A Ray of Sunshine for Esthetician Jobs in 2011
Today I was checking out the Esthetician Jobs Forum discussion at the Indeed.com site when I noticed the “employment trend” graph for estheticians. Here’s a copy of the graph current as of May 24th, 2011:
Esthetician Job Trends May 2011
Looks very promising, don’t you think?
I’ve noticed that my local Craigslist has had a lot of esthetician job listings over the last couple of months as well. Maybe we’re turning the corner!
Déjà Vu All Over Again for Prostaglandin Based Eyelash Growth Serum
It wasn’t that long ago that Jan Marini received an FDA wrist slap that reverberated throughout the skincare industry for selling an eyelash conditioner with unapproved ingredient bimatoprost. Eyelash growth products are taking it on the chin again, this time the FDA has sent a warning letter to LifeTech Resources, manufacturer of RapidLash Eyelash Renewal Serum, NeuLash Active Eyelash Technology and NeuveauBrow Active Eyebrow Technology.
These particular eyelash extenders and eyelash regrowth serums contain Isopropyl Cloprostenate – a synthetic prostaglandin analog very similar to bimatoprost. (Bimatoprost is the active ingredients in FDA-approved drugs used to lower intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients.)
Adverse events associated with prostaglandin analogs for ophthalmic use include ocular irritation, hyperemia, iris color change, macular edema, ocular inflammation, and interference with glaucoma therapy – all things best avoided for our clients. In addition, prostaglandin analogs for ophthalmic use are currently classified as Pregnancy Class C. (This classification means that there have been no human studies of the drug, but that animal studies have revealed some potential abnormalities.)
You can read more on the FDA Website The FDA also says ” If you currently distribute or use lash or brow conditioner, we urge you to carefully review your brand’s ingredient list to avoid possible regulatory and consumer issues.” It’s worth looking at your eyelash growth products to determine the active ingredient. Here’s the ingredient list for Rapid Lash:
Water (Aqua), Rhizobian Gum, Sodium Hyaluronate (Hyaluronic Acid), Butylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Biotin (Vitamin H), Panthenol, Pantethine, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Allantoin (Comfrey Root), Cucurbita Pepo Seed Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate (Licorice Root), Sea Water, Octapeptide 2, Copper Tripeptide 1 Alcohol Denatured, Isopropyl Cloprostenate, Polypeptide 23, Glycine Soja (Soybean Oil), Glycerin, Phosphatidylcholine, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenisen, Sorbic Acid (A Preservative)
If your are carrying Rapid Lash, or any other product with Isopropyl Cloprostenate you should call your rep and find out what your next steps should be. It’s logical to assume that you should not have the product on your shelves. You’ll also want to find out from your Rep how to deal with any clients that return their lash growth product.
Florence Barrett-Hill – United States Educational Seminars June 2011
Florence Barrett-Hill
Renowned skincare educator Florence Barrett-Hill is visiting the United States in June 2011 to teach classes in Buffalo NY, Atlanta GA, Las Vegas NV and Phoenix AZ. The classes vary from one to four days in length and cover the following subjects (click on the heading links to read in-depth information about individual classes):
Advanced Skin Analysis: Effectively diagnose and recognize contemporary skin conditions with accuracy by using the Pastiche Method®. Understand the importance of cause and effect when identifying skin conditions. Understand the biology and physiology of the skin and how to link it to your product composition.
Dermal Needling: Dermal Needling (or rolling) is becoming the skin rejuvenation modality of choice for many aware aesthetic skin care practitioners around the world. Find out why Dermal Needling is the only rejuvenation treatment that maximizes penetration of essential cell nutrients and maximizes release of growth factors associated with the positive aspects of wound healing simultaneously.
Skin Disorders Master Class: This workshop is designed to build on your base knowledge of skin, there are many anomalies found even on a young skin that can change or ruin a life. Many skin disorders are classified as “cosmetic” and ignored or past over as unimportant, however many can be treated or avoided. By recognizing and understanding the simpler skin disorders, you can offer superior service to your clients.
Cosmetic Chemistry Master Class: Read and understand product labels and evaluate likely performance and contraindications. Learn about the actions & roles of various cosmetic ingredients. Relate chemical composition of products to the skin’s cells & systems and explore ingredients most commonly found in modern cosmetic products, and relate them to the effect they may have on specific conditions of the skin.
Pigmentation Master Class: Learn all there is to know about the diagnosis and treatment of this troublesome condition. Determine why some treatments are more effective than others, and isolate the myth from the reality. Discover the secrets of building effective treatment programs with realistic timelines of long-term success.
Ageing Skin Master Class: This six-hour presentation unlocks the mystery and misinformation surrounding the protein collagen’ s loss of structural integrity and resultant skin conditions. Our seminar walks you through correct determination of the condition and details each cause and effect for better understanding of how to deal with this common problem.
