How to Choose the Right Skin Treatment for your Clients

The StyleSpeak Beauty Conference 2024 featured a Technical Session led by Hina Khan, Head of Education Dermalogica India. Speaking on the topic ‘How to choose the right skin treatment?’, she outlined how different skin conditions need different modalities of treatments, on different clients. Moreover, the skin condition changes with the season, and age. So how can a therapist GET IT RIGHT EACH TIME?

We decode the Session to unravel the science of diagnosis and troubleshooting.

Hina Khan: As a skin therapist what are the things to be done to give clients the best treatment. How to ensure the client comes to the salon for repeated service or new service?

Let’s begin with why it is important to understand the skin of the client. Every skin has a different story, different concerns and needs. The best way to understand a client’s skin is through a professional interaction, called Consultation.

The Consultation

This process helps us understand what the client is looking for – healthy and youthful skin or brightening. This is important to understand the client’s main concerns like dark circles, pigmentation, blemishes, tanning, and hydration. Once that is understood, customization and personalization comes into play.

The following is determined during the consultation process

• Is she a ‘Soap and water’ client
• She follows the CTM (Cleansing toning, moisturizing) process
• Skin savvy client
• If any intensive treatment is done, chemical peels
• If client is on medical treatment or antibiotics, skin becomes sensitive and dehydrated

Skin therapists must understand these concerns so as to avoid certain protocols which add to the sensitivity of the client, failing which they  may lose the client forever.

The Process

The Consultation process may initially begin with 10 – 15 minutes for a new client and may reduce to 2 – 4 minutes for a follow up client.

Questions to ask during the Consultation The consultation process should be dealt professionally with open-ended questions e.g.:

1. Tell me about your skin:

   When the client explains about the skin, take cues from the body language too. Clients always go to a person who listens and provides a solution.

2. Tell me about your lifestyle and skincare routine:

   Lifestyle will include lack of sleep, late nights, alcohol consumption, smoking, appearance of signs of ageing. Intake of too much caffeine can lead to skin dehydration. All these factors impact the skin and the signs are clearly visible.

3. Can you explain what your main skin goal is

   This will determine the  treatment.

Skin Analysis

Dermalogica uses a skin fitness plan during which they note down the concerns like rashes due to incorrect use of products, skin may become sensitive, breakouts or pimples may appear. Dehydration due to climate changes may occur. Excess oil may be another concern due to climate change and finally oedema or swelling may appear on the skin. Long-time concerns can be fine lines, deep lines, pigmentation or scars.

During the Analysis look for:

• Congestionon the forehead such as blackheads, breakouts, dehydration and fine lines.
• Sensitivity >on the cheeks, hot spots.
• Breakouts and hyperpigmentation and lines on the skin.
• Surface congestion, breakouts, comedon, pigmentation and increased hair growth on the chin.
• Pigmentation, sensitivity and signs of ageing in the jawline. These can be related to stress or hormones.

All these details are revealed during the consultation process.

The Treatment

The treatment is decided on whether the client is a basic, intermediate or skin savvy.

For BASIC Clients (soap and water user) who will come for a facial once a year –

Do: Basic Service with mild products.

Don’t do: Advanced Service because they don’t do anything at home apart from using soap and water. Therefore it is necessary to understand such clients.

For INTERMEDIATE Clients (those who follow CTM) who come quite often, during birthdays or festivals, weddings, meetings, New Year.

Do:  Give a 60 Minute Service with massage and intense exfoliation.

For Skin Savvy Clients (follow skincare regimen morning and evening) who come diligently every month for a service

Do:  Give Advanced Treatments like peels and offer advanced services with advanced machines.

Speaking to the client based on the skin analysis is important, so as to let them know the concerns, help determine the right treatment for the client – either customized or time-tailored. Ensure short treatments are also available.

The StyleSpeak Beauty Conference is a premier platform for knowledge exchange and discussion and plays a pivotal role in guiding and shaping the transformation of beauty services in Indian salons.

For more information: www.hbsindia.in