Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Reynolds.
Rachel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a Master Esthetician and educator with more than 13 years in the industry. I have always been a natural care giver and knew I really wanted to work with people helping them in some way. I worked for medical companies before doing insurance verifications and pre authorizations. While I did enjoy helping people get life saving equipment I was very unfulfilled working at a desk. I was leaving the gym one morning and was dreading going to my desk job. I just kept thinking about how I wished I was working in a spa. So I enrolled in school to get my esthetics license. I absolutely loved my time in school! I knew I eventually wanted to come back and teach once I had some experience in the field. I started working for a local neighborhood spa focusing on skincare. After about 2 years I started teaching at Skinworks School of Advanced Skincare, which is where I also got my education. I continued to work at the spa taking facial appointments while I was the master esthetics theory instructor. This was the best! I love science and theory and could talk for hours about why we do what we do.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely has not always been a smooth road. My first hurdle is I have always been a very shy person and have struggled with anxiety. When in school I really had to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and break out of my shell. The first month I really struggled with the idea of working face to face with the public. One good thing about me is I have always made myself do things that make me uncomfortable. I am so glad I do because I have truly met some of the best people that have become my clients. They are like family to me now. Another thing I had to get over was fear of public speaking. Teaching I had to get up in the classroom in front of several students which was very hard at first. Now I do classes at my spa for different groups. Mainly we have teenagers and their mothers come in and we teach them how to care for their hair and skin. I definitely don’t think I would have been able to do this if I hadn’t taught at Skinworks. The last thing that really threw me into a tailspin is I decided to go fully self employed right before COVID hit. Luckily I had never stopped performing services even while I taught esthetics. I had a solid clientele at the time so my business made it through. Unfortunately there were a lot of spas that didn’t survive the pandemic. That was a rough time though and I definitely struggled that first year. My actual biggest concern was that a client was going to contract COVID from me and get very sick or worse. I took that very seriously and made sure that I was following proper procedures.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My business is all about results with relaxation! I really focus on skincare and education. I do a very in depth skin analysis during my facial services. I will teach you all about your specific skin and the best ways to take care of it. Your skins health is my main concern. I have a lot of integrity that way and I will never do an advanced service on someone just to do it. I do offer a wide variety of facial services including very relaxing luxury facials to chemical peels, dermaplaning, and microneedling. My favorite service I offer is Hydrafacial! Your skin literally glows after! I also retail skincare products. I use products that are highly effective with amazing ingredients.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I do a lot of continuing education! I just did a 12 weeks acne bootcamp training to learn as much as I can on how to treat the different forms of acne. Dr Mark Lees has some great esthetics books out there. A few of my favorite are Clearing Concepts for Acne and Skincare Beyond the Basics. I don’t have specific apps or podcasts but I read everything I can to stay up to date with the latest skincare innovations. Every June there is also a huge esthetics trade show in Las Vegas. They have several amazing continuing education classes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.skincarebyrachelatmetier.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachel_reynolds_skincare/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/chemicalpeeladdict/
