The Integrative Dermatology and Esthetics Symposium in Tucson, Arizona 2022 presented by Learn Skin and sponsors by Shirley Avila-Dreyfus

The Integrative Dermatology Symposium is in its fifth year and this year for the 2022 lectures, they allowed estheticians into the mix, and I am grateful to be one of the first 120 to attend on XO8 Cosmeceutical’s behalf. Learn Skin is an online educational course designed for both students and esthetician’s who want to learn a more holistic and integrative approach to dermatology and esthetics. The course is designed to teach the ayurvedic technique, self-care for the practitioner and have special guest lectures once a month for students to enjoy as part of the curriculum. Learn Skin also has a podcast run by two board certified dermatologists who practice integrative medicine on their own patients, the podcast is called Learn Skin with Dr. Raja and Dr. Hadar. If you would like to listen to their guest speakers, search wherever you listen to your podcasts, every Thursday for live talks or catch the more than one hundred recorded episodes.

To put this symposium in context, The Integrative Esthetician Track was held at the beautiful Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson Arizona on Sunday, October 2 and boy oh boy, this place did not disappoint! Gorgeous is an understatement with the breath-taking Arizona Canyon views, hiking trails and delicious food! The ticket included both a breakfast and lunch which were both filled with nutrient rich offerings. If you were lucky enough to get there a day early, then you were also invited to the meet and mingle cocktail hour which was jam packed! I am so very happy I was able to connect with so many like-minded, and well-established estheticians who know and love our XO8 brand! From chatting it up with Aliesh Piece of AskAliesh Skincare and Education, a board member and educator on Learn Skin, to finally meeting in-person an educator I have followed for a long time, Ms. Pamela Springer, of Pamela Springer Skincare, who teaches how to safely peel our African American brothers and sisters. It was a pleasure meeting board member Cathy Favelle who is a yoga and movement instructor, Reiki practitioner and Integrative esthetician. Her talk on “Self Care Strategies and Rollief for Practitioners” was awesome and very interactive, as she made the whole room get up and move! As estheticians, we must practice what we preach and hold ourselves to a higher standard of self-love and self-care. It is okay to take a mental health break for yourself as you cannot serve from an empty cup.

I met and totally fan-girled Dr. Raja, board member and board-certified dermatologist who wants to bridge the gap between the doctors in practice and estheticians, who he believes can help each other with their mutual patients/clients. He believes we can all work together for the better skin health of the client who comes in to see us. Not everyone needs to be on medication, and we as estheticians cannot help all clients who come in to see us. We need to know when to refer out to a specialist who can assist when we cannot achieve the desired results the client is looking for. This brings me to our first speaker, Kiran Krishnan of Microbiome Labs, who developed and talked about “Oral Spore-Based Probiotics in Non-Cystic Acne Vulgaris”, although the information was very eye-opening, we must remember as estheticians, we cannot recommend any supplements to our own clientele, unless you are also a certified dietician or certified nutritional specialist. If you work in a dermatology office, then the medical professional can jump in to do that for you. That being said, the research done at Microbiome Labs was that 94% of the case study who was suffering with Acne grades II, and III tested positive for H. Pylori and, or Candida strains, proving that, yes, most of the time our clients are what they eat or absorb. So if you are treating a client in your facial room who you cannot seem to clear up, have them go get their gut checked by a dermatologist or medical doctor, there are tests out there that can tell what if anything is going on in the gut. Once they have been cleared to go back and see you by the treating doctor, I believe your client will thank you for caring enough to not give false expectations with what you can do in the treatment room.

The speaker was Jennifer Fugo, MS, CNS, LDN gave a talk on “Is Your Client’s Diet a Healthy Skin Dealbreaker” Sometimes as skincare experts we may over step our license and want to make recommendations we should not be making as a licensed esthetician; we can however ask our clients to keep a food journal or to keep a “diet log” to go over with you so both of you know when a certain food or beverage is making the client have a flareup.

