How do you find the right Semi Permanent Makeup technician?
Finding the right beauty therapist or hair stylist is a little like finding the one. Bear with me here! You want someone who will make you feel good, who you can genuinely engage with. These appointments can be sacred ‘You Time,’ an escape from your real world, so you want to make sure that you enjoy them. You also want to know that you are in good hands, with someone you can trust. You want to leave feeling refreshed, revitalised and rejuvenated, a quality stylist or therapist will ensure an immaculate finish and you will leave feeling beautiful, with a definitive bounce in your step. You may also have insecurities surrounding your treatment, so their sensitivity towards this is key.
God forbid you’re trapped in foils, or enduring a Brazilian with a deafening awkward silence between you and what’s her name? She never even introduced herself when you walked in.
No, a quality stylist or therapist can become a relationship for life- and any beauty professional worth their salt will know this and will work hard to keep you as a client, because they value you and your business. They should go above and beyond to make you feel comfortable and to do a great job, so that you never even consider leaving them and more importantly tell all your friends how perfect they are.
So, whilst you may have to play the field a little until you find the right person for you, when you do it can be a match made in heaven!
Finding a semi permanent technician is just the same! Their skill is of paramount importance, you don’t want any charlatan hobbyists let loose on your face with tattooing tools. No, you want someone who can guide you on the best treatments and guarantee a flawless finish, whilst being lovely to boot!
So, to help you sniff out the good ones and to ensure you find ‘The One,’ here are my Top 5 Tips for helping you find the right semi permanent makeup Technician.
Check out their work on Social Media
Social media for the beauty profession is huge. Long gone are the days when Website galleries or a Salon Brochure were the only way that you could take a look at a professional’s work. Now, it’s all over social media. Whether you’ve opted for a solopreneur (independent accredited individual) or a bigger salon with multiple semi permanent makeup technicians, make sure you take a peek at their work and their working environment on social media. Check out how many people Like their Facebook page, what their star rating is etc. Take a look at their Instagram, how many people follow them? Are their posts getting lots of likes? Are there Before and After pics? Is their work good? Is it the kind of thing you are looking for? Does their work space look clean and professional?
Also, do you like the tone of their social media? Do they seem friendly? Professional? For example, if someone seems good but young and is clearly appealing to a younger target audience would you feel comfortable going to them? Or would you rather opt for someone more mature who you might have more things in common with?
A businesses social media accounts, whether they are a one-man-band or a bigger Salon, can tell you so much about the business and the way in which it is run. It’s a virtual shop window, so make sure to stop by and look in!
What do other people say? Read reviews.
If you don’t have a personal recommendation, the best thing you can do is try and get the next best thing. A candid review.
Some technicians may have client testimonials on their website, but I would take these with a pinch of salt. These have been placed there by the business, so they have been pre-approved and will undoubtedly be excellent. Instead take a closer look at the chatter being harnessed on their social platforms. Whilst browsing their social media take a look at their Facebook Reviews. Do they have a star rating? What are people saying about their Microblading or Semi Permanent Eyebrows or Lip Blush? What reasons do they give for their reviews? Also, have other posted about them on their page.
Take a look on Instagram and Twitter, have people commented? What is being said? If someone has said something negative, how has the business handled this? Sometimes it’s the reviewer that can come across a little crazy and the calm professional response from the business wins you over just as much.
Is the spa, business or salon listed on TripAdvisor or Google? Are there reviews outside of social media that you can also take a look at. Bear in mind that some bad reviews may be the result of competitive companies or trolls, so that’s why it’s good to take a look at a few different sources.
It’s worth doing a little research, to save you being sorry in the long run. It’s more likely that if other people are happy, so will you be too!
Book in for a consultation
Most technicians will offer you a consultation. They should be eager for your business and keen to meet you face to face to help win you over, so any quality technician should invite you in for a visit. There’s so much that needs to be discussed before you can begin treatment, that it would be odd if they didn’t want to meet with you prior to commencing treatment.
This is your chance to scope them out fully. How do they handle your enquiry? Is it professional? What is their work environment like? Clean? Comfortable? Here you can ask any questions you have and see if the two of you are a good match. It’s the first date, if you will! Try them on for size and see if you want to commit to a second date.
If you’re too embarrassed to say that you’re not comfortable in the appointment, then just drop them a call or an email after your appointment to cancel any future appointments that you may have made. It’s polite and respectful, as they might be able to fill your spot with someone else and there’s nothing wrong with a polite, ‘no.’
At the end of this appointment, if you choose to book in for a treatment, you may be asked to pay a deposit for this, as it just secures your space and avoids the technician having to deal with time wasters. Especially for the solopreneur, their time is quite literally money, so they often can’t afford for clients to flake out on them and not turn up. Don’t get offended if they ask for a deposit, it’s just to ensure that their time is covered.
It’s also a good time to check in about their cancellation policy, just in case you do have to legitimately cancel and also about the after-care for your treatment. Make sure you use this opportunity to get all the information you need!
Do they make it easy to keep in touch?
Whether you’ve had Microblading or Semi Permanent Eye Liner, there’ll be a level of after-care to carry out after your treatment.
Your technician should make this easy and clear for you to understand. They should also make it easy and comfortable for you to get in touch with them if you have any queries or concerns. They are there to help you and the treatment isn’t done until you have completely healed, so you should feel at ease to get in touch with them if you have any questions. Any quality technician would make it super easy for you contact them after your treatment. I even communicate with some of my clients over Facebook message or WhatsApp, they just drop me a quick message and we chat through any queries they may have. I want to be there for them and they all know that I’m happy to hear from them. Some even send me pictures of how they are healing and I love to see those! I’m happy when you’re happy!
And finally, a busy technician means
a technician in high demand- they’re worth waiting for!
If you can’t get an appointment straight away because the technician is busy, this is a great sign that they are excellent and worth waiting for! It’s means they are filled with appointments, because they are good and people want to use them. It’s not more complicated than that! Of course, they should always be polite when explaining this to you and offer you a chance to go on a waiting list, but don’t ever take it the wrong way if you can’t be seen straight away. And, make sure you book your follow up in advance to ensure those prime appointment slots!