What makes your Facials special ?

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bombini

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I love giving and receiving facials and it always annoys me when get a substandard facial when I have paid a high price.

I always try to go the extra mile for my clients and make the treatment as luxurious as possible. I love picking up new tips from other therapists so I thought this would be a great thread to share some ideas and any experiences you've had which weren't so great.

Some of my pet hates are not being warm enough, incorrect products used for skin type, loud background noise, therapists wearing heels on laminate flooring, not being offered a hand/scalp/foot etc massage when mask is on and finishing the treatment to early ! Actually I can think of loads more but don't want to sound like I moan to much :biggrin:

One of my best tips is to have a baby food warmer to warm up any cleansers/toners being used in the treatment. I learnt this when I did Clarins training and it is so lovely to have warm products applied rather than a freezing cold lotion. Unfortunately the pro sizes of the range I use now don't fit in my warmer so I had to switch to retail sizes which is a bit annoying.
 
Ooooh I must of missed that one, shall have a read of that !

I probably should of named thread, what are your pet hates when having a facial ! Im quite interested to hear opinions of people that aren't trained in facials to.

Its always good to hear a clients point of view.
 
Hey, i have been working for Clarins for 9yrs and before i had my little boy a year ago i was a therapist. I no what u mean when u said about the bottle warmers there a fab idea arent they.

Pet hates of mine are being cold as well, with clarins we always used a duvet which is lovely also. The therapist being too feathery and light with her movements esp the masssage side of it. Forgetting bits of a facial as well.
 
as this has been answered before (see Matthew's link) why not turn this thread around and state in your opinion, what MAKES a perfect facial?
 
I know I don't belong here, but when I hit "what's new" and this title jumped at me, it brought something to mind...
And the wee devil in me just couldn't help but share a little humour...

Available only at OCV (Ongles Chez Victoria):
FIDO FACIALS!!
Lovingly delivered by my assistant Willow!
They are FREE and add moisture to any complexion!
(one of my clients/family friends that adores my dogs obviously:wink2:)

179684_192916100737030_100000559231990_634916_253133_n.jpg


Ok, my chuckle is over, please continue
:hug:
 
I too like to be warm and cosy in a facial and also hate it when I can hear a therapist clip clopping round the room (I always take my shoes off when giving facials).

However I love the feeling of cold products on my skin, it feels really refreshing! Each to their own I guess 

I love to have a firm shoulder massage but lighter massage on the face and I love having my hands and arms massaged with the mask on (I hate scalp massages). As a therapist I like to be busy in a treatment so can't understand why someone would not give you that little extra in a facial.
Rhiannon x
 
what makes a facial for me is
nice warm room with candles lighting etc as makes u feel u can just relax immediately
hot towels to remove products
plenty of massage and correct pressure used
therapist not chatting during treatment or trying to sell products
 
One of my pet hates is if you get a therapist chewing gum in your ear or if they smoke and u can smell it on there hands I feel like telling them to stop the:rolleyes: treatment and change thir career
 
In my salon, we use Eve Taylor and we allow clients to pick 2 treatment add ons while their exfoliating peel and mask are on. The choice is from a scalp massage, hand and arm massage, foot and leg massage, eye mask or lip mask. In the hand and foot massages, we use the hot oil from the Eve Taylor candles to massage and when we tell the clients what we are using, they almost always buy a candle as well!
I live doing facials and this just makes them feel a bit more luxurious. Xxx
 
I use an electric underblanket (£5 from ebay), clients love it - really cosy.
My pet hates are therapists not in proper uniform or wearing jewellery/varnish/long nails, therapists talking to me or worse selling products during the treatment.
p.s. I like cold products too
 
Im quite interested to hear opinions of people that aren't trained in facials to.

Its always good to hear a clients point of view.

I couldn't resist replying when this popped up in 'What's new'. Facials were my one treat that I would regularly go for. Although I havn't been in ages because of cash flow, I see this as just a blip!

Ok, my lovely lady does none of this, but, it would ruin it for me if she did so here goes...

1) Giving off the vibe that it's just a job (I'm paying good money and want good service!). I want you to listen and then tailor things to my individual needs.

2) Not creating a relaxing atmosphere, for example room temp, soft lighting, soothing background music, protected from the other noises of the spa. Plus all this can be ruined by the therapists approach, meaning being too loud, clip clopping around in heels etc. Talking all the way through.

3) I liked it when mine would tell me what she was about to do, like warn me when she was about to apply the mask and it being cold.

4) I especially loved the shoulder and neck and head massage whilst the mask was doing it's thing. I really think this bit was the bit that set it apart from other places, because it just really, really relaxed me.

I was going through a pretty rough time and was feeling quite stressed when I had my last appointment a few months back now. To my alarm and frustration I felt the beginnings of a panic attack during my treatment. I was so annoyed that this was happening during something that was just for me, meant to make me feel good etc etc. Anyway, it almost got to the point where I was going to have to say something and just go, get out of there! (fight or flight!).
Anyway, my point is, I was able to take control back and I'm sure that this was easier because of the wonderfully relaxed atmosphere that was being created by my therapist, aswell as my determination that I wasn't going to be got the better of! The panic subsided and I stayed and enjoyed the rest of my treatment.
 
I think to remember that everybody is different, EG 95% of clients love to be toasty, with the heated underblanket on, toes tucked into the fleece, shoulders/arms covered when not being worked on, but then 1 or 2, perhaps because of hot flushes, like a cooler environment.
Definitely have found that the amount of talk has to be dictated by the client; actually find that a lot DO like to talk, at least during the first and last parts, and seem to find it part of the relaxing and cathartic benefits of a facial.
 
