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BEAUTY BLACKBOOK For more than 20 years Ingrid Seaburn has been on the speed dial of global celebrities and Sydney’s A-listers to help maintain their glow – she lives and breathes beauty. She chats to Anita Quade about the science of skincare.
You have such a loyal following as the go–to specialist from celebrities around the globe – how did you establish such a following? “I have always had a real passion for skincare and my training in California came at a time when I wanted a change in career having moved from Australia where I had been in the music business for many years. I wanted to bring a sense of connection, nurturing and results to the experience of having a facial with me and I worked very hard to establish and gain trust and always bring my A-game. There was some luck involved in an opportunity to work on some celebrities and for those celebs trust and respect and maintaining privacy was key. Literally by word of mouth my client list grew!” How do you establish a great relationship with your clients? “The ability to connect with a client happens in the first five minutes and that is all in the touch and the conversation to establish skin goals. The client’s experience is so important to me whether you are a celebrity or a regular client. It is essential in the way I operate that every client feels nurtured and literally together we are starting the journey to better, healthier skin. To this day, I transfer that energy to every treatment.”
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Tell us about your time in LA as a facialist? “LA is an exciting place and I had such a wonderful time there. I never looked at what others were doing in terms of business, I really just did my thing. I was younger and starting out but very lucky to have clients like Teri Hatcher and Rachel Griffiths as well as being part of that glamorous world was never boring. The most exciting times were around awards season when you are part of that prep for a red carpet moment. My focus was always on learning , working hard and being grateful for opportunity. I never took that for granted. LA can be a really tough place but it can also be really fun and if you love the craziness of Hollywood you pinch yourself in those moments which I often did!” You have been in the beauty business for more than 20 years. How have you seen it evolve over time? “I have definitely seen it evolve, as it should! The science of skincare has really become more sophisticated for the client and consumer and I am as obsessed today with anti-aging as ever. The most significant change has been the introduction of dermal actives into more products, the fusion of wellness and skincare as a more
holistic approach and the introduction of more sophisticated modalities like radio frequency and ultrasound incorporated into treatments to enhance results. There is a huge difference between a spa treatment and a clinical treatment and like any science, skincare will continue to evolve.” Any big changes that you have noticed in treatments? “Yes! The biggest changes would be our understanding of trauma based treatments and the long term effects of not balancing those with protecting the epidermal lipid barrier. A trauma based treatment is a treatment that triggers a wound healing response in skin in order to stimulate collagen. Things like hard core AHA peels and intense ablative laser to wound the skin need to be minimised in order to protect the barrier.” Do you think Australia is on par with other salons when it comes to luxury facials and advanced techniques? “Yes I think Australia has become just as sophisticated in its approach to skincare as any country in the world. The necessity has been in protecting our skin from the harsh UV we have here and the incredible damage it does to skin. We have been forced to address that.”
