Talk Skin Academy Podcast

Stop Recommending Products To Your Clients

• Katie Howell

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How can the simple act of choosing the right skincare "ingredients" transform your skin and build deeper trust with clients? Join me, Kate, founder, director, and trainer at TalkSkin Academy, as I unravel the secret behind my unique approach to skincare consultations in this compelling episode. We kick things off by diving into the essentials of skincare routines, breaking down the must-have components that every regimen should include. I share why I prefer to call products "ingredients" to ease the sales pressure and how this small change can make a big difference in client comfort and trust. You'll learn about the pivotal role of an oil-based cleanser and get a practical recommendation for an affordable option that's suitable for everyone.

But that's not all – we also explore the often overlooked, yet crucial components of a strong skincare routine. Discover why a pH-balancing toner is essential for daily use and how enzyme-based toners can be a game-changer for sensitive, dehydrated skin. And no skincare discussion is complete without emphasizing the importance of SPF for sun protection and overall skin health. To top it off, I offer practical application tips and explain why bamboo pads are a superior choice over cotton. Tune in for a treasure trove of insights and actionable advice designed to elevate your skincare consultations and routines, whether you're a seasoned professional or a passionate enthusiast.

Speaker 1:

everyone and welcome back to the TalkSkin Academy podcast with me, kate, founder, director and trainer at the Academy here in Essex. So I have talked a lot about the business aspect of a facialist journey, but what I really want to do is mix things up a little bit, and one of the questions and one of the things I know a lot of you struggle with is what you should be recommending to your clients. What should your clients have as the fundamental ingredients within their skincare routine? Now, the one thing that you'll notice with me is I never call products products. What I say to anyone I work with, whether it's you're a student or you're a client, is I call my products ingredients. And there's two reasons for that. The first reason is because when you say products, it automatically makes you and your client if you're talking to clients feel uneasy because you automatically think and they automatically think you're just going to try and sell them a product. But when you use the word ingredient, it takes that kind of pressure off because they then think of ingredients and reality is that you are selling the ingredients and the product is the packaging that it's in, right. So try to think of it differently, try to say words that maybe make you feel comfortable, which then will allow your clients to clients to feel comfortable because, remember, your clients will just feel whatever they see you feeling. So if you're feeling uncomfortable selling or saying products, then guess what? They're probably going to feel the same way.

Speaker 1:

So what I'm going to do today is talk to you about the three fundamentals that every client should have inside their product range and the why's based on biology, not based on sales or based on any sort of random myths that we hear on the wonderful world wide web or whatever. Marketing has decided to brainstorm and think that's how we're going to sell this product. This time I'm going to base it on fundamentals of biology of your skin, so you can then start to think that way. So when you talk to your clients about it, it's no longer about just trying to sell a product oh, that smells really nice, it lasts this long, all the crap that we all say because we don't really know how to talk skin and product. We're going to talk about these three fundamentals. So what are the three fundamentals that your client should be using inside their routine? The first one is a cleanser. Now you're probably thinking well, that's obvious, clay. But let me explain the importance of the cleanse For me, if you didn't do anything else. Getting the right cleanser is crucial for your client's skin, based on so many factors. But we'll keep it simple today and if you want to know more, then remember I have got the online skin expert consultation course, which is currently being turned in what's called the eight minute skin consultation method, and this goes into detail on hormones and stress and everything that's going on inside and getting you to understand and talk skin in a simple yet understandable manner, and it's at the moment. It's got a discounted rate of 150 pounds. So if you are interested in knowing more about the skin and talking skin in a consultation setting, then I highly recommend you check that out. I think. If I can, I'll put a link to it on the podcast so it's easy to find. If not, just pop onto my Instagram, which is TalkSkinAcademy. I just had to figure out what it was called. Then I completely forgot what my business is called and it's in the links inside the bio.

