This may be more typical in the beauty industry however as a skin specialist this is not how I work.
I was watching a popular reality TV show recently. The female said she had never been told she was beautiful... she then went on to say so I did the botox and fillers and it still did not help...
What is the world coming to!!! Why do people FEEL they need to change to or do something to feel enough!!
That’s when I started thinking, well people say to me, “clients come to me so I can make them beautiful...” This is so far from the truth, so let me tell you what exactly I do!!!
My job is to make YOU COMFORTABLE IN YOUR OWN SKIN! I want you to be able to take away your makeup at the end of the day, not hide behind the filters that our major social media apps provide, and be truly happy with what you see.
My friend visited a clinic in another town for a service we don’t provide. Straight up a woman working there approached her and said “oh, those veins on your nose, we can treat them!!” Now my friend wasn’t concerned about them, nor was that the reason she was there but this woman saw an opportunity to make money from my friend. I was mortified, and my friends confidence just dropped! I have NEVER nor will I EVER use such a disrespectful approach like this just for increased revenue.
When a client comes for a skin consultation, my question to them is always what is your skin concern? This is the ONLY thing we treat, and you guessed it we have loads of treatments to treat pigmentation, sun damage, lines and wrinkles, blackheads, bumps, dry skin, excema, cellulite, veins etc. But my objective in my job is to only treat what concerns or bothers YOU. I only address what it is that you need from me to restore your confidence.
We need to stop the crap society and social media is feeding us and our children!!! That we are not enough without a perfect filter, hair extensions and dyed hair, false eyelashes and tattooed eyebrows, lip filler, dermal filler, makeup, false nails, spray tan, plastic surgery, it literally goes on and on... it is absolutely not ok!!!
I choose to empower my clients to be comfortable in their own skin, and correct only what concerns them. Several of these things are certainly fine if it leads to confidence, but do not endeavor to do it because you feel the pressure from society to look a particular way!!
A healthy mindset and body will absolutely lead to gorgeous skin. So, choose to empower this and you will definitely be enough without all the rest and going absolutely overboard with it all.
I too find I am constantly judged expecting that my line of work means I must subject myself to cosmetic injectables!!! I am often humbled as this is certainly not the case, but also left disappointed that people believe this is the only answer and that everyone in my line of work does so... Well guess what??? I don’t!! And I don’t feel the need to even if others believe this is the answer, as I know there are plenty of other avenues and lets face it, im not one to follow the crowd or trend. Im confident with who I am and without the injectables purely because it’s my choice. Our industry provides plenty of equipment and products advances with incredible results I believe I will exhaust these options before I opt for other treatment.
Lastly if we subject ourselves to letting social media make us feel less confident without “all that jazz” I worry about how our kids will grow up witnessing this and their favourite celebrities with all their facelifts, surgeries, implants on top of everything else!
My answer is this (as a mother of boys) I will put on my damn bikini when I swim in my own backyard pool with my children present … why?? Not because I have a flawless body I want to flaunt around, but the opposite. I am confident in my imperfect body, the body with cellulite, stretch marks and the mum tum! And so I hope that will teach my boys that it reality... and I will embrace that.
I’ll leave you with this final thought, If I am to be true to myself and be a skin specialist promoting healthy humans equaling healthy skin, when you ask me if that fine line cream really works… how can I say, or showcase my products through my own skin if I have a face constantly filled with injectables?
I support all my clients who make this choice I’m not against it at all, it’s just not for me, at this time, and I just want people to know it ok to not choose this avenue especially as we age and there are definitely plenty of options to try first,
Stay true to yourself and don’t feel or be told to look a particular way!
Let me tell you about the company I purchased my skin needling device off..
I had to provide them with evidence I was not a regular beauty salon, that in fact I specialise in skin treatment. I provided them with my aesthetic practitioner regulated certificate. What I knew from here was this company was serious about who they let operate their device and so that it is ONLY in the hands of the most experienced. No beauty salons or nail techs. This showed me I am working with the right company as making money is not what they are about, they are in fact about their equipment having only the highest educated therapist operating.
So fast forward to now.... These devices are popping up in your news feed and easily available online!!
Why?? Because if something is good there are always companies who rip off others ideas and suddenly we have loads of suppliers, and you guessed it, some are just there to make money off someone else's ideas... and they will sell to absolutely anyone!!! (I see this A LOT with many great things in our industry)
So, here is what you need to know!!!! It is a truly amazing treatment if the person performing it knows exactly what they are trying to achieve!! However when not in the hands of someone well educated on skin anatomy, these are what I find to be the 3 biggest Skin needling Sins!
