jane scrivner
Jane Scrivner is an absolute legend. A world-renowned, globe-trotting, expert esthetician and instructor, Jane’s vital perspectives on skin health, “inflammaging,” and beautiful botanical solutions are at the heart of today’s conversation. With three decades worth of travel, hands-on experience, and research into formulation, Jane speaks with authority, humor, and genuine passion for the skin. If you enjoy reading this half as much as I did, you’re in for an enlightening masterclass. Stay tuned for an IG live with Jane in the New Year.
MM: Collagen declines from around the age of 25 at a rate of 1% annually- as the building block of bones, muscles, hair, ligaments, and skin- how can we combat this loss both topically and internally? Do you have a favorite ingestible product?
JS: I’m going to sound like a stuck record (or maybe nowadays a buffering download) but its all about being consistent, delivering on a daily basis everything your skin needs to survive and generate. We feed our bodies the essential nutrients in the form of food and water, we balance our nutritional intake across fibre, protein, carbohydrate etc so we should do the same for our skin to support its own replenish, regenerate, refresh and repair mechanisms. Combat is a very yang word, I prefer support and nourish, the skin is highly intelligent and will repair so if we give it the tools to do so then it can flourish. As far as ingestible, I like anything antioxidant so matcha tea, fresh vegetables and fruit. I like natural collagen, so bone broth in the form of delicious stock. Good, organic proteins and no sugar, low caffeine and low alcohol so I’m not giving with one mouthful and taking with another.
To make sure I supplement everything I make it part of my daily diet – I love to eat, so anything that I’m eating is guaranteed to be part of my day. If it becomes a job or a task then its easy to forget or slip the net or run out and need re ordering.
I do take one supplement on a daily basis that costs a fortune but I think is worth every penny and I do this because I’m in my 59th year and think its my ‘skinsurance’ (this won’t be the last ‘skin’ word adaptation I use!!) Its also part of my morning and evening ritual of taking HRT so I absolutely don’t forget it. And I guess that HRT is part of my replacement program too but mainly mentally, emotionally as well as for bone and heart health. Its always a controversial point but for me, menopause was incredibly debilitating and I pretty much started the business on day one of it so have only just realised that Jane Scrivner was created on me being a shadow of myself so watch out for the HRT fueled chapter, it could be interesting, because I can actually breathe.
My supplement contains, Curcuma, water extracted, Plant derived Vit D, Citicoline nootropic, Stable Vit K, Soluble Keratin, Prebiotic Beta Glucans, Defence Protein, Ashwagandha Root, full spectrum, Lycopene and saffron. It covers off mental and emotional wellness, sleep, stress, skin, nail and hair – it’s a total all rounder and comes in a gorgeous copper pot – so aesthetically stunning too – very important to Tiger Pitta, Scorpio needs. It nearly makes me a bearable person too.
MM: Vitamin A dominates the beauty industry especially in the conventional space. What are your thoughts about the safety, sustainable, efficacy, and suitability of retinol, retinoids, Bakuchiol, and alternative precursors/extracts (Beta Carotene or Spilanthese)?
JS: It does dominate and I don’t think it’s a good thing. It takes people to the far end of the spectrum and leaves the fundamentals, the basics and the buidling blocks of healthy skin out in the desert. I will always, ALWAYS aim to swing the dial back to the 5 fundamentals, are you cleansing without stripping, are you gently exfoliating and stimulating, do you hydrate your skin, do you nourish your skin, are you moisturizing and are you protecting? Then and only then can you see what your skin is like when at its healthiest self. Then you can see what you would like more help with. A 25 year old will see that once all these skin physiological needs are delivered, that their skin is super healthy and maybe doesn’t even need the 5 steps everyday. A 75 year old may decide that once their skin is the healthiest it can be that they still want more help around the eyes or with the dullness THEN we can look at accelerating the turnover and we would get much better results because the healthy skin is able to turnover healthy skin, getting the glow more efficiently and having the ‘wound heal’ reaction to the retinol work harder for them.
