r/Esthetics

The BIG one..allowing yourself to be misclassified. There's nothing wrong with 1099, it's the way many of us began. You have to keep track of deductions etc. However, don't accept such a position and allow yourself to be treated like an employee or held hostage by a contract that limits your growth. Learn the law. Start reporting anyone who 1099's you but sets your schedule, etc.

Begging to be seen as professionals- If you help people get results and work well with them you'll earn professional respect.

Demonization of natural products-some estheticians prefer them over synthetics, enjoy them, and obtain good outcomes using them. It becomes obvious you're mad because you can't make money off of them the way you can from say..selling Glymed or more synthetic-based lines.

The constant talk about "hustling". To hustle is to scam someone out of money. It's the opposite of the way I'd want to be received personally. As someone who works in a high-end spa, I can tell you no one speaks or behaves that way, not me, not my co-workers, not our manager, and certainly not the people we serve.

Posting reels with background music that contains offensive language-I don't know what to even say about this one, but I can't get over how much of it I see.

Shaming other estheticians for having different techniques-if you're a professional who gets results and has good rapport then you have no reason to trash someone else's technique publicly if it works for them. It's ok to disagree and do things your way, but no need to publicly humiliate someone because let's be real, you're maybe a bit jealous. I say this because I noticed people coming for a certain waxer who offers a technique that's a little different. It works for her. She makes more than probably 90% of estheticians so sit down.

The paranoia over being seen as a sex worker as a Brazilian waxer. I've seen this one more over the years and really I don't get it. If you don't have sex with your clients for money the you're not a sex worker. People will believe what they believe. If you choose to do male Brazilian waxing know there will be men who do come in as a kink/for sexual release. Sometimes you will not realize it until the session is about over. You can choose to block such people from booking. If you have that big of a complex don't do male Brazilian waxes.

Stop Shaming estheticians who are unwilling to serve clients who willingly choose not to have good hygiene. I saw an esthetician get dragged for this. If you don't mind having dirty clients, more power to you. Some estheticians (me included) are unwilling to serve people who don't have the respect to wash their ass.

Hi I’m (24) F from California and I just recently have been applying to esthetician jobs and a lot of them want experience and low paying. I am getting an interview at the European wax center soon hoping to start off there. I was wondering is there a way to make a lot of money as an esthetician?

Was thinking of finding a way to becoming a “medical” esthetician but even then I am not sure if they make the amount I would want.

I was wondering is you guys can give me advice on how to make $70k-$100k+ as an esthetician through time. Obviously I won’t make alot the first year or two.

Licensed cosmetologist, electrologist, and MA in Florida (No experience, just licensed). Haven’t had much luck applying, so I’m planning to start walking into derm offices/med spas. The problem is I’m out of practice. I remember the basics, but not confident hands-on right now. I’m prior military and worked in high commission sales so I 100% believe in my ability to adapt. Anyone ever gotten a job with 0 experience? What should I do? I’m getting anxious .. my educators also have been helping me search but I’m open to extra advice so I can prepare, thank you.

Hello, I was wondering if I could get some tips on good pre-wax oils to use? Do I need to buy an expensive facial oil for facial waxing, or would a product like Satin Smooth post-waxing almond oil work?

I am planning to resign today and put in my two week notice. I’ve put up with a lot of bs there and it’s beyond my time to go.

Is an email acceptable? I don’t have access to a printer and doubt I will even see my manager in person today.

From reading here, it also sounds like she might tell me not to come back after today anyways. Does anyone know if this is true at a franchise? H&S specifically.

