September 1, 2025 • 27 mins
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What happens when someone who's struggled with skin insecurities their entire life finally finds real solutions? In this heartfelt conversation, Ashley Gillen opens up about her personal battle with rosacea, freckles, and cystic acne that shaped not just her appearance, but her entire sense of self-worth and confidence.
Ashley's story will resonate with anyone who's ever felt uncomfortable in their own skin. Growing up in Florida with redness and freckles that classmates would "play connect-the-dots with," she spent years hiding behind heavy makeup and long sleeves. When pregnancy brought cystic acne that left permanent scarring, her struggle intensified just as she was trying to navigate new motherhood and career changes.
The turning point came when Ashley joined the Couture Med Spa team and discovered what was possible through consistent treatments and proper skincare education. She shares the transformative power of IPL therapy for redness and sun damage, fractional treatments for resurfacing and collagen stimulation, and her essential skincare routine featuring hyaluronic acid, gentle cleansers, and sunscreen.
What makes this episode particularly powerful is Ashley's reflection on how her own transformation enables her to connect authentically with clients facing similar struggles. She brings vulnerability and lived experience to each consultation, creating trust through shared understanding. When a client tells her they finally feel comfortable wearing less makeup or a tank top for the first time, Ashley knows exactly what that victory feels like.
The conversation explores how proper education forms the foundation of successful skincare journeys. Ashley emphasizes that explaining treatments in accessible ways helps clients understand both what to expect and why consistency is crucial for optimal results—particularly with challenging conditions that require long-term management.
Whether you're currently struggling with skin concerns or supporting someone who is, this episode offers hope, practical advice, and a reminder that you're never alone in your skincare journey. Visit couturemedspacom or follow Couture Med Spa on social media to learn how you can start your own transformation story.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Hello everyone and welcome back to Couture
Conversations, the podcast wherewe share real stories, real
confidence and everything inbetween.
I'm your host, lindsay, andtoday we are sitting down with
someone very special, not just avalued team member, but someone
whose personal skincare journeywith Couture is truly inspiring
.
I'm talking to none other thanAshley Gillen.
(00:37):
She is part of our Couturefamily in more ways than one,
and today she's opening up abouther own skin struggles and how
they shaped her confidence, andhow finding couture changed
everything, and what it's likenow to help others struggling in
the same process.
Ashley, thank you so much forjoining me.
Thanks for having me.
I'm so excited, I'm superexcited for today's episode.
(00:59):
So let's take it back to thevery beginning.
So, before you ever joined thecouture team, what was your skin
like growing up or as a youngadult?
What sort of struggles did youface?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
So I mean, I did start with couture as a young
adult.
I was about 24, 25, um, andpregnant, but prior to that I
would say, since you know thatwas a younger age, I'll say like
high school to there.
Um, I, you know, I've alwayshad rosacea.
I've struggled with rosacea anddryness of skin.
Um, uh, freckles like I've.
(01:32):
I am a freckly person all overum, which the people who don't
have freckles don't understand.
The struggle of.
You know what it's like.
I mean, growing up I had to, Ihad sometimes if I was sitting
there in class I had people play, connect the dots, so you know
things like that, but, um, theredness is really one of my
biggest.
You know things that I didn'tlike.
(01:53):
Um, growing up, I would alwaysbe covering it, you know, with
heavy makeup, trying out newthings, just for like halfway
through the day.
You know you could, it's goingto come and it's going to show
back up, um, even like withfreckles.
Um, this is just cause I'mwearing a couture shirt, but, uh
, I would always have longsleeves.
You know pants, I mean, yeah,sometimes we grew up in Florida
(02:16):
there's a swimsuit and shorts,but I never felt.
I guess I never feltcomfortable in my own skin
growing up, um, and even then,when I got pregnant, then I
started to struggle with likecystic acne, and it was just
from pregnancy, but it left alot of scars, you know, on my
cheeks on both sides, and thatwas something new to me too,
right?
(02:36):
So I'm struggling as a brandnew, soon to be mom, and then I
was having the cystic which Itold myself this is just
pregnancy, right, it's going togo away.
Well, it goes away and leaves apretty little scar in its place
, um, and so then I'm strugglingas a new mom, trying to figure
out who I am and a new job.
And then, you know, andeverything was changing and
(02:57):
coming and working with couturesreally, really, really helped
me, um, because there werethings that I didn't realize
that I could.
I could fix right Not fix, butI could make me feel better, um,
so I would say I struggled alot with just feeling really
uncomfortable with who I was.
I didn't really know who I was.