- Skin preparation!!! If the skin is not in a good healthy state the results will be minimal to poor!! Think of it this way, a sultana, not good functioning skin, a grape, a healthy functioning skin. Which one do you think will get greater results? The grape as it is much easier to needle and has less damage. How do we prepare the skin? Treatments!!! Skin strengthening treatments are a must prior to needling to get the skin in a good functioning state!! We offer numerous treatments that we must provide prior to anyone considering needling. They include ipl, LED and enzyme therapy, only when we can see the skin is functioning well can we move onto needling
- Professional skincare. There is absolutely no way id even consider needling if you are not invested in quality skincare, you just cannot have a professional treatment without providing the skin DAILY what's necessary for your skin type and in a delivery system that can effectively penetrate to the deeper layers of the skin and not sit on top. This will be paramount to achieving a healthy skin to needle. There are specific products we use prior to needling to prepare the skin and allow for optimal penetration. As with the lead up to needling what we use after needling is just as important, there are particular products and ingredients that cannot be used therefore we must know exactly what you are using and that it is beneficial. We have specific products that our clients use after needling that cuts the healing and inflammation process. We must also keep in mind the micro trauma we have injected onto the skin, we need very specific products to nurture what exactly we want to happen from here, Is that to heal immediately, or let the trauma play out? If you have done your research on needling you will know the answer to this... but if you do not know what products to use pre and prior, if they are actually going to work and get where they need to?
- Then DEFINITELY leave this to the professionals which is my 3rd sin! So to sum up if you do not have a thorough understanding of the skin anatomy, if you do not know exactly how deep to needle for your target whether it be wrinkles, skin rejuvenation, pigment, blackheads, breakouts, which mind you they are all different depths, and just googling the depth for what you want to achieve won't cut it. You see every skin is different therefore you need to recognize the right depth via what you are seeing, not what your needle depth says. If the operator does not know all this then, they should not be needling!!
If you want to REALLY see amazing results from needling be sure to … the 3 steps and you will have an incredible experience with skin needling/micro needling/ CIT- Collagen induction therapy.
Sounds weird right..? However, it is such a great analogy!! Most people will decide they want to get into shape, perhaps when they’ve put on weight or seen some changes in their body. So we head to the gym, where a personal trainer is appointed and you begin gym sessions. In most cases, we will also try to incorporate healthier eating habits or even diet to really get the best results.
Can you see it yet??? We (your professional in-clinic treatments) are the gym/personal trainer that you have come to. Our prescribed skin care is the “food” that you fuel yourself with daily for maximum results!!
Generally, if we go to the gym, we don’t just come home and eat a pizza and a bowl of ice cream with a large coke! And your personal trainer would NOT advise this! Research shows that physical exercise for weight loss needs to be accompanied by healthy eating. In fact, some go as far as to say 80% of the body relies on what we eat! The statistics are not important, but using your prescribed homecare is! Feeding your skin what it needs on the daily basis is pivotal to any great skin success story! We see it as the most important bit!!! We have some amazing tools and equipment we can use that deliver outstanding results IF the skin is healthy and responsive!
You see, if our skin is not functioning well and is in a poor state then big gun treatments certainly won’t get long-lasting improvements with outstanding results. Instead, you may get minimal results and mild improvements, and that is basically throwing $$ away.
How often do you go to the gym and eat well? It’s certainly not just once!!! Again the skin is similar and there is not just one miracle treatment or ingredient/product that will keep the whole skin system functioning! It can take time, work & patience to see results!! Did your weight just turn up overnight? Definitely not! It is more likely been a progressive response and therefore will take time just like it did to get there to remove! Skin issues like pigmentation and ageing are progressive and took many years to become present so with treatment, these conditions will not disappear immediately.
Ever ran a marathon? How do you prepare? Marathons are like our hero treatments (big skin peels) again they will only have you finish the marathon in a great place if you have REALLY prepared! The more prep, the better chance of maximum results.
This is a GREAT analogy, you may have even heard of it before, but it really outlines the importance of your products, we prescribe and how they will maximise treatments! Think of products as the insurance policy for your treatments. Without them, you are likely to be at higher risk.