So I recently started a new job... and my boss is just weird in general? First of all, I was already getting the vibe this wasn't gonna be a good fit... it's kind of my fault for not doing research before I started but 90% of what this place does is lashes and brows, when I almost exclusively wax. Obviously I know how to do lashes and brows... but when she brought me on it sort seemed like she wanted me to be her primary waxer so I assumed she had a large demand for waxing, but most of our waxing clients are MY clients I brought with me. Anyway that part isn't a massive deal, but recently a regular client of mine came in- he's a dancer and very obviously gay (I suspect homophobia, that's why I bring it up) Anyways we were chatting a bit before we headed back into the waxing room, appointment went great. After he leaves, she asks if we could chat, and we go into her office and she tells me "I don't think he (my client) is a good fit for us here, he's just not really our vibe" and I was like- what? what does that even mean? Afterwards another girl who works there came up to me and asked what the meeting was about, I told her what happened and this girl tells me my boss "fires" clients all the time for seemingly no reason and doesn't like it when staff bring in their own clients. she'll also make up rules on the spot and freak out over the littlest things. She'll also comp her friends treatments all the time, and when she doesn't do them herself, she'll make someone else do it and won't pay the esthetician who worked on them the commission they should have gotten, just their hourly (this has not happened to me yet, I've just been told she does it). Sorry if I sound whiny, but should I just leave? Like I have a good client base that will follow me if I go somewhere else, but also I'm a little limited where I'm at right now? But literally I think I might claw out my eyes if I wake up to another "hey team!" text message because someone didn't replace the bag after taking out the trash.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for an esti school in socal where I can do hybrid online/in person courses. TBH I’d prefer a school that is pretty chill/quick to get through as I have many mentors and would rather do extended training through specialized courses. Looking for a school that I can get my license and get the work done quickly. Ideally on the cheaper end too would be preferred. Thank you!

I’m adding circadia to my back bar that consists of mainly GlyMed currently, just to have more variety of masks, enzymes. What are your absolute must haves for your bb masks/enzymes??

I feel like where I am at the moment not a lot of people get esthetics stuff done. I pretty much only do lashes. I have maybe enough clients to do 2/3 days worth of appointments if I put them all together. I want to go to school for radiology but I’m not sure if that would be too much on top of keeping my little group of lash clients?

Had to get this off my chest today because it finally hit me good and angry. I'm a waxer at a center and we have a 9 minute late policy. Now I've worked there for many years now and I do get annoyed when they come late (I get it cause traffics is bad sometimes or lose track of time). But today was all rage afterwards with one client. So they CONFIRMED their appointment 45 mins before it, and when did they come in it was say 5:53pm (getting underarms and a bikini full); had also went to the bathroom which causes more time to lose. THEN tells me the reason they were late cause they were doing a deliver before coming here and kept saying: "I was coming~ " when saying how "worried" I was for them when they were eerie late. So not only did she confirm her appointment, knowing the time to get there decided to pick up a deliver at the last min thus causing them to be late and causing my time to be over and making me late for picking up my food to take home after a long day shift.

I mostly love my clients but when they do stuff like this especially if they're repeats I just feel insulted knowing I had worked an ALL DAY shift and want to be home on time. I def. should pipe up for our meeting about the 9 min mark policy but that might not change at all..

Olá pessoal

Gostaria muito de saber se tecnologos em estética e cosmética podem fazer injetáveis com essa pós.

Amo tudo ligado a estética e forma física e pensei em cursar estética ja que é um curso curto de 2 anos e meio. Minha dúvida é: quais procedimentos injetáveis vcs fazem sendo esteticista? Vejo muita gente procurando esses procedimentos e gostaria muito de poder fazer.

For context, I am an hourly esthetician at a dermatology group and my pay structure is 26 hourly rate + 5% commission gross sales. Consumables for a specific newer procedure with higher consumable rate are now being backed out of my calculated commission and this was just enforced casually. Is this valid/legal? I am in NYS. I’m also hoping for some salary transparency as this is my first job in the field. I’m not sure if this is an average rate. I’m getting the vibe I’m taken advantage of?

I’m self employed and am going on mat leave in a few months. I was sure I’d have to just save money for the time I’m off but I saw somewhere that business insurance might pay something? I’m covered by ASCP.

I called ASCP and specifically asked about maternity pay, not disability pay, and they said no. But I’m wondering if anyone has taken disability pay from their business insurance for maternity leave and how that worked.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for honest advice from other estheticians because I’m feeling really lost right now.

