Your Aesthetician and You: An Equal Partnership in Beautiful Skin

Beautiful skin is the result of a true partnership between you and your aesthetician. When half of the team is a mediocre practitioner or a non-dedicated client, there can only be lackluster, or even dangerous, results.

So can you be sure that your aesthetician has what it takes to help you achieve your skin care goals? There are three different questions you can, and should, ask prior to your facial service that, in my opinion, can help separate the masters from the disasters.

1) Will I break out after the facial?

Anyone who tells you that it is completely normal to break out after your facial treatment should be avoided. Breaking out is not a natural after-effect. It’s usually the result of careless extractions or improper product use. Occasionally, everyone (even I) make mistakes from time to time. Skin can behave in a manner that is unexpected. But it shouldn’t be the norm and it certainly shouldn’t be made to be the client’s post-facial expectation.

2) Can you recommend good products that I can get at the drugstore?

One of the biggest complaints people have about getting beauty services is the post-treatment push to buy products. You shouldn’t have to feel as though you are being stingy when you don’t want (or can’t afford) the myriad products being pushed. Any aesthetician worth his or her salt will be able to identify quality brands available at your area drugstore. Be wary of those aestheticians that can only speak knowledgably about the products that their spa carries.

3) How often should I get a facial?

This shouldn’t be a cut and dry answer. Getting a monthly facial does help your skin achieve its greatest appearance. That said, sometimes it’s not feasible for individuals to follow that regimen. Your aesthetician should be able to create a home care regimen and facial schedule for you that are flexible. Sure – the results might not be as great as a monthly facial, but combining quality home care with quarterly facials can definitely acheive visible results.

Aside from the above questions, there are certain clues to watch out for during the service. To me, the most horrifying thing that my clients tell me is that they have gone to other aestheticians that berate them for their skin imperfections. These aestheticians have told my clients that their skin is terrible; they ask what they’ve done to it to make it look the way that it does. People with skin imperfections already feel self-conscious. A licensed professional insulting them only serves to make them feel worse. If a licensed professional ever speaks that way to you, I urge you to get up and ask to speak to the salon and spa manager.

 

Before you think that a unfortunate facial can only be the fault of the aesthetician,  there are some very important items that are your responsibility during the facial process. It’s up to you, the client, to notify the aesthetician concerning your current at-home regimen, prescription medications that you are using, whether or not you are pregnant. These things can affect the decisions made by the aesthetician. If the practitioner is working under a false set of assumptions, your results will not be as great and the facial can, in some cases, have damaging results.

 

As a client, you should have high expectations. But you shouldn’t have unreasonable ones. Facials can make great differences to your skin, but the changes don’t happen after one facial and they cannot happen without you following a good at-home regimen. What you do to your skin daily has more of an effect on you than one facial can!

 

Getting a great facial service should be a wonderful experience and should result in tangible changes to your skin’s appearance. Acheiving your skin care goals is more a partnership with your aesthetician than it is a provider-client relationship. Keep up your end of the bargain and ensure that your aesthetician is keeping up theirs and the result will be nothing less than beautiful!