We are too often focused on screaming our skin into luminescent submission rather than holding its hand to gorgeous glowing health.
Vit A in any of its forms – and I don’t understand or know the full extent of many of them as I would only put Bakuchiol or plant A’s/plant alternatives into a formula (and ours has JUST passed stability after 5 attempts so I am over excited) because these are the only ones I understand.
MM: In the end it is oxidative stress and inflammation which prematurely age us. You talk a lot about skinflammagers. What are they? How can we defend against them and course correct when we do decide to indulge?
JS: I agree and I would put Inflammation before oxidation because inflammation prevents many of the repair mechanisms or greatly delays them. Inflammation is acidic and corrodes many systems so alkaline diets, low stress lifestyle, laughing, relaxing, enjoying are all imperative to living life in balance. Its all too easy to be on the treadmill but its just as fun to jump off and kick back or kick up a storm.
There are easy wins, reducing or eliminating sugars, caffeine, alcohol, red meats, bad cholesterols, saturated fats and increasing plant based, raw, fermented foods. Overindulging is fabulous but knowing what is feeding and nourishing as opposed to being nutritionally bankrupt is key and the body is stunning, by simply changing back to healthy the nutrients get to work. Unfortunately, we are told by many, many marketing messages how delicious the foods are with the damage reality kept in the dark and our education systems don’t teach basic nutrition. So it’s a constant battle, and you know what, healthy, nutritious food tastes absolutely stunning and balances out so many issues. I used to write about detox and my book DETOX YOURSELF was all about eating well (back in the days when detox was a thing) Detox gets a bad reputation because our bodies are constantly detoxing, its what the kidneys and the liver and the lymph does all day long BUT as humans we rack up the detox ‘To Do’ list and it gets so long and not supported by any actually nutritionally positive foods that the body gets exhausted and is running on empty. Eating well leads to energy, balanced mood, emotional stability, great sleep patterns, weight balance, joint health and much more. I even had a customer that had completed a 30 day detox, telling me that she felt amazing, her skin was clear, her energy levels high and her ability to cope was so much stronger and she was sleeping like a baby – then she asked me – Was it safe to continue eating this way? Eating healthily beyond the 30 days? – and THAT’s what’s wrong, the fundamental absence of understanding of how to nourish our own bodies, how it feels when we are well and how that is a good thing and that it should continue.
MM: On the subject of oxidative stress, preventing UV damage with antioxidants and sun protection is a crucial step in one’s routine. What are your favorite formulas on the market?
JS: It’s such a difficult question to answer, I know what works for my skin, what level of protection I need and when. I know the level of makeup that has to sit on top and I know my sun exposure levels and my own reasons for wearing and not wearing.
I know that there are preferences for mineral v chemical and I know that spf is a personal thing. I know some prefer liquid, some mousse, some are ok with heavy textures and some don’t like the feel on their skin.
So I don’t recommend a formula, I tend to make the ‘needs’ of your own personal SPF clear, what should be considered and what is your consideration.
I take suncare very seriously, I have had all 3 types of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, basal and squamous cell so I KNOW how important protection is. I love a tan, but talented formulators have created so many false tan products that there really is no excuse for having a real one.
But I am also clear on the fact that skin does need sunlight, it needs vitamin D and it needs to get it safely and it only needs a little. I’m a true red head and unfortunately as I have aged it has faded to strawberry blonde BUT my skin is still redhead. If I was exposed to the sun I would burn immediately, my parents protected me at every step of the suncare way, I have pictures of me fully dressed in the sea, I recall sitting under umbrellas, behind windbreaks and with huge hats on – even before Andie MacDowell made them stylish in Four Weddings – if I wanted to go in the sea, my parents drenched me in SPF and then put trousers and tops on me, its no wonder I passed the ‘fully dressed in water’ part of my Life Saving swimming certificate – BUT, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
My skin had NEVER been exposed to the sun and so, when it did get exposure, I burnt. I truly believe I developed my cancers in just 3 years, the 3 years I started going on holiday with friends and sunbathing, 3 years of what I considered parent-free sun and because my skin had no built up resilience I burned. I fundamentally changed my DNA and developed the cancers.
