Is Getting More Referrals A Goal You Have?

Getting Your Guts Up To Ask

Obtaining referrals can be difficult if you're not used to asking. But once you've adopted the habit of asking you'll obtain enough referrals that it will be hard to follow up on them. A study conducted by Bill Bishop and Associates of Orlando, Florida found that 60-80% of referred leads buy stuff.  They buy an average of 23% more than cold suspects.  They are also four times more likely to refer you to other lead than cold prospects.  It clearly makes sense to ask for referrals.  I know, I know, its awkward to ask people for referrals.  All I can say to that statement is, GET OVER IT! If you've done a great job for a client and given it all you got, that person will be glad to suggest others that you can help.  But if you're not used to asking, even the phrasing of the question can be difficult. 

Make it your own, feel comfortable, and spit it out.

I have attended many classes on selling yourself and services.  They all give you guidelines to help with asking for referrals, but they always seem forced and ridged. REMEMBER- Your not asking them to join a cult or a pyramid scheme, your just asking for support.   It does help if your salon or spa offers a referral program. If your spa does not offer an incentive for referrals, ask the owner if you can develop something. For example:  If you refer 5 people, you get a free or half off facial.  Here are some samples to help you out. Take these samples and make them your own, you can add to or take away somethings, but get in the habit of asking. Try them out on your friends and family to see how it comes across.

1) Thank you so much for coming to see me Mary, you are such a great client. I wish I had more clients as loyal as you. If you have any friends as good as you are please send them my way.

2) You- Did you enjoy your service today Mary?
    Mary- Oh, I loved it, best facial I have ever had.
    You-  Thank you Mary that means a lot. Please tell your friends and family about me.
              I would love to give them the same service I give you. We have gift certificates available.....

3) Thank you Mary for coming in to see me, I hope you enjoyed your service. I wanted to let you know we are doing free skin evaluations and eye treatments now, so please tell your friends and family about that. If you have a referral program you can say: If five people come in and say that you sent them, then I will give you a free eye treatment for your next facial ( or whatever you and the owner decide).

4) We are running a special next month on chemical peels and eye treatment, if you can give me five emails of people that would be interested I will give you a 10.00 off coupon for your next facial. 

5) Mary- My friends have been telling me how great my skin looks.
    You- That is great Mary, I hope you are telling them about me? 


Avoid "Do you know anyone...."- it is easy to say "no".  Also, avoid telling your customer what your need is, i.e, to win a sales contest, or to hit your quota for the month. Put your request in the context of helping. Your approach should be comfortable for you. But whatever the approach, always ask.

My Name is Free Radical and I Suck!

All you hear people talk about are free radicals, and antioxidants.  So what are these pesky little blood suckers?  I decided to write this post because a lot of every day consumers have no idea what free radicals are.  All they know is that FR are bad.  I was also surprised to find that many estheticians only know a small bit about FR.

Brief Information About Atoms(I know, I know, trust me this will help you understand)
The basic building block of all cells is the atom.  All Atoms have protons, neutrons, electrons and a nucleus.
Electrons hold atoms together to make a molecule and orbit the atom in one or more shells (rings around the atom)  The inner shell is full when it has two paired electrons. When the first shell is full the electrons move to the second shell.  The number of electrons in the outer shell determines the chemical behavior of an atom. The goal of an atom is to always be balanced.

How Free Radicals Form
Molecules create cells.  Free radicals are created at the molecular level and then when the damage is not repaired it affects living cells.  A free radical is any molecule that has one or more unpaired electrons, they react with a healthy molecule in a destructive way.
The goal of an atom is to always be balanced. Free radicals are molecules that have at least one unpaired electron and then go around just taking electrons from other healthy molecules causing damage (oxidative stress).

Did You Know: The body produces free radicals naturally.

- Breathing- Oxygen is a potential free radical accelerator.

- Inflammatory Immune Response

- Production of Energy- when the universal energy  molecule used by the body is produced, free radicals are

released.

A healthy body can naturally neutralize free radicals, but a body under stress must have help to neutralize them.  The damage that free radicals cause can be minimized by antioxidants.

