ADVANCED CARE THE COLLECTION
Formulated for use after peels, microneedling and other intensive procedures, this collection addresses common post-treatment concerns such as dryness, tightness and visible redness. Targeted formulas support the skin as it recovers, helping professionals give clients a longerlasting post-treatment glow.
Ready to partner with Éminence Organics? Apply here
agree their skin looks more lifted* 94%
ENHANCE PROFESSIONAL APPLICATION
With the Squalane Pro Multi-Oil
Upgrade your backbar with a cost-effective, multi-purpose oil formulated exclusively for professional use. During facial massage, it provides a smooth, consistent glide that enhances client relaxation. For professional dermaplaning treatments, it creates the ideal surface for precise blade control.
showed a reduction in appearance of skin dryness1 97%
showed a reduction in appearance of skin redness* 97%
3929 Ponce De Leon Blvd. Coral Gables, Florida 33134 USA: 800.471.0229. • Worldwide: 305.443.2322. Fax: 305.443.1664 • LNEonline.com
Managing Editor Samantha Garcia samantha@lneonline.com
Advertising Danni Boucher danni@lneonline.com Featured Articles
FROM THE EDITOR
This month, I’m writing with a very full heart after an incredible ICES Dallas. There is something so energizing about being in a space filled with estheticians who are actively choosing growth, education, and connection. Dallas was a beautiful reminder of why this industry is so special and why in-person experiences continue to matter so deeply in our profession.
And of course, as soon as one show wraps, we are already looking ahead. Next on our list is ICES Long Beach, happening August 23 and 24, and if Dallas was any indication, we are in for another inspiring weekend of education, innovation, and community.
This issue is dedicated to one of the most in-demand areas of modern esthetics: corrective skincare. Today’s clients are more educated, more results-driven, and often navigating increasingly complex skin concerns, from acne and hyperpigmentation to sensitivity, inflammation, and age-related changes. Corrective work requires far more than simply knowing a protocol. It requires discernment, a deep understanding of skin physiology, ingredient knowledge, and the ability to create transformation while protecting skin integrity. Inside this issue, we’re exploring regenerative corrective treatments and the effects of menopausal skin when it comes to pigmentation.
We’re also diving into a topic every growing business owner should be thinking about: the most important hires in your business. Building a successful esthetics business is not just about delivering incredible treatments. It’s about creating the right support around you, whether that means a strong client experience team, exceptional service providers, or operational support that allows your vision to grow sustainably.
We’re also including a timely discussion on reclaiming your retail power in an increasingly Amazon-driven world. These are the conversations our industry needs to be having, because protecting profitability is just as important as mastering protocols.
Samantha
Aurora
Kaelin Jutras
Jane Pham
As always, thank you for being part of this community. Whether you’re reading this between clients, dreaming up your next business move, or preparing for your next tradeshow, know that you are part of an industry filled with possibility.
I can’t wait to see what you create next. With gratitude,
SAMANTHA GARCIA Managing Editor samantha@lneonline.com
Your Busiest Season Deserves
Maximize every appointment this summer.
When your schedule is full, every minute matters. Celluma integrates seamlessly into your existing services — enhancing results while increasing value without adding time or complexity.
From acne to anti-aging to body contouring, one device delivers multi-treatment versatility your clients will keep coming back for.
Stay Booked. Stay Profitable.
Exosomes, PDRN & The Future of Skin Repair
by Samantha Garcia
Corrective skincare has entered a fascinating new era, one defined not simply by exfoliation, stimulation, or accelerated cellular turnover, but by regeneration. For years, the esthetic industry has centered many of its corrective protocols around removing damage, resurfacing compromised tissue, and stimulating collagen through controlled injury. While these approaches remain valuable, the conversation is evolving. Today’s esthetic professional is increasingly being introduced to a category of regenerative technologies that aim not only to correct visible concerns, but to support the skin’s innate ability to communicate, repair, and rebuild itself more intelligently.
Skincare Corrective Regenerative
Among the most discussed innovations in this category are exosomes and PDRN, both of which have generated significant excitement across professional skincare, regenerative aesthetics, and medical aesthetics alike. While the buzz is undeniable, estheticians are also asking the right questions. What exactly are these ingredients? How do they function within the context of skin repair? Are they truly transformative, or simply the latest marketing trend? And perhaps most importantly, how do estheticians thoughtfully integrate regenerative technologies into modern corrective treatment plans?