While having your clients keep a food journal can be very helpful in their treatment, this practice should NOT be used for clients with eating disorders such as Bulimia and or Anorexia Nervosa as it may exasperate the problem.

Be aware that you should not be asking any client that has been diagnosed with a food disorder to keep a food journal such You could open yourself to litigation by giving advice on nutrition as that is considered the practice of medicine. Do we want to help our clients? Yes, absolutely but should we be making supplemental recommendations, no as the laws are clear. Let’s refer out to a medical professional when we cannot make a recommendation to our clientele. We must take into consideration where they live, the season we are in at the time of the flareup as well, so chart and keep great notes to review together. There are many skincare lines out on the market right now that also have supplements that they want you as the skincare professional to recommend to your clients. In case it is not clear, estheticians may not distribute these supplements on their own without the supervision of a dermatologist or certified nutritional dietician. If you already have supplements in you treatment room, reach out to your liability insurance company for advice.

Although you cannot make any supplemental recommendations, you can talk about food in general and what it is, are apples healthier to eat, than let’s say a bag of chips, yes! Is having a glass of water better for you than a can of soda pop, yes! Real food, versus processed foods. And, again, talk to them about having a food journal for skin health. If you would like to listen to Jennifer’s podcast: www.healthyskinshow.com

Our next speaker was Sandra Lanshin Chiu, Lac, MSTCM gave a lecture on “Understanding Gua Sha as a TCM Practice” which was again very eye opening to say the least! We cannot say we are giving a Gua Sha Facial to a client that will help the Lymphatic System without being trained by a certified Gua Sha Instructor with four years of education on the subject. As she pointed out, Gua Sha massage when done in the truest form will bring out the Sha, which in Chinese medicine is the disease or “bad energy” coming out. The Sha, when done correctly cause bruising and petechiae which helps to relieve muscle pain. Can Gua Sha help with Lymphatic drainage? Yes! should we be saying it is a Lymphatic Drainage Massage? No, not unless you have been certified in Lymphatic Drainage Massage in your state. Sandra says you can still use the tools in the treatment room to give a great facial but be careful with wording and be trained on how to use them. Chinese medical theory underlies the principles of Gua Sha, the Ying Yang theory, the Zang-Fu theory, and Cou-Li principles. Facial Gua Sha can absolutely be done in a slower, gentle form where you will avoid the expression of Sha and stimulate the acupressure points and channels. To learn more about how to perform a Gua Sha facial massage, please visit YouTube: Treatment by Lanshin

In one day, I learned so much information that my mind was blown! I felt a sense of belonging and loved being surrounded by such amazing people who love esthetics as much as I do. I was able to connect with skincare nerds like myself who love aromatherapy like Kaelin Jutras from Herbal Skin Solutions, her herbal waters smell amazing! It was an honor to know that she likes and follows me on my social media platforms. I sat at the table with Dave Waggoner, Director of Education for Lira Skincare! It’s nice to be around people who want to learn, who want to better themselves and even though they have been in the industry for years do not think they know it all.  There were estheticians who traveled from all around the country to be there and partake in the learning and networking. I met up with friends from Texas (La Teisha D. Johnson, multi award winning esthetician), Washington (my friend and the Event Director, Richard Merrill, LE., owner of Richard Merrill Consulting) it’s always nice to connect and get a great big hug from you! Chicago, California, and Arizona (Angel Flenner, Hale & Hush Educator, and my friend) Moto Kinjo, LE and Educator at Imaj Institute of Scottsdale and the face behind MECA, which I attended in April. I also met some gals from Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Everyone was there because they know as estheticians, we never stop learning; investing in our education is showing our clients just how much we care about them. I am excited to see what 2023 has in store for us and have already purchased my ticket to attend in Reno, Nevada! I cannot wait to see what will be inside the swag bag, as this year’s bag, did not disappoint! I brought home a cute little plush hair follicle toy, aka: Folly Jolly who proudly sits in my treatment room waiting to share his knowledge with anyone who wants it. If you are interested in attending the 2023 Integrative Esthetic Symposium, please visit www.learnskin.com