How Do Free Radicals Damage The Skin

Free radicals cause damage to the DNA in the cells and the fibroblasts that produce collagen.  Free radicals also produce biochemical damage that can lead to eventual skin cancers and abnormal growths.  The end products of this inflammatory biochemical reaction can cause the skin to produce self-destruct enzymes such as collagenase, elastase, and hyaluronidase, which destroy collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid (hydrates our skin and cells).   This destructive assaults to the skin happen every day.  When enough of this damage accumulates, we see signs of wrinkles, elastosis (sagging skin), dehydration, and skin cancer.

A Short Film About Free Radicals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn8TvZxTqow&feature=g-upl

What you have to look forward to (Aging)

Signs of Aging

• Dry skin increases. As we age our oil production goes down.  When our  skin is dry  wrinkles show more.
• The signs of photodamage becomes more apparent, such as  hyperpigmentation & hypopigmentation, texture roughness, precancerous lesions, and increased bruising.
• Thinning of the dermis- reduced as much as 20 % .
• Decreased cell turnover.  Rate slows from 30% to 50% between ages 30 and 80.
• Reduced ability to repair damage.
• Loss of temperature control.
• Reduced immune response.
• Collagen content per area of skin surface decreases at 1% per year as we age, and dermis develops fragmented elastic.
• Elastin structure changes, and the diminished capacity to support microcirculation, and skin strength.
• Melanocytes decrease 8 % to 20% per decades which leads to increased cancer risk.
• Hormones- estrogen slows during perimenopause and stops after menopause.  Skin is directly affected by the reduction of estrogen and has its own estrogen receptors.

Antioxidants- What are they?

Last week I talked about free radicals.  If you didn't get a chance to read it or watch the video you should. Now I would like to talk about Antioxidants.  We all know that they are found in vitamins, minerals, fruits, and vegetables.  As I discussed in my free radical post, antioxidants stabilize damaged cells by giving them electrons. Antioxidants are naturally occurring chemicals in foods that help to counter the harmful effects of oxygen free radicals, which form during normal metabolism and through external factors.
Did You Know

• A healthy body can naturally neutralize free radicals, but a body under stress must have help to neutralize them.   The damage can be minimized by antioxidants known as free radical scavengers.
• Not all antioxidants will neutralize free radicals.  If an ineffective antioxidant is used, higher damaged producing free radicals will be converted.

Nutrition and Skin
How the skin reacts to diet and hormones is important for the esthetician to understand when designing a healthy aging program for the client.  An acupuncturist once told me that we need to start thinking of food as medicine.  It's so true, everything we take into our body shows in our skins complexion.  Food is the best way to get all over our antioxidants. It is recommended that a blend of multiple antioxidants be taken internally to minimize free radical damage. Every fruit and vegetable has a variety of different antioxidants. These nutrients are designed by nature to work together in your body, and research studies have shown that antioxidants are much more powerful when they are consumed in combinations.

• Beta-carotene -- Found in dark green, dark yellow and orange vegetables and fruits.
• Selenium -- Found in meats, fish, cereal, dairy products, Brazil and some other nuts.
• Vitamin C - Found in orange juice, kiwi, grapefruit, strawberries, watermelon, green peppers, cauliflower and broccoli.
• Vitamin E
  

Brightly colored foods like tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries, and apples are excellent sources of antioxidants.
Almost all fruits and vegetables lose at least some level of antioxidants while cooking. The smallest loses were recorder with artichoke, green beans and garlic.
The fruits that are very rich with antioxidants are popularly called „super fruits“. Blueberries are usually most talked about super fruits.
Herbs and spices are excellent sources of antioxidants which means that adding them to your food may protect your organism against different diseases.

Do you like Pina Coladas? Coconut Oil

Well, this post isn't about how Pina Coladas are good for your skin, but I  really wish they were. My number three all time natural ingredient for the skin is coconut oil.  This year I went to a big spa trade show and all people kept talking about was coconut oil, so of course I had to try it.  I have rid my cosmetic closet of a lot of things because I simply did not need them anymore after using the oil.  I use it for leave in conditioner, shaving creme, body lotion, lip treatments, I even use it in my green tea that I drink.


It's better than the average drug store facial moisturizer, hair serum, and body lotion.  If you look at a lot of products on the market the first ingredient is water, water is the universal solvent in products and is very important.  When it comes to having water in moisturizers and lotions though, water makes the skin feel like it is being moisturized but as soon as the water dries, your skin becomes dry again.  Some commercial lotions and moisturizers also contain petroleum-based ingredients that suffocate the skin.  Coconut oil has been used in many countries for thousands of years.