The future of corrective skincare may not lie in doing more to the skin, but in learning how to better support what the skin already knows how to do.
Understanding the Regenerative Shift
Traditional corrective skincare has long relied on disruption as a pathway to renewal. Chemical exfoliation, microneedling, resurfacing treatments, and various advanced modalities create controlled stress within the skin in order to encourage a repair response. While this model remains clinically effective, regenerative skincare introduces a complementary philosophy, one focused less on provoking the skin and more on supporting its communication systems.
Regenerative skincare explores how cellular signaling, tissue repair, inflammation modulation, and extracellular communication can be leveraged to optimize healing and improve outcomes. This shift reflects a broader movement across aesthetics and medicine toward supporting restoration rather than simply forcing renewal.
For estheticians, this represents a meaningful evolution in how we think about corrective care. Skin that is in -
flamed, hormonally compromised, barrier impaired, post procedure, or showing signs of age related degeneration often requires more than stimulation. It requires intelligent recovery support.
What Are Exosomes?
Exosomes have become one of the most talked about regenerative technologies in aesthetics, though they are frequently misunderstood. Exosomes are tiny extracellular vesicles naturally released by cells. Their role is to facilitate communication between cells by delivering signaling molecules such as proteins, lipids, peptides, growth factors, and genetic material.
In simple terms, exosomes function
like messengers. They help cells communicate instructions related to repair, regeneration, inflammation response, and tissue remodeling.
In regenerative aesthetics, exosome based technologies are being explored for their potential to support collagen synthesis, accelerate healing, calm inflammation, and improve the quality of skin recovery following advanced procedures. Their appeal lies in the fact that they do not simply act as another topical ingredient sitting on the skin’s surface. Instead, they are posi -
tioned as biological communicators that may influence how the skin responds internally.
For estheticians, this makes exosomes particularly intriguing in the context of advanced corrective protocols, especially when paired with treatments designed to enhance penetration pathways such as microchanneling, nano infusion, or post procedure recovery protocols where appropriate within professional scope.
That said, not all exosome technologies are created equally. Sourcing, formulation integrity, stabilization, delivery systems, and regulatory considerations vary significantly across brands. As excitement grows, estheticians must remain discerning, asking thoughtful questions about ingredient sourcing, manufacturing standards, and evidence supporting clinical claims.
PDRN and the Rise of Skin Repair Intelligence
If exosomes are generating excitement because of cellular communication, PDRN is gaining attention because of its role in tissue regeneration and repair support.
PDRN, short for polydeoxyribonucleotide, is a DNA derived compound that has been widely studied in regenerative medicine for its healing supportive properties. It is often associated with tissue repair, wound recovery, anti inflammatory benefits, and support for fibroblast activity.
Within aesthetics, PDRN has become increasingly associated with rejuvenation protocols that seek to improve elasticity, hydration, texture, and skin recovery. It has gained notable traction globally, particularly within Korean aesthetics, where regenerative skin health continues to be a major area of innovation.
What makes PDRN compelling for corrective professionals is its relationship to compromised skin. Unlike aggressive corrective strategies that rely solely on stimulation, PDRN aligns beautifully with skin that requires restoration. Mature skin, sensitized skin, post treatment recovery, and inflammatory conditions may all benefit from protocols that prioritize repair signaling.
For estheticians, this introduces a more nuanced corrective philosophy. Not every client needs stronger exfoliation. Not every skin concern benefits from more aggressive intervention. Sometimes the most corrective thing we can do is support healthier tissue function.
Beyond the Buzzword: What This Means in the Treatment Room
Regenerative skincare is exciting, but clinical discernment remains essential. Exosomes and PDRN should not be viewed as miracle ingredients that replace foundational skin health prin -
ciples. Barrier integrity, inflammation management, appropriate home care, sun protection, client compliance, and treatment planning still remain central to successful corrective outcomes. What regenerative technologies may offer is enhancement.
For example, a post inflammatory pigmentation client who has undergone repeated aggressive peeling without sufficient barrier support may benefit more from a restorative corrective strategy that combines gentle turnover support with regenerative recovery technologies. A mature client presenting with thin, reactive, dehydrated skin may respond more favorably to a protocol centered on repair signaling rather than repeated inflammatory stimulation.
