Displaying items by tag: DERMASCOPE

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.

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.

We live in a society that obsesses over the concept of staying young. However, spa clientele actually seek to do something about it, while most of society is simply obsessing over the concept of youthfulness. This educated, informed segment of the population constantly searches for new ways to improve themselves and to remain youthful in health and appearance. As spa professionals, we must consistently strive to offer services that meet the demands of our clients. Ironically, incorporating into the spa environment a practice that is centuries old creates a pathway for our clients to follow towards the fountain of youth.

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.

What will skin care look like in the future? This is the question I'll be exploring in my new series of ongoing columns for DERMASCOPE. After 30 years in this remarkable business, I've formed some strong opinions. But you already know that - otherwise you'd stop reading! And, I welcome your input - please be sure to check out the contact at the end of each column.
Of course, the future is now. Are you ready? Just like comic book space invaders, skin therapists indeed have laser-guns-and that's not an intrinsically bad thing.

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.

Acne and breakout-prone skin is a very frequent issue in a skin care clinic or spa. It has been estimated that 80 percent of the U.S. population is afflicted by some form of acne condition, at some time in their lives. Aestheticians must be prepared to correctly answer client questions about acne-prone skin, as well as be able to recommend products and treatments that can help control these unwanted flares of pimples and clogged pores.

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]

As most aestheticians will confirm, typically, people with skin disorders don’t always seek the help of an aesthetician. However, because of the explosion in professional skin care technology, this trend is shifting. More and more people are beginning to understand the helpful role the aesthetician plays in the treatment and management of skin disorders, including physicians. As most disorders are treated by a physician, adding the services of the aesthetician is the best case scenario for the patient and/or client.