Pamper Your Clients: Don't Just Slap on a Mask and Leave Them

 I had a customer today tell me that of all the places she has had facials from luxury resorts, cruises to franchise spas that I am the only esthetician who didn't leave her while the mask dried. I was surprised. Her actual words were, "Most estheticians slap on some cream and walk away for 15-20 minutes while the mask dries."

I can't say that I was really surprised, I have heard many estheticians say that they do bookkeeping or inventory control while their client is left alone to relax. In theory it sounds good, the client can sleep while the mask is drying, but in dollars it doesn't make sense to the client.  I should know, I was a client for years before becoming an esthetician. One of my biggest pet peeves was an esthetician who left me for a long period of time; they didn't go the extra mile to make sure I was pampered, and they literally slapped on a mask and left me cook for 15 minutes.

When I became an esthetician, I vowed to give my clients my absolute best! On the rare occasions that I need to step out of the room, I quietly whisper to the client to let them know what I have to do and when I will be back, I am never gone more than 2-3 minutes. I can only think of  handful of times that I have had to leave my clients, situations where I needed an extra towel or I had an eyemask cooling off in the fridge. For my hour long facials, I am in the room for the entire facial, and with exception of those rare occasions I mentioned above, my hands are touching my client the entire hour. I vow to make every movement pampering, make every minute of those 60 minutes feel worthy of the high prices they pay for a facial.

What do I do when the mask is drying?  I do everything from a scalp massage to a decollotee warming massage to anti-aging hand facial ending with warm towels. For some of my favorite clients, I do a warm towel wrapped around their feet with aromatherapy oils. You can get creative as you want, and I change up what I do based on the supplies I have on hand, but I make sure each and every client feels extraordinary when he/she leaves. I want them to feel like the facial was worth every penny.

Think about it for a second, if you paid $75.00 for a facial for roughly 60 minutes that is more than a $1.00 per minute.  No one in their right mind is going to pay that much per minute to have a product slapped on their face, no they want more--they want to be pampered. For as much as they want their skin to improve, many of these clients enjoy being pampered. Most of these clients are financially savvy and they understand what they are getting for the money, and in some cases not getting for the money. If you want to build a clientele the best way is to give each and every client your full attention for that hour, make them feel like what they paid was well worth the money, otherwise they will go somewhere that gives them good bang for their buck! And DO NOT LEAVE THEM FOR VERY LONG--TOUCH THEM FOR THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE--HUMAN TOUCH IS RELAXING AND CALMING!

Why You Should Always Include Your Picture With Your Resume

Yes, this is me! I am not a big fan of pictures so you won't see this very often!

 

 

 

Why do you need to include a picture of yourself with every esthetics resume you send out?

You are in the beauty industry, potential employers want to see you are professional and that you have the appropriate look for the business. They want to make sure that you aren't covered in acne; that you look clean and polished; and they want to see that you can project a healthy image to their clients. Can you blame them?  Why not weed out the estheticians that have abused their skin? The ones that have obviously tanned too much for one lifetime..the ones that have visible smoker's skin.

 

Some people consider it antiquated to include a picture with your resume--

Here is what I have to say to that, if what you are doing isn't working now, what does it hurt to include a picture of yourself? Does it hurt to stick out from the crowd? In my opinion, being the one resume remembered for its picture is far better than being one of the zillion resumes forgotten.

I have had several employers tell me the reason they called me was because I included a picture of myself on the resume; it made it easier for them to ascertain whether I was visually appropriate for their spa.

 

Won't employers discriminate against me?

Let's face the facts, all of us estheticians are under a microscope with both employers and people we meet who find out we are esthys. They are going to look at us with scrutiny to make sure our skin is as good as what we preach. I think employers have a right to discriminate on this basis, if you are in the beauty industry you have to expect people to look at you as a beauty role model. You wouldn't go to a hair stylist to get highlights when the hair stylist had severely damaged hair would you? No, because that hair stylist doesn't represent good beauty and health, and you wouldn't trust her with your hair. The same is true with estheticians, no one is going to trust us if we reek of smoke and have sun damaged skin, it is just a fact.