The esthetician’s role becomes one of strategy rather than trend adoption. This also requires clear client education. Consumers are hearing increasingly sophisticated language surrounding regenerative aesthetics, but often without context. Estheticians who understand the science well enough to
translate it into realistic expectations will be the professionals clients trust most.
The Future of Corrective Care
The rise of regenerative skincare reflects a larger truth about the evolution of esthetics. The industry is becoming more intelligent, more integrative, and more focused on skin longevity rather than short term cosmetic correction alone.
Clients are no longer seeking only immediate glow. They are increasingly interested in resilience, recovery, skin quality, and long term tissue health. For estheticians, this presents an opportunity to evolve alongside the science. Regenerative technologies do not replace corrective skincare. They expand it.
The future likely belongs to practitioners who understand how to blend both philosophies. There will always be a place for exfoliation, resurfacing, collagen stimulation, and visible corrective transformation. But increasingly, the most sophisticated results
Corrective skincare is no longer simply about removing damage. It is about teaching skin how to recover better
may come from pairing those modalities with therapies that support intelligent recovery.
Corrective skincare is no longer simply about removing damage. It is about teaching skin how to recover better. And that may be one of the most exciting shifts our industry has seen in years.
Long Beach, CA
August 23 & 24, 2026
Long Beach Convention Center - Hall A, B
The only all-inclusive educational experience for skin care and spa professionals. #ICESLongBeach2026 is the perfect opportunity to breathe new life into your career and services with fresh inspiration and insight from the best practitioners in the industry!
The Menopause Skin Shift
Corrective Solutions for Hormonal Aging Skin
by Aurora Solis
As conversations surrounding skin health become increasingly sophisticated, the esthetic industry has begun moving beyond broad anti-aging language in favor of more nuanced discussions around skin physiology, longevity, and individualized treatment planning. One of the most important and often underexplored areas within this evolution is menopausal skin.
For many clients, menopause represents a dramatic turning point in how their skin looks, feels, and responds to both home care and professional treatments. Women who previously felt confident in their routines may suddenly experience dryness that seems resistant to hydration, increased sensitivity to products they once tolerated well, accelerated laxity, visible thinning, persistent redness, or even unexpected breakouts. These shifts are often described as abrupt, leaving clients frustrated by skin that feels unfamiliar and increasingly difficult to manage.
The Menopause Skin Shift
For estheticians, understanding menopausal skin requires moving beyond the assumption that all visible aging follows the same trajectory. Menopausal skin is not simply mature skin with more pronounced lines or reduced elasticity. It is hormonally influenced skin undergoing measurable biological changes that affect structure, barrier function, inflammation, healing capacity, and overall skin behavior. Recognizing this distinction allows practitioners to create treatment plans that are both more effective and more aligned with the client’s physiology.
The Hormonal Influence on Skin Aging
Estrogen plays a central role in maintaining skin health throughout a woman’s life. Its influence extends far beyond reproductive health, directly affecting collagen synthesis, skin thickness, elasticity, hydration, wound healing, vascular function, and the skin’s inflammatory response. As estrogen levels begin to decline throughout perimenopause and menopause, these systems are disrupted, creating visible changes that often feel accelerated compared to the gradual aging clients may have experienced previously. One of the most clinically significant changes is collagen depletion. Studies have shown that women can lose a substantial amount of collagen in the early years following menopause, which helps explain the rapid onset of laxity, crepiness, and diminished structural support that many clients report. The skin may appear thinner, less resilient, and slower to recover following stress or stimulation.
Hydration also becomes increasingly compromised. Estrogen contributes to the production of glycosaminoglycans, including hyaluronic acid, which are essential for water retention and skin suppleness. As these levels decline, many menopausal clients present with skin that appears both dry and fragile, often describing a persistent feeling of
tightness despite regular moisturizing. Barrier function is another area significantly affected by hormonal change. Reduced lipid production and impaired barrier integrity can leave the skin more vulnerable to transepidermal water loss, environmental stress, inflammation, and increased reactivity. This often explains why clients who once tolerated active ingredients, exfoliation, or stronger corrective treatments may suddenly find themselves experiencing irritation or prolonged sensitivity.
These internal changes are further complicated by shifts in circulation, slower wound healing, increased inflammatory tendencies, and fluctuations in androgen activity, which may contribute to acne flare-ups in some clients even as overall skin dryness increases.
