Although I have already written a post about this subject, see Client Information Charts—Part I, there is more good
information in this article so I’m including it here as an addition to the
original post.
The following was written back in 1990, before I had published my first book, Timeless Skin.
I was gathering information to write a book for aestheticians that
never made it into book form. Much of the content I have prepared for
this blog was inspired by that idea—providing information to help aestheticians.
The Importance of Creating A Client’s
Skin Care Consultation Form
As
aestheticians, we need to understand the importance of knowing our
clients, from the inside out. The more questions we pose to the client,
the more we are going to understand about the condition of her health,
and therefore the condition(s) of her skin.
Other than the obvious name, address, and phone number (needed just in case you have to cancel or change an appointment), you must find out her date of birth.
Over the years I have had several women actually refuse to give me the
year of their birth. In this situation my reply to their reaction is
this: In order to get a full and complete understanding about the
condition of your skin, it is helpful if I know, chronologically, how
many years it has been alive. At this point, she will either
reluctantly give me the information or she won’t. Don’t fight it, just
get her general age if nothing else. It is true: knowing how long a client has been alive does help me better understand the condition of her skin as I am seeing it that first time.
After that, more basic information can be asked such as Do you wear contacts? Are they in or out? Do you have allergies to any known ingredients or products you have used on your skin recently?
Most women are not still using products on their skin that have caused
reactions, however there may be ingredients in your products she may
have an intolerance to and you need to make a note of these.
I always ask Do you take any oral medication on a daily basis? This is an important question; let me explain. Medication taken orally affects all aspects of the body—from
your little toe to the hair on your head, including the skin. And of
course it’s treating the symptom you are taking the medication for in
the first place.
Medication is basically toxic. Its job is to fight off
or kill, and it’s affecting the entire organism. We need a great deal of
water to help filter these toxins out of the body, so water intake must increase.
Medication also depletes vitamin stores (this varies with each
medication), which must be replaced if optimum health is to be restored
or maintained. Because of this, there is usually some degree of
dehydration and possibly some specific vitamin deficiencies lurking
around. So be on the lookout for these conditions when analysing the
skin, and remember their presence is probably due in part, at the least,
to any medications your client is currently taking.
Some women don’t consider The Pill
as “medication.” However, it is. The Pill contains hormones that alter
normal bodily functions and will produces some of the same effects
mentioned above as well as a host of conditions on its own.
The birth
control pill tricks your body into thinking it’s pregnant. In other words, your body cannot
distinguish between being on The Pill and being pregnant. So taking
The Pill for long periods of time, in my opinion, exhausts the normal
body functions—both hormonal and otherwise. This can cause serious
damage long-term if the body is not given a chance to recover
periodically. And because hormones have so much to do with the skin,
primarily sebaceous secretions, it is important to note if your client
uses them. Whether it be The Pill for younger women, or estrogen and
other hormones for women entering menopause, make a note of these.
Next, Do you smoke?—obviously, this is very
important. Smoking (along with air pollution and things that are cold,
to name a few) causes a constriction of capillary walls, the hair-like
veins that are the blood network to the skin on the face. These
capillaries, says one plastic surgeon, “are like wet toilet paper.” Yes,
they are very weak indeed and are very easily “broken” or, more accurately, rendered dysfunctional.
Smoking also
breaks down vitamin C in the body. Vitamin C is water-soluble and goes
out with your urine. It is not stored or produced in the body and
therefore must be obtained from our diet on a daily basis. Being
deficient in vitamin C is common, and for a client who smokes or lives
in a polluted environment or does not have a very balanced and healthful
diet, you can almost be sure she is lacking in this very important
vitamin.
Vitamin
C helps with the production of collagen, which is the supporting
structure of the skin. Vitamin C, and specifically bioflavinoids, help
maintain the integrity of the capillary walls to prevent their dysfunction.
Bioflavinoids are found in the rinds of fruit. Lemon, lime, and
grapefruit rinds are especially high in bioflavinoids. Although I am not
a big vitamin proponent, I do recommend for my clients to consider
taking vitamin C with bioflavinoids to make sure they are getting the
necessary amount needed by their bodies. [I keep a container of chewable vitamin C tablets on my desk for my clients.]
Because this vitamin is
water-soluble, it is almost impossible to take too much of it (overdose). Whatever is
not needed will be filtered out in the urine. However, vitamin C in
high doses will induce diarrhea, or excessive looseness of the bowels,
so let your body—your bowels—be your guide. If you have a client with chronic constipation, perhaps vitamin C would be helpful for her.
Next, ask How much sun exposure do you receive? Are you in direct sunlight—as in sunbathing—often or rarely? Again, this will help you to access the condition of her skin, and it
will also give you a pretty clear indication of the mentality of your
client in relation to sun exposure. I find some people really aren’t that concerned with how much sun they are receiving, although sometimes these will also be the clients who are very concerned about the aging process. Finding out the answers to these questions can open up conversations that will surely be helpful to your clients in the long-term.