Skin Diagnostic Master Class: Perfect your diagnostic and treatment strategy skills! The Pastiche Master Class is an exciting collaborative learning seminar for graduates of Advanced Skin Analysis. The principle of the seminar is to allow participants to experience “real world” examples of how to identify skin conditions, discover their causes and apply appropriate protocols to prescribe effective treatment regimes.
Ms Barrett-Hill holds a CIDESCO credential, has had a distinguished 30 year career, and teaches worldwide as an independent educator. She has a strong technical background, and effectively teaches the science of skincare.
An acclaimed author, her book Advanced Skin Analysis 
Registration information for U.S. classes can be found here.
DSA/IMSA Introduces Pro Knowledge Workshops
The Day Spa Association and International Medical Spa Association have announced a series of four regional education events for spa, medical spa and wellness professionals.
All conferences are Saturday through Monday, and are in these locations:
Indianapolis, IN – Jan 15 – 17, 2011
Nashville, TN – April 2 – 4, 2011
Minneapolis, MN – July 16 -18
Portland, OR – September 24-26
Workshops include Medical, Wellness, Business and Trend tracks, as well as advanced workshops by industry educators Felicia Brown, Bruce Baltz, Ken Cassidy and Monte Zwang.
Universal Companies is the Platinum sponsor for the events; additional sponsors are Action Bag, Earthlite, Edge Systems, Image Skincare, Marine Agency Corporation, PINO, PowerVibe, Solveras Payment Solutions, Spabooker and Spa Ritual.
More information about the Workshops can be found at www.proknowledgeworkshops.com or on the Pro Knowledge facebook page
Texas Esthetician Licensing Scam Alerts!
As of February 2010 Texas Licensed Estheticians should be aware of the following scams currently in operation in their state:
Fraudulent License Renewal notices
Kudos to the Texas State Board for being a lot more proactive than the California Board was when faced with a similar scenario last year!
Los Angeles Spa & Resort Expo Postponed
HBA takes over from Reed Business Exhibitions
HBA is to merge with the Spa & Resort/Medical Aesthetics Conference and Expo event, in a move that will create a co-located event – the HBA Global Beauty Week. HBA show organizer UBM International Media will take over the management of the Spa & Resort show from current organizer Reed Business Exhibitions.
UBM International Media, which owns and produces the HBA Global Expo & Conference, will assume the entire management of the Spa & Resort shows from Reed Business Expositions. Consequently, the West Coast Spa & Resort edition this February will be postponed and all marketing and promotional efforts will be focused on the Beauty Week series of events scheduled for New York in September.
Nancy Largay, vice president at Reed Business Exhibitions, said that the move was the right one for the beauty industry, while stressing the clear synergies between the two events.
UBM says that now one badge gives access to both the events, enabling beauty professionals to encounter a wider offering of goods and services on display on the two different floors occupied by each event.
Read more here
Japan’s Shiseido buys Bare Escentuals
Shiseido, Japan’s largest cosmetics group, is buying Bare Escentuals in a $1.7billion deal.
Bare Escentuals CEO Leslie Blodgett joined Bare Escentuals in 1994 – after stints at Neutrogena and Max Factor – and turned it from a pioneering niche provider of natural cosmetics into a mineral makeup powerhouse worth hundreds of millions of dollars in annual sales hawking it on home shopping network QVC.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to be joining forces with the team at Shiseido,” said Blodgett. “We look forward to bringing our mineral-based beauty products to even more women worldwide.”
Bare Escentuals will operate as a separate division of Shiseido. By adding Bare Escentuals, Shiseido’s overseas sales will rise to 42 per cent of total sales from 38 per cent, and place it fourth among international brands – behind L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble and Unilever .
I wonder what this means for MD Formulations?
Read more about the Shiseido purchase here
FDA Shuts Down Sybaritic
This press release came across the wires today – of particular interest to most esties will be the fact that the Skin Bella Microdermabrasion is included – because it has never been approved or cleared by the FDA. This highlights a problem with many of the devices we use. It’s always worth doing your due diligence by asking your vendor for info about FDA clearances for the machine you have in mind, rather than making assumptions.
FDA Requires Sybaritic, Inc. to Stop Producing Unapproved Medical Devices
SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Sybaritic Inc., a medical device maker, has agreed to stop producing and distributing its medical products used in laser surgery, dermatology, and spa treatments until it is in compliance with FDA quality standards. The products are considered to be unapproved medical devices as they lack appropriate FDA clearance review and approval for safety and effectiveness. The agreement was part of a consent decree of injunction signed by the Bloomington, Minn., company and three of its top executives, Anthony S. Daffer, Steven J. Daffer, and Ronald Berglund.
