Hot Tip -- by Susan Gillespie

From the Roman baths to Ming Dynasty's nail polish concoction (beeswax, egg whites, gelatine, vegetable dies and arabic gum), or ancient Egypt's Cleopatra, looking good has been the "in" thing. The materials and techniques may have changed, but men and women across civilizations wanted to look good. Today, esthetics is about looking and feeling good.

Confidence in how we look and feel is critical to create a favourable impression whether on the job or in a job interview. Personal wellness incorporates looking after one's various body parts through services provided in the esthetics industry - manicures, pedicures, massages, facials, waxing, and much more.

Esthetics is about more than beauty these days: it is about personal wellness and health. With increasing public knowledge about personal wellness, the spa and esthetics industry has grown significantly. As baby boomers hit their prime earning years and look toward work-life balance, esthetics and pampering has become a way to meet this goal and reduce stress.

Occupations within this industry include esthetician, manicurist/pedicurist (sometimes called nail technicians), cosmetician, electrologist, massage therapist, aromatherapist, and herbalist. Does a career in esthetics sound interesting? There are key skills required to work in this industry, some more obvious than others.

First of all, esthetics includes a wide variety of human parts, from skin to feet to hands to face to hair and everything in-between. Knowledge of the human body, not just beauty, will be useful to assist clients. Remember this is a service industry, people come for your expertise, so your knowledge of the body will be essential to customize their service.

Secondly, and possibly most important, are people skills. Patience, a willingness to listen and communication skills are all part of the service tradition in esthetics. A willingness to learn and help customers feel good will keep them coming back. Building customer relationships is a huge aspect of this industry in order to attract new clients and retain existing ones.

Business skills are equally important as many estheticians are either self-employed or rent space in a salon or spa. Estheticians also need to know how to price their service relative to other spas and salons. Another aspect of the service industry means being available to provide services according to the client's schedule. This often means evenings and weekend work.

Here are some suggestions for anyone interested in esthetics from a woman who has been in the industry almost 20 years and owns her own shop in Calgary: "Enjoy what you are doing, enjoy working with your clients and helping them feel good. The first two years are the most difficult with establishing yourself. If you can make it through that, you will be all right."

A good place to start looking for more information is in the Industry Profile and Jump Start sections of nextSteps magazine. Industry Web sites are harder to find, but here is a site with some Canadian associations featuring many aspects of esthetics.

(Susan Gillespie is a career counsellor at the Calgary Youth Employment Centre.)