Face & Body Northern California 2023 took place on August 20-21, 2023, at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento, California. The event featured the latest and greatest in skin care, spa and wellness and medical aesthetics, with loads of advanced education on spa management, skin science, treatments, wellness and much more.
The business track featured six advanced education sessions ranging from spa management to sustainability and much more!
If you weren't able to make it to the business education sessions, here's what you missed!
Related: [How-To] Best Practices for Acne Extractions
1. The Importance of Diversifying Your Business
Bianca Edwards, founder of Beauty EQ, kicked off the business education sessions with an in-depth look at how you can work toward diversifying your business and what that really looks like in the treatment room and beyond. Edwards' goal was to empower all beauty professionals so that they feel confident with treating a wider range of skin types, and this class set attendees in the right direction to do just that.
Edwards spoke about the difference between inclusivity and diversity and the lack of education in esthetic schools about skin of color, citing a survey where 75% of estheticians said they were not comfortable treating skin of color. Edwards suggested that it only takes one good employee to reach out to clients of color and retain their services and that understanding and appreciating other cultures is a bridge builder to connecting with clients.
2. You're Unique! But Do Your Clients Know This?
Drew Coleman, VP of Sales and Education at DMK International, discussed finding competitive advantages and ways to help your business stand out. Coleman delivered an interactive session, asking attendees to share what makes their company great and what makes their competitors great to help find room for opportunity. He challenged the audience to discover what their business can be the first about and the best about. Some suggestions include convenient locations, 24/7 booking, business experiences, awards and unique treatments. 
Drew Coleman, VP of Sales and Education at DMK International, discussed finding competitive advantages and ways to help your business stand out.
Coleman also revealed the top 5 reasons clients don't come back:
- Putting Your Needs Before Theirs
- It's Too Difficult
- You Overpromise and Underdeliver
- Lack of Strong Connection
- You Didn't Ask
3. The Microbiome of Your Spa: A Guide to Being a Successful Spa Leader
Oriana Osher, spa business consultant at True Nature Organics, finished off Day 1 with a fascinating connection between the microbiome’s challenges and how this correlates with the day-to-day operations of a thriving spa. , Osher discussed how to support your spa’s business onboarding, training, protocols, team building and more. As she pointed out, the way someone balances their skin's microbiome is very comparable to how someone keeps their work environment balanced. In both cases, the goal is to avoid toxicity.
This presentation provided a new perspective to enhance the outlook of how to create an upbeat work environment that enables the entire team to be leaders, shine bright and support one another.
Related: The Latest Treatments and Advancements with the Microbiome
4. The Future of Clean Beauty: Implementing the C.L.E.A.N Principles
Jacquelyn Rodriguez, founder and owner at The Clean Beauty Biz Method, During the session, attendees will learn about the C.L.E.A.N principles and how to apply them to their business for success. Rodriguez touched on topics such as sustainable ingredient selection, label transparency, innovation, avoidance of harmful chemicals, and nurturing sustainability. She spoke on the differences between green, clean and sustainable, as well as commonly used buzzwords in clean beauty advertisements.
According to Rodriguez, clean refers to products that are formulated with safe ingredients, while green goes beyond ingredients to encompass the broader environmental impact of the products. Sustainability extends beyond products and includes overall operations and company goals. Attendees to this session received a deep understanding of clean beauty and actionable advice for their business.
5. Top Trends in Beauty
Annet King, vice president of business development at Bio-Therapeutic, spoke on the biggest skin care trends in 2023 and beyond, covering new technology and consumer at-home skin care tools, the hottest professional-grade and botanical ingredients to be found in novel delivery systems and much more.
According to data cited by King, women are spending more time and money on skin care post-pandemic and men are growing more interested in aesthetics, they just need education and direction. So it should come as no surprise that the skin care market is expected to grow annually by more than 3% through 2028.
She helped guide attendees on what staple professional skin technology they should be using daily in their business, and how consumer technology and ingredient technology developments will impact the future of beauty. Some examples King provided include the need for virtual try-ons and skin analysis options and the emergence of ATP mitochondrial aging.
6. Marketing Methods for Beauty Professionals
Jamerie Michalek, owner, massage therapist and spa coach, presents at Face & Body 2023.
Michalek's discussion went beyond social media, but she emphasized that content can be repurposed across social media accounts and there can be too much content that leads to consumer disengagement. She suggested providing target end dates to help eliminate roadblocks and avoid burnout among their audience. Michalek also discussed how collaborations can reach new audiences and which specific advertising strategies work better for different segments within the beauty industry.