“This action halts the manufacture of these products until the manufacturer comes into compliance with federal law,” said Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., J.D., acting director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “It’s critical that companies comply with laws that are in place to protect consumer health.”
Under the terms of the consent decree, Sybaritic agrees to comply with the FDA’s Quality System (QS) regulation for all of its devices. Sybaritic also must retain an independent expert consultant to inspect its operations and to certify to the FDA that corrections have been made.
Sybaritic designs, manufactures and distributes a variety of medical devices including moist steam cabinets (Dermalife products such as Hydration Station, Spa Oceana, Spa Jet, and Spa Fengshui), laser systems (NannoLight MP50, LaserPeel Trimatrixx, SkinClear SRVH), ultrasound and non-invasive subdermal therapy systems (Dermosonic), and microdermabrasion systems (SkinBella).
The SkinBella has never been approved or cleared by the FDA. The Dermalife, NannoLight MP50, SkinClear SRVH, and the Dermosonic devices are unapproved because, although the devices have FDA clearance for marketing, Sybaritic has made claims for these devices that are not included in the FDA clearances and constitute major changes or modifications in the devices’ intended use. Sybaritic has also made subsequent changes to some of these devices’ designs that are not included in the clearances and that could significantly impact their safety and effectiveness.
FDA inspections conducted at Sybaritic over the past several years, and most recently in March 2009, revealed violations of the agency’s QS regulation, including violations related to design controls, complaint handling, corrective and preventive action, and quality audits. These inspections also revealed the company’s sale of numerous devices that had not undergone the required FDA premarket review as well as the company’s failure to submit medical device reports to the agency as required.
The consent decree requires Sybaritic to obtain appropriate FDA approval or clearance before it may distribute any of its devices. Once Sybaritic makes the corrective actions specified in the consent decree, it must hire an independent auditor to conduct annual inspections of all its facilities for at least four years and report the results to the FDA.
In the event of future violations at Sybaritic, the consent decree allows FDA to order Sybaritic to cease manufacturing and distributing products and to recall them. FDA can take other actions to ensure Sybaritic is compliant with FDA regulations. The company may be required to pay damages of $15,000 a day if it fails to comply with any provisions of the decree and an additional $15,000 for each violation.
The FDA is not aware of any adverse events, but is advising consumers to discontinue using these products.
The consent decree was signed on Jan. 4, 2010, by U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Media Inquiries: Peper Long, 301-796-4671, mary.long@fda.hhs.gov
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration
RELATED LINKS
FDA’s Web site on Laser Facts
www.fda.gov
Dr Oz, Pimples, and the Triangle of Death
From time to time Dr Oz talks about the Triangle of Death, (catchy name – huh?) This topic was was on the air again today (you can view the segment here), and predictably, esthetician message boards have been buzzing.
Here’s a brief recap:
The Triangle of Death is an area on the face which has blood vessels connecting directly to an area of the brain called the cavernous sinus. Dr Oz says that popping pimples in this area (the triangular area extending from the bridge of the nose to the outer corner of the lips) is to be avoided because of the possibility of forcing pus and bacteria into blood vessels, and thence to the brain – which, of course, would be a very bad thing!
As estheticians we know that it is possible to rupture the hair follicle when doing extractions. A worst case scenario could see a client (or an inexperienced and over-zealous esthetician) creating some very real problems. It should be safe to assume that careful professional extractions of blackheads, on well prepared skin, will not cause any issues. You’ll want to stay away from deep angry red pimples in that area though!
Of course in the Triangle of Death scenario it’s not just squeezing pimples that presents a problem. Piercings and other facial trauma also have the potential to lead to a bacterial infections of the brain. If you’ve ever had a nose piercing, your piercer has probably been very insistent on scrupulous care for the area – all for good reason!
Not surprisingly, it is this same quirk of vascular anatomy that leads to the reservations that many people have about waxing and tweezing nasal hairs.
You can read more about this issue on the Dr Oz show Dr Oz On Acne and Pimple Popping and Dr Oz – Facing Up to the Triangle of Death, and also learn more of the anatomy from Wikipedia (scroll down to the area titled Clinical Significance)
Florence Barrett-Hill Teaches in S.F. Bay Area – January 2010
(To read about Florence Barrett-Hill’s 2011 classes click here.)
Internationally regarded skincare educator Florence Barrett-Hill will be making a rare USA appearance to teach a four day skin analysis class in Burlingame, California from Sunday Jan 31st – Wednesday Feb 3rd, 2010.
Ms Barrett-Hill holds a CIDESCO credential, has had a distinguished 30 year career, and teaches worldwide as an independent educator. She has a strong technical background, and effectively teaches the science of skincare.
An acclaimed author, her book Advanced Skin Analysis
For more information call Alexandra J Zani, 904-571-7161
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