Speaker 1:

But let's talk about the cleanser first and foremost. For me, like I said, it is the pinnacle of your whole routine and the reason being is because, in a simple sense, if you don't have a clean face, no matter what expensive products retinols, vitamin A's, collagens, all that kind of fun stuff that your clients are going to apply afterwards If the skin's barriers and the skin isn't clean and well hydrated and protected, then your skin is never going to be able to take those actives and really utilise them. So, actually, if you've got a client that walks in through the door and they've got a pissed off acid mantle, their barriers are shot, they've over exfoliated, they've got acne and inflammation they hate the way their skin looks then we're going to go back to the fundamentals. The fundamentals, the basics of good skin care. So, when it comes to the cleanser, you're literally looking at an oil-based cleanser. Everyone should have an oil-based cleanser. Everyone should have an oil-based cleanser within their repertoire.

Speaker 1:

Now there are some oil-based cleansers that just don't agree with certain oil type skins and they are your more thicker oil-based cleansers. But remember, simple biology states that oil attracts oil. So you do want to make sure that you have within your routine, within your product brand, an oil cleanser, as you as a professional, but you as a recommendation. If you don't, then I highly recommend the Super Facialist Cleansing Oil. You can get them from Boots and all sorts, and they're like seven to eight pounds as a cleanser goes. It is a beautiful cleanser and, to be honest, you can use it on every single skin type. I haven't had any issues with any of them. You can't get in a professional range. I don't believe you can. If you do, please do let me know. But the first thing you want to do, like I said, is get an oil based cleanser.

Speaker 1:

Now, when it comes to cleansing, your cleansing can either make or break your actual skin, and the reason being is because we look at your, your butt. Here we look at the biology. So when we're looking at cleansing and applying products, we're looking at surface base, because we can't touch the dermis, which is the second layer of the skin, and we can't touch the third layer, which is a subcutaneous layer. We have no way of physically prodding and playing around with those layers, but we do have the ability to play and prod with the epidermis, the top layer of the skin, and the top layer of the skin is protected by two of the four barriers that your skin has, that is, your acid mantle, which is known as I like to call it, your, your chemical barrier, which is invisible to the naked eye and you have your then stratum corneum, which is your physical barrier, and that basically, I like to say to my clients think of the great china wall. That's what that is is to keep everything that should be out out and to keep everything that should be in in, and it's those two barriers that your cleansing can either make or break massively.

Speaker 1:

So if you do have clients suffering with topical dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, sensitivities, dryness, dehydration, it's normally because your actual cleansing process is causing the issues based also with potential hormone issues as well as potential lifestyle issues, which we're not going to go into today. But based off your cleansing routine, that could be a huge problem. A lot of your clients over exfoliate or if you've got clients who've got more oily type skin, they like to use more foaming based cleansers because it makes their skin feel tight and it makes them feel like they've got less oil. But I just want to bear in mind and want you to pay attention to your chemical barrier. Your chemical barrier is made up of two ingredients and those two ingredients are sweat and oil. So if you try to remove most of the oil from the skin through using a foaming cleanser, what's going to happen is your skin is going to have a very impaired chemical barrier because one of the ingredients that it needs to create a nice, strong, healthy barrier has been removed by the cleansing process, not only by the actual potential foaming cleanser itself, but by also using water.

Speaker 1:

Now I want to introduce you to a thing called the pH balance of the skin. It's crucial for you to understand how the skin works. The pH of your skin likes to be between 4.5 and 5.5 on the pH scale, there or thereabouts. If you use any type of foaming cleanser foaming cleanser, foaming cleansers pH tend to have a pH of around about 8 to 9. So the pH range is 1 to 14. 1 being very acidic, 14 being very alkaline, 7 being neutral Think water, that should be where we, that should be the neutral space. So our skin likes to be slightly acidic. It has to be to allow our skin to protect ourselves. Remember, the skin is first and foremost your protective organ. It needs to stay healthy to keep you internally healthy.

Speaker 1:

If we think about the saber-toothed tiger days when we didn't have air, you know air con. We didn't have central heating. We didn't have air, you know air con. We didn't have central heating. We didn't have brick and mortar and windows to protect us and we were living outside in the environment, those who had oily skin were actually more likely to last than those who had naturally genetically dry skin, because if you had dry skin, it meant that your skin was going to crack because there was less oil protecting the skin, which means then that things could get in from the outside and cause issues in in the bloodstream. And that's why, like I said, when, as we get older and our our barriers break down, we are more prone to potential issues such as infections because our barriers aren't functioning.

