Latest / Honest Esthetician Education / Is Microneedling Safe for Active Acne? | Natalie (LuxNLav)

Transcript

Is Microneedling Safe for Active Acne? | Natalie (LuxNLav) · Honest Esthetician Education

• 0:00
  Hi guys, I am with Natalie, the skin pen queen and acne master.
• 0:06
  I'm so honored to have her on the podcast today.
• 0:09
  And she is part of our founders lounge experience for the aesthetic experience, which is VIP for the weekend, shooting a podcast dinner and
• 0:17
  and just experiencing this wonderful weekend together.
• 0:20
  But thank you so much for being on the podcast today.
• 0:22
  Yeah, I'm so excited.
• 0:24
  I've been waiting for this since last May.
• 0:26
  Oh my gosh.
• 0:26
  I know you were the, you purchased tickets on the first day.
• 0:29
  Yeah.
• 0:30
  2am in the morning.
• 0:31
  Yeah.
• 0:32
  That doesn't surprise me.
• 0:33
  You're always working from what I hear.
• 0:34
  I was like on the computer and I was like, should I do it?
• 0:37
  And then I was like, okay, wait, what is that?
• 0:41
  Girl, I ain't going to do it.
• 0:42
  Yeah.
• 0:43
  You ain't going to do it.
• 0:45
  Yeah.
• 0:45
  I was.
• 0:45
  I was.
• 0:46
  And it was like 2 a.m. in the morning.
• 0:47
  And I was like, did I make a good decision?
• 0:49
  And then I was like, well, I already made it.
• 0:50
  So it's fine.
• 0:51
  Wait, that's so funny.
• 0:52
  You invested in us before this event even came to life.
• 0:55
  So we appreciate that so much.
• 0:58
  I knew it was going to be awesome.
• 1:00
  I had faith.
• 1:01
  Thank you so much for putting your whole faith in us.
• 1:04
  That was a big investment.
• 1:05
  So we appreciate you.
• 1:06
  But I would love to hear about your aesthetics journey and how long you've been an esthetician.
• 1:12
  So now I've been an esthetician for six years this year.
• 1:15
  I became an esthetician because I struggled with acne for a very long time.
• 1:20
  I, I went through a phase where I really didn't have good self confidence.
• 1:25
  I wouldn't even go to like the grocery store without makeup on.
• 1:29
  And I ended up going to an esthetician.
• 1:31
  Well, I had gone to a couple and after microneedling, I had been like, wow, my skin looks amazing.
• 1:37
  And believe it or not, that's what made me want to become an esthetician was getting that microneedling done.
• 1:43
  I went to school.
• 1:44
  I paid for it like out of my pocket, which I was very poor, so it was fine.
• 1:49
  But I was like, okay, I'm on the struggle bus, but I'm going to do it.
• 1:52
  I got out of school and then my very first class was microneedling.
• 1:56
  And then ever since then, I've just taken a million continuing education classes and...
• 2:01
  This is just, I can't even say like how passionate I feel about this because I know what it's like for people to suffer, not just from acne, but anything that doesn't make you feel super confident.
• 2:13
  And I just, I love helping people feel confident because I know what that's like to get your confidence back.
• 2:18
  Yeah.
• 2:19
  That's incredible.
• 2:20
  And so you essentially,
• 2:23
  managed your acne and you saw results by getting microneedling done?
• 2:27
  Yeah.
• 2:27
  So I had some acne on my face.
• 2:29
  It had cleared up a little bit by then, but the esthetician, I remember her saying like, I'm going to go around your acne.
• 2:35
  She, cause nobody was microneedling over acne at that time.
• 2:38
  But I remember that my face cleared up.
• 2:41
  And so then later when I went into microneedling and I started studying the skin, I was like, my acne never spread.
• 2:47
  My face was awesome.
• 2:49
  Yeah.
• 2:49
  And so then, and that's where the rest, the rest is history.
• 2:52
  And then I started doing the research and then, um, that's how I ended up microneedling over acne.
• 2:57
  Wow.
• 2:58
  And so when you, did you use any skincare or was it just microneedling?
• 3:02
  Honestly, not great skincare.
• 3:05
  I think at the time I was just using like whatever came in my, you remember those like, Oh, what's it called?
• 3:11
  Not Ipsy.
• 3:12
  It was the other one.
• 3:13
  It was like a box of product that was sort of the B.
• 3:16
  right?
• 3:16
  I don't know.
• 3:17
  But anyways, it came with like a subscription.
• 3:19
  Yeah.
• 3:20
  It wasn't Ipsy.
• 3:21
  It was the other one.
• 3:22
  I can't remember the name of it.
• 3:23
  Did you already say that?
• 3:25
  Yeah.
• 3:25
  That's fine.
• 3:26
  It's like the only thing I could think of.
• 3:28
  I used to have that and I just used to use skincare through that.
• 3:30
  But I did understand like I was like, okay, this is a mask with AHAs and stuff like that.
• 3:37
  But then as I started to study skin more, I did want to dive deeper into clinical skincare, more like professional brands and then... Yeah.
• 3:46
  I would say pairing microneedling with those professional brands is just what really helped me to start getting really amazing results with my clients.
• 3:53
  And yeah, also my own face.
• 3:55
  Oh, my gosh.
• 3:56
  So you started when you took your first microneedling course or certification, did you immediately go into treating acne with that or was like what was the process like?
• 4:07
  No, it wasn't immediate.
• 4:08
  In fact, I look back at my microneedling class and I like, like I cringe a little bit because I'm like the things that they told me, I'm like, girl, but it's fine.
• 4:20
  Um, but no, it was like much later.
• 4:22
  I had started studying the skin a lot.
• 4:24
  I've always been super interested in science.
• 4:28
  Um, that like, even since I was in high school, that was like my strongest subject.
• 4:31
  So I started, uh, studying skin and then-
• 4:34
  When I got to the point of like, hmm, this doesn't really make sense that I can't microneedle over acne.
• 4:39
  Yeah.
• 4:40
  One of my very good clients, we had been treating her skin for like over a year and it was just relentless.
• 4:46
  Like no matter what we did, it was just, she was always having these flare ups and it was just, she was going to a dermatologist.
• 4:52
  Nothing was working.
• 4:53
  And I was like, I have this idea.
• 4:56
  And I said, if I jack up your skin, I could get it back to where it's at right now.
• 5:00
  And I was like, I promise I can get you at least back to where you are.
• 5:04
  And at that point, she was desperate and she trusted me a lot because I had helped her improve.
• 5:09
  We just hadn't cleared her 100%.
• 5:10
  And girl, literally, I want to say like four sessions later, this girl was clear and she had never been clear since she was 11 years old.
• 5:19
  Oh my gosh.
• 5:20
  And she was 25 at the time.
• 5:21
  Uh-huh.
• 5:22
  So that was when I knew.
• 5:24
  And then on the DL, because I was scared to tell people what I was doing, I started microneedling a lot of clients.
• 5:31
  I was like, hey, I know that you're going to find information that says this is not okay on the internet.
• 5:36
  However, and I would show them her before and after.
• 5:38
  And I was like, this is what I've done so far.
• 5:40
  Will you let me try?
• 5:41
  I only did it with clients I really trusted and knew.
• 5:44
  And then I just started getting amazing results.
• 5:46
  And then SkinPen came out with their study.
• 5:49
  And literally, I was like...
• 5:51
  I've been doing this.