Um, I like to say that I'mproud and I'm happy that I
(03:18):
actually do know who I am now,um, inside and out.
Um, and honestly, my journeywith skincare has helped me
become that person I think I wastoo afraid to be that person.
You know, when you're alwaysthinking about insecurities and,
oh my gosh, do they notice that?
And they're staring at thescars that are on my face?
Or I don't have the clear skinthat everybody else has, right,
it's not tan, it's not white.
(03:40):
There's sunspots everywhere,right, and because it is that's
what freckles are.
They are sunspots everywhere,right, and because it is that's
what freckles are.
They are sunspots, right, andend of the day, it's not that
they're not healthy.
Um, so it.
It is hard.
And then my second child was agirl, right, so you want to
always be positive, you know,for them as well.
So it's really really hard.
It's a struggle, um, you knowthat I did have, but coming to
(04:02):
couture really really helped mewith that.
But I must say that when Istarted with Couture, it was
never.
They never said anything to me.
Diane and Eric never once werelike hey, are you going to fix
that redness, you know?
Or what do you want to do?
What treatments would you liketo do?
They never even asked me, theyjust brought me on and they, you
(04:22):
know, they did treatments andas I saw them on other clients
and as I saw them on otherclients.
Honestly, you have to remember,when I started I was originally
pregnant and then, you know, Iwas a new mom, so there was
treatments I couldn't do.
But I watched other people'streatments and I watched the
results and you know I believedin it and I'd always believed in
it to begin with.
You know that we were going toget results.
But seeing them and feelingthem every day and seeing the
(04:45):
clients light up when they gotit, you know it was really,
really, it really changed for meand it, you know, helped me
realize oh, I can do that formyself.
I enjoy doing it, you know, forthe clients, but I really could
do that for myself and you knowthat's kind of how I got here.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Were there any?
Were there anything likeproducts or things that you
tried or used in like the earlytimes that you were like man,
that just really didn't work orwasn't something that I'm trying
to think of, like cause I?
I struggled with redness, andso I know there's things that I
would always like go and try andyou're like, oh, that did
nothing.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Well, I guess it's going to be really bad to say,
but I grew up, kind of in ahousehold where we didn't have a
skin regimen there.
It wasn't a thing, right?
Sunscreen was barely a thing,you know, um.
So it was just oh, it's red.
You live in Florida, you're.
Those freckles are kisses fromthe angels, like.
So I didn't know for a long timeand you know that, and maybe I
(05:41):
didn't want to.
You know, um, that there werethings that I could do, did I?
I did eventually start trying,you know, some vitamin C over
the counter, you know, to helpwith redness and things like
that.
Um, I tried some products youknow the ones that you see on
like TV, um, and ordered them,but I don't know that if I was
consistent enough either withthem.
Honestly, again, I was youngalthough that's when you should
(06:04):
start taking care of your skinUm, I, nothing, nothing really
did work for me.
Honestly, um, and again, Idon't know if it was the product
or if it was me, but it wasbeing in an atmosphere where I
knew I could, you know, like,with IPLs, help me with.
You know, they're going to helpme with everything my, my
sunspots, my redness, anythingthat I had, going on there,
(06:24):
broken capillaries that come outof rosacea as well too, which
you know can be kind ofembarrassing and mortifying as
you have them being able to bein a location where I was
consistent with my treatmentsand, you know, with the team I
had Diane behind me.
You know she would support meall along.
Okay well, you did that firstone.
It's been four weeks.
It's been four weeks.
(06:44):
It's time to do that next one.
You know, making sure that Idid stay consistent with them as
well, you know, and her stayingconsistent with me helped me
stay consistent with everybodyelse too.
Um, because the more you seehim with you, it's like me and
some of the clients in thebeginning.
We're going on those journeystogether.
You know.
We're all watching each otherand cheering each other on, and
it was fun, um.
But to answer your originalquestion is I didn't really have
a product too much that I tried.
I tried stuff here and there,but I wasn't consistent because
(07:04):
it wasn't something I knew ofright, and I think, I want to
think, that there's probably alot of people out there like me
who didn't, you know, who didn'tknow that there were things out
there, even as simple asskincare products that can help
you with some of the things.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Yeah, I think that is .
You're not wrong.
A lot of things are just kindof oh, maybe I'll try this or
this, and it's a very sporadictype thing.
So being able to have somewherethat can help you stay super
consistent and loves consistency, so that's going to be one of
the biggest keys is findingsomething that can help, but
(07:39):
staying consistent with it is ahuge part of it, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And you know, obviously here we, we pride
ourselves on education, right.
So I, Diane, taught me a lot inthe beginning, right?
