Ep 155 - Mailbag: Inspired by Beauty

 

 

0:00:00.5 Speaker 1: DMK is the world leader in paramedical skin revision education with certification programs designed to give licensed professionals a thorough understanding of the skin and an in-depth study of the DMK concept of remove, rebuild, protect, maintain. Created by the botanical visionary Danné Montague-King, DMK offers skin revision training and education for all ages, skin conditions and ethnicities in more than 35 countries, harnessing the body's innate healing mechanisms to change the health of the skin. Learn more at dannemking.com, that's D-A-N-N-E-M-K-I-N-G.com. 

 

[music] 

 

0:00:56.8 Maggie Staszcuk: Hello and welcome to ASCP's Esty Talk, I'm your co-host, Maggie Staszcuk, and ASCP's Education Program Manager. 

 

0:01:04.0 Ella Cressman: And I'm Ella Cressman, licensed esthetician, certified organic formulator, ingredient junkie and content contributor for Associated Skin Care Professionals. And guess what? We have a shout-out. So this shout-out goes to Faced Embodied Spa out of Central Florida. She tagged us in one of her stories about the... Actually the food that affects your face, the sugar face. 

 

0:01:25.5 MS: Oh, sugar face. 

 

0:01:27.5 EC: Sugar face! We got a lot of feedback on that one, that was amazing. So listen, thank you so much for listening. And she loved the episode, we love you for loving the episode. So stay tuned and keep listening. 

 

0:01:38.8 MS: So today, it's a mail bag episode. We asked and your answers were overwhelming. We hope to inspire you today by sharing all the love and passion you have for the esthetics industry. So this first story is from LME Cybil-tea, "Watching my grandma and mom go through their AM and PM beauty routines, and the smile they would give me as I looked at them with admiration made me feel so beautiful and confident. Now as an esthetician, the smile I give clients that I work with and educate and the confident look they give me back makes me feel those same feelings and so many more good ones. I love what I do." 

 

0:02:17.4 EC: I just got chills. [chuckle] I did get chills, and I think about that... There's a couple of things that I think of, I think of my mom putting on her make-up and it was... She would gift me the Clinique gift with purchase. 

 

0:02:27.0 MS: Oh, yeah. I loved those gift with purchases. I got those too, little hand-me-downs. 

 

0:02:32.4 EC: They're green and they slide and then there's a diagram of how to put it on and it came in a bag and a little lipstick. And there's... That our mothers, our grandmothers, they are our influence of beauty... 

 

0:02:43.0 MS: They are. I love how you said that. A little sense of nostalgia there. 

 

0:02:46.9 EC: Yeah. And then to pass that on, to pass that on to other people. I want to encourage you too, LME Cybil to remember that because there's this waxing and waning of passion, remember when you made people confident or help people feel confident when there's times you have maybe someone who's not as gracious, just know that you do make a difference and that's really cool. 

 

0:03:06.9 EC: The next one we have here is from, Lit from within. Oh, I can't wait! She says, "Speaking of parents, my mom always took care of her skin and wore Fire Engine Red Lipstick to work. She's a nurse, so I was always into beauty." 

 

0:03:21.6 EC: That sounds like she's got an amazing... Lit from within, it explains a lot there. [laughter] It wasn't until I saw my mom doing extractions on my Dad's face and back, when I was under 10, that I became interested in extractions. From there, when I hit my teens, my dad always asked me to buff his nails whenever I did my own, then he had me give him pedicures because he had ingrowns. Once he stopped getting ingrowns, he told me I should look into doing nails, but I didn't want to. I got my first job at Ulta, then my managers recruited me to work for them at Sephora, inside JCPenny. I fell in love with skin there, but I didn't think twice about becoming an esthetician until years later. When I started getting my lashes done every two weeks, and absolutely loved how my lash artist felt. She was like my therapist and hype woman in one package. I realized then that I wanted to make other people feel as good as she made me feel during every appointment. 

 

0:04:17.6 MS: I love that story, and I love that she says, therapist and hype woman in one package. So true!  

