Second Careers
Did you move to skin care after previously working in another profession?
I worked for a minor league baseball team doing community relations. I got so burned out working 12–14 hours a day during the summer when the team was at home. My mom encouraged me to take an esthetics course, and nearly five years later, I still love esthetics.
Stacey Walsh
ERWIN, NORTH CAROLINA
I spent 11 years in the restaurant industry: cashier, food prep, manager, and supervisor. I have used that background in customer service every single day. If your clients know you value them as humans and not as dollar signs, and that you want to do everything you can to help them, they will become loyal clients.
Kathryn Barrel
VIA FACEBOOK
I had a bachelor’s degree in recreation, and ran a Family Fun Center (mini golf, arcade, etc.). I got tired of always feeling like the evil stepmom to 70 teenagers. Skin care was the answer for me. It has been almost eight years, and I’ve never been happier!
Keri McMillan
VIA FACEBOOK
I was the singer in a punk band called Lo Ball. I spent my life in the music industry: in bands, behind the scenes, and managing recording studios. In the band, we wore a lot of makeup and needed our skin to look amazing, so I thought, “If this ever ends, I would be great in the skin care business!” In 2004, my band broke up. I immediately, and happily, enrolled in esthetics school, and I have never looked back.
Trina Renea
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
I majored in social work. By my late twenties, I was burned out. I still wanted to help people, but wasn’t sure how. When I found esthetics, I thought, “Aha!” It’s been a real blessing, and my background has given me an understanding ear for my clients.
Laura Ruble
VIA FACEBOOK
I was in the grocery business, taking care of the accounting and pretty much all other administration. I changed careers to become a massage therapist, as I loved massage, and then became an esthetician to prolong my career as a dual practitioner. The business aspect of running a grocery store definitely helped me to succeed.
Paula Hulen
CHICO, CALIFORNIA
I was a nurse for 22 years. I knew I wanted to ease into a career where I could use all those years of education in health care, and since skin and makeup were always my passion, it was an easy move.
Diana Bish Hill
CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA
I am still an accountant; I own my waxing business on the side. The only issue I have is audit season is the same as waxing season, so I’m delirious at that time of year.
Carla Chapman
GILROY, CALIFORNIA
I only worked in the corporate world for
a year before going back to school for esthetics, but I consider what I learned that year to be the equivalent of getting an MBA! I still could have been a great esthetician without it, but I’m not sure I could have succeeded in building a business. I count my blessings that I can work every day with people who care about their quality of life and are taking steps to improve it.
Christina Giustra
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
View PDF: Skin Deep Magazine pdf