Dayspa

NOV 2013

DAYSPA is the magazine of spa management. Spa owners and spa managers turn to DAYSPA for spa management trends, spa management tips and more.

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5 QUESTIONS WITH... Katherine Tomasso, national director of education for Yon-Ka Paris Katherine Tomasso is a big believer in the power of human touch. Her interest in health and healing through her hands began at a young age growing up in Essex County, New Jersey. "My grandmother would host Sunday dinners and my relatives would pay me a dollar to rub their shoulders!" recalls Tomasso. "We would discuss the importance of eating well and following a healthy diet. I always had this understanding that what we did on the inside was reflected on the outside." Her hands came in handy when she began a career in makeup artistry and esthetics in New York City, where she took on high-profile jobs for TV soap operas and photo shoots. The gigs got increasingly bigger—and then Tomasso landed a position as an esthetician for the prestigious Lancôme Institute. "It was there that I fell in love with the European approach to skin care," she recalls. "The formality of esthetics was so uncommon back then. If you asked the average person about esthetics, they would answer, 'What's that?'" Five years later, Tomasso got married and her life as a jet-setting esthetician "quieted down" as she focused on her family and started working for a small, specialized esthetic institute. But the skincare gods proved to have big plans for Tomasso. By a twist of fate, she came across an ad for a training session sponsored by professional European skincare company Yon-Ka Paris. "I loved the Asian-inspired logo in the ad and decided to sign up for the training," Tomasso explains. "In learning about the product I realized it was a perfect brand for therapeutic skin care." The rest is history. Tomasso started as a Yon-Ka educator, and was eventually named national director of education, a position she has held for almost 20 years. After nearly two decades of service, Yon-Ka's Tomasso hasn't lost an ounce of her passion for the skincare industry—or her faith in the healing power of hands. "I love that this field teaches you to gauge how people feel and what's going on within them," she explains. "There are so many layers and dimensions that align within this industry. Skin care is no longer just about skin care—it's now about wellness." —Angela Melero 66 DAYSPA | NOVEMBER 2013 How has the skincare industry landscape changed over the years? 1 Back when I first started in the esthetics field, a person's knowledge of skin and of using their hands as a tool were so important. While I believe these two fundamental principles are still vital today, I think it is equally important to embrace other technologies that enhance what we do. What is your favorite part of the job? 2 I love seeing myself in younger estheticians. I enjoy it when they come up to me raving about Yon-Ka and how impressed they are with the results and about the client satisfaction they've been able to achieve by using the line. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? 3 Because my work keeps me so busy, I need a simple personal life that consists of my family and a few perfect friends. I've been married for 26 years and my husband and I have so much fun together. We love to cook and go to the movies—I'm a big fan of foreign films. We also travel. Last year we went to Maine and visited all the quaint resorts, ate great food and fell in love with the landscape. What advice do you have for young estheticians just starting out in the industry? 4 I think it's incredibly important to find someone to mentor you until you gain enough experience to become a mentor yourself. I also recommend studying voraciously and never allowing yourself to become stale or stagnant in your knowledge. Keep an open mind about all aspects of the industry. Back when I started it was much easier to specialize in a specific area, but it's harder to do that these days. You should be knowledgeable in all areas and techniques, whether it's the more holistic concepts or the more Western philosophies. Do you feel like you can reach the point where there is nothing else to learn professionally? 5 There's always something to learn and so many sources to learn from: clients, teachers and even your competition. The day I answer 'yes', to that question is the day I retire to an island!

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