Im quite interested to hear opinions of people that aren't trained in facials to.
Its always good to hear a clients point of view.

Another client pov rather than therapist.

For me, the most important thing way above anything else is results.

Of course, one wants to be comfortable, so room temperature is important, hygiene - so clean and therapist not smelling of smoke etc. As a non beauty therapist, I assume that the final result is a combination of the product, the therapist's skills and the methods used, but I would think products are important. The best facial I've had was using Decleor products and was way above any other facial I've had - I had so many friends comment on my how good my skin was afterwards :biggrin: I've had other nice facials, but never have the results to my skin been as good. Massage is a little off putting for me and I find it irritating more than relaxing. I feel I've come for (and paid for) a facial - if I'd wanted a massage I'd have gone for a massage. They feel like a time filler and nothing like a massage I would have. I realise I may be in the minority and the fact I'm a massage therapist may influence me LOL - but if you have time to kill while doing a facial, maybe offering an alternative to a hand/foot/back massage would be an idea.

I little small talk I'm fine with, but don't want a therapist to talk too much - although explaining what they are doing (and why) as they do it is a plus - particularly when it's your first time with them.

It's important to give aftercare and suggestions for products, but the hard sell is a real negative. I think the product should sell itself, and again, the only products I have ever bought after a facial (and gone back to buy more at a later date) are Decleor - so I really think the product is key.

Oh - and the best facial I had also included the worst massage I have had - it really irritated me - it was a sequence of movements, sometimes not enough pressure, skipping over bits that they shouldn't have etc - so really, not a massage at all and I would have been happier if the therapist had just left me to relax while she went off and did something else. I would love to go back and have more from someone using Decleor, the results were fantastic, but without the massage.
 
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Thanks for all your comments and Victorias photo, perhaps I could borrow it for some of my promotional material :biggrin::lol:

Very interesting to hear about some of you preferring the products to be applied cold. I guess its because I always like to be warm and hate the cold that I hadn't even considered some clients might prefer that, I will be asking my clients in future if they have a preference !

Talking is something else that baffles me I usually chat to the client throughout the cleanse, mainly about their skin and the facial - unless they clearly don't want to talk but I always stop when I get to the massage and for the rest of the facial, unless they want to talk.

Jcpark, is it any particular part of the massage that bothers you ? Shoulders, scalp etc ? Facial massage should be one of the key elements of a facial, not just because of the relaxation but also because of the benefits.
 
I also always find it difficult to relax when having a facial, especially when it comes to the massage, but again that is because I am also a massage therapist and find it hard to switch off.

My absolute detests would be someone smelling of smoke or chewing followed by talking too much or making a load of noise and nails which are too long.

I also don't want to be wrapped up too tightly, not just the fact its Florida and roasting but I am a bit claustrophobic and when I am wrapped up and have hot towels on I try not to think about it and just enjoy the treatment.
 
Jcpark, is it any particular part of the massage that bothers you ? Shoulders, scalp etc ? Facial massage should be one of the key elements of a facial, not just because of the relaxation but also because of the benefits.

Can quite understand that facial massage would be part of a facial, but not the back massage I got, or massage elsewhere. In part, and probably because I'm a massage therapist, I know what a massage should feel like and I find just going through a routine rather irritating rather than relaxing. Also, perhaps I'm a purists LOL, but if I go for a facial, that's what I want - a treatment for facial skin. The rest seems to be superfluous to pad the treatment out rather than benefit the treatment. The one I mentioned, wasn't cheap - £75 about 5 years ago. The results were excellent, but I would have been happier without the massage which spoiled it.

Not meant to be a criticism, and it won't appeal to everyone, but just another client pov :) Was it Matt that said he had built his clientele on results rather than the pampering? He would be my ideal therapist.
 
One thing I hate about facials is when they end :(
 
When I do my facials before I start I explain to the client what the facial involves and then ask them if there is anything that I have said that they would prefer I didn't do. I also do a lot of massage and the massage side of the facial really benefits people as a lot of the problems that we are seeing on people's skin today such as adult acne can be caused by stress and massage is a fantastic stress reliever along with all the other benefits it has, skin that's had a good facial massage looks radiant and lifted along with good products of course x
 
Not meant to be a criticism, and it won't appeal to everyone, but just another client pov :) Was it Matt that said he had built his clientele on results rather than the pampering? He would be my ideal therapist.

Yeah!
Ive always had a vision of what I wanted to do before I even started college, and that was to provide treatments that addressed skin issues for what they were and carry them out in a more clinical way than holistic.

My room has a clinical edge but is still warm so to not alienate clients which want a different service. I dont work in dim lighting or by candle light, The only time I dim thelights is at massage stage when I dont talk, and I have blue led mood lighting which fills the room and looks amazing!
I do talk through the other stages of treatment; not chit chat but about their skin, what im doing and what they need to do. So rather more giving education than banter.
So that is my way and my positioning.

I carry out a full and indepth consultation about their skin and creating the consultation form myself, I have questions I ask about if they want background music or if they wish me to talk through the stages of treatment, or if they just want quiet unless necessary.

I do offer a relaxing treatment which is more about the relaxation and dim lighting and I do provide that if a client so wishes.

So I do my treatments a bit differently from the norm, but do accomodate my clients wishes too
 

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