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We have many clients who come to their skin care consultant with similar situations;

“My skin is so dry from the salicylic face wash I use to control my acne. I started using this rich moisturizer to ease the discomfort but now I have even more breakouts. Help!”

Analyze: It looks like your salicylic face wash isn't balancing your pH. It has the active ingredients causing the dryness but isn't allowing your skin to absorb other products. This could be why your breaking out more. The moisturizer is sitting on your skin and clogging your pores. The moisturizer also has a strong fragrance listed in the ingredients. Fragrance can be very irritating to the skin.

“I have oily skin. I want to start using sunscreen because it helps with anti-aging but all the products I’ve tried have turned my face into a grease ball. I’m so frustrated.”

Analyze: You just haven't found the best one for you yet! Let's switch you to a weightless or oil free sunscreen. If you were using a chemical sunscreen before how about we try a physical sunscreen? It is less likely to clog pores that can aid in oil production.

“I finally got the eye cream my friends have been hyping up. I’ve been using it for 3 months now and I haven’t seen any improvement. What am I doing wrong?”

Analyze: When do you apply the eye cream and how? It's very important that you apply it right before sunscreen in the morning and as your last step at night. You should apply it along your eye avoiding your eyelids. Let's take a look at the ingredients in the product. If it does not have high levels of active ingredients it won't do much good for the deeper fine lines around your eyes. 

"I read that you can't use retinol and gycolic together. I have really large pores and oily skin. What can I do?"

Analyze: Actually, you can use these two together! You can start with the gycolic acid and we will monitor your sensitivity. Once your skin can tolerate it we can add in the retinol slowly and work our way up. This combination will help reduce the appearance of pores and manage your oil production. 

They are trying to be proactive in taking care of their skin but they just need guidance to find the right products that will target their concerns effectively without causing more trouble.

Skin care consultants help you understand your skin through all it's stages.

"This process takes time because you and the consultant work together to really get to know your skin and understand the products that work for you as well as the products that don't." says Chanjuan Yang CEO of Aphrodite's Secret and Licensed Esthetician. 

The truth is our skin, like the rest of our body, changes with age. The product your skin might have loved a month ago could now be the same reason your skin is dry and textured the next month. Skin typing is not as black and white as it seems.

What are the benefits?

The immediate benefits are huge

1. Save Money: I know what your thinking, how is spending money on an additional service saving money? Imagine spending that same amount of money on a product that ends up showing no improvement. Now your tempted to throw it away. When you work with a consultant you avoid accumulating expensive product you don't need.
2. Documentation: Do you remember what your skincare routine was 8 months ago? Probably not, but we do. Consultants use a unique tracking system so your regimen is always fresh and custom to your current skincare needs. You never have to worry about using a product with the same ingredients that broke your skin out the last time.
3. Focus on whats Important: Many times when you try to treat your skin at home it can become worse. This can come from a number of problems but most times it comes from incorrectly diagnosing the problem. Consultants are specially trained to analyze skin conditions and design the correct plan to treat your skin the right way. 
4. Well of knowledge: Its hard to get answers through the internet, there are so many different opinions out there! Having an skin care expert at your side shouldn't be taken for granted. We are here to inform you on all the tricks and tips to help improve your skin, especially when it comes to Medical-grade skin care.

By going to a professional and having your skin examined an esthetician will help you identify your correct skin type and will go over all the concerns you have and can help safety treat those conditions. They will go into great depth in getting to know you and your skin goals, how dedicated you are to achieve the skin you desire and whether certain skin goals are realistic for you. 

Your skin should always be examined before a product is recommended. Why is this important? Well without a thorough examination how can someone properly recommend the right product? When this happens often the recommendation is coming to you from a place of guessing (this product worked for me so it should work for you too, right?), or perhaps the sale associates are told to push certain products at the shop or simply because it’s the one that costs the most. 

This method can be damaging to your skin because you are not properly addressing the problem. When you are paired with a skin care consultant the skin analysis tells the consultant everything, they need to know about you and what the best plan of action is to treat your skin. For example, you might have many breakouts and to you, that would be your biggest concern. However, your consultant has done their research and noticed your skin is also very red and sensitive. They might want to begin your regimen with something very gentle and hydrating first. This plan is meant to heal the irritated skin first, it might not combat your acne, but it will sooth your skin and build up its tolerance. Once the consultant is satisfied with your improvement then they will switch gears and target your acne safely without damaging your skin.

The Esthetician will be able to explain what they recommend and more importantly WHY they are recommending this product to you. They should be able to go into detail why this specific product will work. Telling you why certain active ingredients are important to your skin care routine, why they may recommend a procedure instead of a cream or why one product will not work with your skin type but if you switch over to this new product this is exactly why it will work. Good estheticians will never give you more than your skin can handle and will try to keep your regimen as simple as possible. 

A very crucial point in a skincare consultation is the follow up. That’s right, at Aphrodite’s Secret the consultation doesn’t necessarily have to end when you walk out of the door with a product. Monthly checkups with your skin care expert are the driving force down the road of healthy skin. During these short 15-minute sessions your consultant will review your product regimen, product usage, and skin improvement. If any changes need to be made your consultant will help. We never give you more product than you need and everything in your arsenal has a purpose.

We as a company have asked ourselves a million times, should we increase the sales and just do the consultations free? We could increase sales by just giving our clients remade kits but our CEO chooses quality service over quantity of sales. People come to us for results, and in order to get the best improvement from your skin we spend time to research your skin and the best ingredients for you. We try our best to still give you tips from our blogs but if you qualify for monthly consultations, we strongly recommend them. 

Last but not least

We can help you create the type of look you want. Here at Aphrodite's Secret not only do we care about the health of your skin but also care about the cosmetics you're using and whether or not you know how to put a ‘look’ together. By coming to Aphrodite's Secret we can direct you in how to care for your skin properly and show you how to do a natural make up look or if you’re not sure how to do your make up for date night we can help with that too! More to come on our cosmetic offerings!

 What's holding you back from getting your first skin consultation?