Why Traditional AntiAging Approaches Require Reassessment
Historically, anti-aging treatment plans have often emphasized aggressive
correction through exfoliation, resurfacing, collagen stimulation, and active ingredient intensity. While these tools absolutely remain valuable within professional esthetics, menopausal skin often requires a more strategic approach.
A common clinical mistake is assuming that visible aging automatically calls for more aggressive intervention. In reality, skin that is structurally thinner, hormonally compromised, and increasingly reactive may not respond favorably to protocols that prioritize intensity without adequate support. Repeated inflammatory treatments in a client with impaired barrier function may lead to prolonged erythema, sensitivity, delayed recovery, or worsening dehydration rather than meaningful improvement. Likewise, over-reliance on strong exfoliants at home may leave clients feeling as though they are “doing everything right” while unknowingly perpetuating barrier dysfunction. This does not mean menopausal skin should be approached passively. Rather, it requires more intentional
treatment planning that respects the biology of the skin while still delivering corrective outcomes.
Building Effective Corrective Protocols for Menopausal Clients
The most successful menopausal treatment strategies are those that balance correction with restoration.
Barrier repair should be considered foundational rather than secondary. Before introducing aggressive corrective treatments, estheticians should evaluate whether the client’s skin has the resilience necessary to tolerate stimulation effectively. Professional treatments and home care should prioritize restoring lipid balance, reducing transepidermal water loss, and calming unnecessary inflammation.
Hydration should also be approached more comprehensively. Menopausal dehydration is not always solved with heavier moisturizers alone, particularly if the underlying barrier is compromised. Ingredients such as ceramides, beta glucan, hyaluronic acid, ectoin, nourishing fatty acids, and supportive peptides may offer greater long-term benefit by improving both hydration retention and overall skin resilience. Collagen support remains a major treatment goal, but modality selection matters. While some menopausal clients may be excellent candidates for advanced collagen-stimulating procedures, others may benefit from a more progressive approach that layers restorative treatments with carefully selected corrective interventions. LED therapy, oxygen-focused treatments, nano infusion, regenerative
topical technologies, supportive massage techniques that improve circulation, and thoughtful microchanneling protocols may all offer meaningful benefits depending on the client’s skin health, goals, and tolerance.
Professional estheticians should also consider the cumulative inflammatory burden being placed on the skin. A client receiving multiple stimulating treatments while also using aggressive actives at home may be inadvertently compromising results.
Pigmentation, Breakouts, and Skin Unpredictability
One of the more complex aspects of menopausal skin is its unpredictability. Clients often present with multiple concurrent concerns that do not fit neatly into traditional treatment categories.
Hyperpigmentation may become more reactive due to increased inflammatory sensitivity and hormonal fluctuations. Rosacea tendencies may intensify. Some clients experience adult acne despite also dealing with dryness, sensitivity, and visible aging, creating a particularly challenging treatment dynamic.
This complexity reinforces the need for individualized treatment planning rather than relying on generalized antiaging protocols.
Pigment correction in menopausal skin often requires greater caution, particularly in clients whose barrier integrity is compromised. Aggressive resurfacing may worsen inflammation and trigger additional pigment production rather than improving outcomes.
Likewise, acne treatment strategies should avoid overly stripping protocols that further impair an already vulnerable skin barrier. In many cases, success comes from balancing inflammation control, barrier restoration, and
The most successful menopausal
treatment strategies are those that balance correction with restoration
gentle corrective support rather than pursuing traditional aggressive acne management.
The Expanding Role of the Esthetician
As the esthetic industry continues to evolve, practitioners are increasingly being called upon to understand skin through a more integrative lens. Menopausal clients are not simply seeking facials for relaxation or generalized anti-aging support. Many are actively searching for practitioners who understand why their skin has changed and how to navigate those changes intelligently.
This creates an important opportunity for estheticians to position themselves not only as treatment providers, but as educated guides through a meaningful physiological transition.Client education becomes particularly im -
portant in this demographic. Setting realistic expectations, explaining why skin may be behaving differently, and helping clients understand the rationale behind treatment pacing can significantly improve trust, compliance, and long-term outcomes.
Menopausal skin should not be viewed as difficult skin. It should be viewed as skin that requires a different strategy. As corrective esthetics becomes increasingly advanced, some of the most effective practitioners will be those who understand when to stimulate, when to restore, and how to create treatment plans that respect both skin biology and visible aesthetic goals.
