We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Janina Loos. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Janina below.

Janina, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?

Not a particular one, but the clients that I have really touched their lives. The ones who come in feeling anxious about their skin, the ones who lack confidence in their appearance, the ones who just want to get ride of their acne. Those are the ones that message me on a random Friday and tell me they went outside without makeup on for the first time in years because they felt comfortable in their skin finally. The ones that tell me that they didn’t have a breakdown at the site of a new pimple forming. The ones who felt like princesses on their wedding day because their makeup glided over their skin like butter. The ones who have gained confidence from just letting me take care of them. The ones who look forward to their facials every time because they love just getting to spend an hour being taken care of and yapping like friends.

It’s the small things that tug at my heart and make me really love my job. I love helping people, watching them grow and thrive. It’s truly an honor.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hey! I’m Janina, I’m a Licensed Master Esthetician in Seattle/Bellevue, WA. I’ve been in skincare since 2022, but I’ve been in the beauty industry for way longer.

I was always an artsy kid growing up, and became one of those pre teens obsessed with makeup. Unlike most of my peers, it wasn’t just a phase, and I went down the path of becoming a professional makeup artist. I did makeup professionally for like? 7 years? I love doing makeup; I was always on forums and finding people to learn from. I’ve done weddings, special occasions, prom, editorial…I’ve dipped my toes into media and fashion shows. As a makeup artist, you pick up basic skincare tips and tricks along the way. I would pass those off to some of my clients, and a few weeks later I would receive a message saying their skin was already happier with the small changes made. I loved makeup because I adored how it boosted my clients confidence; how they really felt like themselves. I realized, if makeup can do that for a day, skincare can do that for the rest of their lives. It was a lightbulb moment, and I knew I should go into skincare as a career.

After the worst of the pandemic, I went to beauty school to learn skincare. It was the best decision of my life. I’ve never been good with academics, but I really thrived at beauty school. I soaked up everything. It felt good being at the top of my class.

Fast forward half a year, and I started working at medical spa in Seattle. It’s funny, because the listing for the job asked for senior estheticians only, but I applied anyways because #yolo lol. To be fair, I had a pretty decorated resume (bachelor’s degree in communications, prior customer and client service experience, just to name a few). And I got the job. I learned a TON being at that spa, and I’m eternally grateful for that opportunity I had, especially as someone straight out of school. My top services were chemical peels, facials, and microneedling. I also learned a lot about laser hair removal. Unfortunately, I got let go in the spring of 2024. That really messed with me; because I really thought that spa was my dream job. But little did I know, that around the corner was an opportunity for me that allowed so much more growth for me.

I now work at a spa that has allowed me to grow into a corrective skincare specialist. I want to help you find the root cause of your acne, take care of it, and help you with the scarring and hyperpigmentation left over. I want to help you lessen and control your melasma to the best of our abilities. Let me help you turn back the hand of time on your face; lessening fine lines and tightening the skin. Oh, and also I do laser hair removal, which I adore doing.

What makes me different from any of the other wonderful estheticians out there? Attention to detail and gassing you up. I truly want each and every client to feel like they are being taken care of; that they can just trust me and know that things will be okay. Aesthetics is a very personal thing. It can be a sensitive subject. With me, you are safe; I’m going to take care of you, and I’m going to do everything I can in my power to make you even more gorgeous than you already are.

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

Absolutely. Beauty, even if it wasn’t a career, is still a big passion of mine. I’m a huge nerd when it comes to beauty history, and skincare added the science element to that. Working in beauty, especially skincare, has been the best decision I’ve ever made with my life. It truly fills my cup and gives my life meaning.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Network. Network, network, network. Meet people. Which is so difficult for me as an introvert, but it’s so important. Learn from your peers. Community is how we grow together as an industry. Someone once told me something along the lines of “sit me at the table with people doing better than me so I can learn”.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @skin.by.janina
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janinaloos/