• 5:53
  And they were like, what?
• 5:54
  And I was like, yeah.
• 5:55
  And my friend was with me at Crown Gem.
• 5:58
  And she was like, no, she really does microneedle over acne.
• 6:01
  I have for a while thought she's kind of crazy.
• 6:04
  And I was like, yeah.
• 6:05
  And so I started showing them.
• 6:06
  And then, yeah, then the rest is history.
• 6:08
  They like...
• 6:10
  I created a masterclass.
• 6:11
  They clinically reviewed it, like all the things.
• 6:13
  And here we are today.
• 6:14
  Wait, so did you start your...
• 6:16
  They essentially had a study then?
• 6:18
  Yeah, so they had a study that came out, but I had already been microneedling over acne at that point for like over a year.
• 6:25
  Okay.
• 6:25
  And I had cleared various people doing that.
• 6:28
  And I would put up their before and afters, but I would just be like...
• 6:31
  Yeah, we got here in six months.
• 6:33
  I wouldn't say how because I was like scared of the backlash.
• 6:36
  And then once a study came out, you feel like more empowered because you're like, okay, now something proves what I've been doing.
• 6:43
  And then I just started posting all over the internet about it.
• 6:46
  So when you gave essentially –
• 6:49
  told SkinPen I've been, I've been getting the same results was, did they partner with you at that point?
• 6:55
  Yes.
• 6:55
  So they actually were like encouraging me to do a masterclass because, um, without going into too much detail, SkinPen is FDA cleared.
• 7:04
  Yeah.
• 7:05
  So unless microneedling, unless they do a study with the FDA for microneedling over acne, they're not going to show it up.
• 7:13
  Like they're not going to be able to promote it is what I mean.
• 7:16
  Like, for example, we know that microneedling helps with pigmentation, but SkinPen will not promote that because it's not part of their studies that they've done with the FDA.
• 7:24
  So essentially, I was the voice, in a sense, that they couldn't have.
• 7:29
  Oh, okay.
• 7:30
  So I created the master class, and then their tissue doctor, one of them, clinically reviewed my class to make sure it was accurate.
• 7:38
  I was on, like, Zoom calls with her until the class was, like, perfected, and then we launched the last one.
• 7:45
  Oh my gosh.
• 7:45
  So is that how you got into webinars?
• 7:48
  Yeah.
• 7:48
  Like, so funny thing is like, I was like, nobody's going to want to take this class.
• 7:53
  And they were like, no, seriously, like people want to know what you're doing.
• 7:57
  And like, we, you know, it wasn't like skin pen headquarters.
• 8:00
  It was like certain people with skin pen that I was close with.
• 8:03
  And they were like, you know, you should do it because we essentially cannot promote this study.
• 8:07
  Yeah.
• 8:08
  And I was like, okay, I'll do it for free.
• 8:10
  And they were like, no, no.
• 8:13
  no, you should not do it for free.
• 8:14
  And I was like, are you sure?
• 8:15
  And I was like, how about $99?
• 8:17
  And they were like, how about 199?
• 8:18
  You got to put some value behind your work, your technique, whatever.
• 8:23
  And yeah, I just ended up going down that route.
• 8:28
  I started a masterclass and my very first masterclass I launched had over a hundred people.
• 8:33
  And I was like, super stoked.
• 8:35
  Cause I literally was like, if I get over 10, I'm going to be so happy.
• 8:39
  Yeah.
• 8:40
  And I like, I just didn't, I don't know.
• 8:43
  I didn't think that people would be so interested, but they did.
• 8:46
  And then it just grew from there, you know, and I feel very blessed.
• 8:50
  I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to share what I do in a way that like I'm sharing and I'm also empowering other estheticians to be confident in the treatment room because I'm not giving them like, um, glycolic is for closed comedones, you know, salicylic is great for inflammatory.
• 9:07
  It's
• 9:09
  No, we can really go in on pretty much any acne, do this type of technique, and you're going to get clear skin.
• 9:14
  And it's kind of like, I don't know.
• 9:17
  I feel like it's changed a lot of careers for estheticians with their clients.
• 9:22
  And you are very science-based.
• 9:24
  Like you said, that was your best subject.
• 9:26
  And I can definitely tell.
• 9:27
  I mean, even just watching your master class myself.
• 9:31
  there is something truly special about you that you, the way you communicate with estheticians, the way that you really just set a new standard in the aesthetics industry, because yeah, like micro kneeling over acne is for a lot of people frowned upon.
• 9:45
  And just to see your, your before and afters are social proof that this works.
• 9:51
  And it's a, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's,
• 9:52
  It's been a really cool perspective to see like from the outer perspective of, oh my gosh, this works.
• 9:59
  And so have you received a lot of backlash like since you started?
• 10:03
  How has the journey been throughout microneedling over acne?
• 10:06
  Yes.
• 10:08
  When I first started like promoting that I did it, it was honestly insane.
• 10:13
  Like I –
• 10:14
  It literally sounds made up, but I kid you not.
• 10:16
  There were days where I was literally receiving like a thousand messages in a day.
• 10:21
  I could not keep up.
• 10:22
  I would go in in an hour and I would have 75 new messages.
• 10:25
  It was crazy.
• 10:26
  And a lot of them were people...
• 10:30
  saying mean things to me.
• 10:31
  And I was like, what the heck?
• 10:32
  Yeah.
• 10:33
  Why would you take your energy to send me that message?
• 10:36
  Or a lot of people just leaving comments on my videos.
• 10:40
  And at first, I actually had so much anxiety because I was just not used to that type of controversy that I turned off all my notifications.
• 10:48
  And I was like, I cannot do this all day.
• 10:50
  Uh-huh.
• 10:52
  To this day, I still get so many comments.
• 10:55
  You would not even think... Like, you would think now it's been, like, over a year and so many people have seen it, but I still get comments.
• 11:00
  Like, I would say probably every one to three days, I get somebody that's really mad that I microneedle over acne.
• 11:06
  I get messages, emails.
• 11:09
  I get less messages now, but I used to get a lot because I feel like people were afraid to be mean to me in the comment area.
• 11:15
  So they would send me a message saying, like, you're an idiot.
• 11:18
  And I was like, I have screenshots.
• 11:19
  And I was like, okay, thank you.
• 11:21
  Like, the heck, Donna?
• 11:22
  Oh, my gosh.
• 11:24
  Donna.
• 11:25
  Donna.
• 11:26
  So, but the thing is, is that even though there was this controversy, I believed in it.
• 11:31
  I believed in it enough that...
• 11:34
  to push through people being mean to me because at the end of the day, that's a reflection of them.
• 11:39
  Yeah.
• 11:40
  If someone is promoting on their page that you shouldn't microneedle over acne, I don't go to their page and fight with them.
• 11:46
  Yeah, exactly.
• 11:47
  It's not, that's not my place.
• 11:49
  Like, I don't know.
• 11:50
  I think of it as you get different results in a different way, right?
• 11:54
  Like there's so many ways that you can do things, but whatever you feel best serves your clients because your clients come first, not the internet, is the most important.
• 12:03
  And as far as microneedling over acne goes, what is the science behind that?
• 12:10
  Well, essentially what we know about acne is that it's a multifactorial issue with the pore, right?
• 12:16
  We have hyperkeratinization.
• 12:18
  We have excess sebum.
• 12:20
  We have the bacteria that gets trapped inside.
