facials

facials

Monday, January 18, 2016

A few more additions you’ll need

SOOTHING MUSIC is one of the most essential ingredients to have in your facial. Music helps to create a relaxing environment for your client. I have very specific preferences on the music I use in my facials.  I look for a monotone (a voice or other sound unchanging in pitch; without intonation or expressiveness), hypnotic sound. I will list a few of my favorites. Most of these are easy to come by on Amazon or other music source. 
  • Steven Roach/Quiet Music I, II, III
  • Stephen Halpern/Spectrum Suite,.and others
  • William Aura/Aurasound l, ll
  • Brian Eno/Music for Airports
  • Iasos/Angelic Music
To play this soothing music, you’ll need a CD player or perhaps an iPod. I have always used CD players (and tape players in the ’80s!), but whichever device you prefer to useplay music! Silence, unless the client requests it, is deafening. Be sure your CD player has a repeat feature so you don’t have to mess with hitting replay during the facial. For a full list from my facial music library, see Don’t keep silent in a facial—music-wise (link below).

I have had facials where the aesthetician was playing the radio, set on a “quiet music station, but it’s the radio, nonetheless, and I don’t recommend it. Nowadays many practitioners (massage, facial, and even therapists) utilize Pandora, a free online “radio station that plays music you choose.

SHEETS. Flannel sheets are a welcome covering to any body. They are not only warm but they just plain feel good! Keeping your client warm is of great importance. No one can truly relax if they are feeling cool or worsecold. I have both flannel as well as 100% cotton sheets. I am actually a stickler with full cotton. Poly/cotton blends or plain polyester sheets just dont feel good to me. And if they dont feel good to me, they probably wont feel good for my clients who are lying on them. It doesnt cost that much more to go the extra mile and get 100% cotton and/or soft, flannel sheets.

BLANKETS. Along with your flannel or cotton sheets, a warm cotton blanket is essential. Be prepared for the cold blooded. Have several blankets on hand in case your client needs them. Everyone’s comfort zones are different and some people (I am one of them) cannot keep warm easily while lying still. I have 3 blankets on my facial bed (one is over the entire area; one is folded in half; the 3rd on is for the feet area). I also have 3 spare blankets on hand for anyone who gets cold.
This looks like a facial bed I want to get into!
HEATED BLANKETS. I do use an electric blanket on the very bottom of my table. The bottom sheet goes over it, so in essence the client is laying on the heated blanket. You can purchase an expensive heated pad or blanket from a beauty supply or massage store. I have found in my years in business that a simple, twin-sized electric blanket from Target does a great job and is usually at least half the price.

My heated blanket has a range of heat from 1-10. When I am making up the bed for a client, I put the blanket heat on 5. Once the client is in the bed, I tell them the range and ask them if they want me to adjust the heat. Most people are fine starting out then ask me to raise the heat to 7, 8 or even 10 by the time I have the clay mask on them toward the end of the facial.

Even in the summertime, due to air conditioning in the office and the fact that clients arent wearing a lot of clothing (just a smock and socks), the heated blanket is a wonderful option for your clients. You may be surprised that you use the heat 365.  

SMOCKS. I think smocks are essential. I have gotten facials where there was not a smock for me to wear. Although the aesthetician left the room for me to undress and get (naked) in to her facial bed, I still don't like the feeling of having nothing on under the bedding.

All of these decisions are going to be up to you based on what you like and what you want to do. I usually base my decisions on my personal likes and dislikes. Since I dislike getting naked for a facial, I always provide a smock for all clients.

I have two different smocks available. One is a simple elastic top, the other has a Velcro closing. Why have 2 types? Thinner or less busty clients are fine slipping on the elastic smock. But for women who are very full busted or are overweight, they need something that allows for this. 

When I have a brand new client coming in, I usually put both on the bed. When I am explaining about putting the smock on, I grab the one they should use and inconspicuously remove the other one. I doubt my clients ever see this slide of hand. And having both smocks avoids any uncomfortable moments. You would never want to say something like, You wont fit into this, so Ill get you a bigger smock.Please dont do this! Be prepared and please be discreet. I have heard horror stories of how other aestheticians have handled basic client procedures like this.

SOCKS. I tend to be cold-natured. Therefore I am sensitive to the needs of people who come to my salon who also may run on the cold side. I have always supplied warm, comfy socks for my clients to wear during their facial treatment. I would say only half of those offered actually wear the socks, but for those that do, the socks are a little extra that are always appreciated. I purchase super soft, thick socks that are easy to find. Dont skip this small, seemingly incidental extra.

