Competing in The Skin Games

Meet Melissa Taillon:
What Made You Decide to Compete in The Skin Games? 

I. Am. Impulsive.

I’ve been asked a few times what made me want to compete, and honestly, it was an impulsive decision. Just like starting esthetics school was, and starting a wedding planning business before that, and taking any kind of risk. I tend to not think about it before I start. If it ignites a fire in my soul, I’m going to take a leap of faith and just do it. 

I saw The Skin Games Instagram page and was immediately intrigued. I stalked their Instagram, Facebook page, and their website. I learned as much as I could to make an informed decision. My first instinct was to sign up in either the New Esthetician category or the Acne category. I called Jennifer Rosenblum (Executive Director of The Skin Games) and talked to her about what it took to sign up—the categories, the rules; I covered every base. I was sold. My competitive side was excited and ready to go.

I did talk with my husband first this time. I explained what it was, and he told me if it was important to me, then it was important to him, and he supported me. I also think he knew it was going to be impossible to talk me out of it, but he’s always supportive and builds me up. 

I have an intense need to prove myself.

For some reason, I have a this ridiculous need to prove myself. I don’t have any enemies that want to see me fail, I don’t have any estranged family members looking down on me or waiting for me to crash and burn, and I’ve had a really great support system since becoming an esthetician. So why do I have to prove myself?

I have anxiety. It’s manageable anxiety, but it’s still there. I am constantly working against myself. I just thought, if I can do this, I can prove to myself that I am worthy and capable, my intentions that I set for myself every single day (sometimes multiple times a day if it’s yoga day) are meaningful, and even just making it to finals would help prove that I am more than my anxiety.

Also, have you seen some of the competitors? I recognized some names from being in Facebook groups with them (Esthetician Connection being the main one) and saw they were esthetics rock stars. I started to get a little disheartened about the possibility of not being chosen over any of these insanely talented players, and then I would use that feeling to fuel my fire and make improvements in my treatments.

Finally, I had to push myself. 

As a newer esthetician, I still spend a lot of time studying. Making sure I’m up to date, making sure I’m not damaging my beautiful clients and their skin. One treatment I was never comfortable with in school was galvanic treatments—I had a hard time grasping the science behind it, how it worked, why it worked … it was so foreign and scary to me. I made sure my treatment room had it, however, and knew that one day I would be forced to get familiar with it. I decided my time had come for the first treatment on my client for The Skin Games; I used it on my client, Hailey, and I truly think it made all the difference. The improvement was immediate, and the experience of learning it was in a more relaxed environment. I’ll still need to refer to my protocol book when doing it in the future, but now I’m more familiar and more confident in my abilities and more comfortable using galvanic treatments and look forward to using it again.

I have a true passion for esthetics. There are many things I have done that I loved in the past, like wedding planning, jewelry making, and having a subscription bridal box. I loved it, but I didn’t feel passion for it (which is why it fizzled out and I am now an esthetician), and I not only want to feel it, but I want others to see it. I want them to see that I’m passionate, and I want them to trust that I am pushing myself and I am always going to push myself to be the best esthetician I can be, and that I am dedicated to continually learning and bettering myself.

Melissa is a finalist in the Compromised Skin category. Follow her journey to the The Skin Games finals on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MELISSA AND HER SKIN GAMES JOURNEY?
CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE: Expectations vs. Reality