 

0:04:23.7 EC: Absolutely. I get that. I think clients don't really understand how we love their stories, we feel involved with them and, "You need to quit that job." Or, "Get it girl, you can do it, you should go to school!" But we really are involved in... I get that sometimes people say, "Wow, you remember that?" "Yeah, I remember that, it was important." You know?  

 

0:04:42.9 MS: Yeah, absolutely. 

 

0:04:44.7 EC: I love that her mom and her dad were beauty influences in her life. 

 

0:04:47.9 MS: Yes, her Dad even, I think that's really cute. But it's so true. Right?  

 

0:04:51.8 EC: Yeah. She's grown up... It sounds like she's had a lot of support. She's had a lot of support growing up, a lot of influence and sometimes it just happens with timing, you know? It's just the confidence there that wanting to pass on that feeling that she got from her lash artist though. I can't wait to hear how things go for her. 

 

0:05:12.5 MS: So the next story, and I hope I'm saying this right, Kim Sansee Skincare. "I was on a waiting list at our community college to get into the physical therapy program. Ironically, I got into a car accident and had to go to physical therapy. One day on my way home from PT, I passed the Arthur Angelo school of cosmetology, and spontaneously walked in and asked about their skin care program, I signed up right there. Wanting to be a physical therapist was a way for me to help people feel better, but deep down inside, I knew that I wanted to make people feel good about themselves and help build their confidence. 27 years later, still going strong, as an esthetician, best decision I ever made." 

 

0:05:57.5 EC: Chills again. 

 

0:05:58.2 MS: Chills again. You know what, that was the universe reaching out to her. She just randomly pulled over and decided to go into that school. 

 

0:06:05.3 EC: Time and place, you know Oprah says that it comes, the universe will start tapping on your shoulder and then will smack you, so I'm just saying... I'm not saying... [laughter] 

 

0:06:12.4 MS: Did she get smacked?  

 

0:06:15.8 EC: I'm not saying in life but she definitely got routed. 

 

0:06:17.4 MS: Yeah. For sure. And now 27 years in the industry. That's amazing. 

 

0:06:21.8 EC: I wonder how long she would have lasted at PT... 

 

0:06:24.4 MS: Right? True. 

 

0:06:26.1 EC: Because that's physically demanding and emotionally taxing. 

 

0:06:29.3 MS: It is. You know, you could say that about estheticians though too. 

 

0:06:33.9 EC: I know. [laughter] That's what I'm saying, right? The wave of passion. When it's good, remember that. 

 

0:06:39.0 MS: Totally. 

 

0:06:39.9 EC: And sometimes giving makes you feel better too. Like, helping other people, helps you. So, this is one for, Skin Magic Esthetics, ooh! "I was in a deep depression and felt lost and alone, I felt like I had no one to turn to who could truly understand me, so ever so slowly, I began being that person I needed. On my healing journey, I began to learn about skin. While learning about proper skin care, I started to find myself and fell in love with myself. Taking a leap to become an esthetician was the scariest yet rewarding moment in my life. I am an esthetician who always leads with love and compassion for others first, skin care and esthetics second. I want to be there for others on more than just a superficial way. If you're struggling with mental health issues, you are not alone, you are loved" 

 

0:07:28.0 MS: Now that one gives me chills, I think that's a wonderful story, and what I love that she's saying is that she's leading with love and compassion, and I... Side note here, had a mentor when I first started out in esthetics, and one thing she would always say to me is, "I am not the best esthetician, but I love my clients." 

 

0:07:45.2 EC: I love that. I think that's important. It's just crazy. It's landing with me, it's still landing as we're processing here, but I think that's important to be humble to... Absolutely. Oh, I love that. Leading with love. 

 

0:07:58.4 MS: So this next story is from BBMR Skin. "I became an esthetician because I wanted to be able to help people heal from the inside out. Meaning, how we look and feel outside can and will harm us at a mental level and affect our mental stability. No matter what age you are, not knowing or understanding how to take care of your skin and what products to use will benefit you and your skin and is so very important. There are so many influencers out there, that give erroneous information that although might be good, are not a one-size-fits all. My passion for educating and helping, healing internally, mentally, emotionally, holistically, that is what made me want to become an esthetician. I am an RN estheticians, proudly wearing that title." 