TOWELS. You will need towels, lots and lots of towels. I don’t think you can have too many towels. I prefer to have two towels resting on my lap. One fully spread out and the second folded in half the long way. The second, top towel is “hand towel size and is what I wipe my hands on. The larger one is a bath towel and stays underneath the hand towel to protect my clothes. I dont wipe anything on this larger, underneath protective towel. Otherwise my clothes could get product on them. When I worked at a fancy spa in Dallas, I wore very dressy clothing. My friends were always surprised I didn’t ruin them giving facials. Other than being careful and relatively neat, without the lap towels, it would be a disaster.

You also want a hand towel under the clients head to catch the dead cells during gommage or any other exfoliation you may do in your treatment. It is best if it reaches to her shoulders without being too far under, so when it is removed, all you have to do is gently lift her head and her shoulders don’t have to lift up as well. Thats a minor detail, but the details count when it comes to your client’s comfort and ability to relax.

Finally, you may have a client who needs a rolled up towel placed under her neck. Some people have back and/or neck problems, so yo will no doubt run into people who need something under their heads. Sometimes rolling a hand towel does the trick; others need a flat, folded towel under their head to lift it up a bit.

Having extra towels on hand for cleanup is also a good idea. I like to have washcloths under a few of my products (that are not on my working trolley) to keep the drip from ruining whatever table or trolley.

MACHINES. Although I dont think you necessarily need machines, I am still including a few words about them here.

I use no machines in my facials. I never have (except in my first two jobs) and I never will. This is my personal preference based on having used just about every machine available back in the 80s and not liking the feel of them in general and specifically not seeing results or not liking the results from using them.

Just about every aesthetician uses at least steam, if not other machinery. In Machines used in facials—are they necessary? on my layperson site (see link below), I discuss the different machines that a client may come across in a facial treatment. Obviously, I also explain my opinion(s) about the machinery too.  Here I will not go into the various machines you might use in your facials. I will leave that research and experimentation to you.

I think I have covered just about everything I use in my treatments and salon, from odds and ends to major pieces of equipment. You may find more articles with things I forgot, but for sure these posts are a good start for anyone!

For more information, see:

Friday, January 15, 2016

A Cautionary Calcium Story

This is an article that talks about an issue that isnt about how a client would take care of her skin, but I felt it was important for you to know about in case you have a client who is having similar issues. Click on the link to be taken to A Cautionary Calcium Story.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

When a client comes in late (or early)

Clients come in late, they come in early, and most often they come for their facial treatments right on time. Their timing depends on many factors on any given day. Traffic, kids, an office meeting that ran late, there are a variety of reasons a client might not be on time for her treatment as well as entering your office on the early side. Taking the early/late client arrival in stride is something to strive for vs. showing signs of irritation or disapproval. See my personal story below to find out why.

As I mention in Client Preparation: Part I, I tend to be early for appointments I have with other businesses and people. I try not to enter a business too early because I know how it feels when one of my clients comes in 30 minutes before their scheduled appointment. That is too early!

Several years ago I arrived at a chiropractic appointment with a new doctor. Because I wasnt sure exactly where his office was, I left my home with plenty of time to arrive early or at least on time. The office turned out to be closer than I had expected, and I arrived 15 minutes before my appointment time. I walked into his office, which was a large room without any partitions. In other words, there was no reception area with his personal office in a private area. This doctor happened to be eating his lunch. As I walked in, he said in a rather nasty tone, Youre early! I was so taken aback by his tone; I said I could leave and come back, but he told me to take a seat and hed be with me shortly. To say I felt uncomfortable (and wanted to bolt out the door) is putting it mildly.

I have never forgotten how bad this person made me feel about being a few minutes early to an appointment. OK, fifteen minutes early, but still there was no reason to treat me like I had just dropped a gallon of paint on his office carpet. I told myself then and there to never make one of my clients feel bad about being super early to an appointment. Perhaps in the past I had given a little attitude, but going forward I would be gracious and understanding. Needless to say, I never went back to this doctor, by the way.

You have a choice. You can be irritated about a client coming in super early or late and come across irritated with her or you can be calm and friendly. If shes really early and you really cant take her at that time, you can get her a glass of water or tea and ask her to sit in the lobby. Tell her you have a few things to do before you take her, then go into your office and do what you need to do. If shes late, try not to make her feel like youre rushing around, hurrying to get her in your chair. You can still get her out in a timely manner but never make her feel like you were upset or annoyed that she was late. You cannot undo that exchange, and even though your client was late, she might not come back if you treat her negativelyeven once.