What to look for when buying:  Look for extra virgin, that has not been bleaches, refined, or deodorized.  And just so you are not surprised it is not in liquid form, it is solid. When you manipulate it in your hand it turns to liquid. Warning! A little goes a long way, it takes a little getting use to how much you need to use. A spoon full is enough to moisturize your whole body, the tip of your pinky will provide enough for deep conditioning treatment, and half of that is good for your face and leave in conditioner.

Uses

- Hair-  It is wonderful for hair for giving it a  shiny complexion.  Regular massage of the head with the oil ensures your scalp will be fee of dandruff and even lice.

- Skin- It helps in treating various skin problems including, psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis.  Coconut oil is wonder for people that have chronic dry skin.  Warning- If you have sensitive facial skin and are prone to acne it is probably not a good idea to use.  People say it is fine for acne prone people, but I was not able to use it on my face.  If you want to try, you should do a patch test on one area of your face for a few days. Also, the oil is great for hydrating your cuticles.

-  Bruises- Works great as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissue.

- Fungi-  Coconut oil is effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, and diaper rash.

- Weight Loss- It is easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes.  It increases metabolism by removing stress on the pancreas. Warning- You don't eat the coconut oil buy the spoon full, you cook with it.

- Kidneys-  Coconut oils helps in preventing kidney and gall bladder diseases, also helps to control blood sugar and improves the secretions of insulin.

-Chronic Chapped Lips-  Use a old toothbrush and exfoliate your lips with it, then apply a tiny bit of coconut oil onto your lips and massage it in.

Benefits of Egg Whites

Health Properties of Eggs

• High in Protein, Vitamins, and Minerals.
• Eggs contain selenium and B complex.  Selenium helps prevent the hardening of the arteries, and B complex helps in the development of red blood cells.

How to Use on The Skin

• Egg whites can be used as a mask to tighten the skin.
• To make, just separate two eggs into a bowl, whip the egg whites with a fork for 10 seconds.  Apply with fingers, and leave on the skin for 30 minutes, or until they dry completely.
• Hydrate The Skin- 2 egg white, olive oil, and honey.  Mix two egg whites with a teaspoon of honey and 1/2 a teaspoon of olive oil.  Apply and leave on for 10-15 minutes.
• Puffy Eyes- Apply one egg white under the eye and leave for 10 minutes.
• Skin Irritation- One full egg whipped for 10 seconds and apply to the face for red irritated skin.  Eggs contain amino acids that help to reduce inflammation.
• Hair Moisturizer- Take 1 teaspoon of honey, 1/2 teaspoon almond oil or olive oil, 1 tablespoon of plain no sugar yogurt, and 2 egg whites.  Apply to hair and leave on for one hour.
• Blackhead Remover-  THIS IS AWESOME!!!!    All you need is one egg white, fan brush, and tissue paper.  Take one egg white and beat for 10 seconds.  Paint the egg whites on your face in a thin layer.  Take one piece of tissue paper and cut holes for your eyes,lips, and nose.  You can also just cut pieces and place them in certain areas on your face.  When you apply the tissue paper do it gently so the paper doesn't come apart. Take the fan brush and paint another layer of egg whites over the tissue paper.  Let dry and peel off, rinse with luke warm water. Then look in amazement at all the blackheads.  Gross, but very cool.

Warnings & Considerations
Make sure you use organic eggs if possible.  Eggs that are not organically produced contain traces of hormones, pesticides or herbicides.  Eggs can sometimes cause skin irritations on some people so always do a patch test.

Milk of Magnesia = Awesome Makeup Primer

O.M.G!!!!!!!!!  Milk of Magnesia is the best makeup primer for oily skin. This is the best DIY skin care trick I have ever used, and that's saying a lot. I saw this the other day and just had to try it for my extremely oily skin that I could not get under control. I had to have a historectomy when I was 29; now that I am about to turn 32 I have started to notice that my skin is going through some crazy changes and one of them being excessive oil, and acne around the chin. If you study face mapping you know that the chin area represents hormonal changes brought on by the androgen hormone.  I have tried all kinds of matte foundations and not much has worked.   I have never been able to use primers because my skin is very reactive. I decided to give this little DIY trick a try, I have used it for a week now.  I was amazed at how well it works. Not only did it dry out my existing pimples, it calmed the redness down, and provided a matte finish to my skin all day.
Here is a list of what Milk of Magnesia is good for.

