Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brittney Romero. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Brittney , thanks for joining us today. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?
Getting my first esthetician position was definitely a challenge I won’t use the word struggle. My first esthetician job was at a Massage Envy Spa in the Bay Area. It was great however this location had literally just started offering facials and I was taking clients for 2 weeks before having a formal training. I really had to train myself initially on the products and protocols and spent a lot of time looking at YouTube videos for technique tips. I hit many milestones in finding myself and knowing who I wanted to be as an esthetician in this industry. I was there for about 6 months, and I enjoyed my manager and coworkers, but I knew deep down I needed more training if I wanted to become the esthetician, I envisioned myself being. Since I was fresh out of school I knew I needed a more established position. From my time there I learned how the real-world spa industry works in building clientele, maintaining those relationships, making sales, and working together as a team.
However, before landing this position, I did go on multiple terrible interviews, some of them nearly caused me to question if I even wanted to be in this industry. In no particular order let me tell you about some of them. One interview I went on I had to take a test and the test had nothing to do with skin it was a math test, a math test with fractions. Even though I have my A.S. degree in science and mathematics, fractions was never my strong suit. I basically left that interview feeling absolutely stupid. I can’t even remember how the conversation went because I was stressed about the fractions on that test.
Now for this next nightmare interview let me preface this by saying I’m originally from the Bay Area and this industry is small. I had an interview with a well-known small business, and I had already known of the owner from seeing them speak at a popular Bay Area skin care trade show. This particular owner was actually a spoke person for a well-known skin care brand. I should also say this owner is a P.O.C and to my face this owner told me they didn’t think their clients would be able to relate to me because the clientele was non P.O.C. What was said to me verbatim is “My clients are a Fitzpatrick I-III, and I don’t think they can relate to you.” The owner didn’t stop there my age was asked multiple times because I looked “young”. I definitely cried after that interview and that really shook my confidence and left me entirely confused. Not to be a petty betty but that awful experience turned into a blessing in disguise because they went out of business.
The last crazy interview I want to speak about is when a doctor kept me waiting for over an hour only to tell me I had no experience, even though I had already mentioned that to the manager who scheduled me. When the doctor finally came into the room I thought they would apologize, that didn’t happen, they only decided to tell me I had no experience and to get some experience and reapply. If you haven’t guessed it finding a job in the spa industry is basically like going on a bunch of bad dates and you can’t let those bad experiences jade you. I’m happy I ended up at Massage Envy because honestly a fire and passion were lit in me and led me to where I am now, balancing teaching my hilarious gen Z future esthetician students and still being an entrepreneur. I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything because now I am able to share it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
As honored as I am to be part of this series, I am originally from the Bay Area, Vallejo to be exact. I’ve been a licensed esthetician since 2013 I have experience working in a medical spa, day spas, doing lash extensions, and teaching! Needless to say, I love this industry.
Looking back on my journey it does make me laugh because I didn’t know what an esthetician even was. Before finding my passion and my career I felt like a failure when I dropped out my dental assistant program and went through that millennial criss of feeling lost. So never did I think my esthetician journey would start from applying to a spa receptionist position, at the time I just needed and wanted a job to keep myself distracted. I don’t want to name the spa because my experience wasn’t the best, but I feel there’s always something to learn even in bad experiences. As I spoke to the estheticians on staff and actually learned about facials and the “why” behind them, I instantly fell in love, like immediately. I started researching schools and went on the cosmetology state board website to see what was required to be an esthetician. During my time as a receptionist I learned sales, I learned products, I learned the simple importance of a simple “Good Morning.” I also met some great coworkers who I still have contact with to this day. Without giving too much detail, I also learned the darker side of the spa industry and learning my boundaries. All of the lessons I learned I took with me and it just propelled me into this industry.
In the beauty industry having discipline is important because it’s not about you it’s about your client. Many people come into this industry without understanding how much science you have to learn and understand. Also not understanding the people skills you need to have and be willing to develop through trial and error. We have to learn how the body works and understand that the ingredients in the products we use are important and be able to explain this to a client. With that being said since I felt like I failed once I took my esthetics program very seriously, I treated it as a job and gave it my all, while still maintaining a job. However, I also had the added societal pressure of being an Afro Latina. I knew that in the future many rooms I stepped in I would potentially be one of one especially around that time. I know the unfortunate judgements that come with being a P.O.C and making sure it’s clear I more than belong in all spaces and can hold an intelligent conversation. I can go on and on about every single good, bad, and racist experience I’ve had in this industry. Instead, I want to say it has all helped shaped me into who I am today. I stand with confidence because of my experiences being one of one in certain spaces.
Since I’ve been in this industry for so long, I’m really proud to have been exposed to many different beauty services and skin care brands. When I made the transition to work for myself, I knew I wanted to do facials that could help all skin types and conditions especially skin of color. All the knowledge I’ve gained I use to teach my esthetics students for their future success and continue to teach my clients whether I’m applying their lash extensions or giving a facial. Whether I’m teaching or working on a client I lead with education and human connection. When it comes to my students though I also teach them to go against some of the backwards thinking in the beauty industry. There are so much misinformation and lack of understanding mostly when it comes to skin of color, so I take what I’ve learned and what the book teaches and make sure my students slowly start to feel prepared and can apply their learnings to the real world.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
100% yes, the book and Netflix series Girl Boss by Sophia Amoruso is something I highly recommend no matter your industry. While I know it could be seen as older, the book was so inspirational to me. As a millennial you might assume I grew up reading the Chicken Soup series, so I love and gravitate towards books that share stories of trials, errors, and triumphs. Even before I started my entrepreneurial journey, I found Girl Boss to be empowering for women. Sophia wrote the book in such an empowering way that made you want to get up and work hard on whatever your current path was and or is. When the series came out on Netflix I binged watched it and was rooting for the character. I love that Sophia basically showed in writing and on television that nothing worth having and building comes easy and honestly you don’t want it too.
Simply put I learned to never stop and keeping going. Those teachings I try to instill in my esthetics students as they come into their own as future professionals. Not every day is going to be easy and sometimes when things are going great you will get knocked down, but it’s the recovery, redirection, and lesson you learn that matters, not what you may see as a failure.
So go and buy the book!
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
That’s actually a great question especially when it comes to the beauty industry. I would have to say having discernment is a major key in finding and maintaining success in the beauty industry. In the beauty industry and naturally as humans it’s easy to compare your journey with someone else’s, overspend money, and feel like you have to stay in toxic work environments. So having strong discernment in this industry is important. When you practice discernment, you will look at the world through different lenses and will be able to make the best decisions for yourself. When practicing discernment, discipline will also naturally start to build as well, together they are a power team for building your confidence and becoming successful.
Whether you plan to work for yourself or work for someone you need to be flexible and be able to think quickly in some scenarios. You need to be able to make a clear decision and also articulate that decision. You also have to be okay with not making a great decision and learning from it so you can make a better decision. Noone is perfect and life would be boring if we all were.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: brittneycariceesthetics
