage vital marketing when they are forwarded by readers. They establish your credibility in the marketplace, and put you ahead of the competition. Most importantly, an informative, insightful newsletter will keep your spa at the top of your clients’ minds and make them want to come back again and again. But there’s more to it than sending out a monthly e-mail. How can you ensure that the newsletter you worked so hard to create is actually read by the recipients? If they delete it, all your work will go into the recycle bin. Even though e-newsletters are faster to create, cheaper to produce, and easier to distribute than print newsletters, they have to be well written and informative or you’ve wasted your time. Publishing an e-newsletter can easily become a gigantic headache, but there are a few tricks to making the whole process less stressful. If you want your spa to reap the benefits of publishing an e-newsletter, consider the following tips for Read More
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