Inside the TSC online skin series
Whenever I find myself in a predicament there are a few things that happen. I get upset, I feel helpless, and then I get to work. Today, I'm going to go through the roadblock that motivated me to create the TSC Skin Series. I'm also going to walk you through exactly the who, what, when, where, and why of this program so you can feel supported while you achieve your best skin and your best self. This program helps turn your skincare into your self-care plus so much more.
When I first started Therapeutic Skin Coach, I decided that I would do things a little differently than what I was taught to do in my previous spa jobs. Part of what I didn’t like was that my communication with clients between visits was forbidden and the amount of time I had to communicate my suggestions was very short. I would get 5 to 15 minutes to explain everything I was seeing and what I would want my clients to do in between sessions. The block in communication always frustrated me so I took it as an opportunity to go above and beyond for my clients when I started my own practice. I would send 7-10 page google docs with suggestions that range from self-care suggestions, how to better organize their care, and links to product suggestions and how to use them. It felt so good constructing all of this for each individual because it meant that I could help them with their accountability in between sessions and they could have notes to refer back to. After a facial, you don’t want to try to focus on remembering each detail we talked about - you want to go home and melt into a deep relaxing sleep.
In action screen shot from our videographer!
In the last quarter of 2017, I found myself getting an influx of new clients every week that I couldn’t keep up with the demand. Each new client’s consult information would take me up to 2-3 hours sometimes because I would write my notes from scratch. At one point, I realized that because I’m writing this over and over again I could save a few template answers and customize accordingly. Well, that didn’t work either. I made mistakes by editing some of the template answers incorrectly and got called out quickly. One person thought that I literally copied and pasting feedback from a consultation I wrote for her on Christmas eve, but in all honesty, it was just a lot to keep up with - I made a mistake in addressing their profession and there went all my credibility. I felt like I had worked so hard to create this type of care that it was becoming an expectation from all new clients but it was stressing me the fuck out as well. I decided to shift things a little bit once I hired some help and they realized how unsustainable that practice was for me as well. That’s when the idea for the Therapeutic Skin Coach program came to me.
What if I just wrote out a program that helped people tune into their skin in the way I teach my clients to? Instead of just writing individual suggestions, I turned this into an outline of why each consultation question I ask connects to your skin’s long-term health. I spent the last two months creating this program with a lot of Moon Juice brain dust, asking favors from friends, and practically becoming a coder to figure out how to create this for all of you.
But I’m so fortunate that I have because I’m SO HAPPY AND PROUD of the end product.
The program is broken down into a 7 part video series that includes:
Intention setting for your skin
Skincare Rituals
Discovering how your ancestry attributes to your skin
Supporting your atmosphere for optimal skin health
Stress Management Techniques for full mind, body, spirit support
Immunity and Nourishment
Rest and Movement
Self Check-in
I filmed the video series with Point + Shoot co. which is a company that is founded by my client, friend, and fellow Canadian entrepreneur, Joanna Gryfe. Without her production background and incredible eye for detail and aesthetics, I’m not sure I would have been able to pull this off. I was ELATED to find out that Joanna knew a fellow friend, Amelia Damplo, who she enlisted to do our videography, sound-mixing, and editing. You may have recognized some of Amelia’s work in Free+Native’s Formula and Magnetism video series. This was my freakin' dream team and once you see the videos, you’ll understand why. So once I got all the videos and the writing done, it was time to put it all together so I created some actionable steps with downloadable worksheets prompted with daily email check-ins to help keep you supported, encouraged, and educated.
Amelia, myself, and Jo!
I also created my first ever cleansing audio meditation to help walk you through your cleansing routine with a supported intention of self-love! Each part of this program is meant to help you understand how your individuality is to be celebrated. I’ve spent too many years watching people fall backward with their skin health because they can’t find the right tool or product to give them the quick fix they think they need. It’s not about a quick fix, it’s about determining what your skin is communicating to you and how to listen in.
I’ve spent my whole adult life working on every type of person. My first job exposed me to treat the widest variety of clientele since my boss was a wig master. I worked on cancer patients in remission, clients with trichotillomania, transgender individuals during transitions from male to female and transition from female to male. I also worked with many different ethnicities, multiracial persons, pregnant and postpartum mothers, teenagers, and everything else in between. Where it all starts with our intention, a proper education on how skin works, and support. If you address per condition or type, you're excluding all the other important factors that create your unique DNA. We can't be boxed in when it comes to our skincare because we're all way too different for that.
Soon after I finished the program, or at least putting the finishing touches on it, my grandmother passed away. She had struggled with Alzheimer's disease for a very long time and it was one of the most painful things to happen to our family. Once a powerful matriarch, she was left disconnected from herself in a body that deteriorated painfully slow. After she passed, I became filled with the usual agony that grief has on a person (especially on an empath like myself), that I decided to take this as an opportunity to practice what I preach. I gave myself a few days off, practiced endless self-care and self-compassion, and found the good parts of myself again. It inspired me to see beyond the initial reasons as to why I created this program, which was of convenience and to reach a broader audience. I realized that this program may actually help someone understand their bodies communication better in order to help prevent potential issues in the future. When we deal with chronic inflammation, our body starts to break down the areas we have unintentionally or intentionally ignored for a long time. Your skin is a huge portal to your internal health and if I can teach someone what that communication means in a loving, self-accepting way - perhaps all of this could have been worth it after all. I decided that creating this program will have to go beyond all of that so 10% of the proceeds will be donated to Alzheimer’s Association in dedication to my grandmother and my husband’s grandmother who has also been diagnosed with the disease for 10+ years now.
I hope this series helps you, inspires you, acknowledges you, and finally gives you the answers you’ve been seeking with your skin. You will not find any shameful language like should-ing you in believing that you aren’t doing enough. You’re doing so much and I’m so excited for you to be able to properly channel all of your efforts now. The core of this is based in total self-acceptance. The bonus is that you also get a crazy amount of resources including my skincare suggestions, how-tos, step by step guides, worksheets, and so much more. I can’t wait to hear your feedback and to create more programs for you soon. I'm in total gratitude to all of you for your endless support to make this happen!
xo - Hayley
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