We were lucky to catch up with Shelby Creech recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shelby , appreciate you joining us today. Over the course of your career, have you seen or experienced your field completely flip-flop or change course on something?

In 2013, at the age of eighteen, I made such a life changing decisions by choosing esthetics as a career path. Within the last decade, I have been a service provider, a leader, educator to my teams and so much more. I took some time to help develop and grow those around me for a few years before Opening Ginger Root Beauty in 2022. To my surprise, the whole industry had changed.

Esthetic is EVERYWHERE! Social media at an all time high for us in the beauty industry. Filled with trending skincare tips, new brands popping up every other week and influencers telling everyone what products to use and treatments to do at home.

Now, don’t get me wrong, some of these influencer have great backgrounds and know what they’re talking about but we’re told to not trust everything see or hear on the internet for a reason. But this didn’t stop me from doubting my own education and experience in this new reality of the beauty industry.

“ Wait, that’s good for your skin? Maybe I missed something while I stopped giving services “

“ Is she right about that? I need to double check. “

“ They wouldn’t be giving out this advice if they weren’t sure. Maybe I just don’t know as much as I thought “

“ Why am I not getting engagement the same way ? Maybe I’m not good at this anymore. “

These are some of the questions that would pop up in my head while seeing videos and information on social media. I don’t think I’ve ever doubted myself so much in this industry before social media became such a huge platform for the success of your business.

This U-turn in the beauty industry has taught me to stay confident, never stop learning and most importantly to build authentic connections. In this age of social media , we try so hard to get likes, views, engagement, to be trending, that we can lose sight of our real goals.
For me, I strive to provide easy to understand information to all my clients while maintaining a safe space to nourish your mind, skin and soul.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Shelby and I’ve been an esthetician since 2013. I studied at the Aveda institute in Seattle and completely fell in love with holistic esthetics and continue this in my practice now.

I opened Ginger Root Beauty Boutique, a small ( for now ) holistic esthetic practice and boutique, nourishing the mind, skin and soul one guest at a time.

I am a 30 year old, mother of 3 so this career decision didn’t come lightly with our already demanding schedule. Being able to help those who struggle to feel confident is what I strive to do on daily basis. Creating a space like Ginger Root where you can come in vulnerable and leave feeling a little more confident with each visit has elevated my passion for helping other more than I’ve ever expected.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Being in the Beauty Industry, Esthetics specifically , can be challenging for many reasons but showing up as your most authentic self will always get you to where you need to be. With Esthetics being so popular, it is heavily saturated and can be a challenge building your brand and clientele when there are so many options to choose from. I am building my business from the ground up. Starting with zero clients, only personal funding and no background in business other than managing a salon/spa .What I lack in these areas, I make up for with authenticity, ambition and an amazing support system.

When I first started Ginger Root, I was looking at other spas and Estheticians to guide myself in a direction for branding my business. I saw how successful they were and thought I would just follow their lead and the same success will happen for me. But that made me just like any other Esthetician with nothing to set me apart . I needed to go deeper, get back to the roots of why I fell in love with esthetic and what I wanted to provide to my community.

My first step, stop waxing, something I ABSOLUTELY HATE. Then found my passion ( my niche ), Holistic/ Natural skincare treatments. I went on to showcase that my space was safe for all bodies to show up as they are and become vulnerable together.
It can be intimidating walking into to spa room, not knowing if a gown will fit, how much to dress down, questioning if the Esthetician will judge your body/skin.Opening up to someone you may not know well about your insecurities is not an easy thing to do. I show my clients I am just like them, not perfect. I have insecurities that I showcase to help us all remember, its normal. Stepping into my authentic self has been the most helpful for succeeding in this industry.

Being able to provide such a unique experience to my West Seattle Community has brought so much joy to my life. Creating this Authentic space has helped me build meaningful connections and friendships I would not have found if I had kept down the path of being like everyone else.

Be Authentic, don’t be afraid to show up completely as you are, because when you do, you will attract the most rewarding connections and friendships.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

I went to school for Esthetics right out of high school. I remember worrying about what everyone else would think of this career path, like it wasn’t something to be proud of or bragged about. There were other career paths I considered that would get me that wow factor with my family and friends but I knew deep down what I really wanted to do and I needed to make myself happy.

I went into this field to become a makeup artist, to learn about the skin before applying make up but the passion I felt when I was able to help clients with their skin issues was unmatched. I completely fell in love with skincare. Being able to help someone feel confident in their skin, hold their head high and bust out of their shell all because I was able to help take care of their skin properly was a high I had never felt before.

I have been in the Beauty Industry as an esthetician for over a decade now, and although I’ve wondered what life would have been like if I decided otherwise, I would choose this career path every time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gingerrootbeautyboutique.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Gingerrootbeautyboutique
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/GInger Root

Image Credits

Naomi with Naophotos
Instagram:Nao_Photos_PNW