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Permalink Reply by coldsalineplexus on June 27, 2015 at 9:12am

Hello HH, and congrats on 10 years of doing great work and making your clients happy :-)  No way would you have such wonderful clients if you were not giving them healthy and beautiful skin and making their day when they see you, which is awesome!  I've been in it for 8 years myself and I definitely get the itch for new info.  Trade shows were really good at first, but I don't gain a whole lot from them at this point in my practice to make it worth the time and expense of travel and missing work.  I have gotten a LOT out of Rebecca James Gadberry's UCLA Cosmetic Chemistry Extension courses - well worth the considerable investment for me.  The one thing I will warn is that when learning about the ingredients at the cutting edge, it is hard to find products formulated with those ingredients for the professional esthetic market, which can be a little frustrating to go learn about amazing broccoli extracts that reverse glycation or amazing sea bacteria that filter harmful rays, and then come back and be "stuck" with the same old ingredients.  I assume you put Ronda Allison in the topic title because you are using that line?  If so, or regardless of what line you're using, I consider it productive to read down the ingredients and look up anything you can't immediately categorize  (is it a humectant, emollient, antioxidant, surfactant, peptide, emulsifier, solvent, thickener, acid, delivery ingredient, preservative, fragrance, or maybe several of those things at once?)...  Others may not agree, but I really like Paula Begoun's online ingredient dictionary for ingredient knowledge.  She does keep it updated and draws heavily on dermatologic research, and her strongest bias is against irritants, which I'm fine with.  Your rep should also be able to help you figure out what each ingredient's function is within a formulation so that you have better ways of explaining the effects to your clients, and possibly gain some new ideas about how to use existing products in the treatment room or new ways to advise your clients to use them for maximum benefit.  The more you know about individual ingredients, the less vulnerable you will be to pushy marketers, and the more likely you will be able to jump on truly great new formulas, because you will be able to rationally pick apart the product and determine whether it is actually superior to what you are already using.  Another important tip, especially if you are using one line primarily, is to compare your best selling products to what your rep tells you are the line's best sellers.  Sometimes this is influenced by sheer salesmanship on the part of the rep, but I would like to think that there are enough hawk-eyed estheticians out there using the lines and making product selections based on ingredients and results that if there are best sellers that you aren't exploiting, it will give you an opportunity to research and determine whether you and your clients are missing something good.  Conversely, I carry lines whose best-selling products don't match up with my climate and client base...  like heavy creams for a hot humid climate with acne prone clients...  and it is good to satisfy that curiosity rationally ad well, and know that I am getting the 2 or 3 products from that line that make the most sense for my practice.  When I am itchy for info, I also really like to read back on the forums and try to find questions that were never really answered to my satisfactikn, and turn those into little research projects by looking up the ingredients, skin conditions, and treatments in question.  Another great way to stay up on the biz is to find another passionate esthetician in your area to trade services with and share knowledge.  Someone who is like you - established and confident who will be forthcoming with information because they know there is enough business to go around for those of us who really dig our subject matter.

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Permalink Reply by HBH on June 28, 2015 at 1:44pm

Dear Cold Saline Plexis,

First of all, you should teach!  Your thoughtful insight is rare these days.  Thank you for taking the time to educate me.  You touched on so many great points. 

Like many, my A.D.D. head darts at any shiny object ie a -lovely ad about Rhonda Allison Institute D'ermed. (please watch the you tube video; not even kidding there is a teary testimonial! hilare!)

 Early on my wonderful mentor advised me to steer me away from the pretty bottles of a certain line and go for a less pretty but results oriented product. Naturally, I am back with that product!

You are right about the importance of ingredient knowledge.  I can count at least five good client questions a week that I have to research (yay for living in the tech times!)before I reply.

 Taking the time to know the product is worth a million as far as actually being able to help solve skin issues and not feeling guilty that I don't know the answer.  Your idea about lining up products from different companies should be mandatory!  It doesn't take long and it just takes you further. 

I agree with how helpful the forums are.  Do you ever go on for a specific reason and then find out everything you needed to know about rosacea/psoriasis or whatever you were not searching for?  Love that!!! 

Thank you so much!  I cannot tell you how much your message means to me.  Please stay in touch!  I am so excited about buffing up on ingredients!  Hello Paula Begoin website!. Thank you thank you. HH. 

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Permalink Reply by coldsalineplexus on June 28, 2015 at 2:47pm

Ohhh you are flattering me.  And I realized after I posted that you were also asking about technique or at least tips and tricks, which is a whole different column...  but yes, lucky you if you are working with clients who have such good questions and trust your expertise instead of just believing the next fad thing they read on the internet.

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