Menopause represents a significant shift in the skin’s behavior, but with thoughtful clinical planning, it also represents an opportunity for estheticians to deliver some of their most impactful and trusted work.
Energetics Kit
This energizing duo is designed to visibly sculpt, firm, and awaken tired skin while supporting healthy collagen production and circulation. Featuring the Micro Sculpting Serum and Collagen Fitness Spritz, this treatment helps tone the appearance of the face, neck, and jawline while deeply hydrating and restoring radiance for skin that looks lifted, refreshed, and revitalized.
skinfitnesstherapy.com
Aloe and Copper Clay Facial
Inspired by the healing power of the desert, this balancing facial combines Skin Script’s Aloe Enzyme with a detoxifying Copper Clay Mask to gently exfoliate, calm congestion, and restore hydration. Lactic and mandelic acids refine texture while soothing botanicals and copper-rich clay help purify stressed, dull, or breakout-prone skin for a smoother, brighter, more refreshed complexion.
skinscript.com
Hot Products
Tint-sational™ Sheer
Skin-Perfecting Serum
This lightweight tinted serum delivers the perfect “your skin but better” glow with a sheer, dewy finish that enhances natural skin while letting freckles shine through. Infused with peptides, vitamin C, retinyl palmitate, hyaluronic acid, and organic hyssop, it helps hydrate, brighten, and smooth the appearance of aging, dry, or dull skin for a radiant, luminous complexion.
farmhousefreshgoods.com
Nano Veil
Intimate Mask
Designed with advanced nano-fibril biotechnology, the Nano Veil Intimate Mask acts like a breathable second skin to deeply hydrate, calm, and support the delicate intimate area. This barrier-first treatment enhances ingredient absorption while helping reduce the appearance of irritation, dryness, and post-hair removal sensitivity for smoother, healthier-looking skin.
kekobotanicals.com
A BELOVED ESSENTIAL, REIMAGINED
Your go-to gentle cleanser just became even more nourishing, comforting, and skin-supportive.
On the Podcast
On the Blog
How to Create Packages and Memberships That Sell Themselves
If you are an esthetician or spa owner looking for more predictable income, consistent bookings, and long term client loyalty, memberships and treatment packages are some of the most powerful tools you can implement in your business. Unlike single visit services, well designed memberships create stability both financially for your practice and emotionally for your clients.
READ MORE
https://estheticianedit.com/how-to-create-packages-and-memberships-that-sell-themselves/
ICES Dallas 2026
ICES Dallas was such an incredible weekend filled with the kind of energy that reminds you exactly why this industry is so special. From packed classrooms and inspiring education to meaningful conversations on the show floor, there was a palpable sense of ambition, creativity, and connection everywhere you turned. One of the highlights for our Esthetician Edit team was hosting so many amazing interviews with industry voices, educators, and estheticians throughout the weekend. If you missed them, you can now catch the conversations on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
She walked away with a podcast feature on Esthetician Edit, Mary Peyton’s Esthetician Roadmap course, and a Skin Script Pro bundle. Such a deserving winner.
Our very first Esthetician Edit social was also a huge success. Hosting a room full of like-minded estheticians alongside Mary Peyton, also known as @TheManifestingEsthetician, was such a special moment. Watching practitioners connect, share stories, build friendships, and pour into one another was exactly the vision behind creating this experience.
A huge congratulations to Dalayna, our Esthetician in Expansion Award recipient. This award was created to celebrate an esthetician who is actively stepping into growth, putting themselves out there, and building
And to everyone who applied, thank you. Truly. Putting yourself forward takes courage, and we were so inspired reading your stories. Tradeshows like ICES matter so much because our industry can feel isolating when you’re building behind the scenes in your treatment room day after day. These events remind you that you are part of something bigger. They are where you discover new modalities, learn from educators you admire, meet the brands shaping the future of esthetics, create partnerships, and often make the connections that completely change the trajectory of your career. So many estheticians attend looking for inspiration and leave with new ideas, new confidence, and sometimes entirely new opportunities.
Thank you to everyone who made ICES Dallas so special. Until the next one!
Designed for your clients and Designed for your clients and Designed for your clients and curated to care for skin in curated to care for skin in curated to care for skin in every climate. every climate. every climate.
Prime Problem The
Reclaiming Your Retail Power in an Amazon World
by Kaelin Jutras
It is the silent heartbreak of the modern treatment room. You spend an hour or more pouring your energy into a service, educating your client on their skin health, and carefully curating a home-care ritual to correct their concerns. They nod, they love the results, they take a photo of the bottle... and then they leave empty-handed.