Once diagnosed and safely treated with the melanoma not having migrated, I spent time with a nutritionist and she said to ‘shade bathe’ safely, before certain hours and after certain hours and only for minutes to build up safe Vit D stocks. Now I stay out of the sun and that’s easy in the UK. When abroad I stay out of the sun and if I can’t guarantee that I wear a brand formulated for the Irish Yachting Team – pretty much like getting dressed in suncream - but nothing gets through, and it makes places like India safe for me.
SPF is a personal choice. Knowing the consequences is the education. It’s not about ageing, its about not changing your skins DNA and not dying.
MM: I want to hear your thoughts on skin barrier function. Talk to us about pH- of the skin at rest and balance, post-cleansing, after a splash of water, post-exfoliation, etc.
JS: Jeepers, this answer is my whole skincare life. Its everything I find important to know and everything I want to impart to our gorgeous customers and beyond. Understanding the skin and what it does for us is key to application, nutrition and should have the light bulb moment for everyone. This answer is a whole book, it’s a box set, its Season 29 to be continued and its not even fully understood. Michael – What have you asked me!!!
Succinctly, The Skin Barrier is the protective layer, stops anything good (hydration) from leaking out and stops anything bad (bacteria) from getting in. It is made up of skin cells, fats/lipids and water/hydration with many other nutrients swimming around in this supportive mix – ceramides, hyaluronic etc. The surface of the skin has an acidity that fluctuates but should be at a pH of 4.5 to 5.5 to keep its own protective qualities and this is also helped by the skins surface biome – the good bacteria living on our skin, which fights any bad bacteria and prevents it from getting in and penetrating to the barrier in the epidermis.
This team of 3 needs to be balanced, replenished and supported by our skincare routine, the products we apply and the nutrients and hydration we ingest. It can be disrupted easily, the products we apply – harsh exfoliation, stripping cleansers, retinoid over use, the foods we eat, the acidity of diet, the acidity or alkalinity of the air we live in – ie salty sea air pushes the alkalinity, spicy foods alter the acidity, drying temperatures deplete the barrier and cause accelerated dehydration, water is alkaline so the simple ’splash with water’ can even have a negative effect. Lack of fats and lipids expose the barrier and bacteria penetrates and causes breakout. Lack of moisturiser removes the surface ‘coat’ and depletes the barriers strength and efficacy.
5 steps to balance, replenish, restore and repair, every day, twice a day….
MM: Vitamin B is a huge passion of yours as a formulator. What have you witnessed on your skin and on other clients as a result of regular use?
JS: I am amazed by the efficacy of all the B vitamins – I think they are the Skinderella of the industry, with Vit A and Vit C being the pushy, bossy ‘Beauty Sisters’. Vit B’s literally are the Worker B’s and the Building Blocks for skin and all round health. They drive cell function and health, they convert and metabolise food to energy and nutrient delivery. I call our B/Niacinamide product BRIGHTENING B and this is normally the benefit attributed to Vitamin C products but time and time again I came back to the application just making your skin look brighter, more refined and with a depth and healthy glow that meant I had to keep the ‘Brightening’. Pores are refined, skin just looks different and you can’t put your finger on exactly what, but it simply looks more vital and flushed – like when you are in love, its that no reason but every reason glow and I’m not going to question it, just apply it because I don’t want to be without it.
It’s a running joke that our range is purely about future proofing my own skin and I don’t think that should be a problem because there are a million people out there that want the same things I want – healthy, glowing, age appropriate and strong skin - so I’m happy to be the test ‘skin’ for them!
MM: There’s a ton of wonderful information on your website about skin health. Inform the readers about ceramides, how they function, and how to support them through diet!
