Hello everyone,

My name is Belinda, I'm a massage therapist and i just graduated esthetics school. A friend of  mine who own a hair salon is offering to rent me a room for $20 a day. Since I'm already working i will only have two days to work at her salon. Because I'm so new at this field can you guys offer any ideas, advice and products recommendation please. The room is very big but there is a lot of noise. Instead of doing full hour facials i was thinking of doing waxing to begin with because she only does hair. And mini treatments to focus on a specific problem for 20-25 minutes where the client doesn't really need to be relax. But as of right now i don't really know what products to use that's good and doesn't require a large start up cost. And i wanna know if i will need any other license or permit to work there. Thank you so much for the help. And really any ideas will be appreciated.

Ps. can anybody recommend any good books for me to read as a new esthetician?

Tags: Products, advice, books, business, dual, esthetician, license, new, rent, spa, More…treatments, waxing

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Sounds like you may need a quiet place.  Short appointments sometimees are not money makers. I would recommend you find a product company that does not require min. orders.  Ask them to send you some samples so that you can fully try them out and recommend them to clients (because your skin loves them!)  I make my own cleansers and serums for clients to purchase and carry eye and sun screen etc. from a local company because my clients love buying local and supporting local companies.  Hydropeptide is local for me and has been touted on TruthandAging.com.  I love their eyecream, lash growth product and sun screen and so do my clients!  It takes plenty of time to build your clientel.  I don't really advertise, only by word of mouth and it has worked for me.  I have given away plenty of free facials at community events to advertise, however. Give your first clients something to talk about with their friends and family, offer something no one else is offering and let them know you love your profession!

Thank you Sayra i didn't even think of asking for samples, so i'll try that.

Hello! A golden opportunity! Say YES to this! $20 a day OMG if the room includes a table too-- WOW!!  Absolutely start with waxing- then add more as you acquire more clients. The most important thing is to be AVAILABLE every minute of your rented time- not just when you "have a client", this IS advertising. Introduce yourself to clients of the hair salon, give treatments to available stylist(s) so they will "sell" you too. You can start with a great waxing kit with DVD from Eva's Esthetics ($500 ish). Noise is not a factor if someone is already a client of the established business. Buy a massage table (if you need a table), a roll of table paper and a microdermabrasion machine on eBay (all for less than $300 ish!) There are plenty of results oriented treatments that are not long, don't require gowns and are economical (for you and the client, (which makes it an easier "sell" to get people on the table and increase your hands on experience- every client you touch makes you that much better at your skill- it is worth it just for the hands on experience!)- sign up for Laura Cooksey's Face Reality acne program DVD ($350 ish), has everything you need to learn how to do acne treatments/peels) and retail products (no minimum!) and reasonable retail prices (another easy sell AND delivers results to boot!) - her products can work for anti aging too once you become more experienced, but the point is- to start immediately! If you can invest up to $1000 ish -- you are well on your way! You can name your price- so just figure out how much you need to meet expenses/salary and how busy you want to be to get established over the next month or two (only 8 days per month). Once you "become known" word of mouth advertising kicks in and you can raise your prices as you become more booked up. You will not need an establishment license if the salon already has one (check to make sure!) but do get your ASCP insurance ($230) immediately. Everyone has to start somewhere ; ) Best Wishes for your new venture!

Thank you so much Karen. I met Lori from Eva's Esthetics and i was already thinking of using their products but i wasn't really sure about it, but now i think i'm gonna get the kit. And thank you for telling me about Laura Cooksey's program because i'm so into acne treatments.

You could always use an ipod with ear buds (each client could have their own pair, buy cheap fromdollar store) and that way it won't matter if the room is noisy. 

Thanks for the idea

Hi Belinda, I also just graduated and have been checking into renting a room a couple of days a week. I couldn't find anything that worked for me so I decided to start out with mobile services instead to reduce overhead. However, I did look at one room that seemed perfect except for the noise factor. I almost took it, because I thought of doing the same thing as you - shorter treatments, probably more waxing, as the room didn't seem very good for facials. The only reason I decided not to take it was because I get physically worn out from waxing for hours and the only sink was down the hall (not in the room itself). For me, personally, it wasn't worth the effort. 20/day sounds like a great deal though!! I thought about using a trick I used in a noisy apartment - hanging curtains around the walls. Might work for you...

There were a few things that I looked into that might be useful for you, too. I am using SkinScripts as they have a nice simple product line, no minimum orders, excellent service, and good results. Be sure to check out their free education & specials! You can get sample sizes to try out. Another line I am using is PCA. You might want to see if they have a class in your area. The class is $ 475, you get certified, and (best part) you receive a very nice starter kit that enables you to do a lot of peels! These are fairly quick, easy, and profitable.

I did Laura's Face Reality Acne certification, and although I think it is EXCELLENT, I don't have a client list yet that needs this speciliazed service. I am going to start my acne folks with SkinScript & PCA, then move up the Face Reality if needed or I get more acne clients. Just my 2 cents on where to spend $$ starting out.

Another couple of things that might be good mini-treatments without a lot of expense are lash & brow tinting (you can get a good starter set for $ 40 from Universal companies) and Eco-FIn hand treatments as a paraffin alternative. Hopefully this is helpful!

OH - not sure what state you are in, but where I am, you need to have a contrator license in addition to your esthetician license. The salon owner would be the facility license holder & need to be in compliance with your state's laws for esthetic treatment rooms. Where I am, that includes having a non-porous floor and a sink available that is located somewhere other than a restroom.

Good luck!

Kate

Thank you so much Kate, that's very helpful. i'm going to check out SkinScript online and see what they offer.

Thank you for the help Natalie :)

Great info.

A good book I recommend is Milady's Skin Care & Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary.  Contains great information on skin physiology, product penetration, skin types, etc. including list of all kinds of ingredients.  I use my copy very often when I need information on product ingred. including essential oils, peptides, etc. When a client has a question I can usually find the answer very quickly if I am unfamiliar with the subject. 

Great thanks Sayra i'll try to get the book because i really need to know more about all kinds of ingrediens.

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