Profiles

It may help those of you looking for a career change or just embarking on a course of study in the beauty profession to see what career options may be available to you. Below are some profiles of success stories, which may provide a glimpse of what you can look forward to if you work hard and achieve your qualifications. I will continue to add profiles, which are interesting or helpful and if you have a career story that you would like me to include please contact me with your details.

Krystina Dwyer

Krystina is a beauty therapist working at Ragdale Hall Health Hydro and Thermal Spa. She had always wanted to be a beauty therapist but her Mum persuaded her to stay on at school and complete her ‘A’ levels, then later on if she wished to, she could pursue a career in beauty. She was halfway through her first year at University studying for a law degree when Krystina decided it really wasn’t for her. Instead she followed her heart and enrolled on a beauty therapy course and in her own words has never looked back.

Nearing the end of her level 3 beauty therapy course Krystina heard a motivating talk from a Steiner representative and decided that life on the ocean waves, providing beauty treatments was most definitely what she wanted to do next. Unfortunately she was turned down at the interview stage but soon applied elsewhere and disappointment soon turned to excitement when she was offered a job with Ragdale Hall the country’s leading Health Spa. Krystina is now learning many new techniques and using some of the industry’s leading products. She has just signed a two year contract after her three month review and will be trained in Clarins, Elemis, Decleor, LiTya, Finders and Leighton Denny to name but a few! She also has the opportunity to work in other areas of the Spa such as the beauty shop, on reception or on the back desk; assisting the supervisors with the running of the salon, changing schedules during the day, dealing with customer complaints as well as therapists requests.

Krystina says that the unique Ragdale Hall Equilibrium massage is a wonderful treatment that she is looking forward to learning, a deep tissue massage incorporating the back and scalp and in the future she may also have the opportunity to train as a supervisor.

Krystina works very hard, a normal routine is working a maximum of six days on with two days off, three out of four weekends, then getting a three day weekend off. She receives wonderful support from her team leader and trainers and the experience in such a professional organisation is providing her with a wonderful start to her career and hopefully will open up many other opportunities in the future.

She loves the social aspect of her work as she is living with other therapists in accommodation nearby and their shared interests have allowed her to develop friendships quickly, helping her to overcome her initial nervousness about leaving home. Her advice to other therapists would be ‘Keep an open mind and take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way, work hard and persevere to achieve your goals’ 

Alison Gibbs - Spa Consultant 

Alison is a Spa Consultant and Trainer who in 2001 established a company called Indonesian Secrets, bringing some of the traditional Balinese treatments and massage techniques to the UK from the Far East.

Her career began twenty years ago in the UK, when she achieved her beauty therapy qualifications and began working alongside osteopaths and homeopaths and specialising in massage. Her industrial experience continued at Champneys Health Farm and in a large well established hair and beauty salon. Alison then started her own beauty business, which had a client base of 200 and she used her exceptional massage skills to treat clients with multiple sclerosis, paralysis and ME.

Fate then stepped in and Alison followed a boyfriend to the Far East, she soon established herself as a therapist working in some of the most prestigious spas and luxury hotel groups. She progressed through the ranks, from assistant manager to spa director, continuing her professional development to include essential managerial skills in marketing, accounting, purchasing and stock control as well as recruitment and team building. She became the corporate trainer for five Banyan Tree Resort spas before moving to Bali to become spa director for Aston Bali Resort, developing and opening their new spa. As a consultant for Collier-Collier Spa, she provided training and was instrumental in the designs for Javana Spa, Singapore; The Oberoi, Lombok; and Begawan Giri, Bali. Bali was where Alison learned about the local traditions and healing techniques that were passed down through generations and also how to make the wonderful treatment products from natural ingredients found locally:

• The papaya and rice herbal slimming wraps traditionally used after childbirth.

• The 'Royal' exfoliation and massage ritual, Lulur, a skin softening treatment originally enjoyed by the Princesses of the Royal Palace

• The Bali Boreh that was a remedy that originated with Balinese farmers to ease rheumatic aches and pains after standing knee deep in water and stooping over in rice fields day after day.