JS: Thank you – I do think that if we understand how our skin works, then we can understand how to make our skin work for us. Simply thinking that it is a single dimension surface on which to apply as opposed to the living organ that we grow, nourish and sustain is key to creating the ultimate routine.
So, imagine a brick wall that makes up a cross section of your skin. In this analogy, the bricks are your skin cells and the mortar or cement are the ceramides, they coat your skin cells and together, if fully replenished, they create a physical barrier to the outside. This prevents the bad things - bacteria, environmental pollutants etc - from getting in and the good stuff - hydration and essential lipids - escaping out.
Ceramides are also extremely important in preventing accelerated Trans Epidermal Water Loss (TEWL) as the lipid layer holds in the hydration to keep our skin from drying out and wrinkles forming – think plum (hydrated) vs prune (prematurely dehydrated).
Your ceramide stocks can be depleted by using harsh or damaging products on our skin, products that strip our skin’s natural oils or products that change the pH of our skin and dry it out. Extreme routines can do more damage than good and aren’t usually the best option for all skin types.
You can also deplete your ceramide stocks by starving your skin of a ceramide boosting or replenishing routine. Simply cleansing skin and a little moisturiser may not be enough to support optimum levels of ceramides. We need to apply these ingredients on a daily basis to keep the stocks fully replenished. Its always about going back to my 5 step mantra, making sure that your skin is nourished on every physiological need, every day, twice a day.
Low fat diets are the worst offenders for skin, as a diet rich in vegetable oils and butters, nuts and plant oils will feed the skin and supplement the ceramide production from the inside to support healthy skin.
Stress can help deplete ceramide production as can lack of sleep, smoking and consuming too much sugar will also help destroy ceramide levels.
You truly can eat and apply your way to healthy, strong, bounce back and naturally protected skin.
MM: I’m about to be reviewing the first LED face mask to come to market specifically targeted for men’s skin which is slightly thicker due to collagen density. I’m 27 and just learning that skin is actually different based on gender, among other factors such as ethnicity. Men’s skin is also, as you write, subject to constant trauma, inflammation, and damage as a result of shaving. What can I, as a man, do to compensate for that reality?
JS: That’s really interesting, I’m guessing the light needs to penetrate deeper without distortion? It is interesting to me that so many industries are based on research using ‘male’ examples ie crash test dummies and football boots to name just a random few but the skincare industry is based on almost 100% female research but the skin structure is fundamentally different to male skin. As you say, male skin is denser and wrinkles don’t show until much, much later in life and then almost start as deep lines – skipping the fine line/wrinkle stage. Female skin follows our fertility – the hormone depletion process - so we lose everything ‘strong healthy skin’ at the rate of 1% per year after 23 years so we see many more changes, much more gradually but constantly. Men see nothing and then drop off a skincare cliff (laughing face emoji, sorry, not sorry).
If you shave there are benefits as the ‘wound heal’ response of our skin means you are constantly renewing and producing skin to respond to the mild daily trauma a shave can create. Compensation comes in the form of cooling, smoothing, replenishing ingredients that can nurture the new skin. In fact, as always, feeding your skin healthy nutrients and in your daily diet and applying ingredients and functional products that deliver against your skins physiological needs – cleansing, exfoliating, hydrating, nourishing and moisturizing will ensure all bases are covered and all damage replenished. It always comes back to a full routine and not a knee jerk routine full of retinols and extreme ingredients to disrupt more than restore. It’s all about balance, you can’t benefit from a daily gym routine without rest and recovery days. So a combination and a gentle rotation of everything your skin needs will keep it fit and healthy, calmed and soothed with a vital glow.
MM: Tell us a little bit about your background, how you found yourself working in the industry, what brands and spas you cut your teeth in, and how you found yourself on this side of the business, as a formulator?