• 12:23
  All these things create an environment where that C. acne's bacteria can then thrive.
• 12:28
  So what we know about microneedling is that when we do it, it is essentially creating this natural healing response.
• 12:35
  It brings in cytokines.
• 12:36
  It brings in growth factors, macrophages, which are going to clean up debris, injured tissue, tissue that's not functioning properly.
• 12:44
  It's going to replace that old tissue with new tissue.
• 12:50
  as it should, as it's meant to, right?
• 12:54
  In addition to that, when we're doing these microchannels, we're allowing oxygen to go into the pore.
• 12:58
  And as any esthetician, whether they believe in this or not, knows, you know, oxygen is like sea acne's bacteria enemy, right?
• 13:07
  It's not going to, they can't hang out.
• 13:09
  Yeah.
• 13:10
  So when you think about it like this...
• 13:13
  Whether a pore is healthy or with acne, the sea acne's bacteria is there.
• 13:18
  Yeah.
• 13:19
  So technically, if you are microneedling over somebody with super healthy skin, you then are running the risk of spreading that bacteria, like people like to say with acne.
• 13:29
  acne.
• 13:29
  But the greatest misconception is that people think acne is an infection and it is not.
• 13:34
  It is purely an immune response.
• 13:37
  Immune responses can still produce pus.
• 13:40
  It can still produce swelling, et cetera, but it does not fall under the category of infection.
• 13:45
  And so you're not spreading any type of infection.
• 13:49
  You're literally just...
• 13:51
  aerating the skin.
• 13:52
  Yeah, essentially.
• 13:54
  Wow.
• 13:54
  Yeah, that's that's a even just hearing that the science behind that is so incredible.
• 13:59
  And when you're talking about treating acne, how many sessions would skin pen?
• 14:03
  I know that it's different for everybody.
• 14:05
  But I feel like it's a very common question.
• 14:07
  Okay, when you're treating acne with with skin pen or whatever microdeling device that you carry, how long do you usually see with the results?
• 14:16
  So yes, of course it's going to vary.
• 14:18
  Like there's this one kid, he was 17.
• 14:21
  His mom brought him to me and we did two sessions and his acne cleared, but that's not typical, right?
• 14:26
  So I would say typically I'm treating anyone between, I would say like four to eight sessions.
• 14:32
  And a lot of people will say, well, I can get somebody clear with just products.
• 14:35
  And that's true.
• 14:36
  So can I, I could do it that way.
• 14:38
  But what I look at is long-term change to the skin.
• 14:41
  Like how are we changing the signaling within the skin to have less inflammation?
• 14:46
  Because what we know about microneedling is it actually lowers the amount of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
• 14:53
  Those are inflammation markers in the skin.
• 14:55
  We know that acne has this low-grade inflammation under it.
• 14:59
  With microneedling, we reduce that amount.
• 15:01
  We actually calm down the sebaceous glands.
• 15:02
  There's like so many things that actually change the behavior.
• 15:06
  Now, if you look at my skin, well, don't look up here because I actually do have a breakout right now.
• 15:11
  But typically, like I used to have...
• 15:14
  I mean, I swear I would get like 10 breakouts a day.
• 15:18
  It was so annoying.
• 15:19
  I had a lot of issues in my lower face.
• 15:22
  I still have scars there.
• 15:23
  But now it's like since I've become an avid microneedler on my own face, like I don't even have any issues with acne.
• 15:32
  And I, you know, we kind of talked about imposter syndrome, but sometimes I'm like, is it going to come back?
• 15:38
  You know, it's just like, that's like PTSD from having acne.
• 15:43
  But I've seen like that girl, the first one I micro-needaled over her acne, her acne has never come back.
• 15:49
  Wow.
• 15:49
  And it's been, man, three years now, I think.
• 15:53
  I literally like was able to change her life.
• 15:58
  And I mean, I just did the session, like the treatment that I know, but essentially everything she'd been trying to do since she was 11 was,
• 16:06
  changed within just a few sessions.
• 16:08
  So you're changing the function of the skin, essentially.
• 16:11
  Yeah.
• 16:11
  That's why I always talk about the function of the skin because it's like microneedling literally is so healing.
• 16:16
  And that's what people, they see it as a very aggressive treatment and it's not.
• 16:21
  And a lot of people that have taken my masterclasses know that I preach about not being super aggressive with microneedling.
• 16:27
  Like I get great results, but
• 16:29
  doing minimum things because I understand what's happening within the skin.
• 16:34
  Yeah.
• 16:34
  I'm not just like, oh, here it looks like I could do 1.0.
• 16:38
  It's not about that.
• 16:39
  It's like, okay, am I seeing erythema?
• 16:40
  Is there rosacea?
• 16:41
  Is there melasma?
• 16:43
  What layer of the skin does that sit in?
• 16:45
  How can I influence the body to heal that?
• 16:48
  And that's my whole stance.
• 16:50
  I'm like, how can I influence the skin to do what
• 16:54
  doing some crazy peel that makes their face fall off or super deep microneedling or whatever.
• 16:59
  It's like, it's more about coaxing the skin to do what it knows how to do.
• 17:04
  But any issue that we're dealing with, it's dysregulation.
• 17:07
  So we just have to regulate it.
• 17:09
  Absolutely.
• 17:09
  And I think it's funny because with microneedling, the way that we explain it is like, it's a controlled wound.
• 17:15
  Yes.
• 17:16
  And it's you, the way that you're doing depths and
• 17:19
  I think people, like you said, people think that you have to go super aggressive to get great results, but like you really just are.
• 17:25
  just triggering the skin to respond in a certain way.
• 17:28
  And I think even just you pairing it with peels is such a interesting thing as well.
• 17:35
  So I'd love to talk about microneedling and peels.
• 17:40
  So a lot of people think also, like they hear that I do microneedle peels and they think that I'm doing like super deep microneedling and then like three passes of a chemical peel.
• 17:49
  And then I'm like rubbing it across the skin.
• 17:51
  It's not like that at all.
• 17:53
  I actually do.
• 17:54
  I do normal depth with microneedling.
• 17:56
  But then my approach to applying the peel is very conservative.
• 18:00
  And essentially what I'm doing is, you know, creating more epidermal shedding.
• 18:05
  At the same time, I'm just able to kind of influence both sides of the skin, right?
• 18:10
  Uh-huh.
• 18:11
  And a lot of times, for example, well, like, one thing that you know is, like, I only use self-neutralizing peels.
• 18:19
  Yeah.
• 18:19
  Yeah.
• 18:20
  I'm only applying one layer of a peel and I have a technique to applying it so that I'm not being super crazy with the skin.
• 18:26
  I'm not creating this huge inflammatory spike.
• 18:29
  But what I do is I essentially tell the skin like, okay, we're going to let this active, you know, work for this amount of time.
• 18:37
  And with a self-neutralizing peel, it deactivates itself.
• 18:40
  Yeah.
• 18:40
  The majority of it evaporates off the skin.
• 18:42
  But a lot of people just think like...
• 18:45
  I'm just like pouring a bottle of acid on people's face and it's not like that.
• 18:48
  Yeah.
• 18:49
  But when you know the technique.
• 18:50
  When you need to take your class.
• 18:52
  Yeah.
• 18:53
  When you know the parameters for being safe, everything changes.
• 18:57
  And you're like, oh, it's not actually that aggressive.
• 18:59
  And thus far…
• 19:02
  I have had literally everybody that has taken the class and I tell them how to do it safely.
