Hey Y'all, it's Amber! Your new beauty coach, skincare consultant and personal shopper for hire! For so long, I've wanted to be able to continue to teach and consult my clients wherever either of us may be and now I'm so excited to finally be offering online Skincare Consultations!
Having a good Esthetician is 40% of the battle, but homecare and your lifestyle is the other 60% because ultimately YOU spend the most time treating your skin.
Within that larger percentage, you may be required to know a little bit of skincare and product knowledge to deal with whatever skin concern you are facing. And you may know the basics, like bacteria can irritate the skin, so wash your face with...something antibacterial? But not too stripping, so something... gentle? Even knowing which ingredient and how often and all those other tiny but oh-so important details is often times where you and other consumers get stuck. How do you navigate the vast selection of products and how to do it simply and affordably? It certainly doesn't do you any good if you don't understand WHY a product is working or the basics of how your skin reacts. With so much info online, that's why you have a professional (hey, that's me!) sort out the details for you.
My main goal though is help everyone achieve their their dreamiest of skin, so if you can't book with me, here are some key factors to look for when booking a consultation with other estheticians.
Their skincare philosophy matches yours.
Just like you can use your Personal Beauty Philosophy to buy product, you can also make sure you're in the hands of an esthetician who believes in treating skin the same way you do. Make sure that if you're vegan or cruelty free, you ASK YOUR ESTHETICIAN. Some product lines, even though they may be professional, aren't cruelty free. There is kosher and halal skincare, ethically sourced and reef-safe certified skincare and some skin care brands that even do amazing non profit work, like one of my favorites, Farm House Fresh, where 10% of the products you buy helps rescue animals in need! As a dog mom, this one is near and dear to my heart.
They take your lifestyle and budget into consideration.
During the consult, asking "Do you work outside?" "Is wearing makeup part of your daily routine?" "How much time do you normally take doing your routine?" are questions that help me, as the skincare expert, determine things like number of products in a routine, when to use certain ingredients in the week, which items a client should save on, which they can splurge and so much more. There is some responsibility on the client knowing a general price range of the person they book with, but a good esthetician will team up with they're client for their goals.
They provide a comfortable environment.
Ultimately, you should be seeing this skincare expert for consults or facials at LEAST every two-three months to get regular evaluations on how your routine is working. Every two- three months is usually when you'll see significant change, if any at all, using a new product. It's not uncommon for people in the beauty industry to also naturally have people open about their personal lives, and honestly, one of my favorite parts of this job is connecting on this more intimate level with my clients. They don't call us Estie Besties for nothing!
They don't change all of your products at once. *
I personally tell my clients, "If we change everything at once, we won't know which of the products actually helped you." It could be all or it could be you only need the one ingredient. Also, what happens if they discontinue or change the formula? A good esthetician will help you find the correct formulas and ingredients, so you're not left wondering what will happen when that one store stops carrying that one brand that's so hard to find, but it's the "Only one that works". Not for my clients, we will figure out the WHY. *There are always exceptions for this and mine are normally, if someone has zero routine or so many products in their routine that we have to start from scratch anyways. Both are usually a very mild and stripped down, easy to begin skincare regimens.
They collaborate and educate you.
Again, this is why consults should not just be a one time service. During the check up consults, this is the time to rebreak down products and ingredients, update your esthetician on how the products are working for you (and be honest!), add more professional services if needed and talk about how that will effect your routine, update any lifestyle changes that may effect your skin (like weather) and the esthetician can also use this time to update the client on the newest products, changes in formulation or (a big one) if product packaging changes! I can not tell you how many times I've had a client panic or stop using a product because the company changed the dang packaging!
I hope this not only tells my clients what to expect, but that it helps y'all find your own Estie Besties too! There is so much more to a consult, but one thing all the skincare experts will agree on is to remember to wear SPF! It #SavesPrettyFaces