To be an Esthetician or to not be an Esthetician, that is the question.
HI fellow Estheticians. I am reaching out today just to get a little feedback. I am new to this industry about 4 months in to being a full time Esthetician. I had a small issue with a client and a IPL treatment, the client and their skin are totally fine, the situation really through me for a loop though. I still feel like my confidence hasn't recovered and I am nervous still every time I do any treatment. I question if this is the field I should be in?
Has anyone else felt like this when you first started or had a scary situation happen from a treatment?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Amy Sherman on
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Haha!You wouldn't be any good to anybody if you didn't question yourself. I burned the heck out of a friend of mine so bad it turned blue! That was five years ago and I still freak out doing peels. EVERYBODY and their skin is different. I one time had a client freak out when I waxed her. And I had another client who reacted to body mud. Nothing like being covered head to toe in hives. We are not God and we can't do it ALL. Should you quit? Well, that's up to you. What I have found is that when I do something like this, I research the heck out of it to make sure it WONT happen again or WHY it did happen and become an expert on it. This builds back up your confidence and helps you learn what happened. The best way to overcome something is to get back in that saddle and pony up!
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Permalink Reply by Christine Flintosh on
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Amy-
Thank you for sharing and for reminding me that. I'm not the only person in this industry a treatment gone awry. :)
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Permalink Reply by coldsalineplexus on
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Heck no you aren't! LOL I think most of us could tell you some stories...
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At the same time, if you've given it another try and you're finding that it's just not fun or enjoyable for you any more, you might want to evaluate your options. To be performing IPL at 4 months in is pretty intense - it's hard to really "see" the skin when you're so green. Out of curiosity, were you in a Dr.'s office, or are you in a state where estheticians can practice IPL outside of medical supervision? IPL is an amazing tool (I wish estheticians had independent access to it in my state), BUT it's not the only way to treat skin. Not sure if this is your situation, but sometimes newly licensed estheticians get employed in laser/IPL centers where no other treatments are performed... perhaps you'd be happier in more of a spa setting where you can do things like facials if you're not already? Lots of options. Remember, makeup is still big for estheticians, as are body treatments, scrubs, wraps, airbrush tanning, etc., and these are all services that people are willing to pay for. Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Deborah Kenney on
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I believe we have all pretty much done something. It's likely called a practice for that reason! In school I took half the width of a ladies eyebrows off-didn't realize the wax squished into the main part of brow! (thank goodness she was a former student and very understanding, but I panicked at the sight!) Another time, after licensing, I volunteered to clean up a ladies brows during a facial, which I did and thought they looked great. She was mortified when she looked in the mirror, said she wanted Brooke Shield's. She had nothing like BS's to work with. I took nothing from the main brow! I felt horrible, but learned to communicate more carefully. Of course, I've never seen her again.
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Permalink Reply by Nina on
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We all have some story to tell where a client had a bad reaction, or something was done incorrectly, I know its devastating at the moment, but it's what makes us learn, it's what makes us experienced. I will share an experience I had one time... now I am a nerd when it comes to skincare ingredients, I am very particular and thorough when it comes to what I'm putting on my clients skin just as I am my own...when I had been working at a medical spa a few months ago, I had a client come in for a "Mother's Day special"; which included a facial and a chemical peel; she had informed me that it was her first treatment & peel ever, so I wanted to make it special, I started her out with a 15% lactic peel, which was the lowest peel there, I did what I normally did in this kind of a situation, and did a patch test on her, she said it felt fine, and I did not see any bad reaction; I applied the peel on her whole face, same thing, everything seemed to be normal, and I informed her all about skincare and ingredient recommendations, and it seemed that the whole facial went smoothly, she couldn't wait to come back to me for her next treatment, until...she came into the spa the next day when I wasn't there, the owner was there, with her face entirely swollen, red & puffy, looked like she had an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients. Now, I always always ask my clients what they are allergic or sensitive too, its one of my very first questions especially if they are new, she had told me that she was not allergic to anything. So she didn't know she was allergic to an ingredient, therefore I didn't know she was allergic to the ingredient; and that's just what happens sometimes...of course hearing this from my boss that a potential client ended up having a horrible reaction was forgiven, but still very disappointing for me at the moment; but I knew I couldn't really beat myself up for it. Besides, a good amount of my clients who came to me for peels and microderm treatments came to get their skin fixed from lasers that had burned them in the past and left hyper pigmentation all over their skin..proving we are allll human. Now If the same thing was to continiously happen over and over again with the same Esthetician, then this Esthetician might want to really check themselves; and after a good total self check, it still continues to happen, then okay maybe the field isn't quite for them, or at least that part of the field. But my best advice, is not to beat yourself up over one mistake, even two. If the passion is truly there, then take it as a good learning experience, whether it's your fault or not, and run with it. Passion is there for a reason, you can't just erase that part of yourself.
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I had a friend of mine quit the field once because she didn't like spa music. Lol
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LOL quitting because you don't like the spa music, okay now THAT's how you know when your heart's really not into the field. That's too funny, although I have had to put up with some horrible repetitive music before, I let myself get too consumed in what I was doing in the actual treatments to really care about it. I am thinking of adding an "urban chill" soundtrack to my spa music playlist though (I use Pandora Radio w/ no adds), I find it very...relaxing & different. Either that, or another idea, I give my clients options of different themes, and let them chose which one, what theme of spa music they want to hear. Then add some prepared incents around the room to go with the music theme. Totally off topic, I know...
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Permalink Reply by Marty Glenn on
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Christine
Yes. And do not quit. You will regret it and it will shape your future in a negative way.
Try this...
Every single procedure you do, think "Slow and Steady Wins the Post Procedure Complication Race".
What this basically says is whatever you plan on doing, go slightly less and give yourself some room for skin issues or 'land mines' that are out of site and cannot be known.
1. Clients lie - are not honest with what they are doing or have done to their skin
2. Their skin is not always the same from day to day or procedure to procedure
3. New clients are hard no matter what
Give the client what they are paying for and I know this is the difficult part because most want 6 years of abuse cleared in one treatment but do your best to give yourself that room. It might just be the difference you need to gain your confidence back.
Marty
SkinCareScience.com
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Thank you Thank you Thank you! To my fellow colleagues who replied to me and shared their experiences, opinions and suggestions. You all have really made me feel supported and the past week at work I really feel as if I have more confidence. Things are looking up and I am starting to enjoy myself again. Thank you!
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HI all! I wanted to send an update about how the client's skin is healing. The marks from the IPL burn have lighten up so much. We are still doing facials and laser genesis to help with the pigmentation but over all this very scary scenario has turned out ok. I am still working on getting my confidence up, but it is well on it's way. I do love this industry and I want to master all treatments I provide. I just have to understand that will take continued education and experience. I hope everyone's 2014 has started off positive and healthy. If you have any suggestions on Books, Classes, Webniars, websites, anything that will continue my education and increase my knowledge on IPL and Laser treatments I would greatly appreciate any resource out there. Thanks again :)
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