r/Esthetics

Hi all, I’m currently going through continuing education. Long story short, and I *do not* say this lightly, but I don’t believe my instructor is qualified to be teaching. Yes, he is licensed and is legally allowed to teach, but here are a few reasons why I’m starting to get concerned:

• He leaves the room whenever we’re doing something new on each other. For example, last Monday when we were learning dermaplaning, our instructor left the room for a very long time. I needed antibacterial ointment because I nicked my classmate, and when I finally found my instructor, I stood behind him as he chatted with a friend for 5 minutes (I timed it), and then he turned to talk to another instructor. I had to remind him that I was there.

• He doesn’t know how to pronounce the words on his slideshows, yet claims to have made them himself. One of these words was “biochemical”.

• Apparently there was an important meeting with my classmates last week as well, but guess what? I didn’t know about it because he never sent me the email. So, that made me look incredibly bad and irresponsible because HE didn’t send me the email.

• In a few weeks we’re going to be taking a clinic floor test out, and I truly do not feel prepared because I don’t feel like I’ve actually learned anything, and it’s not for a lack of effort. What should I do? I was debating on talking to him or maybe the admissions person about this, but I don’t want to come across as cocky or anything.

Hi! Just wondering if anyone knows, I’m a licensed esthetician and I often shop at cosmoprof (Canada) for my shampoo/conditioner and some esthetic supplies. I want to buy some products to dye my hair, but I’m not sure if my license restricts me to just esthetic products and some hair products.
I had an embarrassing experience at one cosmoprof a couple years ago where I asked the worker what dye she’d recommend and she told me off for being an esthetician trying to buy products that would chemically change my hair and then demanded to see my ID and a piece of mail with my name and address on it lol, so I’ve been scarred since to even ask at other locations.
Thanks!

Hi everybody! Esthetician student here! I’m attending esthetics school and want to mainly do waxing when I get out. Of course I’m going to offer everything else but I wanna really be the wax girl. I do think I’m getting a good education but I’m also the one who, if I do something and get a bad result or it isn’t done well it will eat at me, and I know that’s something I need to work on because I am still new of course and mistakes is how I learn. I feel extremely confident in legs, underarms, and brows. I did a brazlian along with another student who is really good at them, and I did about 70% of it and it came out very good. She gets them regularly so her hair was very thin and sparsed which I believe worked in my favor. I volunteered to do another one the very next day, maybe feeling too confident from the previous one. It was my clients first brazlian and my first one on my own. Of course she was very jumpy and was complaining of it hurting the whole time, which I think got me nervous and in my head and made me mess up, but of course it’s all me. I got the mound very well and the butt strips went well. But when I was in the labia area, I just was struggling to the point I had to get my teacher and I felt more bad than anything about her hurting. The wax we use is the Cirepil Blue wax. For some reason I just couldn’t lay a clean strip in that area, I couldn’t make a lip, etc. It was honestly a shit show so it weighed on me all day. The next day my husband was kind enough to come in and let me wax what little hair he had on his back. I did everything correctly. Checked the wax temp, cleansed, babypowder, proper techniques, everything. He had a histamine reaction, which I know isn’t uncommon at all. But it was the worst I’ve ever seen. 3 days later and it’s STILL red and bumpy. It doesn’t hurt or itch or anything. I’m starting to believe it could also be the rosin in the wax. But of course I’m not deflecting any blame onto myself because at the end if the day it is me who has caused this. I know it’s alot but, what did you guys do to help with brazlians and techniques? bad reactions to wax? My biggest fear is now getting a client for their first wax ever and then them having this reaction still days later and my name smeared as an esthetician. My mind has been everywhere over it and it’s extremely discouraging. I know practice makes perfect, but a brazlian is something that is very hard to come by in school, and I don’t want all of them to be like shit, then graduate and still be shit. And the the reaction to wax is also discouraging because if he weren’t my husband, it could’ve very well been an angry customer. I’m not sure, just needed to rant to a safe place as a very discouraged esti student who is second guessing herself.

Currently an esthetician student and not licensed yet. What wax would you recommend?

I want to buy BushBalm wax but it’s only sold for licensed professionals and since I’m not licensed yet, I can’t buy it. Any recommendations or dupes?

