February see us return to Marie Walsh Beauty Salon in Drogheda for this month Juliette Armand ‘Therapist of the Month’.  Local girl Natasha Jennings tells us a bit about her passion. 

Where did you train as a Beauty Therapist?

Drogheda Institute of Further Education, Drogheda, Co. Louth

Did you always want to become a Beauty Therapist?

From a young age I always interested in it. I did change my mind around teenage years and studied civil engineering. Halfway through the course I realised beauty is really what I wanted to do again!

What do you enjoy most about being a Therapist?

Making people feel good and meeting so many new people within the day 

What’s the most important thing about working as a Therapist to you?

A client’s care and a client building up confidence and trust in you to advice on the right skincare that would be beneficial to them, and for them to also gain confidence in themselves.

What is your favorite Juliette Armand treatment to give?

Thavma Facial

Which Juliette Armand treatment do you wish that you would receive and why? 

Optic eye treatment – I’ve always been very conscious of the eye area. living in the sun it has come quite dehydrated and lines appear quite quickly

 What separates your Salon from others? 

At Marie Walsh beauty we excel in customer service. Our clients are our number 1 priority. We build up a good clientele with everyone’s treatment personalised for their need. Clients in our salon are not just numbers walking through the door, there our family. We offer the best product range that clients can see a difference before leaving the salon.

What is your favorite Juliette Armand product and why?

Hyaluronic Acid – it offers me relief from tightness straight away. The texture is soft and dries in very quick

What is the best comment that you have heard a customer exclaim after a Juliette Armand treatment?

Every client’s first word “wow”!!! “What an amazing product, the difference around my eyes (eye cream) I wasn’t expecting that.” “That is a miracle cream” “can I have a dozen please”

Thank you Natasha for taking the time to answer these questions, we love your client comments.

Cleansers are important as they are the first step to a great skincare regime. Firstly it removes makeup, dirt, oil and SPF so the skin is left clean. Also throughout the day, our skin becomes oily, dirty and pollution causes it to age. When we cleanse our skin, we allow our other products to penetrate properly.

What is a cleansers job? Cleansers have many roles. It really depends on what type you purchase. The main thing a cleanser does is clean the skin. Cleansers come in different textures and can be characterised for different skin types. Some cleansers are stronger than others. At the end of the day, cleansing your skin will make you younger looking and fresh, prevent breakouts and blackheads from trapped dirt and prevent dehydration to the skin.

What type of cleansers are there? There are many types of cleansers; the most known ones are a foam wash, milk cream, gel, water based and soapy. Everyone has a preference to what they enjoy but also our skin type/condition will direct us to a more suitable cleanser. Milky cleansers are generally for dry/aging skin, foam washes are great for oily/acne skin, gel cleansers are soothing for sensitive skin and micellar water is for all skins.

At what stage in your skin routine should you add a cleanser? A cleanser is the very first product that should touch your face in the morning because at night we can produce excess oil on our skin and dirt from our pillowcase may rub off our skin. By cleansing, we are preparing our skin for the serum and moisturising stage. There is nothing nice about layering our skin with products onto makeup and dirt. We would looks dirty and wrinkles form very quickly because they skin cannot renew at night, hence why we cleanse at night before bed. Our skin needs time to breathe and renew at night so we cleanse away the daily pollution.

How can you pick the right cleanser for your client? The reason there is more than just one cleanser out there is because we all have different skin to one another. Someone suffering from acne breakouts will need a different cleanser to someone with very dry skin. This is because the ingredients are designed to help that pacific skin type and the PH may be different to. As I mentioned before, everyone does have their preference to what texture they use on their skin so it is important to ask and lastly it all depends on how much time a client has to dedicate to a good cleansing regime, perhaps all they have time for is a foam wash to use in the shower!

Are there any dangers to watch out for when using a cleanser? The main dangers would be ingredients and whether or not they are going to cause more aging to the skin, some cleansers are known to strip the skin off it’s natural oil and water. Sometimes cleansers have added AHAs that exfoliate the skin and they also use an exfoliator so they can over do it. A cleanser should also be used maximum twice a day.

How best can you retail cleansers in your salon? Educating the client on the importants of a cleanser is a must. We know it’s the first part of a skincare regime it would be like going for a jog but doing no stretches beforehand! Clients need to bin the wipes and the soap as these cause havoc to the skin and cause premature aging. By continuously drying out the skin, it would make the skin over produce in oil to compensate. A cleanser recommended for the right skin type will improve the skin enormously and the client will see the changes as well.

Delighted to announce some of this blog was included in March 2016 Irish Beauty ‘cleanse away the day’ feature – well done Clare