Speaker 1:

Yet when we're younger, we're trying to kill our barriers off to have this perfect skin, and this is why it's so important to understand why these fundamentals cleansing first and foremost can either make or break the skin. So we want to make sure that an oil-based cleanser is utilized to, first and foremost, remove the debris from the skin and allow the skin not to be taken into a position of instability with its ph. Using foam and cleansers are great, but they're only great for certain times and they're great as a one-off or twice or three times a week, not an everyday scenario, because we want to protect that acid mantle, that chemical barrier that keeps in the physical barrier, nice and safe, nice and healthy, nice and hydrated, so it can defend from outside environmental issues and keep what should be in, such as your water and hydration, etc. Etc. We also got to think about the water within your client's homes. Now, like I said just a minute ago on the pH, water should be neutral, but we're seeing now lots of things being talked about. How you know, there's lots of chemicals in water these days. There's, you know, water's more hard than you know than it was before. So water now is no longer seven and even if it is seven, it still takes your skin's natural pH out of its natural environment.

Speaker 1:

And so we want to make sure that the next step, which is basically toning toning for me is the second most important part of the whole routine, because if you then go and apply I don't know, say, for instance, a vitamin C Vitamin C, we know that has to be on the pH scale between an inner amount of 3.5 mark to keep the vitamin C stable and so it doesn't go off within five seconds of you opening that, opening the, basically the product up and oxidizing. So if you, if you think about this right, if you've just given a client a foaming cleanser to take home them because they don't like the oil, that foaming cleanser then takes that client's ph out of its normal ph, takes it into a more alkaline state, which is around about 8 to 9, then you go and tell them to use a vitamin C product to give them a brighter, luminous look or protection of oxidisation or protection from oxidisation because they live in the city and things like that and dealing from pollution. But then that vitamin C is between is around 3.5, you can understand now why the skin would be on fire and would burn. If sensation of burning it would go bright red because the skin is completely out of its actual natural pH zone. And this is why it's so important to understand these fundamentals, these barriers, because they work in a certain way. The more you understand, the more you'll then be able to get the results. But the fundamentals, which is so far the cleanser, now the toner, is crucial.

Speaker 1:

So what does your toner do? Now, the key to toning is not using an enzymatic toner. So it's become very popular now to get you know BHA toners, enzyme toners, so toners that resurface the skin as well as tone the skin. Now the enzymatic toners. So, for instance, bhas, ahas they actually are within your natural skin's pH, between the 4.5 and 5.5, but this is where the big but is you don't want to be over exfoliating the skin, because this is again where lots of issues are coming from, with a lot of your clients due to inflammation, acne, all this type of stuff, because they're over exfoliating. Where lots of issues are coming from, with a lot of your clients due to inflammation, acne, all this type of stuff because they're over-exfoliating.

Speaker 1:

Now, what you've got to remember is, yes, your toner might exfoliate, but then they also are going to use a cloth to remove their cleanser. That's going to exfoliate their skin. They're also going to go outside and maybe beat out with some wind. That's going to exfoliate the skin. What the skincare marketing has done so so, so well is made everybody, including you guys not everyone, but a lot of you, which is not a bad thing, because you haven't been given this information, but you've been made to believe that the only way that you can exfoliate the skin is by using an actual exfoliation inside a product. But you also have to remember is that your skin is also exfoliating on a daily basis. Other things, like lifestyle choices like going outside and walking in windy weather, that's going to have what we call wind exfoliation. When you go now into the autumn, winter time, you're going to be wearing more scarves, more bubbly hats. They are rubbing against your skin, causing exfoliation to occur. So when you're actually having a conversation with your client about what actually is their lifestyle, as well as the skincare, it's important to put the two together because you can then potentially see how a skin, maybe in just like the chin jaw line area, is getting really red and sensitive compared to everywhere else because actually it's been overexfoliated by scarves, for instance. All these things make a huge impact and allow you to give your clients actual results and then allow them to understand how skincare can support or detract from the results they're looking for.