Estheticians: Resume Help

In this economy it can be tough getting a job much less one in a luxury services industry such as esthetics. What sets you apart from the other thousand estheticians applying for the same position? What skills and abilities do you have that jumps out to employers? Let me help you stand out from the crowd of estheticians waiting in line for the same job you want.

 

I offer several affordable package choices to get your career off and running today!

 

Basic Jump Start Plan-Let me emphasize your skills and assets by writing a winning resume to get the attention of employers. I will highlight the key words and skills that will grab employers' attention...just what you need to jump start your career! $20.00

 

Professional Cover Letter-Grab employers' attention with a well written and career specific cover letter. I provide you with a professional cover letter that highlights your best skills and abilities to help you get noticed. $20.00

 

Interview Coaching-Ready to go on an interview? Need help with the interview process and help answering questions so you are more likely to get the job in esthetics? With my esthetics and human resources background, I can help you prepare for the toughest interviews. Go in prepared so you get the job! Phone or chat--$30.00 for minutes.

 

 Reach me via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/grace.riley.5 

Send me a message today and we will Jump Start Your Career!

 

Author of JumpStart Your Esthetics Career: A Guide for Newly Licensed Estheticians and Spa Divas: A Place to Hang My License both available on www.amazon.com.

 

 

 

 

Key Factor in Securing an Esthetics Job

 Key Factor in Securing an Esthetics Job

             Sending out millions of copies of your resume after you graduate esthetics school can be emotionally exhausting. It can seem like the biggest hurdle in your life when you finally got your license only to find out that not many spas hire recent graduates.

              One of the best employment practices, and one that has worked for centuries is the old fashioned method of networking. No, not SOCIAL NETWORKING (that can be useful too) but the art of networking with people from all aspects of you life. You never know when a job opportunity might be lurking right beneath your nose.

               When I was in school, I used to get my hair done at this salon, not so much a spa, but a little salon that had a massage room. I had my eye on that massage room, dreamed of being that future esthetician, but I knew I wasn't getting my license anytime soon. "How could I get experience?" I thought as I got my hair done one day. I asked the stylist to give me the owners phone 
                                      number and  e-mail address, and I contacted her immediately. I told her I
                                      would work for free. It was not an easy sell even with FREE as part of the
                                      sentence.

                                                      The main problem for me was that I had zero spa experience,
                                      nothing-nada-zip and in the spa world that is bad news. I had work experience
                                      but spas could careless if you were the President of the U.S. if you don't have
                                      real world experience in esthetics--they don't want to waste their time training
                                     someone. In my situation, I had to constantly call the owner of the salon until I
                                     could even get her to agree to meet me about a "FREE INTERNSHIP."  How
                                     sad is that? I was determined to get her to say "yes" and she finally did.

                                                    Another networking scenario that turned out to be an opportunity
                                     smacking me right in the face was a nail salon. I would go in every other week
                                     to get my nails and toes done, and I would spend my time talking to the owner
                                     about the spa world and we would chat about the industry for my hour plus
                                     there. Anyway, after a few weeks she asked me to join her and work at her
                                     salon, and even when I declined (I already had a job in the works) she would
                                     ask me every time I went in for a service.
                        
                                                     In a different networking twist, I met a mother at a mom's group
                                     who was friends with a friend of mine. She was a chiropractor and she
                                      suggested an interesting agreement between us where we would operate a
                                       spa together that focused mostly on back issues, but one that would offer
                                        esthetics services. We ended up not going into business together because I
                                       had to move out-of-state, but it was a great opportunity.


                                                  Without networking, without talking about what I do and I what I
                                         wanted to do, I would never had come into contact with these opportunities.
                                         Not every opportunity will pan out, but having the opportunities makes it
                                         easier to get a job in esthetics. Even if you have been in esthetics for a while
                                          it doesn't hurt to have a network of people  and/or opportunities to pull
                                          from. And of course staying focused and never giving up on your dreams
                                          help make the difference between a working and unemployed esthetician.