ask the EXPERTS

How should I adjust my tanning treatments for clients with eczema?

Firstly, the good news is that clients with eczema can still use fake tan; it just requires a little more thought and preparation. Eczema is a condition where patches of skin become inflamed, itchy, red, cracked and rough. Blisters may sometimes occur. It is important to refrain from tanning during eczema flare-ups or when there are open wounds. Once the skin has healed, usually around a fortnight after a flare-up, clients can safely tan if they heed the following advice.

I would recommend looking at the ingredients list in the tanning product in case there is anything that could cause sensitivity. For clients with eczema, a gentler formula with natural ingredients is best. Whatever the product, I would recommend performing a 24-hour patch test to check skin suitability and sensitivity before tanning. If irritation occurs, don’t use.

Once you have established that there is no sensitivity, advise clients to condition their skin regularly with moisturiser in the weeks leading up to the tan application. This is especially important for eczema sufferers. Just prior to tan application, I recommend applying a good barrier cream to dry areas, especially those affected by eczema.

When applying the tanning product, it is best avoid direct application How should I adjust my tanning treatments for clients with eczema? Our beauty experts answer an array of questions about every aspect of running a successful salon or spa business Business Tips 41 to eczema-affected areas. When unaffected areas have been tanned, use a blender brush or back of a velvet tanning mitt to glaze over the problem area. This will help blend in the tan and prevent dry areas from absorbing too much product, which can produce darker patches. Post treatment, clients should continue to moisturise regularly to hydrate and prolong their new glow.

Shoned Owen is a tanning expert and founder of paraben, alcohol and cruelty-free vegan sunless tan company Tanya Whitebits.

Business Tips

How can I work with influencers to help raise my salon’s profile?

When I first created Navy Professional, I had a really small marketing and advertising budget and knew the only way I could get my product out there was by inviting influencers to try my products in the hope that they would go on to recommend them. I decided to allocate a small quantity of stock to send out to influencers and I initially presumed that the bigger the following, the more impact and reach they would have.

However, I soon found out that this was not the case, and over the past year it’s become more evident that an influencer with a lower audience, but with the correct content, has far more power online.

Creating relatable content is the key to being an online influencer. At Navy Professional, we now have a dedicated team of ambassadors/ influencers and our focus isn’t on sales, it’s about brand knowledge and awareness. We actively promote influencers in return for honest reviews and creative content. We also invite them to events to discuss new products and ideas and find that this is great to get first-hand industry feedback.

Before choosing an influencer to work with, take time to watch them to make sure they are the best fit for your brand. When you do engage, avoid sales-style posts and wording. Instead, be prepared to “plant seeds” rather than focusing on immediate sales. Be relatable to your audience and know your demographic.

I want to introduce on-trend nail art. Where should I start?

With an increasing awareness of celebrity culture through social media, clients now have more access to inspirational nail designs and have started to ask for these to be replicated in their local salons.

Update your skills by booking on a nail art course taught by a reputable nail artist. To provide nail art, you will need a level of creativity as well as confidence.

Practise popular designs and experiment with new ones so you are comfortable in creating them and can then build a portfolio of looks to offer your clients. Create designs on tester wands to showcase your nail art selection and update them regularly. Display the wands at reception and in manicure and pedicure areas so that clients are introduced to your offering.

Offer plenty of variations from simple options to statement nails for adventurous clients. Advertise by wearing nail art on yourself as clients will often want to copy you.

Spread the word by posting designs on social media demonstrating your different skills, such as ombré, stamping and foil work, or share other images that you know you could recreate, as inspiration, but make sure to tag the original artist.

Susan Gerrard is chairman of Gerrard International and The Susan Gerrard Beauty Academy, a Habia Centre of Expertise offering courses including nail art.

Rebecca Crawforth is owner and director of Navy Professional, which manufactures nail and beauty tools for professionals.

Business Tips

What’s the best way to sell body treatment packages to clients?

It can be really difficult to get commitment from clients when it comes to courses of body treatments, particularly in the UK where we cover up our bodies so much.

Clients can have so many objections. They may be concerned it will not work, or worry about the cost and commitment. However, like with most things, it is all about education. By explaining that improvement can only progress gradually as the body changes, your clients will understand the need for a course of treatments.

With Endospheres therapy, we often offer short taster sessions where we get the chance to show the impact of the treatment as it works on five different processes of the body. This gives a well-trained therapist time to explain that with each treatment the body will improve and the service will, therefore, have a greater impact.

As the trend in non-surgical treatments increases, clients are looking less for quick fixes and are gaining a better understanding of a more holistic approach to changing body shape or improving cellulite.

They understand that to make changes to the body, the lymphatic system needs to be restored and circulation needs to be increased.

Chantal Merighi is director of The Fenix Group UK, which distributes the Endospheres non-surgical approach bodycontouring and cellulite device.

What are the key factors to consider when analysing my business?

The beauty industry is growing at an extremely fast rate and becoming more competitive every year.

Therefore, it is crucial to find out what is and isn’t working in your salon or spa.

Analysing your business is vital so as a starting point, make sure you choose the right software to give you all the accurate information you need.