By the time they reach their car, they have found the exact same "professional" product on Amazon. It is listed at 20% below MSRP, with Prime nextday delivery and—the kicker—free returns.
This is a logistics battle that the independent esthetician cannot, and should not have to, fight. We cannot absorb the cost of free shipping on single items. We certainly cannot accept open, half-used returns simply because a client "changed their mind." When professional skincare brands host their own Amazon storefronts that undercut their partners, they are essentially using estheticians as unpaid showrooms. We provide the education, the trust, and the recommendation, while the algorithm takes the profit. Here is the truth that many estheticians forget: You hold the power.
Professional brands rely on the "Professional" label for their prestige and validity. Without us, they are just another bottle on a digital shelf. Your
purchasing power is your voice, and it is time to use it to negotiate a partnership that actually respects your business.
Here is how to effectively communicate with brands and move the needle in the right direction.
Step 1: The Inventory Audit
Before you reorder, do your research. Type the hero products on your shelves into Amazon.
• Is the brand selling on Amazon?
• Is the brand selling on ebay, poshmark or any other auction platforms where users can make lower than msrp bids on the products?
• Are they adhering to the Minimum Advertised Price (MAP), or are they undercutting you? If you notice a brand selling directly, above MAP price that helps position retailers well since they will have a more competitive price.
• Are they enforcing MAP pricing for all retailers? Run a google search on the product to make sure pricing is the same everywhere you see it online
to ensure fairness across the board. If a brand is competing with you on price and convenience while relying on you for credibility, the partnership is out of balance.
Step 2: The Conversation (Don't Ghost, Negotiate)
Many estheticians simply stop carrying a line when this happens. While that is an option, I encourage you to try negotiation first. Brands need to hear why they are losing shelf space. Send an email to your account representative. Keep it professional, firm, and business-focused.
The Script:
"I love the results I get with this line, but I am finding it increasingly difficult to retail your home care. I have noticed your products are available on Amazon with Prime shipping and free returns, often below the MSRP I am required to sell at. As a small business, I cannot compete with those logistics. Not only is selling on Amazon harming my retail sales but it also contributes to the climate crisis. I want to continue
Transform Skin. Grow Your Business.
our partnership, but I need to know how you plan to support your professional partners who are building your brand equity on the ground before reordering. Please also send your plan for how your brand plans to calculate and offset the carbon emissions it takes to create the products."
Step 3: What to Ask For
If a brand insists on having an Amazon presence (which many do), you can negotiate terms that level the playing field. Do not be afraid to ask for the following:
1. Strict MAP Enforcement
Demand that the brand polices the pricing online. If the serum is $80 on your shelf, it must be brought to a minimum of 20% higher on Amazon to position the spa-retailer as the most competitive price to account for Amazon prime free shipping. If they sell below that and / or allow third-party sellers to slash prices, they are devaluing your inventory. If a brand says it is not them selling the products on Amazon, they can still file a dispute directly with Amazon (this is also true for google and other domains, a DMARC takedown can be used to enforce violations).
2. Professional Exclusives
Ask for only lifestyle accessories to be sold on Amazon, not any skin care products that professionals retail.
3. Affiliate Options
If the brand directs traffic to Amazon or elsewhere, ask if they have an affiliate program for professionals. If your client is going to buy online for the convenience of shipping, you should be able to send them a specific link that ensures you still receive a fair commission (at least 30%) on that sale.
Step 4: Vote with Your Dollars
If a brand refuses to budge, refuses to enforce pricing, or continues to undercut you, remember that you have the ultimate leverage: your opening order with another brand.
There is a rising tide of professional brands that strictly protect their partners. These brands lock their professional portals to protect your clients from viewing your pricing, lower the bar to lift off (offering no minimums), provide affiliate links for professionals, refuse to sell on Amazon, and prioritize
the integrity of the esthetician-client relationship.
Supporting these brands is not just a business decision; it is an act of industry advocacy. When you move your budget to grass-roots, esthetician-led brands that protect you, you send a clear message to the industry that says “we are not sales reps. We are the experts and we will partner with those who respect our value”.
MIC DROP.
