I never knew exactly what I wanted do when I grew up. During my senior year of high school, my best friend and I decided that we were going to become hairdressers and open our own salon, so we convinced our parents to put us in beauty school. Three nights during the week and every Saturday for 10 months, we drove to downtown Albany, New York to go to beauty school. It all sounded great in theory – until I realized that, not only did I not like doing hair, but I also was not good at it. I completed the program, got my license, dabbled in the workplace, and, then, went to college to complete my bachelor’s and work on my master’s in psychology.

As an intern in a psychiatric facility, I quickly realized, once again, this profession was not my calling. I fell back on my cosmetology license and decided to open my own skin care and nail business.
That business molded a new being within me. I fell in love with learning. I studied every video and book about skin care that I could. I was determined to never be asked a question in my treatment room that I could not answer or at least find the answer to.

I was determined to help others accomplish goals, create futures, secure incomes, and become something. In January 2003, I opened the Aesthetic Science Institute, an aesthetics school in Latham, New York. I had no idea how to run a school – I just knew what I wanted to teach and how I wanted to teach it. My first class had six students and one teacher: me.

Fifteen years later, I have over 100 students per year, nine amazing instructors and staff, New York state-approved curricula, and a CIDESCO-certified institution. I am incredibly proud, but even more grateful.

I believe that the skin care profession is a pathway to unlimited potential and success. The opportunities are there for all of us; it is simply a matter of how many you want. Perhaps you do not know what you want from the industry, but I can assure you that if you know you want something and act upon that, then endless possibilities will be afforded to you.

I have learned and experienced so much over the years and I am excited to share it with you through these pages for the rest of the year. Happy reading!

Michelle D'allaird Brenner

AIA Vice President, 

Director of Education