When I first was auditioning for jobs in Atlanta, I pretty much got turned down from every single spa job that I applied to, and I had recommendations from every instructor that I had, I had a 4.0 throughout school, I had great references, but just because of what I look like, I missed out on a lot of opportunities. When I finally got hired at my first job as an aesthetician, it took me a while to build my book because, for one, it was a very white-centric salon so people just didn't trust me. I've had very traumatic experiences with that, but I was also able to persevere, and my work really spoke for me.
That's the thing about aestheticians. A lot of our business is word of mouth, so if you're good at what you do, it will travel and you will definitely build your clientele and your book. But it's definitely not easy to start, and being an aesthetician within a salon, you don't make a lot of money, so you're literally just hustling for every single penny that you get.
On the Power of Social Media
I grew up on the internet pretty much sharing everything, so it was natural for me to share what products were really working for my skin. I didn't get acne until I turned 21. That really accelerated my scientific obsession with skin because I wanted to fix it. I'm a Virgo, so once I put my mind to something, I fixate on it and accomplish it. I was researching different acne treatments and what ingredients work for certain types of acne, and I would say that in like two to three months, I completely cleared my acne.
I naturally like to help people solve issues. I really liked to put emphasis on helping people online because there were so many people who didn't have access to aestheticians, and I kind of realized that in my schooling. I felt like if I can help people just with an Instagram post telling them what they could get at the store, it would be a lot more helpful than them just kind of suffering trying to figure it out on their own.
The fact that I would just review a product on Instagram and share my experience, and people trust me, my work, and my experience, that means a lot to me — that has built my entire career. My honesty and the fact that I'm kind of brutally honest about a lot of things — I think people kind of look to me for that unbiased truth.
Having an online presence has been helpful in the last few months during COVID because, thankfully, I've built my social media business aside from my spa business, so I've been able to sustain my income and thrive and flourish at this time.
