7 minute read
Six Key Things To Discover In Your Skin Consultations By Robyn McAlpine
Skin Consultations. They’re the key to EVERYTHING when it comes to treating skin. They can make or break your results and are essential to building a strong lasting relationship with your clients.
Yet so many of us start out like a newborn baby giraffe learning to walk for the first time. Stumbling our way through the consultation, dreading the awkward silences, fearing the retail push at the end, feeling like we’re out of our depth and unsure of how it’s all really going and if the client actually hates us.
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Whilst there are plenty of courses on skin and science, we are often left to our own devices in how we interpret this information to our clients once were alone with them inside the treatment room.
One of the biggest struggles I see in setting a consultation flow is knowing what exactly we are needing to do and how to find out what we need to know. What is the outcome we are looking for and how do we reach it?
When we aren’t exactly sure what we’re meant to be doing, we find ourselves falling into the trap of turning a consultation into being all about US, not THEM!
How many times have we spent far too much time talking about the business, the brand, our philosophies and why our clinic is different? patiently waiting for when the consultation is going to kick in. The chances are, if that client is sitting across from you, they already like your salon and what it stands for, that’s what drew them to you in the first place.
The consultation should be wholly and solely about the client, where they’ve been, where they’d like to go and what they need to do to get there. Not about our business, our fancy products or why we do the fandangled treatments we do.
So, if not talking about your products and treatments, what are you actually supposed to do in the consult? Aren’t we supposed to promote the business and convince the client to spend all their money on products?
What are you actually wanting to achieve in the consultation process?
I’ve been creating a course that supports skin therapists, helping them feel more confident in the process. What I noticed we’re six key points that I use to guide the flow of each of my consultations. These are the six most important things I want to learn about every single client so that I can help them achieve the healthiest skin possible! You might be surprised to learn that I never mention my business These things are great, but what I really need to know in order to get the best results for my client are the following six things:
1- SKIN TYPE
96% of clients who come in for a consultation with me DO NOT know their skin type. Those that do have often guessed (often incorrectly) or have had a quality skin consultation in the past and the therapist told them. With all of the high tech treatments we offer in-clinic these days, rarely are they skin type dependant. But knowing your client’s skin type is really important when prescribing home care products and ensure they know how to best support their intrinsic skin type. We all know what happens when a client uses the wrong formula for their skin type, it’s often what brought them into our clinics in the first place. Using products for an oily skin type on a lipid dry skin type is actually going to exacerbate a dry skin condition. Each skin type has its own specific protocols of daily care and once we understand the client in front of us we can help guide them in how to care for their specific skincare needs. (Coming up with “combination” as a skin type? If you’ve read my book Skinside Out, you’ll know where I sit with the ‘combination cop-out’.)
2 - CURRENT CONDITION
(Pssst, Condition is different to skin type!!) It’s important to find out why your client is here and what is their skin presenting with? Do they have acne? If so, what grade? Are they dealing with a skin barrier issue? If so,
what kind? Are there any vascularity concerns? This is where you are going to spend your time understanding what you’re working with. It’s understanding this that will help you start out on the right track and be the starting point to build upon. Knowing the difference between skin conditions like acne and rosacea is really important. Both can present in a similar way but the causes and treatment pathways are VERY different.
3 - POTENTIAL CAUSES OF THE CURRENT CONDITION
The next thing you need to understand is the leading cause of the client’s skin condition. Why is their skin the way that it is? Have they been using incorrect skincare? Is it their work environment? Do they have an underlying condition? Is this something you can treat or do you need to refer on to a thirst party professional? This is going to give you the pathway to repair! Most of the consultation time needs to be spent here, discovering WHY this client’s skin is behaving the way it is. Because without knowing the leading cause, we cannot just throw some professional products at them and hope that it resolves. Yes, it may have worked a couple of times in the past but when we address the cause, we resolve the issue. It’s important to dig deep and figure this part out because if we get this wrong, we’ll be left managing poor outcomes and client disappointment!
4 - EDUCATE CLIENT ON THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SKINCARE
Now that we know why our client is here and have established the condition and cause, the next step is helping that client to better understand the condition and how they can support their skin. We are the experts. It’s here that we have the opportunity to teach our clients how to care for their skin. Don’t leave skin education up to the internet. That’s what got our client’s skin into a mess in the first place. Let’s not just assume that because they use skincare that they know a lot about their skin.
5 - RECOMMEND A PATHWAY TO SKIN CORRECTION (PRODUCTS AND TREATMENTS)
This is where we take all of our investigative work into the consultation process and develop a treatment plan and product prescription. When we have a deep skin knowledge base, coupled with our expertise in the treatments we do, we can build a targeted treatment plan that will focus on all of the needs we discovered in the first three key points. If we’ve gotten this wrong, here is where our plan will come unstuck as we might not be recommending the right treatments and products
6 - SUPPORT JOURNEY TO SKIN HEALTH AND BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CLIENT.
Naturally, when we’re getting to know a person, we build a connection. We get to know their personality, their communication style and their desires for their skin. Building a strong professional relationship is vital. It helps us to know how to better support someone on their skin journey. The final key that I want to learn in my consultations is what my client needs from me to be able to achieve the best possible results. Do I need to follow up with referrals to aligned health professionals and are there fact sheets or further information that I can give them? What can I do to go above and beyond to help them feel completely supported in the process? Now that you know the true purpose and objective outcomes of a consultation, you can begin to formulate your own flow to reach the end goal. You can begin to develop the questions you might ask to find the right answers you need to create a well-rounded skin treatment plan. You’ll no longer get lost in the “salesy” distractions that chew into your consultation time and you’ll feel more confident to lead the conversation in a way that gets results!
Before you finish your consultation, ask yourself these questions:
1. Do I know their skin type?
2. What is the condition of the client’s skin?
3. What is the leading cause of this condition?
4. Have I empowered them with knowledge about their skin condition and helped them to make the appropriate changes they need to avoid/resolve/support this condition?
5. Have I created a clear treatment pathway? (of home care and clinic treatments)
6. Have I provided further support/ What follow up do I need to provide?
If you are looking for a course that will give you confidence in your consultations, come over and say hi! It’s almost ready to release into the wild and it might just be the course that helps you to channel all that juicy skin knowledge you have into a consultation that kicks ass!