So I work at a corporate lash salon, I’ve been here for over a year and I keep messing up on lash lifts. I’m honestly so frustrated at this point because I’ll have good lash lifts one week then the next people are complaining and asking for redos or their money back and it feels like it is just me.
It’s so frustrating bc I was barley taught the steps of a lift I was just given a paper of steps to follow and I’m sure I’m being talked about that I’ve had so many complaints..
And on the other hand I’m so checked out from this job that I don’t even care.
I’m pretty sure the problem is that I’m using too much adhesive to get the lashes to stay down but when I don’t, most of the time the lashes don’t stay down.
My manager never checks in on me or helps me when there’s a problem I’m just supposed to figure it out.
Which I’m already extremely burnt out working 10 hours a day for 8 days straight and driving 2 hours a day.
The only reason I’m still here is because the additional income I’m making to what my husband makes.
Idk I’m just venting bc I feel like quitting rn would be very irresponsible but my heart just isn’t in it. I’m making 30% of everything I do and I have to deal with super rude clients all the time with no help.
It’s embarrassing that this keeps happening but at the same time I don’t care to improve bc it’s all just taking so much of my energy.

Hi all! I recently had my aunt who was diagnosed with cancer request a facial (skin is feeling the effects of chemo & radiation). I know that we want to avoid massage & most modalities or lymphatic drainage. I’m going to keep it very gentle & hydrating. I wanted to ask if anybody had any tips for making the facial as relaxing & comfy as possible? I would really appreciate it as I want to make sure she can decompress & feel pampered as possible. Thank you in advance for any help, I realize there are courses I can take & I will look into those- this is just so last minute & it’s in 2 days (both of which I’m working) which I know won’t give me enough time to finish a course.

Hey all! I’ve been an esthetician for 4 years but didn’t do body wax’s for 2 year and feel like I lost some of my skill in Brazilian wax’s. I’m attending a class in the fall that goes more in depth on Brazilian wax’s but figured I’d start doing the work now. I do have 3 Brazilian clients I see regularly and those go great but my specific weakness is clients that are heavy set and have a lot of loose skin on the labia. In no way am I trying to judge because I know that sounds bad but I truly want to learn more and get over this hurdle I’m facing.
I have the clients hold there skin tight while also using my hand to hold the skin but I’m still unable to get hairs that are under skin folds in/on the labia. And don’t get me wrong I get in there to try. I’m not able to get to the root of the hair and I don’t want to apply the wax anyway and damage the skin, cause bruising, or break the hairs from improper wax an application.

Any tips and tricks would be extremely helpful!
I just want to give the best wax to my clients and hate having to leave hair because I’m scared of hurting them!!!

I have been struggling... I studied hard and somehow did not pass. I now have to take it a 4th time. The questions all seem the same every time I have taken it or at least majority of them and theres always 85 questions total. I don't know where to study from anymore. I also do have a learning disability so it can be challenging. Has anyone memorized the questions to this exam? If I could find out where questions are like those on the test I can study from it would help me pass. Please provide links or Whatnot (Didn't mention it in other post)

Currently I’m working at a corporate salon and it’s been a horrible experience.
I’ve been here for over a year and somehow am still pushing through mainly because I feel stuck.
But the unpaid hours, no overtime pay, no benefits, rude clients, lack of communication from management, LONG hours. Is too much for me and it does not feel like a good fit and hasn’t.. since I started.
I quickly found out I would get treated weird if I asked for time off (I have 2 kids and I can’t be at work 10 hours a day for 8 days straight realistically every single month)
I also felt like it was wrong to leave and go somewhere even if I didn’t have clients. I’m a w-2 employee but I only get paid when I have a client. I have asked chat gpt if I have a case and I do. I have worked over 40 hours in a work week most months and did not get compensation as well as not getting paid for the long hours I have sat at work.
I don’t have a plan to quit soon because I don’t know how else I’m going to make money but I’m extremely burnt out and checked out from this job that I’m just waiting for something to happen at this point to where I get fired or feel comfortable enough to quit. I just want to know if anyone has sued a salon you’ve worked at and it was successful and how long the process was.

To all active estheticians!

I’d love to hear about how you’re doing in this industry, specifically in eastern Massachusetts! I am new to esthetics and am looking to go into a program this fall. I have worked in the food industry the majority of my working career so working hard and building clientele/reputation isn’t new to me.

Im concerned that I’ll spend all my time and money on this education just to become another side hustle that goes awry. I’m not expecting this to be an easy task to be successful but I do want to make an liveable wage without having to work three jobs. I know the economy is not in the best place but I’m hoping it will get better.

New workers, I’d love to hear about how you’re liking the job and what you’ve been doing to combat the negative side of things and how you’re moving forward. Old workers, I’d love to hear your trade secrets and how you handle the changes of the economy.