Kaelin Jutras is a Licensed Esthetician and the Founder and CEO of Herbal Skin Solutions, a consciously-crafted skincare company that, from concept to creation, places energetic alignment with science, and environmental protection at the forefront. From potent botanical formulations that are both safe for all skin types and deliver clinical results, to packaging that honors the Earth and its resources — Kaelin’s intention for Herbal Skin Solutions is to bring forth rituals that run more than skin-deep and feed the wellspring of the mind, body, and soul alongside an array of skin concerns.
Rose & Argan Dermal Stem Cells
Sculpting Peptides
Wrinkle & Lifting Peptides
Multi-Neuro Complex
21 Peptides + 3 Stem Cells
Targets Firming & Lfiting
Exosome & Hydration Boosting
Tightening Aerobic Workout
Youth, Collagen, Anchoring Peptides
Zero Down-Time
Hires YOUR THREE MOST IMPORTANT
Hint: None of Them Do What You Do
by Jane Pham
Most beauty professionals assume the next person they bring on should be another beauty professional. Another set of hands. Another room, booked. Then they actually hire that second esthetician and the math they have been ignoring turns ugly. Payroll bleeds them. They overpay because the amount "felt right." Six months in, they realize they made more money solo.
I know this because I was guilty of it too. We gravitate to what we know, and what we know is inside the treatment room. But what happens inside a treatment room is rarely what grows a business. The two things that grow a business are finance and marketing
and you can't convince me otherwise. That is why the first three people who genuinely grow your business are not the ones holding a beauty license.
Hire One: A Bookkeeper / CPA
You do not actually know how much money you are making. I promise you don't.
You might say "I bring in $10K a month." That is your top line, before you deduct your rent, your backbar supplies, and the adorable expenses that are necessary to operate, like your Gloss Genius subscription, the tweezers you keep losing, and that $5,000 hydraulic bed. If you cannot tell me what you actually profit from every Brazilian wax or hydrafacial without scrambling for a bank statement, you are guessing. And guessing is how you end up writing the IRS a check with one hand and Googling "is bankruptcy bad" with the other.
A bookkeeper tracks every transaction. Income in. Expenses out. All charges are categorized correctly so a business meal is logged as 50% deductible and office snacks are logged as 100%, because not all consumables are deducted the same way. A competent bookkeeper produces an accurate Profit and Loss statement, the document that tells you each month what your business actually profited. A CPA reads what the bookkeeper produces and tells you what to do about it. She is the strategist who looks at the numbers and says, "You are on track to make $100K this year, which means you will owe $20K. Here are three legal ways to drop that to $5K before December 31." Your CPA can only do that if you have updated monthly P&Ls. Without one, your CPA is being handed a shoebox and asked to build a house. Sometimes the CPA is also the bookkeeper. Sometimes they are separate people. For a solo operator, the combo should run $150 to $400 a month depending on the complexity of your business. Yes, they cost money. They
also save you four times what they charge, so do that math.
But go ahead and pretend you do not need to know your numbers. Just don't tag me in the April 14 Instagram story where you're "processing things."
Hire Two: A Mentor (Pay Them)
When Facebook was facing a tough patch early in its history, Mark Zuckerberg talked to Steve Jobs. When Bill Gates had issues, he called Warren Buffett. Mentorship is linked to success, with 92% of small business owners crediting it for growth, and mentored businesses seeing average revenue growth of 83%.
In my own ecommerce business, I paid a mentor $2,500 for two hours of her time. She suggested one small move and it grew my business by 20%. Worth every dollar.
Asking for help is not weakness. It is how you 10x success. Every successful person you admire in this industry has done it. They asked. They paid. They sat at someone else's feet for an hour and walked away with a year of clarity.
If you want to figure out social media, you find a creator whose content style you could actually replicate (this part matters, because what they do is what they will teach you to do) and pay them for a consultation. If you want to fix your studio operations, you find a studio owner doing it well and pay them. The mentor does not have to be famous. They just have to be three steps ahead of you and willing to talk. Most are.
Hire Three: A Virtual Assistant
I found a virtual assistant on Upwork. She is based overseas and costs roughly $8 an hour, works on a flat schedule, and has never asked me about benefits. She edits my content, schedules my social media, organizes my Google Drive, hunts down mystery charges on my P&L, and replies to basic emails using templates I wrote once.
I do not micromanage her. The whole point of the system is that she works independently. We communicate in two places. A Google Sheet is the bible. If it is not in the sheet, it does not exist. A Google Drive holds the files. We
Low Consumable Cost!