JS: I started my career in the advertising industry, but it became clear, very quickly that progressing meant more about strategy and admin and not spending all my days at Pinewood studios watching ad’s being made. So I had to rethink, but before I did I was made redundant in the recession of the 90’s. I had to decide how to get a job, how to pay my mortgage and in a way that I would never be beholden to anyone making me redundant again. I had done a weekends massage course and loved it, so I knew no one could make me redundant from my own hands and so I trained to become a practitioner and then set up a clinic. I had the opportunity to travel to the US, to a new spa called Miraval in Arizona, my business had just started, I had time on my hands and the trip was all expenses paid - so I took it and unbeknown to me had taken the first step on the path to where we are now. A global brand, using natural ingredients to grow healthy, strong, bounce back skin. Putting SKIN FIRST.
On that trip I experienced LaStone therapy and being the ‘busy head’ person, I jumped out of the moment and went back to my room to call the originator of this treatment as she lived just miles from Miraval. Returning a year later to train to become a LaStone therapist and then some years after that to become an instructor. I then travelled the world for 10 years, training and educating spa therapists around the world. Chiva Som in Thailand, Kutralco in Chile, Bad Ragaz in Switzerland, and many more amazing places.
In every place I needed natural oils to season the stones and that’s where I dropped into my sweet spot. The UK tended to only use sweet almond or sunflower oil and after 4 days of that, your skin is saturated and over oiled. In Chile, Switzerland and Thailand the oils brought to the spa were natural, local, organic and fresh, Rose Hip, Jojoba, Argan and the transformation of skin during the training was visible. At the time essential oils and aromatherapy had a cult interest but I saw that these plant oils – often called base or carrier – were actually over 96% of any blend, the essential oils being a fraction, 1% or less than that, so for me they became CORE oils, the lipids and fats that did the skincare work, that had the profiles to feed and nourish the skin, to replenish and repair and the palette is endless. So I came home, with contacts and suppliers, growers and farmers and started to bottle, started to use them on my clients in facials and started to give them small amounts to use at home. And that has never stopped, we just have better bottles, more labels and more formulas, but its all about the formula and the results and getting people better skin.
MM: What was the first product you launched?
JS: See below.
MM: What formula are you proudest of to date?
JS: Nourishing Cleanser – it’s the only product I ever thought I would make, I was 100% untrained, I made a thousand versions (and there are only 3 ingredients to play with) until I was happy with delivery, application, skin feel, sensory experience, removal, residue and results but it was all with oils and waxes, the ingredient I knew, was experienced with and understood. My other proudest formula is Skinfoliate, our AHA/BHA acid exfoliator because I didn’t understand any of the ingredients, I didn’t know how to keep them together in the formula and I had no experience of them, but I knew I needed the product and I wanted to use an unpasteurized, organic apple cider vinegar for its natural malic acid, natural pre and pro biotic and live ferment. So I had to learn. It was hard but it was stunningly exciting and the finished product is changing faces around the world so I’m a little bit proud of that one.
MM: What gaps do you see in the beauty industry and where do you think it’s headed in the next five years?
JS: Gaps?? GAPS?? Its way too crowded. There aren’t any gaps. We NEED gaps, and we need to fill them with low marketing, no over promises, truth bombs, the finest ingredients and the reality checks. We need to have low-cost formulas that deliver healthy skin. There must be a way that everyone can use great skincare and understand that it isn’t all by chasing the perfection but working towards skin strength and health. It doesn’t have to be natural but it has to be truthful. It has to be about health and diet and mental strength it can’t be about Botox at 20yrs and saying a serum can erase lines at 80 years. I wouldn’t know where to start and there are people with more passion and energy and generosity than I that I truly hope can fly the flag for truth, beauty & honesty.
MM: What is the best skincare advice you ever received?
JS: I once had a facial with the Eve Lom. After a facial that cost me the price of a small house (in cash) and then a consult after that in which I was prepared to invest the price of another small house, she told me I should keep it simple, continue to do what I was doing, don’t complicate it and maybe, MAYBE add a moisturizer if I ever went skiing. Not only did it save me a fortune, but I truly think it saved my skin. I had always believed that less was more and not to rock my skincare boat but the industry was at a growth stage where more was much more and I just couldn’t reconcile with that. Eve’s words landed and it was the confirmation I needed to follow my own thought process and stick to what I believed was true.
