To truly be able to appreciate and understand the services that you are providing your clients, you have to put yourself in the client’s position. In my many years of experience, I have amassed many friends among my clients, relationships that are over 10 years old. My clients trust me to choose the service I believe they need, and know that I am an understanding and caring listener. My approach is very personal; all clients appreciate when you remember their name and notice the difference in their appearance since their last visit. Before beginning a service, I like to gather all relevant information that paints a picture of why this client has acne and where it is coming from. I ask them to fill out a questionnaire that will tell me more about the origin of their condition. 

Important information to know about your acne clients:

• Have they taken birth control pills for more than two years?
• Do they crave sugar, caffeine, dairy, bread, or alcoholic beverages?
• Does tobacco smoke really bother them?
• Have they taken tetracycline/antibiotics for acne for one month or longer?
• Did their parents have acne?
• Do they play sports?
• How often do they wash their face?
• What products do they use?
• What makeup do they use?
• Do they color their hair? How often?
• Do they have any allergies and/or are they lactose intolerant?
• Are they regular on their monthly cycle? If not, what problems do they have?

Looking at the face of the young acne patient and taking into consideration all of the above, I can give my client the best treatment and advice. In addition to the facial, I provide the client with a calming and beneficial acne pressure point massage. I give the client an acne facial, use products that kill bacteria and soothe inflammation, and advise her not to put on any foundation for the rest of the day. Then, I set up a routine for the client and personalize their homecare according to their needs. This is perhaps the most important part of your treatment – the follow-up. Your credibility and good name as a professional depends on your ability to improve your client’s skin. A professional salon treatment without a homecare regimen is not enough to achieve desirable results. The client needs to trust their aesthetician, and needs to be willing to do everything the aesthetician recommends. Do not try to sell the client every product you have in stock, even if you see that she is able and willing to purchase it. Only send the client home with products she will need. I like my clients to know that my facility is always open to them, and they are welcome to come in for complimentary high-frequency treatments whenever they are in the vicinity. At the same time, I see if their skin is improving, and can keep up with their progress on the diet/regimen. When you contact your client often by doing complimentary high-frequency treatments, you create a strong relationship by addressing your client’s needs and being there to help. Create a welcoming environment by offering your clients hot tea and having a heart to heart conversation. Set a good example to clients by leading a healthy lifestyle and taking care of your own skin and appearance. An aesthetician who cannot cure her own skin care problems will never instill confidence in her clients. Many years ago, I put myself through a very strict six month diet because I wanted to help one of my clients overcome the candidiasis which caused pustules and back bleeding. I helped him and gained an immense amount of knowledge from this experience.

One of the most beneficial pieces of advice you can give your clients is to nurture their bodies with the right diet.
Recommended (during cleansing period)

• Eat plenty of high-fiber foods and whole grains to keep the colon clean and rid the body of toxins.
• Increase the intake of raw/lightly steamed vegetables.
• Eat more foods rich in the antibacterial agent zinc, which prevents scarring. (A diet low in zinc may promote break-outs.)
• Consume more vitamins A, B, C, D, and E.
• Drink a minimum of eight glasses of water each day.
• Consume Omega-3, Omega-6 essential fatty acids, and antioxidants.
• Drink herbal teas, the most beneficial of which are burdock root and dandelion root which cleanse the liver and blood.

Not Recommended (during cleansing period)

• Alcohol
• Cigarettes
• Caffeine
• Chocolate
• Dairy Products
• Fried Foods
• Spicy Foods
• White bread, glutenous rice
• Butter/hydrogenated fat
• Soft drinks Animal products containing steroids that can upset the body’s natural hormonal balance
• Avoid all forms of sugar – fruits and honey included, for a period of two weeks or so
• Processed foods

Give the client a homecare regimen and skin care products. Assure your client that it is in both of your interests to follow through with this routine. Only when the two of you work together, can you achieve positive results.

Regimen

• Keep the affected area as free of oil as possible.
• Shampoo hair frequently and keep it away from the face.
• Wash the face twice a day, never touching/rubbing throughout the day. Active teenagers who participate in sports need to wash their face immediately after vigorous activities.
• Avoid wearing makeup.
• Remove makeup at night.
• Wash all headwear often.
• Change the pillow case and bed sheets daily to prevent recontamination.
• Wipe all phones with alcohol wipes, as many times
  a day as possible.

In other words, treat your client the way you would treat yourself. Instill confidence in them, and encourage them to keep going towards the goal. Call the client after the first treatment to see how she is feeling, and how her skin has reacted to the products. Stay in contact with the parents, making sure the young client is following the routine.
You should always do your best, but if after numerous treatments you do not think that you are able to help, it is best to refer the client to a dermatologist. Have a trusted dermatologist that you can send clients to – it is another wonderful relationship every aesthetician should have.

Margarita Saian, state-certified educator and ambassador of the Aesthetic International Association, has been in the skin care industry for more than 20 years. She has studied aesthetics and mesotherapy in both the U.S. and France, and has been featured in KTLA5 News, as well as in trade magazines such as DERMASCOPE Magazine, Skin Inc, DAYSPA, Medesthetics, and Les Nouvelles Esthetiques. Saian is a licensed aesthetician, CMA/cardiac technician, national certified phlebotomy technician, certified ECG, and the founder of SAIAN® natural clinical skin care.