The two key performance indicators to analyse constantly are your wage percentage and management of white space. The key to managing your wage percentage is to ensure your therapists are working on as high revenue treatments as possible. Of course, there is always going to be a variety of treatments in your offering but getting this mix right is vital to keeping your wage percentage at a level that will ensure profitability. Analysis of your wage percentage every week is essential and will show quite clearly if you have your therapists working on the right mix of treatments.

It is so important to have a senior member of your team managing white space every day. This will enable you to clearly see how your days and weeks are mapping out and to react accordingly to fill the diary as quickly as possible. Full diaries mean happy days. Other key areas of your business to analyse are re-booking rates, retail sale percentage versus treatment revenue, and the number of new clients you are attracting per month.

Anna Nickless is director of AB Beauty Consultancy, which she launched this year with Bonnie Platts. The duo previously ran the Lavender & Stone salon group in the South East.

Which essential oils help to aid sleep and how do they work ?

If clients are looking to really relax and get the best night’s sleep possible, vetivert, camomile and sandalwood should be the go-to blend. While lavender is most recognised as being great for promoting relaxation, I would argue that vetivert and wild camomile have the strongest sedative properties.

If clients want to simply unwind and chill out after a busy day, a blend of ylang ylang, petitgrain and lavender is great. On an emotional level, the aromas of essential oils have a dynamic effect. Fragrances from natural products have been used for thousands of years, and in more recent times numerous studies have revealed that various psychophysiological effects can be attributed to fragrance inhalation.

The sense of smell is the most primitive of our senses and is linked to the deepest parts of the brain – the parts that govern basic instincts, memories and emotions. On a physical level, because essential oils are made up of very small molecules, they are able to penetrate into our bloodstream.

Essential oils are used extensively in the spa industry to help ease muscular aches and pains, improve circulation and ease sinus congestion. In skincare products, by penetrating into the deeper layers of the skin, essential oils can have a positive effect, such as optimising the cellular renewal process, enhancing blood circulation and addressing problems such as acne, eczema and ageing skin.

Christina Salcedas is the global director of education for essential oil brand Aromatherapy Associates.

What are the benefits of dermaplaning compared with other skin-exfoliating treatments ?

Dermaplaning differs from exfoliation techniques such as chemical peels and microdermabrasion as there is no chemical product, suction or crystals involved in the treatment.

Instead, dermaplaning uses a sterile blade to gently scrape dead skin cells and peach fuzz hair from your client’s face. Its purpose is to make your client’s skin radiant, youthful and smooth. It is a low-risk procedure and side effects may include slight redness in your client’s face for a few hours post-treatment. Dermaplaning is similar to shaving. Your client’s skin is exposed to harsh environmental toxins, irritants and sun damage on a daily basis. This can cause the top layer to appear dull and make clients to look older. Dermaplaning clears away those damaged skin cells so newer ones can emerge.

During a dermaplaning procedure, your client shouldn’t feel any pain. You will use an electronic or manual dermaplaning blade to scrape over their skin and this will continue for 20 minutes, as you gently work to exfoliate. After the treatment is finished, you can soothe your client’s skin with the appropriate product and then apply sunscreen to protect it.

Your client may notice that their skin looks brighter immediately after a dermaplaning treatment. As any redness subsides, they will be able to see the results even more clearly. Results of dermaplaning aren’t long lasting. After three weeks to a month, the results will have faded and so clients will have to have continuous treatments to maintain results.

Kim Hunjan is an experienced beauty therapist, entrepreneur, social media influencer and the creative director of LV College, which offers dermaplanning courses.

In the real world, life throws us curveballs and emotions get in the way

Generation gap

With many people meeting their future partner through work, how as a boss do you cope with the fallout when love turns sour? It comes down to how we deal with the generation gap in general. Ask any 50-something director about the most challenging elements of their role and HR will undoubtedly come up. It’s hard to communicate just how fundamentally things have changed since I was an apprentice. My young team, like my children, are very aware of their rights, and that can’t be a bad thing, but in the real world, life throws us curveballs and emotions get in the way.

Being a baby boomer trying to understand millennials or generation Z can be enriching. There have been a number of studies that say age-diverse teams are more effective and successful, with each generation bringing different skill sets to the workplace.

Lots of my cohorts would agree that business for them is fundamentally H to H – human to human. Most of our key associations are relationship based – think of your favourite company, supplier or manufacturer – normally it’s the people that are the reason for your loyalty.

As this might not be so relevant to tech-based young people, we can help them learn to value the H to H element. And, they can teach us a thing or two about technological advances (as well as keeping us acting and feeling younger).

Gel together

A recent study from the University of California found that there are two distinct forms of intelligence: fluid, which is our ability to think logically and process information; and crystallised, which is gained through accumulated knowledge and experience.

Researchers found that increases in crystallised intelligence were roughly twice as valuable as increases in fluid intelligence. Crystallised intelligence is more prevalent in my age group, while fluid intelligence, like reaction time, typically peaks in young adulthood and then steadily declines, so is more innate in younger generations. The conclusion? Both types need to come together to build a balanced work environment

By its very nature, H to H always means boundaries may be crossed, and in the workplace, somebody has to make sure that doesn’t happen. Or if it does, valuable team members don’t let their private lives interfere with their career potential – sounds like the perfect job for a baby boomer like me. PB