Speaker 1:

So when you're looking for a toner, you're looking for a pH balancing toner that does not have any type of enzymes in it. Again, you can use toners with enzymes, but again it'll be more. I would utilize it to more as an actual enzyme, actual process sorry, exfoliation process for a more sensitive based skin who might need exfoliating because their skin's so dehydrated. So they'll need to do it once or twice a week to start off with, whilst the skin's natural exfoliation process is on the healing, healing, healing with. Whilst the skin's natural exfoliation process is on the healing, healing, healing experience. Because the skin's been so dehydrated that the exfoliation of the skin's natural ability has not been able to to work. Because, remember, when the skin's below a certain level of hydration, the enzymes that actually cut through the glue that binds the cells together to create that physical barrier can't function, and that's when you get an over-process of dead skin cells and the skin looking dull, tired and irritated. So just bear that in mind. So, when it comes to toning, you want a pH balancing toner with no enzymes in it whatsoever.

Speaker 1:

As the fundamentals, okay, fundamentals, day-to-day stuff. Then the last, most important part of the fundamentals is an spf. Now I bet you thought I was going to say moisturizer. No, it's not a moisturizer, because if you've got healthy barriers, moisturizers are absolutely crucial in some instances. But actually moisturizers can actually be a pain in the skin's arse, okay, especially when the skin's not being looked after properly through cleanse and through toning, because, like I said, those two can either really support the skin or take away and cause more issues for the skin. And the reason why spf is the most important part is because, again, it helps with cell cell support, it helps with collagen support, it helps keep the skin safe from sun raises and also, a lot of SPFs have quite a lot of nourishing and moisturizing factors already in them, so your skin can deal with just not having a moisturizer. And if you get the pH balance right and the skin's cleansing process right, then at the end of the cleansing process the skin doesn't feel tight, it doesn't feel dry, it doesn't feel over oily, it just feels normal. And that's what we are looking for is normal skin that behaves and acts to protect you or your client's well-being.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so SPFs are crucial but again, depending on your client's type of skin rosacea, pigmentation, you know what caused the pigmentation, what's caused the rosacea you might want to have both types of SPFs. So you've got. When it comes to your SPFs, you've got to remember you've got chemical and you've got mineral and, depending on the skin type and its concerns, you might want to utilise either one or the other because some can irritate more. But again, that could be a trial and error process. Please bear that in mind. So they, for me, are fundamentally the three most important ingredients that your clients have and when you're meeting a new client, they are the three that you need to focus on when you are maybe learning your craft.

Speaker 1:

It's making sure that they know how to cleanse correctly. They know the importance of a cleanse and how a cleanser can either be a huge support to the skin or a huge negative to the skin, why toning is important and how to tone correctly, not just by spritzing on the skin. What we want to do is make sure that we get some dry bamboo pads or cotton pads. Bamboo are better than cotton, but if you had to go for cotton cotton pads, spray onto dry cotton pads and then just wipe over the skin. Because what also a toner will do is remove any excess residue from the skin that the cleanser has not been able to pick up, because maybe like I said again basic science water and oil don't mix. So when you remove your cleanser with a water-based cotton cloth or bamboo cloth, there will always be some type of residue left on the skin. So the toner will come along and remove any excess residue. So then, if you do apply anything that's going to travel into the skin, it's not going to take that in and cause potential whiteheads, blackheads or potential acne. So these are the crucial elements.

Speaker 1:

This is what I would be focused on. If you don't know anything about skin or you're at the starting point, or even maybe you've been in it for a few years now and it still is just so confusing because there's always new products being launched, there's always new things being always new fads. The reality is is that if you want to help your clients, then you have to understand the importance of your cleansing routine, your toning and your SPF and hopefully, fingers crossed, after this episode, you now understand why, based on your chemical and your physical barrier too. So there we go, guys. So hopefully you enjoyed the episode. Give me a thumbs up, give me a like. Would love a review, share away to anyone you know that could be supported on understanding skin and products and how they can help or detract from helping your clients. I'll see you in the next episode. Bye everyone.