Twenty five years ago, I was a practicing aesthetician working at a spa in South Florida. My clientele was worldly, consisting of supermodels and wives of the Fortune 500 Club (the type of people who expected the best of everything). There were not a lot of product options available during that time. I remember that the spa owner purchased an enzyme peel product and instructed the team of 12 aestheticians to offer it in addition to our usual wellness facial for an additional 25 dollars. Mind you, as spa employees, we did not make any additional commission for this service. I began utilizing the enzyme peel with all of my clients and their results were spectacular compared to the basic wellness facial. The other aestheticians just carried on with their usual routine facials. I am astonished that, even in these times of free information, many aestheticians continue to treat their profession like a job as opposed to their own business.

“My personal motto is ‘Never look back... Always look forward.’ I try to live each day within the moment, balancing work with hobbies.”

Aestheticians need to grow their client base and supplement that treatment base with retail sales. Today’s informed client needs guidance and home care recommendations. It is up to the professional to stay educated, offer result driven home care products, and follow up with their clients just as other types of business entities do. For those just starting out in their career, it is important to understand that education is ongoing. We live in an age of educated consumers. You have to be on top of your game to keep up with new ingredients and how they function. Retinaldehyde is one of my new favorite ingredients. This form of retinol is encapsulated so that it slowly releases over time which eliminates irritation. To obtain good and consistent results, new licensees need to find a line of results-driven products and follow their protocol. Do not mix product brands and do not cut corners. After each treatment, make sure that your client goes home with proper home care products. Miracle skin transformations are not instant; they happen over time. Looking back at the course of events that brought me to where I am today, I have no regrets and would not change a thing. I try to lead with innovative new products, not follow. My personal motto is “Never look back... Always look forward.”  I try to live each day within the moment, balancing work with hobbies like golf, gardening and nature walks. I spend a great deal of time reading and studying about nutrition, herbal remedies, new environmental threats, and food growing practices and processing. I suppose it all goes back to my upbringing where we fully realized the importance of nature’s offerings and my instinctive desire to keep it that way for future generations.

Visit her website: anaturaldifference.com and Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/A-Natural-Difference-Skincare-US/166219176722720.