MM: What is the best soul/life advice you ever received?
JS: Weirdly it’s not advice, but a table, the table that shows how many of the biggest, most successful businesses were started by people over 60. So I’m just getting started. I’m not saying that we are going to be the biggest or the most successful, I’m just getting reassurance that I wasn’t ready earlier or have started too late.
MM: What books, theories, and sources do you tap into and rely on with regards to beauty + health?
JS: On my desk right now, Power of the Seed Susan M Parker, The remarkable Life of Skin Monty Lyman and a notebook. I have read Caroline Hirons books and she sits in her absolute truth and I admire her certainty. And I ask lots of questions when in India, because if you are wanting plant derived ingredients, there really isn’t a better place. I also like looking through herbal medicine books and recipes as sometimes the original ingredient is the solution and often, the original ingredient is the ‘new’ ingredient but just under another name. Different cultures too, Romans using oils to bathe and blades to scrape away, Cleopatra using milks to moisturise, vinegar as acids and honey as antibacterial – there really isn’t anything new, it’s the formulations that make them new.
MM: When you vacation from JS skincare, which brands do you reach for?
JS: I am happy to try anything so that I can be informed. But in all honesty I haven’t found anything that something from our range can’t do (or something that is in development won’t be able to do) Some products get you there quicker but the eventual results are the same. I’m very impatient in general in life – a red headed (faded) Scorpio, full Pitha Dosha – so I don’t wait for anything, but in skincare I am very happy to apply daily and know the regularity brings the results. No knee jerk reactions – from maybe one too many ‘Aviations’, just a daily, gentle process to look after and out for my skin. So I am happy to reach for anything but always end up returning to the mothership.
MM: Who are the brand makers that inspire you most?
JS: Oh god, every last one of them. (not the massive corporates or the ‘sold to investors’ necessarily but the individuals that started something, that had the thought and made it happen and are still closely involved)
I know what they are doing, I understand their daily hustle and if they are huge or just starting out, its all exactly the same. I’m inspired we are still here and I’m inspired that we are amongst the most amazing minds and skincare creators.
The creativity, the formulations the techniques, the profiles – all of them just stunning.
MM: Share a little insight into the supplements, teas, and wellness practices you incorporate on a regular basis.
JS: From my chair, here at my desk, I can see Match green tea, ginger and CBD tea bags, pumpkin seeds and grapes. There’s liquorice in the drawer – but I haven’t fancied that for a few weeks and then some Babchi powder arrived from India that I am going to try to see if it has a Bakuchiol effect on my skin ‘from within’. I spoke with an Ayurvedic doctor I know (via WhatsApp in India – the genius of modern technology) and we are trying 5 grams in warm water once a day with warm milk (I’m Pitha) I have also had 2 mini chocolate cinnamon hearts/sponge things as they came up with an espresso earlier today and they were the sweetest ‘hit’.
It’s always a balance of good and bad, weird and strange and pure experimentation. It needs to work on me before I can recommend to anyone else.
MM: Diet plays a huge role in beauty. What does yours consist of?
JS: I think that diet is your most important skincare product. No matter what you are applying, if you aren’t feeding your skin healthy then you won’t be growing healthy skin. I have said it a million times, skin doesn’t just sit on the surface, it isn’t a single dimension, it’s a living organ and needs to be nurtured. How we ‘feed’ our skin is key. I have to balance this knowledge with the fact that I pretty much adore every kind of food! I love a fresh vegetable salad, I dream of organic haute cuisine, I prefer healthy to unhealthy BUT there are times when something tragic is the only thing that hits the spot! A little too much wine for giggles with friends. The most perfect Marcus Wareing recipe for Croque Monsieur oozing with bechamel and proscuitto and the driest SACRED Gin with ORRIS and a little tonic – I could go on. BUT in the main, in 80% of my consumption I feed my self and feed my skin, gut healthy foods, low cooked/raw foods and foods that LOOK like they are bursting with the fresh, healthy glow I want for my skin. And if life takes me to the nutritional dark side then I know to bring it back with the most delicious nutrients to bring both my body and my skin into balance again. I couldn’t not because it shows up in my complexion, so the mirror is my chef!!
