Ask the experts

Our beauty experts answer your questions about a variety of aspects of running a salon or spa business

How can I effectively treat clients who are suffering from rosacea using LED?

Rosacea is a long-term skin condition that mainly affects the face. More common in women and people with lighter skin, it causes blushing or flushing and visible blood vessels, and may also produce small, pus-filled bumps.

Rosacea and sensitive skin are treated with blue light. Known for its anti-inflammatory effects and its skin healing abilities, blue LED has the most superficial wavelength at around 415nm. It destroys cutibacterium (formally propionibacterium, present in P.acnes) and inhibits the growth of the stratum corneum.

However, for fragile, sensitive skin, yellow LED is a treatment hero. It is one of the longer wavelengths, penetrating the skin to 590nm. This is the depth of the skin where the nerve supply and lymphocytes are, and where we’re able to treat sensitive skin most effectively.

As well as its calming and soothing action, yellow LED reduces congestion and stimulates the production of lymphocytes to remove the toxins that the blood can’t handle. It has a profound effect on the skin when treating sensitivity and rosacea.

For ultimate results, use red LED in conjunction with yellow. The benefit of this combination is to re-energise the cells, bringing better skin function. So you’re able to treat sensitivity and rosacea, while adding age-defence benefits.

To amplify the effect of LED further when treating sensitive skin and rosacea, a new generation of light-activated skincare is available. The use of light-activated colloidal silver has an antibacterial, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory effect. It’s a powerful anti-microbial against staphylococcus aureus, which is present in acne rosacea. Along with this ingredient, other calcium-rich ingredients are a must when treating rosacea.

Kirsti Shuba is the co-founder of Katherine Daniels and has over 30 years of experience in the beauty industry.

What language should I use so it’s inclusive to non-binary and trans clients?

Titles and pronouns are part of the day-to-day language we use when addressing or referring to other people. As beauty professionals, we regularly meet new customers who could be binary, non-binary (also known as enby), cis-gender or trans. Most of our booking systems ask for the name of the client, and then we all assume the person’s gender.

As a trans awareness educator, I talk about pronouns daily and see too many gender references made regularly in our industry.

Gender is a spectrum, and with 2% of the population being trans, the chances are you have met, employed or treated someone who didn’t feel comfortable sharing their gender identity.

Let’s start with the easiest step you can make in your business – sharing and asking pronouns. The ones we know are ‘he/him’ and ‘she/her’, but some people – typically those who identify as non-binary – might use ‘they/them’. Create a custom box on your online booking system with the options and include them on your consultation forms. When talking to a client on the phone, say ‘Can I ask what pronoun you use please?’. Also, add your own pronouns to your email footer, under your teams’ names on your salon website and on your business cards.

References to ‘preferred pronouns’ aren’t advisable because it infers that it’s not that person’s pronoun, just one they prefer. If someone uses multiple pronouns, they may have a preferred one, but try to avoid this.

Also, if you’re asking for titles via your booking system or when doing a mailout to clients, just make sure the gender neutral one is there. This is ‘Mx’, which is pronounced ‘mix’.

All we need to do is to respect how labels and language evolve. Times change and we need to adapt with them.

Sam Marshall is a trans awareness educator and owner of The Beauty Guru salon in Manchester in the UK.

How do I include clients living with cancer on my salon or spa menu?

As a salon or spa owner, you should decide if you want to provide specific treatments for those living with cancer. Would these clients be happy to know that you modified your services especially for them, and the side effects they are experiencing due to their medical treatmen? Or would they rather be treated the same way as other clients and not singled out because of their diagnosis?

If you do decide to provide services for clients living with cancer, and to those with a new cancer diagnosis, your salon or spa menu needs to be inclusive. It can be both educational and a sales tool, so it is important to get it right.

Use language that your clientèle will understand. For instance, those who are going through cancer treatment, along with their families, will understand the term ‘oncology’. However, others may not, and the word ‘cancer’ may be clearer.

Your menu will need to be split into two categories: basic treatments and specialised treatments. Basic treatments include regular offerings such as facials, tinting, massage, manicures and pedicures. Specialised treatments are extra services that are different to the standard offerings – for example, reiki, tattooing and oncology massage. You can also adapt your basic treatments by adding a simple line such as ‘This service may be modified for those living with cancer’.

Check cancer.ie for a full list of the various cancer awareness months, and consider doing a special offer to tie in with some of them. January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month and October is Breast Cancer Awarness Month – these are great initiatives for you and your business to support.

When a client living with cancer books a salon or spa treatment, they do so expecting to pay full price. Offering them a discount or a complimentary service can be insulting for some, as they could feel stigmatised.

On the other hand, consider that there may be cancer clients who cannot afford your services – they will not be booking appointments as they know they don’t have the financial means to pay. If you wish to offer complimentary or discounted services to these clients, it’s a good idea to reach out to cancer support groups and offer them to members.

While offering complimentary services is great for your salon or spa, it also must be strategically done as you are running a business, and you must charge for your time, expertise and expenses.

Louise O’Loughlin is the owner of Iguazu Beauty Therapy and runs Oncology Training International training courses in Ireland. For more information visit iguazubeautytherapy.com.

How do I perform semi-permanent brow treatments on skin of colour?

Semi-permanent make-up (SPMU) has been helping people enhance their natural beauty for decades, but over the past few years it has become easier for SPMU artists to specialise in melanated skin. For years, artists were told by instructors that they could not perform permanent cosmetic services on skin of colour because they believed it healed poorly on darker skin.

Fortunately, this myth has been dispelled. However, if you want to perform eyebrow processes on clients with deeper skin tones, then there are a few things you should keep in mind to ensure optimal healing.

Melanated skin tends to produce greater amounts of sebum and oil, which can encourage pigment migration, so to counteract the risk, artists should be careful not to oversaturate the skin with pigment. When too much pigment is deposited, the skin is overworked, and then brows could end up with an ashy or cool tone when healed.

Skin of colour can also have a more severe inflammatory reaction to trauma, known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), which results in skin discolouration. To minimise any risks to clients, you should not jump around or work randomly – filling in one section at a time ensures that the skin is evenly saturated and the design is preserved.

You also need to be aware of the visual cues. When working with lighter skin tones, pay attention to redness and bruising, which are signs of trauma. However, visual cues can look different when working on skin of colour, making it easy for uninformed artists to accidentally overwork the skin.

When working with melanated skin, keep an eye out for blood, swelling and excessive lymph. If you see any of these, give your client’s skin a break and then switch to a slower speed. Also, be patient and take your time as the slower pace allows the pigment to oxidise, making it easier to see the level of saturation. If you work aggressively, it can result in hypopigmentation – loss of skin colour due to trauma.

When performing the hair stroke technique, keep ample space between each stroke until the skin is healed. At that point, you can see which lines should be added during the follow-up appointment to complete the design. The best eyebrow techniques for skin of colour are machine stroke and powder eyebrows because they cause less trauma and allow the artist to increase definition. Microblading is not recommended on melanin-rich skin since it is more likely to scar, discolour or result in keloid scarring.

Dior Davenport is co-founder of the non-profit Black Micropigmentation Association. For more information visit blackmicropigmentationassociation.com.