• Acne and or Very Oily Skin
• Sunburn
• Deodorant ( It really does work. Its a better alternative to aluminum based antiperspirants)
• Seborrheic Dermatitis
• Dipper Rash
• Poison Ivy
• Calms skin that suffers from Rosacea

DON'T USE FLAVORED MILK OF MAGNESIA AND ALWAYS SHAKE UP THE BOTTLE BEFORE USING IT.
Ways to Use It

•  You can use it as just a mask once or twice a week for skin that is combination oily or just to dry up pimples. Just apply on clean skin and leave on for 20 min. It will dry up the excess oil in your Tzone. Rinse off with lukewarm water
• Makeup Primer for Oily Skin-  If you have just an oily Tzone I would recommend you  apply it to that area only because it will dry out the rest of your face. If you have oily skin all over then take a cotton ball and apply a very thin layer to your face and let dry before applying makeup.  You may have to work with it a few times to get the consistency  or combination that is right for you.

As always, do a patch test. Milk of Magnesia is an Alkaline substance so it could over dry your skin, but if you have truly oily skin it won't. If it does start to over dry your skin then use every other day as a primer, or just as a mask.

WHAT!! MY ANTI-AGING PRODUCTS ARE AGING ME FASTER!

How can my anti-aging products be aging me faster? There is a little saying that states, "too much of a good thing can be a bad thing."  Just look at diet cookies; just because they are only a hundred calories does not mean the whole box is a hundred calories, same goes with skin care.

Real Life Scenario:

• Esthetician- So what brings you in today Mary?
• Client- I just turned 35 and my skin is going crazy with acne, I have never had it before! I think I have adult acne.
• Estheticain- Ok. So you have never had a problem with acne before besides your monthly breakouts.  What has changed in your skin care regimen?
• Client- Nothing.
• Esthetician- Ok, so you have not changed anything. What product line do you use?
• Client- I use this product line from the drug store called Aging Eraser (not a real line). I also have a prescription for a retinoid.
• Esthetician-  How long have you been using it?
• Client- 1 Month.

BINGO!  Did you know that the majority of Anti-Aging products on the market today are meant for women 60 and older.  30 year old skin is still producing oil and functioning properly, 60 year old skin does not produce much oil, and their cell life cycle slows down.  Anti-Aging products are ment for skin that does not produce oil.
Once a women hits 35 she start to see cumulative damage to their skin and begin to freak out.  It doesn't help that product companies put at 20 year old on the cover of an ad for aging products (which makes our job a lot easier, NOT)    We as estheticians and the public haven’t quite accepted that too many topical anti-aging products with active ingredients might actually do more damage than improvement. Retinoids, alpha hydroxy acids, peptides and vitamins, to name a few, can all be extremely effective in fighting signs of aging like wrinkles and hyperpigmentation. But when used incorrectly, they can be harmful.
"Using too many products on your skin, especially more than one anti-aging product, tends to irritate the skin which in turn may make aged skin more noticeable. "Applying more than directed can cause clogged pores, a blotchy complexion or other unwanted effects," says New York dermatologist Susan C. Taylor, MD."

WHY DO WE DO THIS?
So why are we all slathering on tons of anti-aging beauty products? Because we are impatient. As consumers we are told to want and expect instant results from active ingredients, but most products and ingredients take time to work. "It’s very important that you allow time for a product to work. While a moisturizer can immediately plump up fine lines, most products take at least six weeks to work and sometimes, it can take up to three months."

If you don't see results from active ingredients after six weeks, or if you believe the product you know and trust has "stopped working," talk to your dermatologist and then and only then should you consider trying a different product. THIS GOES FOR ESTHETICIANS AS WELL!  Do not give your client more products just to make a cheap 10% commission.  Our job is to take care of the client.  The best thing I ever adopted in my practice was taking  before and after pictures.  When we look in the mirror we see everything wrong  with us, we don't focus on the good things, or even the small changes, hell we just want to look 20 again.
Just be beautiful in your own skin, and accept things you can't changes. Products can only do so much, it's up to you take care of your skin inside and out.