It
is my belief that overexposure or even exposure to direct sunlight for
short periods of time, has a detrimental or degenerating effect on
facial tissue. This may be old news, but many of my clients do not buy
into all the clinical studies being presented nowadays against frequent
sun exposure. They believe that sun truly enhances their looks as
opposed to having detrimental effects. The truth is the number one cause
of premature aging, other than the natural genetic degeneration
process, is sun exposure. I’m
not advocating absolutely no sun exposure, however I am suggesting that
direct sunlight not be allowed to hit the face. Actually the face,
neck, and hands. All three are the most frequently exposed, therefore
the most overexposed areas of the body. And in turn they are the
parts that will show the signs of aging most readily.
Sunlight is essential
to our health and well-being. As the sun hits the skin, it triggers certain vitamins to
synthesize, namely vitamin D, which is important to help sustain life. Our bodies depend
on sunlight for nutrition, and besides—it
feels good to be out in the sun. But spend your time wisely and
cautiously and keep your face, neck, and hands covered, always using
ample sunscreen. As for your clients, my advice is the same.
The American Cancer Society puts out an informative pamphlet called, “Fry Now, Pay Later.”
I highly recommend handing these out to your clients and especially to
the clients that are overexposing themselves. The booklet is free of
charge, simply write to your local A.C.S. [OK, the 1990 date is showing:
“Write” to the ACS? You can easily go on the Internet now for free
information.]
I touched on the importance of water, and now you can ask your client directly, How much water do you drink—a lot, not enough, or none?
I can’t necessarily tell if a client is drinking a lot of water. I
don’t see the internal hydration water provides—necessarily—with a
noticeable, well-hydrated quality to the outer skin. Realistically, drinking water is for the benefit of the inside of you, not the outer, dead skin. No matter, praise those who are
drinking a lot, and encourage those who are not to drink more water.
Next, Do you take vitamins? If so, Which ones?
I find many people take some sort of multivitamin, although some take no supplements
at all. Other than the water-soluble vitamins, namely B-complex and C, I
actually think people are better off staying away from “vitamin
therapy.” Vitamin pills are usually synthetic concentrations of valuable ingredients found
in organic foods. I prefer recommending a client adding higher quality foods to her diet instead of the quick-fix vitamin pill.
Like other medications
taken orally, vitamins can have an adverse effect on the system. Because
of their high concentrations, the vitamin content most likely goes
through the body undigested. These pills also require more water
for their digestion and elimination. Certain people feel better with
vitamins, some feel no difference. Our job as as their aesthetician is
not to preach nor prescribe, but to educate and advise. You may simply
want to suggest that it would be preferable to obtain all vitamins
through the daily diet, and if further vitamin intake is desired, then
take them in good health!
Last and surely not least on this questionnaire is the subject of exercise. Do you exercise frequently, infrequently, or not at all?
Oxygen is paramount to health. Without water and oxygen we would die
rather quickly. It is the oxygen and nutrients carried in the blood that feed and
nourish all the cells of the body—including the skin—which is why exercise is so crucial to our long-term health.
Some form of exercise is important to the overall health of the
body. Whether it is simply walking a few miles several times a week or a
more rigorous routine, the importance of frequent (even if it’s
moderate) exercise should be encouraged.
Exercise also gives you a
higher body consciousness. You become more aware of how your body feels
and are more in-tune with what your body needs. You can better regulate
your body weight, and you become stronger and more vital. The benefits
are endless and we have all heard them endless times. We must set good
examples by practicing the regimes we are advocating as well as
educating our clients through our words.
Be sure to read Client Information Charts—Part I. Part II is a more comprehensive explanation on
writing client charts. I wanted to include this older writing because it
does go into more detail about the specific questions I ask. Even back
then, after only 4-5 years as a working aesthetician, I knew what I was
talking about!
“Happy Birthday” discounts 
As I’ve 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 don’t 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.
Not everyone will sell their business when they move. I remember when I received an email from an aesthetician announcing her salon’s anniversary and how grateful she was for her clients’ patronage. This seemed to be the reason for the communication, it was the only thing mentioned in the subject line of the email. However, and to me it was laid out as more of a side-note, she was also announcing a move out of town.
My point in this article is to say let your clients know in as personal a way as you can about leaving the business or moving out of town. These people helped build your business and it is important to treat them accordingly. I think it comes down to “do unto others.” If I was a regular client, I would want information from my service provider—a phone call or a chat when I was in for a facial—about a major change in her business, especially a move. 
.jpg)
Now that I’ve gotten the cut and dry bits out of the way, I want to delve into this new client’s routines and health issues, if any. All of these things and more will have an effect on her skin, something I haven’t looked at yet—but will soon.
I’m not going to go over the details for the back of
my Client Charts. You will have your own set of questions you’ll want to
answer as you look at a client’s skin. Some of these details I use 100%
of the time, others not so much. There are a few things I write-in
since I don't have them listed—this chart is a fluid tool that has
changed and morphed over time. But having something you can reference
from the first time you saw this client’s skin is important. Her skin
may and probably will change—especially over many years—and you can make
notations. I refer back to what I’ve written during any given facial
more than I reference this initial analysis. However having a baseline
to see where she was the first time I saw her is helpful—to me.