 

0:08:52.0 EC: I think, there's one word in... There's a lot... Let me just start there, there's a lot about this that I'm in love with. Let's address first the one-size-fits-all. Amen! Right? Remember the podcast we had on... I call them finger quotes but air quote, "influencers"?  

 

0:09:06.8 MS: Yeah. 

 

0:09:07.3 EC: "And online experts"? I think that's one of the disservices that our industry does, is we put people in boxes of, "Oh, anti-aging is only this", and... But there's so many things that cause it. 

 

0:09:18.2 MS: Right. 

 

0:09:18.5 EC: Or acne, that's only this, and there's so many things that can contribute to it, or compromised or dry or oily, right? It's deeper. And so I love that. Amen, let's just say that. And the second thing that I wanna say is she uses a word that I feel is sometimes used erroneously. By the way, I loved that, she wrote... Used that word too. But holistically, and she uses it perfectly here. When we're talking about holistically, we're talking about the whole person, not just natural, because I think holistic and natural are often correlated, but we're talking about the whole person, the whole book, and not just reading the foreword but reading every chapter to understand what it's about, and I love that approach, I love it. 

 

0:10:01.0 MS: I agree, yeah. Mind, body, spirit, right?  

 

0:10:04.9 EC: Absolutely. Hold that thought, we'll be right back. 

 

0:10:08.6 Speaker 1: Do you wanna give your clients clear glowing skin for good? Look no further than Face Reality Skincare. Three-time winner of best acne-line in ASCP's skin deep readers Choice Awards. As the number one professional acne brand Face Reality offers estheticians the most comprehensive online acne training to learn how to identify and treat even the most stubborn acne cases. Learn to use Face Reality's holistic treatment protocol, which includes in-clinic treatment, customized home care and lifestyle guidance. Visit pros.facerealityskincare.com today to get started. 

 

0:10:55.0 EC: Okay, here we go. Let's give back to the podcast. Speaking of mind, body spirit, sometimes our strength has to kick in, we have to overcome really hard things, so this one is for... It's A-M-A-T-E, so Amate Skin Esthetics. So she writes in, "I was rebuilding my life as a single mother working at Burger King, and I wanted to go back to school and get a career I was passionate about. At the time, I loved make-up. I didn't wanna freelance without any certification, so I Googled in, what career could you learn more about make-up?" She didn't even know about estheticians, that's so cool. "Esthetician came up, seemed very interesting, so I signed up for the class, it completely changed the way I view make-up application on the skin. I fell in love with learning about skin and many treatments. I love being able to be a part of people's journey to reach their skin care goals, it's extremely rewarding to wake up every day and be able to work for myself, and what I'm passionate about." 

 

0:11:52.3 MS: This one gives me chills too. I think that's a wonderful story. All of these stories really are about people persevering and doing what they love, what they're passionate about, and helping others feel the same. 

 

0:12:02.6 EC: And in this one specifically being an example to her children. 

 

0:12:07.0 MS: Yeah. 

 

0:12:07.0 EC: So we started this talking about how mothers influenced us and then we're finishing talking about how mothers can influence their children too or how we can influence the next generation to appreciate, what she's saying is make-up. So, covering or adjusting, superficially, but she's talking, "Whoa, there's more to it than that." She didn't even know. That's great. 

 

0:12:30.1 EC: So I used to be a product rep. And so, being part of a product, I had no idea what I was doing when I first started. I mean I wasn't an esthetician, I... We all have heard the story about how my education wasn't necessarily the best, so I had to do a lot of self-study and then I happened into being a product rep. And as a product rep, I was thrown to it and I figured it out, but one of the things that I would do is I would go to the schools and listen. Let's just say I'm good now. I can understand a lot of things now. And this is kind of what led me to loving ingredients, particularly because I didn't have that in school. So I would go rather than to the dermatologist office rather than chasing these A accounts like a typical sales person, 'cause I was not. I was not, I was a relationship person, and that's what helped me build my territory at the time. So rather than going there, I would go to schools because I wanted to meet the people that made a difference for me, and the person that made the biggest difference for me, in my life, I met in school, in my esthetics life. And so I would go and I would ask this question that nobody ever asked me, and that was, what made you want to become an esthetician?  