And then we've taught ourselvesa lot throughout all of this
too.
And then, you know, bringing onestheticians such as yourself,
you know, I've learned even moreand it's a continuous.
I feel like I'm learningsomething every day and I really
really like that and I enjoythat and I get to push that out
to not just the team but to, youknow, any clients that I can
(08:04):
touch and I can talk to.
But I do think, going back toskincare and the regimens, you
do need a great skincare regimenin order to be doing like if
you're going to be doing IPLsand you're going to be doing
fractionals and you're going towork lasers in general, even
injectables, you have to startwith that baseline.
You really really do.
You have to have that good.
You know elasticity in yourskin and you have to make sure
you're consistent, you know withit and start from there.
(08:27):
And once you start, you know,once you start and are
consistent with that, then goinginto your treatments.
So if you're not going to takecare of your skin to begin with
and in the long term, the othertreatments are just going to,
you know, kind of hold off.
They're still going to work,but you're not going to get the
overall glow that you're reallywanting in your skin.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Yeah, um, so, as someone who, now, how important
do you think it is to be able toand I know not everyone is
super open about their journeyand their insecurities that they
have had and things thatthey've struggled with but being
able to kind of share thatjourney with clients and letting
(09:04):
them know that they're notalone, how important do you
think that is, to kind of beable to have that connection?
I?
Speaker 2 (09:11):
think it's extremely important.
I think it's what sets us asidefrom a lot of other companies.
Not to say that you can't getthat from any other med school
I'm not saying that, but I doknow that we pride ourselves on
that right.
We bring people in who arecomfortable telling their
stories, um, and saying how youknow where they were, how bad
were they struggling and whatdid we get out of right, and
(09:33):
bringing this to our clients andsaying we've been there, right,
it might be a little bit of adifferent story.
We all have them, you know.
I think being human, you know,is super, super, super important
, and letting the world knowthat it's okay, we're here, we
got you and we're going to helpyou, we're going to hold your
(09:59):
hand, you know, along the way.
That's the whole thing is.
You know, we're results drivenand we want to ensure that, if
somebody is coming in throughour doors, that whatever it is
that really is struggling withthem or is bothering them, that
we're going to get them theresults.
You know we're going to be openand honest, right, is that
something we can get themresults on, you know?
And if we could do, here's yourregimen for it, and then we
want to ensure that we areholding ourselves responsible,
that they are going to getthemselves those results right,
because that's what's important,that's what they came there for
.
They trust us to be that onebecause, like I was saying, I
(10:22):
wasn't consistent in thebeginning, right when I was
younger I wasn't consistent andconsistency is key, right, and
and I know, for a lot of peopletoo, they can't afford all of
those treatments, right?
So that's why our model isreally really helpful and
beneficial and it is affordable,you know, to more people than
most, let's be honest, a lot ofother places are more expensive.
So, anywhere we get discountson things, we push them out, you
(10:43):
know, to our clients and honorthem with them, because we want
them to have those results and,I think, you know, holding their
hand and being human with themand saying let's sit down, let's
talk about it, and the peopledon't want to.
So we just share our journeysand, along the way, they'll
eventually share theirs withours.
But knowing that we're going toget them from point A to, you
know, to point B and possiblyeven further down the road with
(11:03):
them, depending on what it isthat they want, is really really
extremely important.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
What were?
What were some of your favoritetreatments that you've done?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Well, IPL is definitely one of my favorites.
I have a love-hate relationshipwith IPL because of, you know,
IPL with the red flashes and myblue eyes, it doesn't hurt, it's
just.
It's an odd sensation, but theresults for it are amazing.
I love IPL.
For those of you who don't know, you know I've moved back to
(11:35):
Oregon, still in the company,but prior to moving to Oregon,
Diane, she, I've held mebasically from head to toe and
you know I obviously needconsistency and key is key again
of keeping up with theirtreatments is once you've gotten
those desired results.
Maintenance is extremelyimportant because now we've
erased the past, but the futureis still there If you're not
taking care of yourself.
And even if you are taking careof yourself here we're Florida,
right.
Anywhere there's sun, there'sdamage, there's, you know, dirt
(11:58):
and grime out there, Right.
So it's going to build up on toyour skin.
Just taking care of it andmaintenance is key.
Um, but IPL would be one of myfavorite treatments, Although
Dysport is another very, verysecond.
Um, anytime I start gettingmovement, I'm like I need to
support diane, you know, or anyof the providers.
I just say diane because youknow me and her.
(12:19):
From the beginning I was diane,but I trust every single one of
our providers to do whateverthey think.
