We recently connected with Rachel Bradley and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was your school or training experience like? Share an anecdote or two that you feel illustrate important aspects or the overall nature of your schooling/training experience.

During my esthetics training, I feel that I had a very unique experience. I enrolled in January of 2020, but soon after the pandemic occurred. This presented huge challenges in my ability to obtain my education and licensing, but I endured. I made sure that I worked even harder to learn what I could and to practice what I learned as much as I could. One important anecdote I picked up was to never stop learning. Instructors made it clear to us that we should always seek to continue our education in the field, and stay up to date on techniques, products and methods. This advice has really helped me in the field and in business. I believe it is important that we as estheticians never stop learning, because it gives us the opportunity to be knowledgeable in our craft and create experiences for our clients to truly appreciate.

Rachel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Rachel and I am a licensed esthetician from Stone Mountain, Ga. I work in my own spa lounge servicing a wide range of clients. I provide facial and body, waxing, and makeup services. What sets my business apart is my genuine care and passion for the work that I do. For me, it isn’t about what is trending or making money off of my clients by any means necessary. I truly enjoy my work, caring for skin, creating products, and helping my clients meet their skincare goals.

As far as my journey into the beauty industry, I’d say it began some years ago when I took interest in learning how to do make up and taking care of my skin as a teenager. After some years and earning my bachelor’s degree, I decided that I wanted to do something besides school that really interested me. I explored with makeup some more and began creating skincare products in my home for my family and friends to try. They really loved my ideas and what I wanted to offer as far as a business and suggested that I learn more about skin and skincare because of my interests. I took their advice and decided to enroll into esthetics school. Immediately I fell in love with all things skin and beauty. Throughout esthetics school I developed a deep love for learning about the skin, performing treatments and being a service provider. I made it my personal mission to learn as much as I could about the field and cultivate my strengths. My journey into esthetics school and now owning a beauty business helped me to see that I have real potential in the beauty industry and I could use my abilities to bless others.

Overall I am most proud of my resilience and perseverance in this career. What started out as childish interest and a hobby has turned into something much more than I could have ever dreamed. I’ve had to overcome so much these past two years in pursuing this career, but I wouldn’t change any moment of it. I hope to build this business into something that all people can enjoy and be a part of. Beauty and skincare is for everyone, and I believe every person deserves to experience what it means to feel and look beautiful.

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

Other than training and knowledge, I’d say having the correct mindset is most helpful in succeeding. I think that you have to have some level of well-roundedness or being level headed to be able to be in this field. I believe you should be confident, hopeful and most importantly disciplined. Some days may not be as good as others. You could be doing great one month then not so much the next, but what I’ve learned is that discipline and perseverance is key. Being focused and trusting the process is key. Don’t worry about what others are doing or be driven by the monetary aspects, what you define as success within this field will come in due time.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Nope, not at all! While being in the beauty industry is something that I would have never pictured for myself when I was younger, I like to think I would still choose this as a career. I was raised to be very focused on education, that my degree alone would get me anywhere I wanted. But, I’ve since realized that being happy doing what I enjoy is so much more fulfilling and there will always be space for those who follow their dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theahavahbeauty.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/theahavahbeauty
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theahavahbeauty
• Direct Booking: https://ahavahbeauty.as.me/schedule.php