Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Advanced Esthetics Classes for Recent Grads

I had someone e-mail me today with a great question, she wanted to know of a place in the MD/DC area where she could find advanced classes in waxing. I recommended the International Dermal Institute in Virginia and Von Lee in Pikesville, MD outside of Baltimore. Two outstanding schools for additional/advanced training. The International Dermal Institute offers classes throughout the United States and Internationally as well.

In addition to these schools, if you are having trouble finding an advanced training facility in your area, consider calling around to all the esthetics schools and ask them if they offer additional training for estheticians. Many schools do, but they don't advertise it.

And thank you Clarissa for asking such a great question...I am glad to see some of you recent graduates are ready to embark on your career journey with continuing education.

Estheticians: Botox as Wrinkle Prevention

When most people think of Botox, they envision a person with deep set wrinkles as the doctor fills the wrinkles away. While this might be true for many clients, more and more younger people are getting Botox as a preventative measure. One facial cosmetic surgeon I spoke with told me that she can't do much with Botox when people come in with crow's feet and other deeply rooted wrinkles, but clients who come in either before they develop wrinkles or when they only have mild wrinkling have the best results. The Botox freezes the muscles before it can develop the wrinkles, before it can create deeper wrinkles. Why is this important to esthetics? We might have clients who ask us about wrinkle prevention, and in addition, to all the great services we give them, Botox might be another great wrinkle zapper in their skin care toolbox!

                                                                      
Grace Riley author of JumpStart Your Esthetics Career: A Guide For Newly Licensed Estheticians

Estheticians-Doctor Connection: When Estheticians Need to Ethically Refer Their Clients Out

Estheticians have clients from all walks of life, but for the most part, clients who get regular facials value their looks. They don't want to be a slave to the signs of aging; they don't want ruddy and dull skin; and most importantly they want to look as good as they feel. Your job is to help them achieve those results, but sometimes you can't do that 100% of the time.

What do you do when your skin care routine can't fix their troublesome areas? Some of you might think you can fix anything, but the truth is we estheticians are not miracle workers. There are some products out there that can address these issues faster and easier than what we can do, and we need to take an ethical stance and give our customers what we can actually give them, and refer them out when necessary. Sometimes, we have clients who have abused their skin from sun and/or smoking and no matter how many facials they get, no matter how diligent they are with their skin care regimen at home they still need something else to improve the quality of their skin.

I have said this before, but I believe every esthetician should have a good dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon in their Rolodex. Some clients need Botox or Dysport, or other fillers to deal with difficult wrinkles or aging. The effects of sun and smoking can have tragic effects on the skin, and no matter how much we try as estheticians we can't fix these problem areas. We can improve them, but sometimes clients want more.

 I would never recommend you tell a client that they should get Botox or Dysport, but if they ask you about it, you can tell that some people have success with these alternative skin solutions.  (Never give medical advice, you are not a doctor. If you have used Botox you can certainly give them your opinions and experiences with it, but remember you are not a doctor.)

Sometimes, assuming you have a good rapport with the doctors, it might be wise to have some of the doctors' brochures in a nearby drawer for clients who ask for more information. Remember, skin care is a work in collaboration with doctors, and while doctors can perform some things we can't, we provide things they can't like human touch and daily skin maintenance. Don't look at doctors as competition, but look at them as a piece of the puzzle in good skin care.

And remember, you can always recommend that your clients establish good skin care habits by visiting their dermatologist yearly for skin cancer screenings.