Fine Lines

Up Close and Personal The Value of Skin Analysis By Dave Waggoner and Lisa VanBockern finelinesmagazine.com 13 Professional skin analysis is a critical part of any professional facial service. Your esthetician's ability to analyze your skin properly is based on their knowledge of skin histology and physiology. After the analysis, the esthetician can use that information to link any skin conditions you might have to ingredients that will address them, as well as offer you the most appropriate skin care services specifically tailored to your needs. IT'S ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION Skin analysis is a time of communication between client and skin care practitioner. This is the time for the esthetician to really listen to you. Listening is when they will pick up information about your expectations, including what products you've used, your home care routines, and your overall knowledge about any of your existing skin conditions. Be forthcoming with that information so your esthetician can best serve you. It's important to understand that estheticians do not diagnose or make medical claims about client skin conditions. While estheticians want to be able to correctly identify common skin conditions whenever we can, your esthetician may sometimes refer you to another medical professional if the condition is something that falls outside their scope of practice. A PROPER ANALYSIS Here is what a good skin analysis might look like: • Your esthetician will use a gentle cleanser to clean your skin before the analysis. • After protecting your eyes with a covering, they will use a magnifying lamp to get the best view of your skin. • They will then thoroughly and methodically analyze your skin. Your esthetician will look for any redness, dry skin, patchy areas around the eyebrows, pigmentation, or telangiectasia (small, widened blood vessels on the skin). They will continue their analysis of your face by slowly and methodically moving their gaze from left to right until they have scanned your face thoroughly. They will then strive to educate you to your end goal and they will link your skin conditions to the ingredients that will address those conditions. SIMPLE, YET CRITICAL Skin analysis is deceptively simple, yet so critical. Professional skin analysis affords the esthetician a place and space to help educate clients and answer questions or concerns, as well as explain the services that can be helpful to you. The analysis may be brief, as short as 3–4 minutes, but it's time well spent, as your esthetician gets up close and personal with your skin and its intricacies so they can provide you the very best skin care. ▪ Lisa VanBockern and Dave Waggoner have more than 40 years combined experience in skin care. For more info, visit skinscriptrx.com.

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