Can be used for:
Face - can improve skin texture, fine lines, acne scars, and overall radiance
Body - can improve stretch marks, crepey skin, and scars
Hair - Supports hair growth by improving follicle health and circulation
Unique triangle tip to enhance precision, coverage, and accessibility during treatments.
Recommended Sessions: a minimum of 4-6 for skin, 5-7 for hair will yield best results
have one 15-minute check-in every two weeks. That is the entire relationship. Before you hire a group of VAs, realize this: you cannot delegate to a VA if you do not have systems. I can hand my VA a Google Doc with 50 quote ideas and 20 photos and she will produce a month of static social posts in the time it takes me to fold one load of laundry. But only because I wrote the doc and built the system first.
If you cannot afford a VA yet, build the systems anyway. The day you can afford her, the handoff is already done.
The Pattern
Your bookkeeper and CPA tell you what is happening with your money and how to keep more of it. Your mentor tells you what to do next so you stop reinventing wheels other people already finished building. Your VA buys back the hours to complete tasks you've been avoiding.
There are only two things required for success in hiring these three: patience, and being rooted in reality.
Your team members will only hold themselves to the standard you hold them to. If you have high standards, they will meet them. If you have low standards, they will find a basement under your basement. You already know this as a service provider. If you're a waxer, you already know exactly what a good waxer looks like because you have enough industry knowledge to separate the bad from the good from the exceptional.
That same baseline knowledge is the price of admission to every hire on this list. You cannot hold your accountant accountable if you don't know basic tax principles. You cannot evaluate your VA's output if you don't know that a static post takes roughly 6 minutes to build, not 60. Your first accountant will almost certainly disappoint you, and that is not her failure. You hired a tax professional, not a tax professor. She expected you to walk in with baseline knowledge, and if you don't have it, she's not going to hold your hand. Same with a VA. If you don't invest time training her on your brand,
your voice, and your systems, she will mirror your effort exactly. Pay attention to that.
This brings us to patience. You have to be patient enough to learn what you don't know. Patient enough to fire the wrong person without dramatically declaring you'll never hire a VA again because it doesn't work. The first hire of anything rarely works out. My current VA has been with me for four years. Finding her took twelve VAs in two years. That is the actual ratio. Plan for it.
The sooner you accept that growing a beauty business is more about the people behind the scenes than the people on the schedule, the sooner you grow the business instead of just the team.
Jane Pham is the founder of Lady Peng (ladypeng.com), an education-forward B2B supply company for licensed body waxers, and the owner of Ted D Bare Waxing Studio (teddbare. com) in San Jose, a seven-figure brick-and-mortar known for its 15-minute Brazilian. She is best known in the industry for translating the boring side of business (SEO, taxes, profit margins) into language beauty professionals will actually sit through.
3. Bio France lab • Lightening Bright Facial Cream • https://retailbiofrancelab.com/
M.A.S Skincare • SYNPLA Bright Growth Factor Serum • https://mad-skincare.com/
EDITOR’S PICK
Le Mieux Ionized Oxygen Infuser
The Glass Skin Essential in the treatment room and at home. A sleek oxygenating mist system that delivers ultra-fine hydration for instantly plumper, glowier skin, giving clients that refreshed, dewy “glass skin” look they can’t stop talking about.
lemieuxskincare.com
Sorella Apothecary Pear Enzyme Glaze
This is one of those exfoliating treatments that gives clients an immediate glow without compromising the skin barrier. I love it for refining texture, softening congestion, brightening post-inflammatory pigment, and giving the skin that smooth, polished look after just one treatment.
sorellaapothecary.com
KRX Aesthetic Carboxy Therapy CO2 Treatment
I include this treatment in my Korean Glass Skin Lift Facial because it instantly boosts circulation, oxygenation, and hydration while helping reduce puffiness and dullness for that fresh, radiant glass skin glow. It preps the skin beautifully for deeper infusion treatments and leaves clients looking visibly brighter, smoother, and incredibly refreshed.
krxaesthetics.com
ByAri Rx Seabuckthorn Skin Oil
This is one of my favorite facial oils for acne-prone and inflamed skin because it deeply nourishes without feeling heavy while helping support barrier repair and calm visible redness. I take it with me everywhere because I also love using it on my face and body (even my hair) for that healthy, nourished glow from head to toe.
byarirx.com