• 19:06
  I tell them, you know, this is how you choose appeal, et cetera.
• 19:09
  Everybody has had amazing results.
• 19:11
  Yeah.
• 19:11
  Like, and that fills my heart.
• 19:13
  Like estheticians being like, look, Nat, like I did three sessions on this person.
• 19:18
  Like look at their skin.
• 19:19
  And that one makes me happy for their client.
• 19:21
  And two, it makes me happy for the esthetician because as an esthetician, all you want is to be good at your job.
• 19:27
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 19:33
  I feel like that's very special, something that I'm just able to share with the community.
• 19:39
  And I really appreciate that I have that opportunity.
• 19:42
  Yeah, you're setting a new standard in the aesthetics industry.
• 19:45
  It seems scary, I'm sure when you first started, but to see the impact that you're making, and you talked about imposter syndrome, like you are doing so amazing.
• 19:54
  I just want to let you know that you add, like I said, you add so much value to the aesthetics community.
• 20:00
  And to see something that
• 20:02
  I think we go back to like your results speak for yourself.
• 20:05
  Yeah.
• 20:05
  Like you have to look at your results.
• 20:07
  And if you were just teaching this stuff, but you didn't have social proof of here's the before and afters, that might be a little bit different.
• 20:14
  But like you are a wealth of knowledge.
• 20:15
  You are showcasing these before and afters and doing it in a safe and effective way.
• 20:19
  And I really just admire that about you.
• 20:22
  And of course, so for somebody who's looking to get into micro kneeling over acne, would you suggest that they go and practice on a few friends or family members?
• 20:31
  Or would you just expect them to go for it and try?
• 20:34
  I mean, I feel like it's going to make whatever makes you more comfortable, right?
• 20:39
  Like I didn't start with a random person when I did it.
• 20:42
  And I'm going to be super honest because here's the thing.
• 20:45
  I had studied the skin.
• 20:47
  I knew what I knew about the skin, but then everything that they pound into you about it.
• 20:50
  You're spreading acne, et cetera.
• 20:52
  I did not sleep that night.
• 20:53
  I was literally awake in my bed like, did I just ruin this girl's face?
• 20:56
  Because everybody says that this happens.
• 20:58
  Yeah.
• 20:59
  And I mean, two days later, her acne had just like dried up and she was like, nah.
• 21:04
  And I was like, oh my God, okay.
• 21:08
  Yes.
• 21:09
  You're like going against what everybody says.
• 21:11
  Yeah.
• 21:12
  And it's like, I don't know.
• 21:14
  It, it, it just brings you back to like, I think that starting with somebody that you're comfortable with is important because then you can check in with that person confidently versus super being scared.
• 21:27
  Like this girl, I knew her very well.
• 21:29
  She was my friend.
• 21:29
  She was my client, but like, I was able to be like, Hey, is your skin okay?
• 21:32
  Yeah.
• 21:33
  Um, and you know, start with your cousin or your sister or somebody like that so that you can do those check-ins confidently.
• 21:39
  And then once you see how amazing it works, you could switch to clients or, um, like if they take my class and they're, I feel like I set people up for having confidence or I try to.
• 21:50
  And in that case, if you know exactly what you need to do in the treatment room, do it.
• 21:54
  Absolutely.
• 21:55
  I kind of, I kind of want to say it's like foolproof as long as you know the parameters for staying safe.
• 22:01
  Yeah.
• 22:02
  No, that makes total sense.
• 22:04
  And I think that a lot of estheticians are like, oh my gosh, what do I do?
• 22:07
  But I truly believe that your masterclass sets people up for success.
• 22:11
  And that's why you've been able to get good feedback with other estheticians in the community of, wow, it works.
• 22:16
  Like this is something that's new and it's working and something that again, is not done in this space.
• 22:22
  And as far as you getting the results that you do, would you say home care is still a very important part of it?
• 22:32
  I really don't treat a client that's not on home care because that's silly.
• 22:35
  Yeah.
• 22:36
  Like, what are you... What am I going to be able to achieve with seeing you once every 28 days?
• 22:40
  Mm-hmm.
• 22:41
  But I also am the esthetician that if they come in and they're like, I just bought all these products, I'm like, okay...
• 22:48
  I'm not going to make you switch those out.
• 22:50
  You already spent money on them, but what can I add to that to help you?
• 22:53
  And then as they continue with their skincare, I will switch things out, but I definitely will not treat them if they're not on skincare because you're going to experience trans epitomal water loss.
• 23:03
  Like how are you going to help your skin?
• 23:05
  Otherwise your skin's going to be a mess and you're just not, you have to still nurture the skin even after a facial, even after a dermaplane, whatever, like you have to be able to
• 23:15
  still work with the skin.
• 23:16
  So you essentially prep people with their skincare and then do microannulating.
• 23:20
  Do you have a certain time period where they stay off their actives or their certain products versus after?
• 23:26
  Yeah.
• 23:27
  So there's something called the reservoir effect in the skin where essentially, depending on the ingredient that they're using, the skin will actually hold onto that ingredient.
• 23:37
  So it kind of binds to a corneocyte, which is our dead skin cell.
• 23:40
  And it will stay there, sometimes up to 72 hours, sometimes even longer.
• 23:44
  So what we want to make sure is that that active is out, like shed off of their skin before we do the microneedling.
• 23:51
  So my rule is five to seven days, we try to keep them off actives before and then after as well, just to make sure that they're not having excess irritation, excess inflammation, anything like that.
• 24:02
  But yeah.
• 24:04
  I mean, yeah, I just try to play it safe.
• 24:08
  Yeah.
• 24:08
  Like, I feel like people think the opposite of me, but truly I do try to work conservatively with clients.
• 24:14
  I don't want to do anything out here that's crazy.
• 24:17
  Yeah.
• 24:17
  Especially if you're adding, like, even if it is a self-neutralizing pill, you want to protect the skin integrity and make sure that you're...
• 24:23
  like nurturing your clients, do you ever notice any like major purging as their skin progresses?
• 24:28
  Like, is it more so maintenance that their skin kind of like fluctuates normally?
• 24:33
  Or do you still, do you feel like they still experienced some purging throughout the process?
• 24:37
  Like with being off their actives and then being back on their actives?
• 24:41
  So, like, if I do a microneedle peel, they will probably – or just microneedling – they probably will start to have a purge.
• 24:50
  Now, I should go back to that because if I'm doing just microneedling, it's really just 72 hours I make them stop before and after, and then they can go back on actives.
• 24:59
  Microneedle peel is five to seven days depending on which peel I'm doing.
• 25:03
  But –
• 25:05
  Honestly, like even if you start a new cleanser, you could purge.
• 25:08
  Yep.
• 25:08
  Right.
• 25:09
  Exactly.
• 25:09
  So a lot of people get scared.
• 25:11
  Like I did microneedling in my client.
• 25:13
  You know, they're starting to have acne.
• 25:15
  And I'm like, well, yes, because those microchromidones, which are within the skin.
• 25:19
  Yeah.
• 25:19
  Have to come out.
• 25:20
  Yeah, exactly.
• 25:21
  You're regenerating those skin cells.
• 25:22
  So it happens.
• 25:24
  But.
• 25:24
  that's where that home care comes in and is super important.
• 25:28
  As long as they're on home care, like, your client's going to be fine.
• 25:31
  It's just like if they purge from a facial.
