by Maurice Stein All skin discolorations need to be addressed the same way. It's important not to camouflage, but to blend natural color into the discolored area. This applies to port wine stain birthmarks, rosacea (red pustular lesions), vitiligo (patches of unpigmented skin), bruising and any skin discoloration resulting from chemotherapy and radiation treatment. When selecting product to place on these discolored areas, you need to use one that is user-friendly and highly pigmented and one that will not cause any skin irritation. When in doubt, I always recommend a quick and simple allergy test by applying different products. The inside area of the elbow or directly below and behind the ear are two areas which will give you accurate results. Apply the product to the skin and let set for 24-hours. If there is no redness or itching, followed by inflammation, this should signal a neutral factor in the make-up where there was no allergic reaction.   Read More

by Kathleen Stapleton and Victoria Duke For a woman who on most evenings chauffeurs kids, pushes a grocery cart, cooks dinner, does laundry and helps with homework, being likened to a Hollywood star may seem a little ridiculous. Selling a fantasy sparks many successful advertising campaigns. Purchase a specific product and a life of romance, excitement, and glamour awaits you. Spritzing on the right perfume could lead you to stepping into a limo, wearing diamonds, embraced by Mr. Knock-Down Gorgeous. Buy the right car and you will drive along the Pacific Coast Highway like a scene from a James Bond movie. Read More

By Patricia Heitz     Make-up is by far the leading draw into the skin care products and skin care services we have! If you don’t offer and/or promote make-up services, you are letting thousands of dollars walk out the door in not just retail sales, but increased service sales. You are telling them it’s OK to go buy somewhere else! Women buy make-up, this is a proven fact. If only just a lipstick or blush, they do buy. Possibly, for the ones who don’t wear make-up, it could be that no one ever showed them how to apply it to look natural. Where do they buy their make-up? They buy from department stores, or from a multi-level marketing company such as Mary Kay, Avon, etc. Why? Do these people have more knowledge? In some cases, actually, yes! They know their product, how to promote it, and how to cross market it with other products. Do you know your make-up product? Do you have a make-up product to help promote your skin care services and other spa services? If the answer to these questions is “no”, then it’s time to start incorporating make-up into your spa. Read More

by Christine Heathman To help you acquire the most out of this edutorial, analyze the following points of reference, which will be found through the length of the series, while reading along to assist you in answering the final questions. - The aesthetician’s first point of difference to make a great client. - The backbone of your professional services proceeding skin treatments and product dispensing - Photo-dermatology skin analysis - Photo-dermatology analysis two-step approach - Analyzing the skin for Photo-dermatology analysis - Educating your client about the enemies of the skin - Nutrition and Photo-dermatology skin assessment - Circadian rhythms - The New Skin of Color - Pets and your client’s skin - The Second professional point of difference to make a great client - Best aesthetic treatments achieved - The “Mac Facial” attitude of yesteryear. - The clinical treatment room. - The third point of professional difference to make a great client. - Education and sales Read More

By Annette Hanson Temporary hair removal was first noted historically in the Far East, where it has long been a part of traditional culture. Hair removal was performed on brides so that their skin would be pure, soft and smooth on their wedding night. Sugar was prepared according to the family tradition, with ingredients including sugar, honey, and lemon. Just as the ingredients and formula differed by region, so did the method of hair removal. Some used the sugar itself while others used a string or piece of cloth that adhered to the hair. Today, the removal of excess or unwanted body and facial hair is a growing area for spas and salons. Depilatory waxing has now developed as a fast, efficient, and economical method of professional temporary hair removal. Waxing clients usually return for regular treatments so it is an easy way to build stable clientele. Profits from waxing average 200 – 400 percent and often, waxing can even reach 50 percent of a salon’s gross sales on beauty services. For such an important, core service, waxing is remarkably easy and affordable to any skin care treatment center. Comprehensive hands-on training for aestheticians in technique and safety can be Read More

by Victoria Bush After many years of ‘thin-is-in’ for the eyebrow, models and movie stars are showing a thicker, stronger brow for 2006. This year’s brow is both highly angled and highly groomed, but sometimes appears casual with less of a defined arch. Not everyone can wear the latest thicker brow style, especially if their own brows are thinned because of hair removal, hair loss as a result of aging, or too few hairs for other reasons. Unlike shoe, hair, and clothing trends, eyebrow trends are slower to change and people may be less likely to follow them based on their existing brow line. But one thing is for sure, symmetrical and well-shaped eyebrows, whether thick or thin, are always in style. Whether your eyebrows are beautifully natural, like Gwyneth Paltrow’s, or beautifully groomed, like Oprah’s, as long as you take care of them your eyebrows will enhance your beauty, instead of detract from it. Your clients need to know this. Post these words somewhere in your salon. Read More