I’d love to hear from you!

i’m a new esthetician so please be kind lol. i had a client today for a brazilian wax and she had never had one before. she was doing fine at first but once we got to the labia strips she kept closing her legs as soon as i started pulling causing the wax to break. i let her take a break and kindly explained that she should try to keep her legs open but she still did it which made the service take a lot longer. also at one point i had laid a strip down and turned around for a moment to get more wax but when i turned back she started pulling the wax herself! when i came back over she stopped and i continued waxing her but i honestly didn’t know what to do. please give me advice for what i should do if something like this were to happen again because im very new and im the only esthetician at this salon so i dont have anyone to ask.

So my spa fired a receptionist cause they only wanted one. On Wednesday and Fridays it’s just me and one other girl now because both of the other esthis leave at 4pm and the receptionist leaves at 4pm also on Fridays and isn’t here Fridays. (On Wednesday it would only be me alone). I’m usually pretty booked, they now expect me to do all my services, answer the phone, check ppl in and out, do laundry, make towels, dishes, all front desk duties while I’m also fully booked doing services. I want to ask that on those days if I’m going to be required to do both jobs now that I get compensated for both. As I got hired as an esthetician and front desk was not in my job description. Let me know your thoughts.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how different the equipment decision is once you move past basic treatment room supplies.

Some tools are easy to buy because the upfront cost is small, but bigger devices feel like a completely different decision. Hair removal is one category I keep coming back to because it seems like it can bring repeat clients if the demand is there and the device is reliable.

I’ve been comparing premium options and alma lasers is one of the names that keeps coming up, mostly because it seems more like a long-term clinic investment than just another machine purchase.

For estheticians or clinic owners who have invested in bigger devices, what paid off for you and what ended up not being worth it?

I'm looking for a good hard wax that works well for most services, such as Face waxing (eyebrows/upperlip), along with underarms, bikini and Brazilian.

I've used Cirepil and waxness, both of which I've liked and used often. Anyone have a go to from one of these brands?

I am in Canada, so if you have other brand recommendations, please keep this in mind since many brands like Mermaid wax don't ship to Canada

Or they charge LOTS for shipping here.

I’m in a very weird position right now. I got fired from EWC a while back because of metrics and after that I worked at smaller place for a few months that offered male Brazilians. I quit after multiple issues there and haven’t been waxing for about a year outside of friends and family. I want to start waxing again because I love it, but I was rejected from another EWC and that’s the only place I know of that won’t make me to do male Brazilians.

I’ve had an interview where they offered me the job, but I told them no because when I told her about my bad experience w a male Brazilian client she suggested that I was touching him teasingly or that it was my fault he finished and that was a red flag to me. I have another interview tomorrow and they said I’d have to wax men after my first three months, but they take their boundaries very seriously w their clients and several people have been banned for inappropriate behavior. But I don’t even want to get to the point of someone having to be banned I don’t want to feel icky like that in a service again. I am autistic and so sometimes I don’t know where to draw the line with inappropriate behavior in clients. Sometimes it seems like so much that’s inappropriate to me is normal to other waxers.

Most of my clients were models or first time guests so I could build my books, so most male brazilian services were discounted or free. I can only remember one male client in my 2 months waxing men there that didn’t make me uncomfortable. There was always some sexual joke about me being young or about how this is the “best part” of their wax, or just their body language that would make me uncomfortable. I had several clients that would get hard and I could literally feel them throbbing or leak precum and I had one that fully finished during their wax. I know being hard can be normal and little bit of leakage is also apparently normal but it still would just made me feel dirty and uncomfortable. I would ask the men to undress from the waist down and they would get fully naked which other waxers have also told me was normal, but it made me uncomfortable like a boundary was crossed.

I’m just stuck because I love waxing, but there’s no place I know of that I can go where I don’t have to do male Brazilians other than EWC. I don’t even know if EWC will hire me anymore since I was fired (I posted in detail about me being fired on my page if u want more context) I can’t afford to have my own suite right now. Should I go to these interviews that require me to do male Brazilians and suck it up to see if their clientele is different? Any advice?

How many waxes are you guys getting out of 1 2.2 LB bag 😭 I feel like 3-4 for me max, but when I look it up some say 20-35 lol, like there’s no way? I’m good at waxing, my clients are always happy with how thoroughly I remove the hair, and I do a lot of cleanup strips to make sure 100% of hair is gone. I just feel like I’m doing something wrong?

Everyone talks about the equipment that transformed their business but I'm curious about the other side

Have you ever made a big investment that didn't end up being worth it? Was it the machine itself, poor timing or just not enough client demand?

I wanna learn from someone else's experience before making the same mistake

I haven't seen this here, but just learned it's happening in at least one state. You don't have to name your state if you don't feel comfortable but if your area etheticians are having modalities removed from scope of practice I'm interested in knowing which ones and if/how it's affected you.