It’s nearly over…

This academic year is coming to an end and the end of this blog; I have completed many different tasks in order to complete my action plan however before the action plan I discounted some tasks from my SWOT analysis because of time and commitment restrictions these included:

• Completing the Dermalogica Training – Unfortunately I did not have the time to be able to complete this training due to work and university commitments; however once this academic year is finished I will be completing the training as I will have the time and resources to do so. I feel that when I have completed this training I will be able to offer a deeper breadth of knowledge to myself and therefore offer greater knowledge and expertise to my customers

• Completing Hot Stone Massage – Regrettably I also did not have the time to be able to attend a hot stone workshop at college. I did look into this option but again the sessions clashed with my work and other personal commitments ;  I will hopefully be able to attend these sessions when the new level 3’s start in September. I feel that if I can offer this treatment it will greatly improve my skills and offer new opportunities to my customers.

I believe that once I have completed these tasks I will overall be more knowledgeable and determined to succeed in other aspects of my career; gaining this experience is the first step to my progression in the beauty and spa industry.

Signing off…. J

xx

 

 

 

What I’ve accomplished this year…

Okay this year has been hard and challenging in places and I’m not just talking about academically im talking about my personal life to; but I  won’t bore you with those details (Plus there personal).

One of my favourite quotes is the one stated above from The Incredibles and in some situations its true like for personal things that can’t be changed but for academia it doesn’t apply. Reflection and development are the core to succeeding. By using an action plan for the year I have been able to focus on what my weaknesses are from the past and turn them into strengths.

 

Kolb’s Reflective Cycle (1984) has been of great help to me over the course of the year. I have been able to use it to determine what went wrong or well, what I learnt from the experience and then developing those skills further and reusing them more effectively.

Step 1 – Concrete Experience

This year has been tough definitely, but I have had many experiences that I have been able to develop my skills over. Take for example my blog post on the Indian Head Massage tutorial.

Step 2 – Reflective Observation

Once having an experience I wrote down what I think I did well and what I didn’t do so well. I then asked the people that were there if they had any other ideas for how I could improve.

Step 3 – Abstract Conceptualisation

Then I concluded what I learnt from the experience or what I hadn’t and this lead me to step four…

Step 4 – Active Experimentation

I then tried out what I had learnt again and practiced different things that the other people had mentioned (Indian Head Massage… Again) After I had practiced the whole process started again to see what I could strengthen next time

I’ve accomplished so much this year through my action plan and my personal life, I think I’m finally learning that I must develop to be able to progress.

This year has been full of reflection and development for me and I can only hope that I can continue to learn, reflect and develop over time.

 

J

 

 

Employability Week

For employability week I was asked by my university supervisor if I would come and talk to the Level Three hair groups about progression onto Levels Four and Five. I said that I would enjoy doing that and asked what kind of things they would want to know.

When I arrived at the session the students were rowdy and noisy but soon calmed down once their tutor had explained what we would be discussing. V the study skills coach also attended the session and gave a short presentation of the sorts of things to expect once studying the level 4.

I then asked if any of the students were thinking about going on to the program; none of them were particularly interested as they all had jobs currently is salons and would be working full time once they finished their level 3.

I explained to them if they did change their minds they can still apply and I would answer any questions they had then by email.

I then attended a session with the older group of hair students who were studying the level 3; one of these students was really interested in the course and asked lots of questions. I explained about the level of work and commitment you have to give to the course just in order to finish one unit; and she was still very enthusiastic. I explained to her if she needed any advice about the course she could contact V or myself and I would help them the best I could.

I then went to see the current Level Four’s and spoke with them about the change onto Level Five; they all seemed enthusiastic and also had some questions about Unit 6 Project Design, Implementation and Evaluation. I explained to them about my project but told them there were not set topics to choose from so they could take the unit wherever they wanted. This seemed to really boost morale of the group to finish the Level Four and continue onto Level Five.

The group also had some questions about their current units so I spoke with them on what I had done to reach each assessment criteria. I then wished them good luck with the rest of their course and said if they wanted to contact me on anything else they could do.

I wished all the groups with the best in their studies and their careers. I would say that although some of the students were not necessarily interested in the courses that they did gain something from myself coming to speak to them. It may not be something that they consider straight away but maybe in a couple of years they would consider studying.

In terms of my own employability I have continued to network on LinkedIn and all other social media platforms and on Twitter I even had a conversations on one of my Tweets with Models Own !!!

  

J

 

Keeping up with the Karda… Beauty and Spa Industry !

You didn’t really think I’d do a post on the Kardashian’s did you? Well I suppose in some ways they do have an influence on the industry. I mean they have makeup, nail care, hair care, eyelashes ! You name it they’ve probably done it! (And probably will do everything else beauty related in the future).

