Oasis Day Spa

Archive for May, 2010

I’ve been in the beauty business for over 20 years. I started as a technician and had the opportunity to look for positions in other spas and salons and then in the last 15+ years as an owner involved in the interview process. So, here are some of the things that I have noticed in our industry that can make or break the interview process.

Remember that your job search should be done in stages. The first stage for you is to decide where you want to work. The most successful choice to work in is where you live. If you want to live in a different part of the city, start by finding a position in the city you want to live in. We in this business thrive or die by our referrals. We need to become fully involved in our community to become well known enough to build a business and continue to feed it afterwards.

So many times I have had technicians wanting positions that are a 30 minute drive for them or more. I know that they just can’t find a position closer to them or need experience and as soon they have what they need, they will be gone. So good advice for owners, try to avoid hiring outside your own community.

So you’ve chosen the location you want to find a position in, now to find the salon or spa. Here you should use your online tools to help you. Look on Google maps for salons or spas in your area, check their website out. Are they large spas? Small intimate spas? Luxury spas or salons? Hotel or resort spas or salons? What is going to be a more comfortable work environment for you? Do you want to be an employee or an independent? What if you’re brand new, where do you start?

Well, you might want to start at a high end luxury spa or salon, but they want the cream of the crop. They usually look for 5 or more years of active experience and highly trained in the technical service as well as customer service, re-booking skills, product sales skills and self promotion and marketing skills. If you don’t have this kind of experience, you’re not ready for this yet.

So finding the right place won’t be easy at first. What about when you do get an interview, what should you do? Again, research that spa. No owner wants to waste time on someone who comes for an interview just to see what they are offering. If it’s a small spa or salon and you hope to work in a large one, know that before you make an appointment for an interview. You should be going ready to learn, not full of demands. When you are new you really don’t have a lot to offer and require a lot of training.

Now it’s time to get ready for that interview. What do you need? A resume’, work experience, school experience, copy of licenses and insurance. Then look sharp, be on time, be willing. Very Important, dress professionally! Don’t wear clubbing outfits, casual jeans, etc. Dress to impress like you can afford your own services.

Big BOZO NO NO’s. Sometimes you might be tempted to call and re-schedule your interview. Don’t! If an owner made time for you, be there. If you are no longer interested in a position, call right away and notify them. They appreciate that so much more than a NO SHOW or last minute cancellations. You never know when you might need this connection in the future. The next big no no is to have the first question you ask be “How do I get paid?” You should pretty well know that before your interview if you did your research. Are they a booth salon, independent salon, or employee salon? You should already know.

I understand it’s tough out there. No one tells you in beauty collage that getting a position will be this hard. Over 90% of those with a license leave the field within the first year due to the need for a guaranteed income, which usually doesn’t come until you have about 5 years experience unless you’re a hairdresser willing to work at the quick cut salons. This is not an option for Estheticians. And right now we are in a recession, you are going to work harder than ever for every client you get.

So here is it in review:

1. Choose your locale. (where do you want to work long term)
2. Choose the type of salon or spa. (big, intimate, strip mall, etc.)
3. Research the available salons and spas. Know how they operate. Maybe even try them as a client first.
4. Gather your paperwork. Figure out how you can make that spa or salon even better.
5. Look GREAT!
6. Be on time!
7. Don’t cancel, re-schedule or No Show!
8. Show your stuff and be prepared to do a practical. If you can’t sell the owner, you can’t sell a client either. They are even tougher because they are paying their hard earned money.
9. If you find the perfect fit for you and they don’t have a place for you just yet. Keep in touch; keep reminding them how much you want to be with that salon or spa. Remember, the key to success is once you get in to your perfect spa, STAY THERE. You’ll never build your clientele hopping from one place to another. (All the more reason not to take a “right now” position. Wait for the right position.
10. Support your Salon and Spa. Be their biggest cheerleader. Love what you do and love where you do it. There is no perfect place, so you have to make your place perfect by adjusting your attitude.
11. Build up the other technicians. If you want them promoting you, you better start by promoting them. You are the new kid and trust me the other techs are making bets on how long you’ll last. Try to make them proud to have you with them.