You know it is that I need um,but ipl, disport and fractionals
.
Fractionals are my nextfavorite and when I do go too
long without a maintenancefractional, I do start seeing,
you know, some of my linesstarting to come back because we
(12:40):
all age.
It's there, it's going tohappen, so just staying
consistent with it.
But those are my threefavorites.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Yeah, so can you tell us, for anyone who doesn't know
, what are IPLs and Fractionals?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
for anyone who doesn't know what are IPLs and
fractional?
Yeah so IPL is intense pulselight.
Um, for anyone who's out there,it's going to get rid of, you
know, redness like rosacea forme, sunspots like freckles, or
you know even just differenttypes of sunspots any, any
pigmentation that you have onyour face it's really going to
get rid of.
Um, dysport is a neurotoxin,just very, very, very similar to
Botox.
(13:12):
It's going to get rid of any ofthe muscle movements that you
make.
It's going to stop you frombeing able to make those,
depending on how much you'regetting and how you want your
desired result to be.
And then fractionals are more oflike a resurfacing laser for
you.
We do numb for that one forabout 45 minutes prior to
treatment.
Treatment itself takes about 10minutes long and it is
(13:34):
resurfacing, getting rid of finelines and wrinkles, enlarged
pores.
It's stimulating your owncollagen Because, for those of
you who don't know, typicallyyou know as we age we lose the
collagen.
You know that we are naturallyproducing, so we're putting it
back in there and re-stimulatingthat collagen to really help
with the natural growth for us.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Yeah, ipls are one of my go-tos for the same thing my
redness, my rosacea.
I always just felt like I wasreally red and blotchy and
always just thought like, oh, Iguess I'm just going to have to
stay like this, like that's justhow it is.
And, yeah, when I startedworking at couture, I started
(14:13):
doing IPLs for my pigmentation,my freckles, but I noticed how
much it was helping with myredness and my rosacea as well.
Um, so that is one of thethings I tell every client if
you're a candidate for IPL, doit.
It's amazing.
Um, fractionals I've done acouple of fractionals.
I do love them as well.
That's the one I have a lovehate relationship with.
They don't feel great, but theygive great results, so I'll
(14:40):
take it.
Um, are there any skincare?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
products that you've loved.
Well, I mean, you have to havea hyaluronic serum in life, um,
hyaluronic serum, obviously,sunscreen, um, and for a long
time I was a tinted sunscreengirly, but I'm not.
I've recently, you know causeI've I've gotten so much.
You know, we, we, we've gottenso much better with our, you
know our skincare regimen overthe years, and I find now that I
(15:02):
tend to just go for the regularsunscreen in the morning, um,
rather than, you know, a tintedone, Um, but you have to have
your hyaluronic and you have tohave sunscreen.
Other than that, I like gentlecleansers.
You know I'm more of a gentleperson.
I am more sensitive due tohaving rosacea.
Obviously, you need a type oftretinoin or retinol, but for me
(15:26):
, because I am sensitive, youknow, it's one that I go every
like three days and do but yeah,get me hyaluronic, get me some
sunscreen, I'll wash my face.
And then, you know, my retinols, those are, you know, go-to.
Obviously, I have otherproducts that I'm using, but
those are, you know, the basisof my regimen.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, that's a really good core foundation for it.
Like you said, we stoppedproducing our own collagen every
single year as we get older, sohaving some sort of retinol
tretinoin in there to help speedthat up Sunscreen obviously to
help you know everything, stopeverything from breaking down.
So good for for products.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
So Absolutely.
And you know, since I said thatIPL is my favorite, I have to
have sunscreen with that one too.
So Better be wearing yoursunscreen with that so fast
forward now.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
now that you're working at Couture and you can
help other clients who arewalking in with the same
insecurities or frustrations youwant to have, how does it feel
being on the other side of thatnow?
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yeah, it feels it feels good.
It feels good to be on theother side of that.
But in order for it to feelgood, you do have to get
emotional right.
You have to bring in thatemotion with clients and that
doesn't always feel good whenyou have to hear somebody else's
struggles.
It can be hard, right, havingto hear their struggles and but
(16:42):
it feels good knowing that theychose you to be the person to
tell it to right and thatthey're trusting you to be the
one to help them out of thosestruggles.
So the end result feels greatand the you know going through
it and really pushing them and,you know, cheering them on to
get, you know, to the end of theline feels great.
But in the beginning you dohave to get a little emotional
with them, you know, and havethem really work a trust with
(17:05):
you, right, so that they knowthat you're going to get them
where they need to go.
But it feels good at the end ofthe day.