• 25:33
  Yeah.
• 25:34
  Just get them back on track and their skin will even out, like, literally within a week.
• 25:38
  Yeah.
• 25:39
  It's not something that's long-term or crazy.
• 25:41
  Yeah.
• 25:41
  And what do you use in your treatment?
• 25:44
  Like, what do you carry at your clinic and what are your most –
• 25:48
  favorite lines that you carry?
• 25:50
  Well, for acne, I do have face reality.
• 25:53
  I've had them for a while.
• 25:54
  I'm certified through them.
• 25:55
  And then I have skin better, color science.
• 25:59
  I did have is clinical.
• 26:00
  I just got rid of that actually.
• 26:01
  Is there a reason?
• 26:04
  Um, they sell their stuff on Amazon.
• 26:06
  Aww.
• 26:07
  I didn't love that.
• 26:08
  Yeah.
• 26:08
  I can't, I like their products.
• 26:10
  It just, I was like, I don't know about that.
• 26:13
  Yeah.
• 26:14
  So, and then I have Hydrenity and then I have Dry Skin Love, which is a brand out of, uh,
• 26:20
  Canada.
• 26:20
  And what else do I have?
• 26:26
  That's awesome though.
• 26:27
  I think that's... What was the first brand?
• 26:29
  Oh, Glymed.
• 26:30
  Okay.
• 26:30
  Glymed.
• 26:31
  What was the first brand that you brought onto your business?
• 26:33
  Glymed.
• 26:33
  Okay.
• 26:34
  And that's, I feel like that's a really good base for estheticians.
• 26:36
  Yeah.
• 26:37
  I used to do the online thing.
• 26:39
  Okay.
• 26:39
  Oh yeah.
• 26:40
  That's smart.
• 26:40
  I'd like fill their cart and be like, this is what you need.
• 26:43
  And then I didn't have to carry retail in my spa, but... Yeah.
• 26:46
  Then my first, like, I guess more professional, not more professional, but, like, exclusive brand was Skin Better.
• 26:54
  Yeah.
• 26:54
  And then I went to Is Clinical and then all these other ones.
• 26:56
  And now I'm actually very interested in Mixi skincare.
• 27:01
  I just am waiting until...
• 27:03
  We get into our bigger space, so I need more space.
• 27:06
  Our storage right now is crazy.
• 27:08
  Yeah.
• 27:08
  Oh, my gosh.
• 27:09
  And you're moving into a storefront location.
• 27:12
  When did you know that it was time to invest in a storefront location?
• 27:15
  Where are you right now?
• 27:16
  You're in a suite?
• 27:18
  Yes.
• 27:19
  I am actually in a very –
• 27:21
  precarious place.
• 27:22
  I am in an orthodontist office, which is obviously strange, but my orthodontist that I work with is also an aesthetic doctor.
• 27:29
  He specializes in aesthetics.
• 27:31
  So he was my orthodontist and then we ended up working together and I've been in this orthodontist office for four years.
• 27:39
  And I just...
• 27:41
  was like, you know, I'm really outgrowing this space.
• 27:44
  Like, I need to carry my brand because the way that it's set up, it's like a sublease.
• 27:48
  I can't even have signage outside or anything.
• 27:50
  People all the time are like, I'm at a dentist office.
• 27:53
  I'm like, yeah, we're inside.
• 27:56
  But honestly, I'm not even embarrassed or ashamed about that because –
• 28:00
  The journey of an esthetician, it's like you do what you can until you can do better.
• 28:05
  Exactly.
• 28:05
  And I feel proud that like I had that space.
• 28:09
  When I got that space, I was like, oh my God, this space is so nice.
• 28:12
  Yeah.
• 28:13
  And like it's been very helpful for me.
• 28:15
  My medical director has literally worked with me like side by side.
• 28:19
  He's taught me a lot of things.
• 28:21
  Yeah.
• 28:22
  But yeah, I just knew –
• 28:25
  I want to have a bigger team.
• 28:26
  I want to be able to share like what I know with other estheticians.
• 28:30
  And I want to be able to have my estheticians work more.
• 28:34
  And like right now we're at capacity.
• 28:36
  Yeah.
• 28:37
  We are four estheticians in a single suite right now.
• 28:40
  Oh my gosh.
• 28:41
  No way.
• 28:43
  We rotate.
• 28:44
  Oh my gosh.
• 28:45
  Obviously everybody sees my posts at like 2 a.m.
• 28:48
  I work in the evening.
• 28:49
  I stay with my three-year-old during the day.
• 28:51
  Uh-huh.
• 28:52
  But so during the day, I have an esthetician on and they work until like three or five.
• 28:57
  Yeah.
• 28:58
  I come in at 530 and then work at night.
• 29:00
  So we just rotate out.
• 29:01
  Yeah.
• 29:02
  And you're like, it's time for a new space.
• 29:04
  Yeah.
• 29:04
  And I want to like work with my friends.
• 29:06
  Yeah.
• 29:06
  We're all like solo estheticians kind of because we all work on our own.
• 29:10
  But yeah, we've made it work.
• 29:13
  Yeah.
• 29:13
  I feel very blessed to have employees that have believed that.
• 29:17
  Yeah.
• 29:19
  And I just feel like I feel really proud of them because I know my employees have like they really have put in a lot of work because.
• 29:28
  Like in the best way, I hold high standards.
• 29:31
  Yeah.
• 29:31
  And it's not because I'm like, you need to be like me.
• 29:34
  No, it's because truly as a person, and I think you know this, in general, who I am trying to help, I want them to be successful.
• 29:41
  Absolutely.
• 29:42
  And if one day an esthetician that works for me is like super famous on the internet and very successful, I'm going to clap for her.
• 29:51
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 29:52
  Like...
• 29:53
  I think that's just how I am as a person.
• 29:55
  Like, I don't care when people have different opinions than me.
• 29:59
  I'm not out here to say my way is the only way.
• 30:02
  I'm really out here to help people if I can.
• 30:06
  Yeah.
• 30:06
  Like, if that makes sense.
• 30:07
  Like, I just want people to be successful because I know we all love our job.
• 30:11
  I know we all believe in what we do.
• 30:13
  And if I can have, like, this much...
• 30:16
  you know, like a little grain of salt or sand in their journey, then I feel happy about that.
• 30:21
  No, you definitely cheer everyone on.
• 30:23
  I always see, I mean, you, every time I see him on Instagram, I'm like, Oh my gosh, she reposted this, she reposted that.
• 30:28
  Like she's like everyone's
• 30:31
  what we need in this community.
• 30:33
  And you're just, again, so valuable.
• 30:35
  And even just hearing that you're in a suite, I would have never guessed that, not in a million years.
• 30:41
  And it's funny because it's so true because I remember when I first started Skin by You and I was in this little box of a suite.
• 30:48
  And I remember feeling like I wasn't worthy enough.
• 30:51
  I mean, me personally, I felt like, I know you're probably different because you're like, I'm happy, but I felt like I was like...
• 30:57
  oh my gosh, this is kind of embarrassing.
• 30:59
  Like I felt like I wasn't worthy enough because I was in like this small cube, but I realized that the people were there for me and that they understood the value of like what I provided.
• 31:08
  And like my best clients that followed me were like, oh my gosh, I remember when you were in that little tiny suite, like it is truthfully like a full circle moment when you own your own business.
• 31:16
  And I love that point that you made that like, we all think that we're in a race to the top.