They’ve definitely left a large stamp on the beauty industry and with shows such as theirs; TOWIE, Geordie Shore and various others it’s no wonder these ‘celebrities’ make such an impact on our industry.

Just the other day I had a lady for an eyebrow wax and she wanted them like ‘Kim K’ and yes I knew instantly what that meant; I had to explain to the client that eyebrows are defined by your face shape and will not look the same on everyone! I explained and she asked tonnes of questions and seemed really pleased that I spent the time to explain this to her (She left really happy I might add – without Kim K eyebrows).

So as part of my action plan I decided that being in the hair,beauty and spa industry is very quick paced with new products coming out every week or so. I needed to brush up on my knowledge and keep ‘on trend’ and up to date.

I started by looking at companies on Facebook and these linked to different pages that advertised new products and up and coming trends. Facebook was easily accessible as I already have an account and know how to use it. Facebook was ideal also as it linked me to local and international companies that had great products; I was notified immediately when these companies posted new trends or products so it was easy to keep up.

    

Next I looked to Instagram which I also use on a daily basis to keep up to date with friends and celebrities day to day lives. Again the format was easy to follow as I already have an understanding of the site and use it regularly. I could easily look through ‘tags’ on different subject areas such as ‘spa’ or ‘facial’ to bring up products, reviews and new treatment ideas. I have found that both Instagram and Facebook are really current and up to date as they can post anything with a few clicks. Twitter offered a similar platform to Instagram and often posted links to websites, training courses and companies with new products or treatments. Just by searching terms such as ‘beauty’, ‘spa’, ‘facials’, ‘waxing’ etc.

   

 I’ve found that for myself as a Beauty Therapist Dermalogica’s Instagram accounts are really up to date and show new products and trends. There is at least one new post each day; whether it be a new product launch, inspirational quote or competition.

 

   Another really good find was my subscriptions to Cosmopolitan and Glamour Magazine; the monthly magazines have regular beauty coloumns, articles and pages on hair and beauty products, trends and spas.
  

LinkedIn has also been a great influence in keeping up with the trends; being able to connect with people in my industry and following companies, and people who I can learn from or have an invested interest in. It has allowed me to contact people in the industry that have different skills and training to me and has also opened up an opportunity to attend the Beauty UK Show in May this year.

    

I’ve also made use of the thousands of videos on Youtube; I have watched different videos from how to carry out Dermalogica Skin Mapping, The Spa Find Youthful You Anti-Ageing Facial and more…. The opportunities were endless, I watched product reviews, product and treatment reviews and ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos which has opened up a new variety of explanations as to why people experience goosebumps or tingles on their body when listening to a person carrying out their treatment.

 

 

Although these websites, apps and accounts have been helpful and influential I still think that training is essential in terms of continually keeping on trend and up to date. It has helped me to be able to converse with clients about new products on the market and to be able to sell Dermalogica products but I feel that if I attended some training I would have seen more benefit from this development activity.

These social media platforms however are a really easy and cost effective method of ‘keeping up with the beauty and spa industry!’

J

HE Student Conference 2016- Center Parcs

  29th February 9:30am -4:30pm Center Parcs

Student Conference 2016

With Vision West Nottinghamshire College – Ana Smith, Louise Knott, Sally Dodsley and Vandana Sharma

The student conference which was hosted this year at Center Parcs contained workshops on both EMPLOYABILITY, COMMUNICATION and CONFIDENCE.

To begin the day we discussed the current University Centre building project, students were advised to ask any questions that they may have, we also gave suggestions on how we want the building to work when it opens this September (2016) just in time for the new courses to start.

Next was a workshop on employability; Ana Smith talked over what employers look for from business and customer awareness to problem solving skills and communication and literacy skills. This workshop was a great eye opener not just for me but also for the other students on the conference who were all at different stages of study.

The confidence workshop focused on who we are as a person; what we offer to those around us to friends, family but most importantly what we offer our employers both present and future. We looked at personal branding and how we market ourselves to employers.

And finally the workshop on Communication which was by far the most involved and active of the sessions; we spoke about the fact that when communicating with people you must

• be clear and concise
• make sure that they can hear you
• enunciate and dictation
• check that information is correct when you receive it
• cut out the middle man to ensure the correct message is received (but only where possible)

We played a classic game of WHISPERS ! All fourteen students stood in a line and then passed a message along the line by only whispering it to each other with no repetition. As you can imagine it didn’t go quite to plan as what Ana had hoped. The message a the start was completely different to that at the end.