I graduated in March and recently got hired at a small spa. It’s only me and the owner working side by side. Since I’m new, I don’t have an established clientele yet. She’s been telling me that I need to bring in my own clients or I’ll be sent home if there are no bookings for me. She also told me that any spa I work at will be the same way, if I can’t bring clients in myself, I’ll be sent home.

I wanted to work under someone first before eventually going out on my own, so I could gain experience, confidence, and slowly build a client base. But now I’m starting to question if that’s realistic or if I’m already behind.

I’m also struggling because her clientele is mostly older women with higher disposable income, and I’m young, so it’s been hard to figure out how to connect with that demographic or attract people who fit the spa’s target market. She stays fully booked most days, while I’m left cleaning and waiting for appointments that don’t come.

I have been trying. I’ve posted in local Facebook groups, used multiple apps, posted consistently on Instagram, and told people I know. I’m not just sitting around expecting clients to magically appear. I genuinely want to work and grow in this industry.

So I wanted to ask what helped you get clients when you were fresh out of school?

I’m honestly feeling really discouraged. 🫤

If your clients confirm their appointment, but still no show do you guys text them and or call to see if they’re coming? I feel like I shouldn’t be holding their hands every single time asking them if they’re showing up or where they are if they already confirmed. Instead just charging them and moving on.

The esthetics school I attended was honestly a very intense experience. I was there for a full year, and over time I watched the school director begin to treat students in ways that felt controlling and emotionally draining. It makes me want to leave a bad review, especially because many of the girls feel scammed and disappointed. The school makes a lot of promises, they promote themselves as "Premier & Advanced" yet many students graduate feeling like they learned very little, & like they don't wanna pursue esthetics anymore. The school currently has 4.9 star reviews, but this was my personal experience.

Our main teacher created a horrible environment. She listens in on students conversations and then make condescending comments or report things back to the school director. At random times she just makes students feel bad about themselves with rude or belittling comments. She also played a role in getting another teacher fired. Many of us felt that teacher cared about our education, and losing her affected massively the quality of what we were learning. Two students were also expelled after standing up for themselves when they felt disrespected. She has also told Spanish-speaking students that they weren't allowed to speak Spanish since it's "rude" that other students can't understand. We have complained about this mean racist teacher multiple times, and the school director literally told us "If you don't like her, you can leave the school".

As for the school director, we were required to sign a strict contract of rules. We were not allowed to talk during school hours or we risked getting write ups. Even during lunch we are not allowed to switch seats to speak with different classmates. We have to sit in the lobby area where front desk staff could hear our conversations, and the cotract also listed certain topics we are not allowed to talk about. There were cameras in both the classroom and hallway, and the director would watch them if she felt we weren't following her rules. Weird asf, especially when we bring in clients for consultations and services. They also removed their financial aid options and instead gave us a list of lenders like Sally Mae and Sofi, even though they did not actually work with those companies. We were told to figure it out ourselves or go to a bank. The school director also has a short temper, which means she'll raise her voice at anybody when angry, slam doors, call students into her office and have arguments that are heard throughout the school from the yelling, and will sometimes put her hand up close to students’ faces to shut them up.

We also aren't allowed to be on our phones at all except for the thirty minute lunch break. The school director would frequently change the curriculum, which was frustrating for students who moved from out of state specifically to attend this program. Many felt like they came expecting one thing and ended up receiving pretty much nothing. I know its hard to imagine with words how this school's vibe is, but it honestly feels like a prison/military school more than an esthetics "premier" school.

Every day we felt hopeless and anxious in this environment, and even have cried because of the constant pressure. Since it is a private school, we fear retaliation if we spoke up. The student who was expelled recently didn't receive the 80% refund our contract states. If we complain while in school, we risk not being allowed to come back for the free classes after graduation that the school offers to esthetics students. I just want to warn future students from joining that school before they regret it, like everyone else who has joined.

I know most esthetics schools have bad experiences, but my anger comes from this school marketing itself as the best of the best, and being a straight-up scam.

I want to know everyone’s opinion on using beef tallow for skincare, what’s the scoop?! I’ve been seeing lots of mixed opinions online and in estie facebook groups and I’m curious to know what y’all have to say about it!