• 31:20
  It's like, we all start somewhere and like everyone just sees success so differently.
• 31:24
  And it's like the beauty of your aesthetics journey in this industry.
• 31:28
  And you literally do what you can.
• 31:29
  Like when I first started my business, I started in my living room.
• 31:36
  It was embarrassing, honestly.
• 31:37
  Like people would come and I don't know.
• 31:39
  I was like, hi, lay down in the middle of my living room.
• 31:42
  Do you want me to turn on Netflix?
• 31:44
  Like it was just kind of awkward, you know?
• 31:46
  Netflix.
• 31:47
  Then it was like we progressed to a new location.
• 31:51
  But even from my living room days...
• 31:54
  I have clients that have stayed with me.
• 31:55
  Yes.
• 31:56
  And it's like, I'm not embarrassed about those days because that is what I had.
• 32:00
  I made it work.
• 32:02
  I had two serving jobs when I first opened my business.
• 32:04
  I was working two serving jobs and then in my aesthetics business from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day.
• 32:09
  And then I would go work as a server.
• 32:11
  And it's like, I know about hustle.
• 32:13
  I know what it's like to just really put your all into everything.
• 32:17
  And I know that in that moment, that was my all.
• 32:20
  Yeah.
• 32:21
  I didn't have money to invest into bigger things.
• 32:24
  Like, it's very surreal to me now having this building with my name on it because I – sorry, I'll get emotional.
• 32:33
  Aw.
• 32:34
  I still feel like the esthetician in the living room.
• 32:38
  Yeah.
• 32:38
  Yeah.
• 32:39
  Like to me, I'm still me.
• 32:41
  Yeah, exactly.
• 32:43
  No, I love that so much.
• 32:45
  And it's, uh, it is emotional because it's like what you poured your heart into and you don't like, you just kind of take a step back and you're like, Oh my gosh, like, yeah, look how far this little baby SD came.
• 32:55
  And like from you having your own, from you in the living room to you now doing skin pen microneedling.
• 33:01
  Now you're about to have a storefront location that is so beautiful.
• 33:05
  And just, I, I think that, uh.
• 33:06
  The most common theme that I see with solasticians is that like it's hustle mode.
• 33:11
  Like it is blood, sweat, and tears when you own your own business.
• 33:15
  And like we all start somewhere.
• 33:17
  And I think that, again, people just see that –
• 33:20
  race to the top.
• 33:21
  And it's like, it's not that way in the industry.
• 33:23
  What was the hardest part for you owning a business?
• 33:26
  Like when you first started?
• 33:27
  I mean, getting booked.
• 33:30
  It took me nine months to become booked, which some people are like, oh, that's kind of fast.
• 33:35
  Well, it didn't feel fast.
• 33:36
  Yeah.
• 33:36
  And I literally faked it till I made it.
• 33:39
  I like it's marketing, right?
• 33:42
  But I used to take one facial and
• 33:45
  And I would take every angle I could of that.
• 33:47
  Yeah.
• 33:47
  Every mask, massaging them, whatever.
• 33:50
  And then on days when I didn't have clients, I would post as if I still had clients.
• 33:53
  And it created this FOMO where people were like, dang, this girl's busy.
• 33:58
  And I started to get more clients and then I would get referrals.
• 34:01
  And it just like grew like that.
• 34:04
  But figuring out how to make it look like I was better than essentially what I was.
• 34:09
  Yeah.
• 34:10
  It was hard because, I don't know, nobody, you don't learn that in school.
• 34:15
  It's something that you have within you.
• 34:18
  Like, I want to be the best.
• 34:20
  I'm going to be the best.
• 34:21
  You either, like you said earlier, you either have it or you don't.
• 34:24
  You're going to be the best because you want to show yourself.
• 34:28
  It's not about other people anyway.
• 34:29
  It's really about who do you want to be?
• 34:32
  I want to be successful.
• 34:33
  And it's not because I want to be in competition with anybody.
• 34:36
  I don't want to be more successful than somebody else.
• 34:38
  And honestly, this is something that I actually feel, like, proud about this for myself.
• 34:44
  But I will say when it comes to estheticians and stuff, I don't look at what somebody else is doing.
• 34:49
  Yeah.
• 34:50
  I don't look at their follower count.
• 34:51
  I don't look at how booked they are.
• 34:53
  Nothing.
• 34:54
  Because in the end, that doesn't affect my business.
• 34:57
  Exactly.
• 34:58
  And I just keep my eyes on the prize.
• 35:00
  I'm like, all right, what can I do to be better than I was a month ago or two months ago?
• 35:05
  And that's just how I...
• 35:07
  I guess run my life.
• 35:08
  Beautiful.
• 35:09
  And that's so true though.
• 35:10
  Cause you, you truly do have to stay focused like on yourself when you're building a business and you can still support other people.
• 35:16
  But if you're worried about what other people are doing or obsessing over it, like you will just become like spending wasteless time on focusing on somebody else instead of building your business.
• 35:27
  And I love that.
• 35:28
  The like fake it till you make it.
• 35:30
  Like, yes, like that's genius that you took so many different angles of different clients because I see so many estheticians in this industry.
• 35:37
  And unfortunately, they're like, I can't get people in the door.
• 35:40
  You just right there told somebody how they can get somebody in the door because there's nothing worse than an esthetician showing that they're available Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• 35:51
  I'm like, I don't want to.
• 35:52
  with that person.
• 35:53
  Like they, they must not be good.
• 35:55
  Like, and not that like, they're probably an amazing esthetician, but like, it just comes off as like, nobody wants to book an appointment with you.
• 36:01
  And so the more that you can create like demand for your brand is just truly like so valuable and, uh, not making yourself like a for all.
• 36:09
  Yeah.
• 36:10
  Like you don't want to be, I guess, available.
• 36:13
  You don't want to come off as super available, but yeah.
• 36:16
  It's a marketing.
• 36:17
  Like I know essentially you're not really telling the truth, I guess.
• 36:20
  But it's a marketing tactic to show people what you're doing.
• 36:25
  Like I don't know.
• 36:25
  But it's really not lying if you're taking a picture of doing a mask.
• 36:28
  A picture that I did.
• 36:30
  I'm like you're just posting it later in time.
• 36:32
  Like it doesn't matter.
• 36:34
  And I also like I really took to Instagram and I was posting like every day.
• 36:38
  I would have like 15 minutes in between two clients or something.
• 36:40
  And I would just do a silly reel.
• 36:42
  Yeah.
• 36:43
  At that time, it was all about dancing and, you know, whatever.
• 36:45
  And a lot of people came to me like, yeah, I saw you dancing on TikTok.
• 36:49
  I'm like, hey, I can do facial too, though.
• 36:52
  I know, right?
• 36:54
  But I started my brand that way because I didn't know at that time all the education, I guess, that I know now.
• 36:59
  Like, I didn't know those intits.
• 37:00
  like in detail things.
• 37:01
  So I worked with what I had and what I had were some dance moves.
• 37:04
  Yep.
• 37:04
  So you know what I mean?
• 37:05
  Lucky.
• 37:05
  I could, I can't dance to this day.
• 37:07
  Gotta show me some of your moves, girl.
• 37:09
  I mean, I just, I was just silly.
• 37:11
  And that's the thing too, is that I guess you could be scared of what people think of you, but they're going to love you and hate you for the same reason.
• 37:19
  Oh, absolutely.
• 37:19
  That's cliche, but it's true.
• 37:21
  And it was like,
• 37:22
  Well, I got bills to pay, so.
• 37:25
  Shake it for the gram.
• 37:26
  I'm just kidding.
• 37:27
  Come and find me.
• 37:28
  That's so funny.
• 37:29
  Wait, so with the dancing videos, did you – do you feel like you got a lot of clients during that time?
• 37:34
  Or do you feel like you got more clients now showing more education and your results?
• 37:40
  I definitely have more clients now.
• 37:43
  Like I have – it's a different vibe.
• 37:45
  Like now I'm like more –
• 37:48
  People will travel to come see me to help with their acne, stuff like that.
• 37:51
  But before it was like, I did get clients in, but it was more for facials at that time.
• 37:56
  It wasn't because they were like, oh, she must be amazing at acne.
• 38:00
  It was more like, oh, this guy or this girl seems fun.
• 38:03
  Yeah.
• 38:03
  Let me see what she's about.
• 38:05
  And I actually, with a couple of my dancing videos, attracted the news.
• 38:11
  Oh, my gosh.
• 38:12
  They must have been good, girl.
• 38:14
  Fox was like, hello.
• 38:16
  I was like, hi.
• 38:17
  And they were like, we noticed that you do, like, all these videos.
• 38:20
  And are you, like, a new business?
• 38:22
  And they did, like, this whole interview for my business.
• 38:24
  And that kind of, like, helped me to get out there.
• 38:26
  But had I not been willing to put myself out there and do these little dance videos and just look...
• 38:32
  silly on the internet i probably wouldn't have gotten those opportunities so it's like i don't think estheticians have to dance to be able to get that but i think you have to be willing to work with what you have yeah until you have more it's just how it is and if the dance moves are what you got work with it you know what do what you can and the other thing is staying on brand yeah i think make your content about
• 38:57
  Yeah.
• 38:57
  You're trying to promote.
• 38:58
  Do you feel like you positioning yourself now as a skin pen queen and you really just honing in on acne with that?
• 39:06
  Do you think that that has just solidified your brand?
• 39:09
  Like, how do you feel you should stand out as a brand?
• 39:12
  Yes, I definitely think niching down is the way to go.
• 39:16
  So I tell this to people and they're like, wow, that's crazy.
• 39:19
  So like even like, must have been about two years ago.
• 39:23
  Two years ago, I was still doing Brazilians, full body waxing, eyebrow eliminations, all this stuff.
• 39:29
  I was just trying to get people in the door.
• 39:31
  And when I niched down, because I...
• 39:34
  Like every, honestly, even back in the day before I was known for microneedling, my number one service has always been microneedling because I've always promoted it within my business, whatever.
• 39:44
  When I decided, you know what, I actually know a lot about microneedling.
• 39:48
  Let me kind of like show what I know.
• 39:50
  Yeah.
• 39:51
  That is when I was able to take off because I just said like, no, you know what, this is what I'm good at.
• 39:56
  And I know about this.
• 39:58
  Mm-hmm.
• 39:59
  Could I do Brazilians?
• 40:00
  Yeah, but I wasn't trying to promote that.
• 40:01
  It was like, why am I doing this service still?
• 40:03
  So I literally got rid of all of these services.
• 40:06
  I went down to like being an acne, more like results-oriented esthetician.
• 40:12
  And that is when...
• 40:14
  people saw like, hey, she's actually, she's good at this.
• 40:17
  And it took off.
• 40:18
  And I still have a lot to learn.
• 40:20
  I think it's just an ever-changing industry.
• 40:23
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 40:25
  Sometimes I like see things and I can't tell you how many times I'm like reading studies at 2 a.m. in the morning because I'm like, wait a second, this is different than what I know.
• 40:33
  And I'm definitely not an esthetician where I'm like, no, that's not what my teacher told me.
• 40:37
  I'm more like,
• 40:39
  I want to look into that.
• 40:41
  Maybe there must be some truth behind some of that, and that's just how I... What studies are you reading?
• 40:47
  Are they from skincare brands, or are they... Yeah, PubMed.
• 40:51
  Have you been on that?
• 40:51
  PubMed, uh-uh.
• 40:52
  So PubMed, you could literally look up so many studies on there.
• 40:56
  If you're interested about LED, you can look up LED studies, and it will show up to you.
• 41:01
  Melasma, acne, et cetera.
• 41:04
  Also, people get surprised by this, but literally going to Google and being like...
• 41:09
  I'm interested in the studies about plated skincare, right?
• 41:12
  I've done that before because I was like, hmm, how does this brand work?
• 41:15
  Because I have used it for a while.
• 41:16
  And Google brings up the studies that they do.
• 41:20
  Like the information is there.
• 41:23
  I think people just don't know that it's that easy to find.
• 41:26
  Yeah.
• 41:26
  And it really is.
• 41:27
  That's really valuable, though, to an esthetician who's like –
• 41:30
  I don't know the science.
• 41:31
  Where do I find this?
• 41:32
  It's like, it's right in front of you.
• 41:33
  Yeah, you can literally Google it.
• 41:34
  Wait, what is it called again for somebody listening?
• 41:36
  PubMed.
• 41:37
  PubMed.
• 41:38
  PubMed.
• 41:39
  Okay.
• 41:39
  PubMed.
• 41:40
  How did you find this?
• 41:42
  I mean, there's like PubMed studies over a ton of things with skin.
• 41:48
  I guess once I started working with more clinical brands, there are studies over things that even they would be like –
• 41:55
  Hey, so there's this study about melasma and trinexamic acid.
• 41:58
  And it wasn't their study, but it was a study that they used to formulate their product or something.
• 42:04
  And that's how I started, I guess, knowing about it.
• 42:06
  So is this where all your science and nerdiness comes from in the industry?
• 42:11
  No, I mean, yes and no.
• 42:13
  Like, I just honestly, like, before I became an esthetician, I had gone to school to be a nurse.
• 42:18
  Yeah.
• 42:19
  Long story short, I didn't end up finishing.
• 42:21
  Became a singer instead.
• 42:22
  That's for another podcast.
• 42:23
  You're a singer?
• 42:23
  Yeah, and you are too.
• 42:25
  I saw that the other day.
• 42:26
  Oh, my gosh.
• 42:27
  Girl.
• 42:28
  That's why we get along.
• 42:29
  Duet coming soon.
• 42:30
  I know, right?
• 42:32
  yeah uh skin by you and lux and lab wait no wait wait for the album wait could we make a song together like totally about skincare yeah i've been wanting to do this this is our moment okay i'm i'm ready okay we're doing it okay what what do you sing so you mean alto for sure i'm an alto too but i can do second alto so yeah harmony to you okay yeah okay all right let's make a plan
• 42:52
  So back in the day, when I was studying nursing, I really thrived.
• 42:57
  And I say this not because I'm trying to make a point or anything.
• 43:01
  It was just like when I had this microbiology teacher, my teacher was like, you should have been a doctor.
• 43:05
  Because I was just – and it's not because I'm like the smartest person in the room or anything like that.