Good luck to you, send me an email and let me know if this helped you in any way. I’m always eager to hear from other beauty professionals.

The Wizard of Ahhs….

www.oasisdayspa.com email wizard@oasisdayspa.com

Men are not typically seen as people who would wax their bodies. Granted, a lot of men do wax, but unless you are in entertainment in some capacity or are a competition swimmer, it is not likely you will wax, unless of course your lady friend desires a mostly hairless body to touch.

Waxing for men is exactly the same as it is for women. The same pain is involved and the same rewards. A man who waxes his body hair will see the same results, as in he will not have to shave for a while. He can also come across looking more refined and debonair.

If the man can get past the potential pain, he can reap the benefits of waxing. For example, waxing for men is less maintenance when compared to shaving. A man will have to shave every day to keep up the body hair removal on his back, chest or arms. Shaving can lead to razor burn and cuts. Razor burns and cuts are very unsightly and painful for a longer term than waxing.

Waxing is much faster. Waxing for men can be done in a matter of minutes and will last for weeks at a time before new stubble grows back. The hair that grows back is likely to be less thick than the hair that was ripped out, leaving a smoother feel for the man.

Waxing rips hair out by the roots, so this will increase the time it takes to grow back. Shaving might be efficient at removing the hair, but on occasion you might miss a spot and have to shave it again. Waxing is less likely to miss a spot and more likely to leave you feeling clean and smooth.

Even untrained men can wax their own legs, arms, face, eyebrows, chest, back feet and arm pits. However, unless they are well versed in waxing they should have supervision to wax the nipples, genitals, and the inside of their nose or ears. The delicate regions of the body can be damaged if waxed incorrectly.

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About the Author:
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Recently UV nail lamps have come into question by sensationalized TV programs. While the question is a valid one, the fact remains some of the answers are presented without much research into the facts.

Let’s get this out of the way right now. Nearly everything can be linked to cancer in one way or another. For example I could say with true authority that vegetables have been linked to cancer. I can pull a poll of cancer victims and ask them if, in the 6 months before they were diagnosed with cancer, had they eaten any vegetables. Nearly universally the answer would be yes. Obviously that would be a coincidence. Sometimes that is the way media works. They will take some kind of obscure fact, manipulate the data and come up the conclusion they think will cause the most people to tune in.

Most of the questions about UV nail lamps and cancer were brought on by an observation printed by the American Medical Association stating that two people who had skin cancer had also been exposed to a UV nail lamp. Therewere several inaccuracies in the article that any nail technician would have been able to clear up. The media decided to run with the story without talking to industry experts. Everyone knows that overexposure to the Sun’s UV rays has been linked to skin cancer. I also believe that everyone knows that a UV lamp generates UV rays. It’s naïve to think that there is no possibility of skin cancer from a UV lamp.

However let’s look at the realities of a UV lamp designed for nails. The output of a UV nail lamp is so small it is nearly comparable to sunlight. Assuming you are in the UV lamp for 10 minutes total, this is about the equivalent of driving in your car in the sun with your hands on the steering wheel for about 15 minutes. Now let’s compare a UV nail lamp to a tanning bed. The most common UV nail lamps have four 9 watt bulbs for a total energy usage of 36 watts. A conservative commercial tanning bed can have 28 bulbs at 100 watts each or a total of 2800 watts. A tanning bed is many times more intense then the sun, that is why you don’t need to sit in a tanning bed for an hour to get a tan. I have never heard of anyone getting a tan or sunburn from normal UV nail lamp exposure.

Can a UV lamp designed for nails cause skin

cancer? Yes it probably can, if you sleep with it every night turned on strapped to your hand. Or walk around all day with it turned on strapped your feet like shoes. But if you did that people would think you were pretty weird.

But the more important question is will
it cause skin cancer? Probably not. If you want to minimize your risk for skin cancer it would be much more important to wear a hat and sunscreen, do not sun bathe, and generally limit your exposure to the sun especially near water, snow or on cloudy days.These tips are infinitely more important than skipping your 10 minutes of exposure in a nail UV lamp every two to four weeks. So, if you are still concerned, the answer is simple. Just apply a sunblock to your hands containing zinc oxide 1 hour before your nail appointment.

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