Ana then said that remember as a receiver of a piece of information you must respect the messenger, ask questions and paraphrase yourself to ensure your own understanding of the message.

At the end of the session we also carried out a task in which we were paired up and then sat back to back to each other. One person was given a picture and without showing it to the other person they had to describe it, but similarly to WHISPERS! only once. The drawing below shows my attempt (my drawing was the best interpretation of what my partner had described).

Overall the day was really good and gave me some excellent references for my reports (BONUS!)

Signing off

J

 

 

 

Progress…

I’m making progress !!!

Yesterday at University, I researched a Continual Professional Development plan (CPD) and then used some template ideas to start me off on creating a CPD for a level 2 beauty therapy student that I have permission to mentor and coach. I chose the student because she exhibits a real passion for beauty and is always asking questions on how I do treatments or how I work my day to day bookings. She’s very enthusiastic and she’s stated before that she wishes to progress onto level 3 and above 🙂

The CPD plan I’ve created will be used within the salon and the student will be monitored on all of the aims that I feel she needs to concentrate and improve on more. The tasks that I want the student to practice are; eyebrow waxing, receptionists skills and duties, spa hosting and aftercare advice. These will then be monitored throughout the year and hopefully progression will be made. I hope that with my input that the student will gain more confidence, skills and techniques to achieve her level 2 qualification and go onto complete level 3 and beyond.

I’ve also took the time to update my action plan for PPD with reference to the mentoring and of my own professional development through the CPD and with keeping up to date on social media with all the new trends within the industry. It was an easy step to make as I already have accounts on the biggest social media sites so its just a case of ‘following’ or ‘liking’ the right people and companies.

J

 

 

 

Psychology of the Mind

Hi Again,

First week back at university all done and dusted (I say this now as I work the weekends so I kind of count them as my working week).

We got back into the swing of things with a new Unit 🙂

Business Psychology! Which looks like is going to be really good. We carried out some really neat Psychological activities that are meant to show a deeper understanding into your life! This one pictured below is just a simple drawing of a house (ignore the terrible art skills). But what it shows an in depth picture of my life.  

  

• The house is me; depending on how large or small the house is and where it is located on the page represents my personality. (So it seems that I take up most of the page and have a large personality?) The smoke coming out of the chimney may represent my need for letting off steam or an escape from being me? – I have to say I like my alone time 🙂
• The Tree is my father, the water (pond) is my mother; this doesn’t necessarily show how close you are to either parent or which one you prefer but it can represent what you think of your parents or which once influences me more. again I kind of believe this as I would say that my mothers work ethic has influenced me more than my fathers, this might be because my dad doesn’t like his job and only wants the best for me and my sister. And I think that my father has influenced me in other ways such as my sense of humour and the need to provide and protect my family.
• The Path; shows how easy it is to get to know you, so it looks pretty straightforward to me, however I like to think of myself as a complicated character so I’m unsure of this one.
• And finally you have to add to things that make the picture complete; the sun may represent my need to be happy in everything that I do; which may explain the long way around to my education and finding what I want to do. And the people; a man and a woman stick figure may represent my need for family as they are the most important thing to me. Next….Overall a really good week.

We had a great session from V. She’s our study skills coach and she went over some excellent ways of critical analysis, and assignment writing. The need for proofreading will be taken on and implemented in my work this year. One of the tasks we did in this session was matching up the descriptions to the main objectives of some of our assessment criteria. Something that really helped.

Overall I think most of this exercise does in some ways represent my life but others not so much.

Overall a good week.

J

Progress in 2016…

Welcome 2016!!

Unit 30 was handed in and completed before Christmas, so now I have completed one of my action steps on my action plan for Unit 33. I managed to carry out relevant and helpful background reading before starting Unit 30 and it was much easier to start the overall report this way. I will definitely used background reading again before I sit and stare at a blank screen wondering where to start.

I would also say that in the build up to Christmas I did gain more confidence in the Spa Find range and did sell lots of Christmas gifts sets to new and regular clients. And since the new year has begun I have a new found confidence and approach to selling products to clients regularly and effectively. I generally now start a consultation with asking my clients if they have had the treatment before and if they are using any products currently; I can then determine whether they are in the market for new products and I will explain the benefits of adding an extra step into their home-care routine.

It not just Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise these days…. It’s pre-cleanse, cleanse, tone, ex-foliate, mask, serum, eye cream, moisturise, targeted treatments and more….

Reading and researching about new and upcoming products and innovative treatments in my spare time in magazines, articles, journals and on YouTube and twitter has given me a broader knowledge and confidence to strike up a selling conversation with my clients. Which coincidentally was another way for me to sell to more clients from my action plan steps.