Usually a client will call or text to let me know shes running behind. It is therefore essential to always have your business phone near you when waiting for a client. Nowadays my business phone is my cell phone number. In the past, however, I always had a landline business phone, where my cell phone was my personal number. With the landline, I was always in my office near the phone, so if a client called to be late I was there to receive the call. (This was also before texting was so commonplace.) With my iPhone, I take it with me into the lobby area of my office suite while I await my clients arrival. Then if she calls or texts me with an Im running 5 minutes late message, I wont have to wonder where she is if she is late.
One client I had was always 20 minutes later for her 5pm appointment. It was so chronic that I suggested she make a 5:30pm (with me) and perhaps shed be a bit early from now on. My only hope was that she then wouldn’t show up at 5:50! Moving her appointment to a later time actually fixed her chronic lateness. It worked for me because at that time I was taking as late as a 6pm facial. Obviously if your last appointment is a 5pm and you cant take the client later, youll have to have a conversation with her to see what you two can work out.

As you may have read in Client Information Charts—Part I (see link below), I mark most things down on my client charts. Chronic lateness is one such item. Even if a client is late once, I will have marked it on her chart so that if it happens again, Ill know this could be a growing trend. Same with an early bird. If a client continues to be 15 minutes earlyalwaysfor her treatments, I will come in 15 minutes before I normally would or make sure I"m ready 15 minutes early for he in case she, once again, arrives early. As long as this isnt an inconvenience for me, I am happy to accommodate her without saying a thing.

Trimming your treatment. If a client is really late and I dont have enough time to do the entire (time-wise) treatment, I will simply trim all the steps to the facial, hopefully in a way that is not noticeable to the client. Usually when people come in late, that completely understand if I have to cut their facial. Cut meaning trim it down to fit into the time frame I have for her now that shes late. If you are careful, you truly can do the entire facial, albeit cutting things here and there and taking less time with each step, and your client wont feel or see the difference.

Its simple to do without removing any critical step from your facial. I dont linger with any particular step. In other words, I click along from one step to another (not rushing, though). If this late client needs a lot of extractions, that step will have to but trimmed down and if she is really late, it may have to be cut altogether. In this case, say with a 30 minutes late client, I will give her choices in terms of what I cut. If she really came in for extractions, I will cut something before that in order to give myself time to not only extract her, but also put a clay mask on her face afterwards. I just couldnt extract and have her leave my office without the clay being on her face for at least 5 minutes. Clay calms and soothes and is essential after extractions.

For more information, see:

Monday, January 11, 2016

Details on chart writing

In case youre interested in what exactly I write on my client charts per facial, here are several examples of actual notes from a few of my clients charts. As you can see, there is a uniformity to the notes although each entry is different in its own way.

This first entry is from the first facial of a long-term, monthly client of mine. In seven years, I think she has missed or had to cancel only 3 or 4 appointments. She is regular!

  • 10/7/08—Very congested-tons of embedded blackheads. Pustules & papulesnot too bad. Esp (R) mouthphone (knows it). Not easy to exttried to get BHs & any obvious infections. Shorter massage. Used JUV1552D1. Massaged until soaked in. Ac103 & JUV. (s) all. Needs Yonka & my facials for now. Acupuncture weekly. Good self care. PMILK/GELLPNG15303—103TS

As Ive mentioned in previous articles, writing down the details is an important process in chart writing. Thinking you will remember may work for you, but it never really has for me. If I dont write while the client is masking, I will miss certain things that may be important. Once the client has left the building any number of things can happen to distract you from writing on her chart. The phone could ring, a text might come in, your next client might be really early. My point is: write things down when they are fresh in your mind. Otherwise you might forget to remember.

In the left, blank area of the chart of the following client, I noted: 5 wks; 15 min early. The five week note just lets me know she was one week later than her usual monthly appointment. And as Ive said—clients do show up early, so be on time! I noted that because if she continues to be early over and over, I will need to get to the office a bit earlier to be sure Im ready for her—vs. asking her to come a bit later. If she was continually 15 minutes late, that might be an issue that could be addressed at some point.
  • 03/10/15—Very worn out. Work is stressful until the end of this month. She was so tired—she fell asleep during massage—a first! Used MILKGEL303305MICROGAUZED1EXTJUV52PG/SERUMMASSAGEPc/Nc103. P—15
  • 4/14/15Looks great. Just a few more BHs than normal but NO INFECTIONS! Said she has been changing her thyroid meds, which seems to help her skin. Sowell see. New great realtor who will sell house--she looks much more relaxed than last month. Used MILK303305ALPHA EXFGAUZE (so sticky!)HYDExt many BHs (some w/lancet help)JUV52PGSERUMPAMPNGMASSAGE (slept)-Ac-103. PEAU (-20%)travel EAU
This process has of course evolved over the years. I never entered every single product I used on a client’s skin although I highly recommend you start off doing so. I now write about 10 lines of notes on the chart; in earlier years I may have written just a few. Over time I discovered how invaluable writing down more about each treatment helped me for the next facial with each client. I certainly cant remember one month to the next every detail about one clients facials. Can you?

For more information, see: