EMBELLISH INC.

By Louise May

In 2003, at the age of 18, Jennifer Dixon was working in the parts department of a Toyota dealership in the most masculine working environment you can imagine.

“It’s no wonder I found comfort and inspiration at the local beauty salon,” says Jennifer. It was where Jennifer would find herself on her lunch breaks and weekends and how just one beauty therapist and a few treatments made her realise exactly where she needed to steer her career.

Two months later Jennifer found herself accepted to Ella Bache’s College of Beauty Therapy as a full-time advanced diploma student, and the rest is history.

“Although it’s been hard work, hard work, and then some more hard work, this labour of love has been the biggest blessing and longest relationship in my life.”

During her studies with Ella Bache in 2004, Jennifer became employed as a salon assistant in their flagship store, Mosman Ella Bache, moving through the ranks to a senior therapist, and then only two short years later, going on to open her first business with a business partner. “At the time I felt like I was only just finding myself as a therapist and leaving my comfort zone was terrifying, but I also knew it was a now or never moment.”

We spoke to Jennifer about her career path thus far as the owner of Embellish Inc., as well as her future dreams and goals.

Was business ownership always a priority for you?

Not at all. When I opened my first business, I was all of 21 years old. What I knew about myself as a therapist was that I absolutely adored the craft, and I had a gift for physical nurturing. I knew nothing of business, obligation, responsibility, and accountability so as all business owners know you get a cold hard slap in the face encountering those experiences for the first time once you take the leap. All I knew was that if I didn’t take that leap, I would go no further in my life, so I had to grow up, become wiser, and learn to carry the many burdens of small business when you find yourself in over your head.

I was so young and had so little life experience, I was almost swallowed whole many times but the BEAUTY in this industry is that you get to take care of so many incredible humans which helped lead me in the right direction. What I have always been lucky to experience time and time again throughout my career is the sheer joy of performing treatments, nurturing my clients and the wonderful interaction that salon life is. Eventually as the years began to stack up so did the right decisions and better outcomes, and eventually I became connected with the right business model to achieve success.

Looking back, as a 21-year-old I was nowhere near the maturity level that my story needed so now at 38 I am grateful to still have the same amount of love for my people and still be performing treatments, and my role as ‘business owner’ is something I’ve learned to harness successfully so rather than feeling overwhelmed like I was in my early years I now feel and enjoy greater satisfaction.

You are a one-woman show, can you talk to us about that and are you looking at building a team in the future, or do you prefer for it to be just you?

Yes, I am on the hunt for salon support as we speak. I’m about to begin the process of recruitment as I’ve grown the salon as far as I can as a sole operator, and there’s so much more surging for my business. I’m hopeful to find someone who wants to see us grow beautifully together in the business, us as a team, and themselves as a thriving part of Embellish Inc.

Can you talk us through the treatments you offer, and what is your favourite treatment that you provide to your clients and why?

EMBELLISH INC - BEAUTY & BIOSCIENCE. While I love my skin business and I have incredible tools and systems to combat ageing, I’ve been working with some revolutionary technology for a few years now. To see this part of the business, take off is heart-warming because we are supporting people with issues much larger than skin. Not only do these technologies, the Hocatt and PEMF, accelerate your age reversal and relaxation, which is why I love to use them as an add on to my facial treatments, but they provide support for so many chronic conditions which is fulfilling on a whole new level.

You were an ABIA 2022 finalist for Best Customer Care, can you talk us through your Client Journey process what does Customer Care mean to you and your brand?

Customer care is everything to me as a therapist and as a brand, especially working with the bioscience technology. We take the journey with people through so many health conditions and illnesses so caring for each individual varies but seeing chronically ill people find a version of themselves that mirrors a healthier body is so beautiful.

That goes for the skin transformation process as well because so many aggravated skin conditions stem from within so to see people recover from conditions like cystic acne, peri oral dermatitis or other inflammatory conditions it really is a true blessing to be able to help relieve these symptoms.

We start each clients’ journey with an in-depth consultation, a home care prescription for both skin care and internal skin support products. We also refer clients to wholistic doctors/naturopaths and other practitioners to ensure each client is getting the utmost support for their specific needs. Once we’ve clarified all internal factors, we then create a treatment plan, including both skin and bioscience, to provide the safest and most effective road to recovery. I tend to see some pretty rapid results with my clients, and I believe that’s because of the stress reduction achieved when combining beauty and bioscience.

What makes Embellish Inc. unique and stand out from those around you?

I feel that my unique selection of products and services are my point of difference. I work with products and brands that make a huge change in everyone’s skin and lives because they all tend to have a wholistic theme behind their philosophy. With the focus on health and wellness becoming the only way to survive modern day life and its stresses I’ve created an environment that takes care of beauty and your inner wellbeing at the same time so there’s a lot of value added in your time at the salon.

I think with everyone’s lives being so busy you need to cater for more than just skin, and with the skin being our largest organ, I chose to take my treatments to a much deeper level to support people through so much more than just skin treatments alone.

What is your number one skin recommendation?

The 80/20 rule. 80% is your daily skin care and lifestyle and 20% your salon treatments. There’s so much going on in today’s day and age that it takes a bit more than one facial every six months to stay on top of your skin’s requirements. In my professional opinion just like our dietary nutrient intake our skin requires as much love and attention when we are outside of the salon.

What is on the agenda for the rest of 2023?

Hopefully a new staff member, larger and new premises, and the start-up of a charity that I am working on with some colleagues, which is still in the initial stages so I won’t expand on it here, but it’s something very dear to my heart and if it comes to life will be my greatest achievement.