In May 2001 using all this knowledge, Alison launched her own company 'Indonesian Secrets' www.indonesiansecrets.com and now works full time importing local ingredients for use in spa therapies and providing training and product knowledge to spas and salons around the world.  

Jayne Salt - College Lecturer 

Jayne had struggled at school as she was not an academic and had hoped to become an occupational therapist. She felt that this may not suit her abilities and after receiving career advice she decided on a course in Beauty Therapy, much against her Father's wishes who thought she 'could do better'. However, Jayne was determined and with her four GCE's and an Art 'A' level she was accepted onto a beauty therapy course and received a Higher National Diploma in the subject.

Her first job on leaving college was in a Steiner beauty salon and not long after joining the company an ex-tutor offered Jayne a part time job teaching manicure to hairdressing students. She was able to do this on her day off from the salon and enjoyed it so much that she realised that she wanted to become a teacher of beauty therapy. She changed her job and began working as a beauty therapist in a hairdressing salon, allowing her to be flexible in her working hours in order to take on more teaching.

She realised that it was essential to obtain the necessary qualifications and embarked on a three year part time training programme, achieving her Certificate in Education and several years later took up teaching full time. Jayne has developed a successful electrolysis programme, with students achieving second and first place in the national Sterex Epilation competition. She has been level two co-ordinator, team leader for beauty therapy and in September 2003 she was offered the chance to manage the Hair, Beauty and Holistic department in her college. She is currently the Advanced Practitioner for Hair Beauty and Holistic Therapies with a commitment to ensuring quality standards in all programme areas. During her career and to continue her professional development, Jayne became an external examiner, internal verification co-ordinator and most recently has contributed to the working party developing the new standards for beauty therapy. Jayne's advice to anyone wishing to teach, is to gain as much industrial experience as possible, an essential for passing on knowledge to students.

Sumita Lynch - Salon Owner 

Sumita was a mature student of beauty therapy having achieved two business and marketing degrees early on in her career. She became a lecturer in marketing and public relations and worked for two international advertising agencies in Singapore, Malaysia and London. Sumita married in the UK in 1984 and travelled extensively, with her husband, around the world. In Malaysia, Sumita worked as a business consultant for a large international beauty and fitness chain. This inspired her interest in beauty and she embarked on several beauty therapy courses before opening her first salon, Tulsi Health and Beauty in 1999. She now owns five branches and is currently setting up a franchise operation for other beauty therapists to benefit from her extensive business and beauty therapy knowledge.

Danniella Hess - Beauty Therapist  

Danniella studied hair and beauty therapy, but specialised in beauty therapy at Level 3, qualifying in June 2002. She has a bubbly outgoing personality and enjoyed working with clients. In her final year at college she worked part time in the beauty salon of a local hotel to gain as much experience as possible. After she achieved her NVQ Level 3 in beauty therapy Danniella started working for the Retreat beauty salon in the David Lloyd health and fitness club. She then decided to apply for a job on a cruise liner, even though they had asked for two years industrial experience and for the candidate to be over twenty one, in the job advertisement.

After a successful interview, Danniella was accepted on the Disney cruise ship and flew to Florida after only two weeks of special training. She says she spent the first four months providing body massage and working ten hour shifts sometimes seven days a week! For the final six months she specialised in an anti cellulite electrical body treatment and was put under enormous pressure to retail products. Although the work was exceptionally tiring Danniella says she loved working with other beauty therapists who had trained in different countries around the world and she loved the social life aboard ship and seeing other countries. The clients were mostly American and she thinks the experience helped her enormously in her professional development. After four months at home working for a local salon, Danniella couldn’t wait to return to the ocean life and embarked on a cruise around the Caribbean, providing an oxygen lifting facial for her clients, but this time for six months rather than eight!

The desire to further her career led Daniella into teaching part time whilst still working in a busy beauty salon, this allowed her to maintain her skills and teach our future therapists who are benefiting from Danniella's industrial experiences.

In 2007 Daniella accepted a job working for Depilex, a cosmetic product and equipment company, using her teaching skills and beauty therapy knowledge to provide technical training to salons and spas.    She is the national trainer for RVB and Algotherm and also provides training for IPL, Microdermabrasion and Endermologie.