 

0:13:35.2 EC: And that's what we're talking about here. What made you want to become an esthetician? And some of the answers were, "I wanted to do make-up." Or, "I love waxing", or "I'm a stay at home mom and all my kids are graduating", or... Fill in the blanks. There was so many different answers. Often, for a while, it was just in three categories, but medical esthetician, whatever it is. And it was very interesting as a relationship person to follow those people after they got out of school and see what they became. Some people are like, "I got into this because I wanted to do make-up", and they left and they were wax queens or kings. Or they were chemical... They sparked an interest in chemical peeling, and with our industry being so wide and there's so many different aspects of it, I think that there's a lot of different paths. So what got us into it doesn't necessarily mean... That's just the opening of the door. 

 

0:14:32.0 MS: Totally, there's so much truth in that, and I agree, when I was working in a school, we would always ask that question on day one, "What brought you here today?" And everyone's answer was their perception of what the industry was, and it wasn't until they started learning and really getting their feet wet, that really they realized they were entirely misled or their idea of the industry isn't what they thought it was, and they did find their niche or their passion, and it completely changed day one to when they graduated. And like you said, you would have people that came into the industry because maybe, it was make-up or maybe they thought they wanted to go medical, and it was a 180 on graduation day. 

 

0:15:13.4 EC: That's interesting. What do you think the biggest... You said they had misperceptions or misconceptions of the industry, is there one that sticks out for you?  

 

0:15:21.8 MS: I would say like, short answer is your typical stereotypes, that, "This is beauty, it's fluff." That, "we're gonna put make up on somebody's face." But then when people really got into the science and understanding the skin and why we do, what we do, that's when people's worlds really opened up and they got excited. And certainly there were also those students that they were terrified when we started waxing class, and then by the end of it, there were those students where... Wow, that was their thing. And they became waxing specialist. 

 

0:16:00.4 EC: That is awesome. Oh, that is so cool. I love that. I think, I... It's been a long time since I was in school, so I forget about those like, the beauty industry misconceptions, until I get someone... I'm talking socially here, "Alright, what do you do?" "I'm an esthetician." "Oh, I can make an appointment with you, 'cause I need to relax." And I'm like, "Oh, no! We don't do that. We're scraping and squeezing and inspiring or... " I'm not like, "I'm causing pain." But we're not fluffing. [laughter] 

 

0:16:31.9 MS: Right, right. Yeah, exactly. 

 

0:16:33.4 EC: "But I'll give you a referral to somebody who does, but that's not what I do." So, that's very interesting. 

 

0:16:37.5 MS: Well, and to that point though, there are so many different types of estheticians, right? I mean there's... I am sure those out there, that maybe that is their focus is relaxation and massage and I don't know, fill in the blank. And then there's the opposite of that, estheticians who are more clinical and, "Let's look at the health of your skin and squeeze all that junk out of there, and then we're gonna put some acid on it." 

 

0:17:01.9 EC: Do you remember those Bop-its? Those toys, they went around your ankle and you're like, "It's a squeeze it, bop it, bop it." Or whatever, "twist it, top it... " [laughter] That's what it's like at mine, "Scrape it, pop it." [laughter] "Squeeze it, burn it." That's definitely at my place. 

 

0:17:16.6 MS: Now, listeners, we wanna hear from you, what brought you to this industry? Share your passion for esthetics with us on social media, by commenting on our Instagram or Facebook posts or by emailing getconnected@ascpskincare.com. Thank you for listening to ASCP Esty Talk and for more information on this episode, or for ways to connect with Ella and myself, or to learn more about ASCP, check out the show notes.