Archive for October, 2009
This week, our Buty Guru Editor, Anna shares some tips and experience on how to put your best foot forward and get the job in beauty therapy that will either be the solid foundation for your career or the next step in your professional ladder.
Looking the part
In this industry, appearance is key. When your interviewer looks at you, they should see that your skin, nails and hair is tidy. If you have an untidy appearance then it won’t leave such a positive impression with your potential employer.
I have come across interviewees whose appearance has not been up to scratch. Although you would assume that trainee therapists would know how to present themselves – this is not always the case so this is an important tip to make.
You should wear full make-up but ensure that it looks natural – not over the top. Hair washed and groomed, it would be better if it was tied back into a pony tail. Short nails, manicured and clear nail varnish or french manicure but definitely no fake nails as you cannot work with fake nails in any case.
Simple but smart dress also – just like you would go for any other interview.
Portfolio / Experience
Most of the colleges have salons open for the public so before you finished training, you should have had hands on experience in any case.
I came to this salon immediately after college without experience. I brought some testimonials from the clients I treated at college and made a portfolio which included my diploma certificate. I even printed out a photo of the training salon where we were working. I had a nice book…like a proper portfolio. I presented it to the interviewer and she was very impressed because of the notes from my clients. Although I wasn’t very good with nail polish she took me on in any case even though she doesn’t normally take on trainees straight from college.
Looking for work
Most colleges will put adverts on the board or you can search for specialist hair and beauty agencies. There is also the job centre, beauty magazines, networking or contacting therapists you study with – if they get a job before you, you can contact them and see if they have any more vacancies.
If you are already working as a therapist then you can search for work in professional websites and magazines.
Qualifications
Cidesco Qualification is the highest international diploma meaning you can work throughout Europe, America and Australia . The NVQ3 covers the wide range of advanced treatments that are on the market also.
IHBC is another international qualification but it doesn’t operate in Amercia.
Work experience
Most salons don’t offer work experience as you need a certificate before you practice on full paying clients so I would try to get as much experience from the college beauty salon as possible.
Buty Salon prefer to take on people with at least 1 year’s experience but if they think that the person has the ability to learn quickly and show that they can work without supervision then, as in my experience, you can be picked for the job.
Most salons also prefer to take on staff with some experience but I would still advise that you send a CV to them. You never know the outcome as I sent several CVs for jobs requesting at least 5 years experience and I still got a call requesting interviews. In the end I secured 3 positions so I was stuck for choice. The reason I decided to go for Buty Salon was because they offered me a lot of training. When I started I was only qualified to level 2 but it was a great opportunity to learn new things and work at the same time.
How do you progress in a small salon
Find an area that you are interested in such as Hot Stone Massage, and speak to your manager to find out if they are prepared to pay for the training and then you have a new area to offer your services, boost your commission and set the stage for your promotion when the time is right.
If you are aware that you are unconfident then you can appear quite miserable. You need to put a smile on your face. You might be a brilliant therapist but if you don’t have a smile on your face then your clients won’t feel comfortable.
Pay
You need to be prepared that as a new therapist you have to start from the basic and then perhaps you get commission on top. Most salons offer commission schemes. Basic pay, plus commission, plus bonuses from selling product.
If you’re a regular reader of women’s magazines or you like to keep up with what’s new in the world of health and beauty, chances are you’ve come across the buzz surrounding Hot Stone Massage. Even though this treatment, designed to promote fantastic wellbeing and therapeutic results, has quite recently caught on and is now being offered in salons and spas across the globe, you’d be wrong to think that today’s beauty experts are its founders. In fact, stone therapy goes back to ancient times where many cultures were practicing it as early as 1,000 years ago – from the Japanese women who wore warmed stones around their stomachs to aid digestion, to the Romans who would bath in hot water before lying on cold stone slabs to stimulate circulation and re-energise their minds. For a treatment that spans so many years and gains new fans every day, there’s no denying that Hot Stone Massage is HOT!
LaStone Therapy – Hot Stone Massage
There are numerous versions of Hot Stone Massage, but many top salons and spas such as the Buty Salon in Hammersmith and Fulham, offer a more spiritual or metaphysical method with LaStone Therapy. This is a trademarked style of massage developed in 1993 by Mary Nelson, a massage therapist from Tucson who began to get visions and verbal guidance from her Native American Spirit guide. “With each day’s work, I was intuitively led to use more stones, and developed a method of progressively opening up the energy channels (chakras) of the body,” she says.
Why use stones?
The stones used for treatments are specifically chosen for their therapeutic properties such as basalt (for heating) which has been polished and shaped flat and smooth by rivers and oceans and marble(for cooling) which stays cold and absorbs body heat. LaStone therapists believe that the natural stones that they use contain the earth’s healing energy and due to their varying weight, size and temperature, have the added benefit of enabling easy relaxation of the muscles, allowing the therapist to apply deeper pressure, if desired, with little manual effort.
What can I expect during LaStone Therapy?
The massage therapist often begins by applying oil to the body which allows the hot stones to glide smoothly along the muscles and helps warm them up. While you’re sitting, the therapist places two rows of warm stones on the treatment table in alignment with both sides of your spine before covering them with a soft towel to protect you from the heat. You will then be assisted to lay back down on the stones. The therapist will then place stones of varying weights on your body’s key energy channels, including the seven main chakras. Smaller sized pebbles are then placed between your toes with flat stones in your palms while the therapist then uses both hot and cool stones as an extension of her hand while massaging your body. The physiological benefits of alternating between hot and cold to the body have long been scientifically and medically proven and while the hot stones help improve circulation and calm the nervous system to aid deep relaxation, the cold stones increase the lymph flow of waste materials around the body causing a detoxifying effect. This, along with the sedative effect that the LaStone Therapy has on the mind, means the whole body and mind becomes rebalanced, energised and calm.
Who would benefit from LaStone Therapy?
This treatment can be isolated to specific areas of injury or full body to experience the total mind, body and spiritual benefits. It is ideal for people who feel anxious or stressed or those who want to unknot muscles that have tightened through exercise or work and it is a fabulous way to give comfort to those suffering from back pain, poor circulation, osteoarthritis, insomnia and depression.
When should you not have a LaStone therapy?
The therapist will not treat those with infectious skin disease, rash or open wounds, immediately after surgery, radiation or chemotherapy - unless recommended by your doctor. It is also not advisable for people prone to blood clots as there’s a risk of blood clots being dislodged. If you have heart disease or are pregnant, check with your doctor first. LaStone Therapy should not be carried out directly over bruises, inflamed, unhealed wounds, tumors, abdominal hernia or areas of recent fracture.
How can I book to have a LaStone Therapy treatment and how much is it?
To have a consultation and to book a treatment, call the Buty Salon on 020 7731 4080 (Fulham) and speak to one of our therapists specially trained in LaStone Therapy.
…………………….Price: £79 for 1hr 15.
To book a hot stone treatment click here – Hot stone Massage
Over the coming months, Buty Salon Blog will be bringing you the low-down on what’s new and happening in the world of beauty and how we can help to improve your looks, health and general wellbeing. You’ll find out about the latest and greatest beauty treatments, from what’s involved during a treatment to what it’s good for and how it can make you look and feel wonderful. If you’ve heard about a treatment and aren’t quite sure what it’s about or how it works, or if you’re looking to find a treatment or advice for a specific beauty problem or desire you have, then please do leave us a comment and our beauty experts will reply. And if there’s anything else beauty-wise you’d like us to include in our blog – just let us know. Remember, this site is for you and we welcome questions and feedback on any type of beauty queries you may have. So, come on, let’s chat!