You trust them to supply or apply skin products that go all over your face, but is your consultant really qualified to be doing so? It seems the answer is a resounding yes!”, with everyone from beauty therapists to sales personnel required to undergo a certain amount of training before being allowed to go anywhere near your skin.
Education is at the core of all we do. We’re not interested in simply offering training and education in the hope of selling more product. Rather, our aim is to advance the level of skin health knowledge throughout Australia and New Zealand; to ensure best practice and to train a new generation of engaged and inspired therapists,” explains national trainer Claudia Martius.
bd spoke to a range of skincare brands to find out what training they require employees to undergo, required courses for therapists and what education is being taught within these courses.
Intensive training
From online courses to in-store training to brand workshops, companies stress the importance for staff to undergo specialised training before selling or applying their brand’s products. The only thing that differs company to company is the level of training staff must undertake.
At dermaviduals, staff must take part in a compulsory two-day training course to ensure theory is consolidated and practical applications are adequately explored. After the second day, potential employees are given a quiz to test how much they have learned.
also requires staff to undergo two days of training before hitting the work force. Employees must go to a two-day comprehensive Professional Training Seminar that includes both theory and practical training. Therapists are then encouraged to attend the Advanced Training Seminar once a year to refresh their skills, learn about new products and techniques, and discover new industry updates.
Before becoming a stockist, staff are required to complete a minimum level of training, known as the Start-Up Certified Workshops. These workshops run for three and a half days. The brand also offers over 30 workshops that have been developed to continue to support and grow the skillset and knowledge of staff. Dermalogica firmly believes in the value of knowledge. Through our workshops, we can empower, excite and inspire our staff with invaluable knowledge. The aim is to help them to become confident and ultimately a success in their own business,” says Emma Hobson, education manager of the International Dermal Institute and Dermalogica.
consultants must also undergo vigorous education, with employees receiving a medical-level of training on all aspects of skin anatomy and physiology, with particular attention to the molecular biology of human skin. This takes place initially during their induction training at the company’s research laboratory in Melbourne, followed by on-going training at their teaching clinics throughout Australia.
A varied approach
Many companies offer more than one training option. At PSB, distributors of and , we offer both introductory training and advanced master classes to progress our therapists through our ranges and remain updated on new products and techniques. These trainings also include a retail component, which focuses on how to prescribe and recommend products for homecare use,” reveals NZ PSB sales and marketing manager Emma Wilson.
It’s also all about offering a wide-variety of education options for and . Our stockist partners are offered complimentary classes at our Melbourne Learning Centre, as well as in-salon trainings when appropriate. There are a multitude of classes, from product knowledge, to treatment protocols, to specialty skin conditions, to dynamic retail marketing. We also offer regular education in other forms too such as newsletters, Facebook and webinars,” says Absolute Spa owner Jai Harvey-Yin. It’s a similar story at endota spa, where there is available in-spa training sessions and workshops, as well as spa, beauty and retail classes at its in-house training school, leadership training courses and an online training program to ensure educational material is accessible 24/7.
Offering incentives
Olive and Eau Thermale Avène both work on an incentive program for their staff. At Olive, a territory representative will train pharmacy and health food workers in-store. After trialing products on their own skin and getting education on the ingredients and how to use the product, a training module and questionnaire is left for the employees to complete. Those with over 95 per cent accuracy receive a gift of Olive products and a certificate, with all participants receiving staff incentives.
Avéne also believes in offering incentives to award staff taking part in their training programs. Avéne has an online training platform involving six modules, each focusing on the core skincare pillars of the Avéne range. The modules each take approximately 10 minutes to complete. On completion of every two Avéne training modules with an accuracy of over 80 per cent, the pharmacy assistant will be rewarded with a full-size product from the brand. Upon successful completion of all modules, employees will receive a certificate and Avéne badge.
Side benefits of training
creative manager Debbie Harvey-Evans explains why training benefits not just salon staff but also stockists. Quality training plays a vital role in understanding and prescribing ASAP skin products. ASAP offers university-developed training, specifically to help salon owners and staff fully understand ASAP products and benefits, ensuring clients achieve the best results possible. This in-depth knowledge effectively helps our stockists grow their business year in, year out.” The ASAP Skin Academy training is for new and existing staff, with ASAP account managers also regularly visiting stockists to give in-salon training and demonstrations.
Required courses
The most common qualifications required by skin care companies for their employees is a Diploma or Certificate IV in Beauty Therapy. To become a qualified professional skin therapist, an undergraduate qualification must be completed, being the Diploma of Beauty Therapy or Certificate IV in Beauty Therapy. These courses can be completed through either private colleges or government institutions such as TAFE. The Diploma can be completed either full time (one year), part time (two to three years), or through an apprenticeship over a number of years,” reveals Hobson. Dermalogica, Alpha-H, Environ, Absolute Spa, ASAP and endota spa all require therapists to have this qualification. Therapists at endota spa are also required to have a Diploma of Remedial and Massage Therapy.
What they learn
Therapist training comprehensively educates employees on a range of necessary information from a deeper understanding of skin anatomy including skin conditions and disorders, ingredient technology and key ingredients, professional treatment protocol, application techniques and specific product knowledge.
The positive offset from all this training? Next time you head off to get a facial or to choose some skincare products, be rest assured that when the assistant or therapist recommends a product – they know what they’re talking about.