• 43:09
  But it was because she saw how like –
• 43:12
  like interested i was you know and she was like you should have been a doctor because like you love this and i was like no i literally love this like watching bacteria grow in a petri dish is so and then when i became an esthetician it just started to like go into that i like there's like literally people are like what books can you read there's literally a book called the physiology of the skin and it goes through exactly how the skin works there is also another one called the biology of the skin exactly like exact same thing
• 43:38
  um it's just that some people don't realize how easy it is to really understand how the skin works and again I don't there's things that pop up to me about you know different growth factors and all these things and I'm like I don't know what g11368 is like I don't know what that is right I'm not that far crazy but yeah but in general I want to understand um
• 44:02
  the canvas that I'm working on because just saying bacteria spreads I was like that's so weird because how come my acne didn't spread and that's kind of what sparked it how come my acne didn't spread when I got my crony done uh-huh that was before I was an esthetician I was like that just doesn't make sense and then I started reading about the microbiome of the skin and you know you can't live with oxygen like all these things and I was just like
• 44:25
  This is weird.
• 44:27
  I feel like there might be some misinformation out there.
• 44:29
  And then I became very passionate about understanding.
• 44:32
  Because on another note, I feel that estheticians oftentimes have a bad reputation.
• 44:37
  Yeah.
• 44:38
  Yeah.
• 44:39
  Like people just want to bring us down and I'm like, okay, maybe like, I understand because they're like, you went to school for six months, eight months.
• 44:49
  Like, what do you know?
• 44:51
  And that is why I wanted to create masterclasses because I don't want people talking about estheticians like that.
• 44:57
  Yep.
• 44:58
  There's also doctors that aren't great doctors.
• 45:01
  Yeah, exactly.
• 45:01
  There are chefs that aren't the best chef out there.
• 45:04
  But if I can help in my own way to help our community rise, and I'm not the only one.
• 45:09
  There's a million estheticians out here educating.
• 45:12
  But for what I can do and for what I can provide, if I can help our community rise,
• 45:17
  as a whole, just kind of shift the way that we think.
• 45:20
  Like, no, we are smart.
• 45:22
  We can learn what is actually happening within the skin.
• 45:25
  We can learn how an acid interacts with the skin because it's not our fault.
• 45:29
  We're literally set up...
• 45:31
  to not know those things.
• 45:32
  Absolutely.
• 45:33
  I know it's, it's a, the common theme in the industry is that you graduate school, but you have to dive deeper and you have to truly, I mean, everybody says it, but there's a reason why people say it is like continue education and really just like understanding skin on a deeper level.
• 45:48
  And that's why I'm so happy that you didn't become a doctor selfishly.
• 45:50
  Yeah.
• 45:51
  Because you are such a wealth of knowledge to this industry and such a blessing.
• 45:56
  And I truly am so, again, honored for you to be on this podcast today.
• 46:02
  And you are just such an amazing esthetician.
• 46:04
  And I just am so thankful for you and happy to spend this weekend together.
• 46:09
  And the question I always ask on this podcast, I always save the best for last.
• 46:14
  If you had one piece of advice to an esthetician that really resonates with your journey, what would that be?
• 46:21
  I think it's simple, but I really think that you have to believe in yourself.
• 46:29
  Because starting out, nobody believes in you.
• 46:31
  Mm-hmm.
• 46:32
  And you are the one that projects your success.
• 46:35
  Mm-hmm.
• 46:36
  If you don't believe in yourself, other people aren't going to.
• 46:39
  Take it till you make it.
• 46:40
  That's what you got to do.
• 46:42
  You believe that you can be something bigger than you can.
• 46:44
  If you don't believe that, then you probably won't.
• 46:46
  Yes.
• 46:47
  Great advice.
• 46:48
  Take 10 photos of that one client.
• 46:50
  Post it.
• 46:50
  Yeah.
• 46:51
  Like you're booked.
• 46:52
  And I just want to say too, like, you know, you're saying like, oh, we're honored to have you.
• 46:56
  But...
• 46:57
  it speaks a lot of volumes about you as an esthetician where literally the tickets came out for sale and I was like, oh, count me in.
• 47:04
  Right?
• 47:05
  Because that's how, like me as, you know, an esthetician from the outside, that's how I saw you.
• 47:11
  I was like, oh my gosh, I have the opportunity to sit with this girl and like know her and be a part of her event.
• 47:17
  Like go to this event.
• 47:19
  It was like, yeah.
• 47:20
  Cause you're like, did I make a good decision?
• 47:22
  And
• 47:23
  Really?
• 47:23
  That second, like, I feel like any big purchase, you kind of have that buyer's remorse, I guess.
• 47:30
  It literally lasted for like two seconds.
• 47:31
  And I was like, nope, make the right decision.
• 47:34
  No, that means so much to me.
• 47:36
  Like, I try not to get super emotional, but thank you so much.
• 47:40
  Like, we've been planning this event for like,
• 47:44
  you're bougie you've like elevated the whole like experience yes okay speaking of this uh natalie is going to be a speaker at the next event so um if you're listening to this we're rebranding it's going to be the esthetician experience um and we're so honored to have you as a speaker yeah more details to come but yeah full circle moment that you bought a ticket you were like the first person to buy a founder's lunch ticket and now you're going to be a speaker at the next event like
• 48:10
  Yeah, that's insane.
• 48:11
  I did fangirl the next day because Victoria called me.
• 48:14
  And I was like, oh, my God, this girl called me.
• 48:17
  And I was like, wow, she called my personal phone.
• 48:21
  And I felt, like, very excited.
• 48:23
  And I honestly, I just feel really, I don't know.
• 48:27
  I feel happy that you guys gave estheticians the opportunity to be here.
• 48:32
  Like, I'm not the only one that is in the founder's lounge.
• 48:34
  You know, it's like, it's really cool that you as being as influential as you are, gave the opportunity to a lot of other estheticians to sit on this couch with you.
• 48:44
  Oh, thank you.
• 48:45
  That's cool.
• 48:46
  That's so amazing.
• 48:48
  Ah, don't cry, Victoria.
• 48:49
  Don't cry.
• 48:49
  Well, thank you guys.
• 48:51
  Thank you so much again for being on this podcast.
• 48:52
  I can't wait to go to dinner with you now.
• 48:54
  Um, we are so excited for you guys.
• 48:57
  Where can people find you?
• 48:58
  Lux and lab it's L U X N L A V. Um, on Tik TOK, somebody already stole my name.
• 49:04
  So it's rude.
• 49:05
  Yeah, I know.
• 49:06
  And it's like a weird store that doesn't even use their Tik TOK.
• 49:08
  But anyways, I digress.
• 49:09
  It's my Lux and lab on Tik TOK, but just look up Lux and lab.
• 49:14
  Lux and Lab.
• 49:15
  You'll see some videos.
• 49:16
  Lux and Lab style.
• 49:17
  Of me.
• 49:17
  Yeah, Lux and Lab style.
• 49:18
  You'll see me dancing or talking about acne.
• 49:21
  We'll have to make a dance, but you have to teach me your moves and then we can do a reel together.
• 49:25
  Yeah, don't worry.
• 49:26
  I don't want to do it by myself.
• 49:28
  I taught Maddie some moves.
• 49:29
  Okay.
• 49:30
  We might have to all do a post together.
• 49:34
  Yeah, we can all do a TikTok.
• 49:35
  It's fine.
• 49:35
  Awesome.
• 49:36
  Well, thank you guys so much for listening, and we appreciate you.
• 49:39
  If you made it this far, comment Lux and Lav.
• 49:41
  We want to know that you made it this far, but thank you guys so much for listening.
• 49:46
  Make sure you like, comment, and subscribe, and we'll see you in the next episode.