Are there any older estheticians out there?

[waningmoon]

I'm 26 years old now and I have been in the field for 3 years. However, there is something I have noticed and I'm wondering about. The majority of estheticians I have seen are 20-25 years old, maximum 30. Even when I was in esthetics school, I was one of the oldest ones and I was only 23. Is this a career typically for young people? Do estheticians at a certain age tend to leave this career field and switch to something else? Since estheticians have to promote beauty which is strongly connected to youthfulness in today's culture, I would think that there is a great need for younger estheticians? What are your thoughts about this? I personally enjoy being an esthetician and would like to work as one as long as I can.

 

[AlanyaMackie]

I'm 22 and am now the oldest working in my salon. I do feel because of the type of work, ie. hours and pay it tends to be a younger persons game as it can wear thin for some people I suppose x

 

[samantha.c]

I'm 32 and still working as a beauty therapist. Have been in the industry since I was 17 (although I did just have a few years of doing different jobs because I was backpacking) But now I'm back home and starting as a self employed beauty therapist. I intend to be in the industry for many years to come!!

 

[fluffy26]

God at 26 your still a baby!! I’m nearly 38 & have been in the industry for nearly 20 years (doesn’t feel like it at all though!!) I feel, not necessarily age but years of experience in the industry give clients confidence in you as a therapist! I wouldn’t say it’s a career for typically younger people, I feel sometimes younger girls tend to go for it for the “glamorous” (rose tinted) aspect & a lot bail as soon as they realise it’s quite a hard slog in reality!

 

[Gina Ballerina]

There are 3 of us in my salon and we are 34 (me), 28 & 40 x

 

[RED STAR]

Nonsense......In today's 'Oh so modern world', age, size, gender...should not make ANY difference!

When I was in my early - mid twenties I often thought....
."....where do all the 'oldies' go when they're too old to 'cut it'.....?"
Too old...meaning, anything past 30!

As a hairdresser at the time, I decided it might be wise to 'cover myself', and re-train as a 'Therapist'....less 'trendy', less strenuous & stressful...a more 'gentle' profession.

I soon went back to the hair!
It is STILL my passion ...despite my advancing years!

At 55, and having been in the industry for 38 of those years, I truly believe, if you love what you do, there is a place for us all!

 

[CFBS]

I started off as a nurse but then trained in beauty in 1988/1989 so I have been in the beauty industry for over 20 years - I am now 51 and as busy as ever! Over that time I have run my own salons (large & small) and lectured full time for a decade. We are in the sort of industry where it is easy to change how you use your skills to fit around your family commitments.

I GAIN clients because I am not young (they actually tell me this ! ) Most of my clients are retired or planning towards it.
On balance I think when starting a salon you will inevitably attract clients of a similar age to yourself - they feel comfortable with you and conversation is easier because you are at a similar point in your life to them (children, schools, elderly parents etc)

Whenever I have employed mature therapists, they book up faster than the young ones even though they have the same amount of experience and competence.
Ultimately, there are so many salons around these days that clients will choose the one they feel suits their personality and treatment needs.

 

[waningmoon]

Thank you for all the helpful answers, ladies! I do intend to stay in the industry for many more years and this just gave me so much hope! I wish you all the very best x

 

[Taraki]

I’m 44;still going strong after 28 years in the industry

 

[squidgernetball]

I’m a skin specialist at the age of 53. My skin is one of my selling points. Clients look at me and want to know what my secret is - no secret [emoji23]. My daughter who works with me is fed up of the clients who think at 25, she hasn’t got a clue so ask to speak to me. They love the fact that I understand the menopause and what it does to your skin, maturity, fine lines. The younger clients want to speak to me about their acne because my daughters youth and amazing skin makes them think she doesn’t have empathy with how they’re feeling. Our retail is over a third of our turnover and that’s down to clients completely trusting what we tell them, and a lot of that is to do with having an older face (me!!!) in the salon.

Vic x

 

[blossom]

I come from a property sales background and retrained at 37 as a nail tech, to work around my family. I did just nails for 13 years and am now diversifying as my "babies" are now at Uni lol and I want to work more hours and broaden my service offerings.

This year I've trained in lash Lift, done a refresher mani/pedi course and am booked onto a waxing course next month so at 51 I am still learning [emoji2]

I would say depending on your client base, age can be a massive advantage in lots of ways. I work from a home salon and have a large-ish clientele and find it's so much easier just offering new treatments to existing clients than trying to attract new clients all the time.

 

[ukfaye]

I’m 42 trained when I was 17!
I would presume that by a certain age we don’t want to be on the low wage that salons pay.
So we end up working for ourselves so we earn more.
So it’s the young ones that you see on the high st.
I still love doing beauty. X