MM: When you really indulge in self-care, how do you take care of yourself at home? Give us some at-home spa inspiration!
JS: Face Masques, cocktailed with whatever my skin seems to be needing. A French Clay base and then a couple of dispenses of any of our hydrate serums and a good book or box set. My daily skincare routine is quite simple and I don’t like to over load or over do. But if I want to home spa then I ramp up the body care, a fabulous full body exfoliation or top to toe dry skin brushing, a freezing rinse for a minute or two if I’m feeling brave, a total body cleanse, then drizzle body oils and massage until fully absorbed and sealed in with a body moisturiser then warm, soft PJ’s or leisurewear and relax.
In truth I don’t ‘Really Indulge’ in self-care, when I want to indulge I ‘make’ something because as soon as I start to apply something, then I’m immediately formulating something or working out how it could be better delivered in a treatment routine, so my head starts swimming and developing – I step away by making because that becomes focused and I have to concentrate really hard and that’s where time is lost in complete absorption.
MM: Favorite three ingredients as a formulator?
JS: Freedom, imagination, experimentation – I KNOW that’s not what you want but it’s the only way to formulate.
MM: Favorite three essential oils?
JS: Frankincense, Star Anise and Cardomom.
MM: Favorite quote?
JS: Don’t F**k It Up! Courtesy of RuPaul
MM: If someone wants to buy an at home tool or technology, what do you rate?
JS: Difficult as I’m not too versed with the massive range and potentials BUT I would say a book on Facial Massage (which OF COURSE would come with a gifted Gua Sha blade) and maybe, only maybe a good LED mask.
I know from personal experience and from my clients feedback that any tool or technology ends up in a forgotten drawer, or is stored in the fridge as its ‘better delivered cold’ but never delivered, ever. So the best tools are the ones we travel with, our hands (if we have them) and they are always there to manipulate, pressure point, release and massage. Sat at the lights, reading a book, watching a movie, reading a document. Facial massage can be done for seconds or hours and the battery never runs out, they are always with you, ready and willing to work and they come free of charge as part of our fabulous ‘Life Kit’.
MM: Someone’s decided to book a facial. What should they look at and opt for when selecting the treatment they will receive.
JS: They should ask the therapist, they are the qualified ‘person in the room’, they trained, they know what they are looking at and discussing with them how your skin looks and feels and how you want it to look, and feel is the only way to get your results. Any therapist that doesn’t want to discuss what they fully recommend for you possibly isn’t the therapist for you. When I worked hands on, I asked my clients to simply book time. When they arrived, we discussed how they were feeling/wanted to feel, how there skin was, what they were doing after, what they had eaten recently and then I looked at their skin. Putting all that info together with what they liked and didn’t like meant I could deliver against the needs, the skin needs, the client needs and result reality.
It never ceases to confuse me that as educated, expertly trained therapists, we let our customers to tell us what their skin needs without questioning it and then delivering it without interpreting it – simply following a step by step brand protocol. Just weird.
MM: What do you know for sure?
JS: Absolutely nothing, death & taxes? maybe, perhaps my name but maybe not even that as it isn’t the one I was given at birth, and I may have others in another, parallel life……
Many thanks to Jane for taking time out of her diary to respond so thoughtfully to all of these questions. Reader: I promised you a good one, and I think we both know Jane DELIVERED! As far as products go, I fell head over heels in love with a few of them, including BRIGHTENING B (lightweight niacinamide serum), the newly launched PURIFYING CLEANSER (Balm Gel consistency), and SKIN DRINK (your skin will crave this hydrating Frankincense tonic!).