It feels good knowing that we'rehelping people really, really
enjoy themselves and feel goodabout themselves at the end of
the day, right, and aboutnatural beauty and anything, and
sometimes it's not even justabout natural beauty, it's about
making them feel good on theinside, whatever that may be to
(17:27):
them.
And I think at the end of theday, that really, really feels
good and it lights me up whenyou know that you've succeeded
right.
But when you see somebody elsewho's struggling, who doesn't
feel like they're succeeding,you always have to remind them
of those little wins, right hereor there, where we're not there
yet but we're getting there andyou can see it, and showing
them those before pictures andthose after pictures and kind of
(17:47):
going through the motions withthem.
But it really does.
It feels good.
It's something that reallymakes me happy to see other
people happy.
I'm a happy person.
I like to create joy and to seeit in other people.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, I always like when I have a client that has
been coming to us for a whileand then I finally hear them say
, I just feel like I don't haveto wear as much makeup anymore,
have a client that has beencoming to us for a while and
then I finally hear them saylike, yeah, I just feel like I,
you know, I don't have to wearas much makeup anymore, or I
just wear a tinted sunscreen.
Now, you know, coming fromsomeone who, um, maybe, you know
, felt like they always had towear a full face of makeup or
felt like they couldn't docertain things, or whatever it
(18:23):
may be, to then feel comfortable, to be able to.
You know, their end goal was tonot feel like they always
needed to cover up, um, to beable to hear that is so exciting
or, um, not so much on the skinside of the journey.
But I had a client not too longago that we've been doing, um,
some body contouring on.
She's been doing her therapy,um on her arm area and, uh, I
(18:46):
think we've maybe done like fiveor six treatments now, and she
finally was like, yeah, you know, cause?
I was asking her, you know, doyou feel like you're seeing any
differences or seeing anychanges.
And she's like, you know,physically like when I
physically look she's like.
Sometimes I feel like I can.
Sometimes I'm not sure she'slike, but the other day I put a
tank top on and didn't thinktwice about it and she's like I
(19:06):
would have never even wanted towear a tank top before.
So even being able to hear andsee that confidence change in
someone whether it is in or youknow, body contouring that we're
doing, or laser hair removalfeeling like they can, you know,
whatever it may be being ableto share those little wins with
them, is really cool and isreally exciting and is something
(19:28):
that and I'm sure, somethingthat you might feel the same way
about as well.
But sometimes I feel like I cansee myself in that person, like
I have those same insecuritiesthat I've been able to work on
and see those changes.
To be able to see that in ourclients that we're helping is
really exciting.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
No, I a thousand percent agree.
And the fact that you bring upthe tank top does remind me of
myself, and you know we'vetalked about insecurities and
there were so many that I hadprior to this.
You know, I just kind of focusedon the basics of the redness
and things like that, but I'vealways had a very big insecurity
of my arms, always, um, and Ididn't like them in pictures.
I would make sure I wore longsleeves or at least, you know,
(20:06):
short sleeves, never a tank top,and I just wouldn't wear them,
I didn't like them.
And you know, now that we offer, you know, the GLP ones, the
weight loss medications outthere, and I've, you know, been
taking them and on them and Iactually same thing, I wore a
tank top the other day and itwas very eye-opening to me as I
put it on and you know I waswalking around and my daughter
comes up to me and she goes Mom,I've never seen you in a tank
(20:29):
top and you look so gorgeous andI loved it, you know.
And so things like that does westill resonate with our clients
, right, there's always, youknow, something different and
things like that out there.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
So, yeah, I do like seeing that in our clients and
being able to feel human withthem and watching them, you know
, grow.
So we've kind of touched onthis a little bit as well.
But how important do you thinkeducation is when it comes to
what we do at Couture and beingable to help our clients, you
know?
What role does education reallyplay with that?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Education plays a huge role in that.
Education plays a huge role inthat Education plays a huge role
in everything I think in life,but specifically for you know
our services and our products.
We have a lot of clients whoare coming in and they're
trusting us right.
So being able to break it downfor them in a way that they
understand, too is important tome.
Because, you know, I've been toother places where you go and
(21:28):
you sit down and they explainsomething to me and what I need
to do, and I had no idea whatthey meant, right, like they
explained it, and it wasn't theproblem, right, it was the
education behind it.
But sometimes I didn't knowwhat that education meant.
Like what, what is that?
So I think for me, education isextremely important, but you
also have to know your audienceright and be able to explain it
in a way that the client sittingin front of you is going to
(21:50):
understand and be okay and say Ithink that sounds great, right,
so that they know every step ofthe way we talk about.
You know leading them frompoint A to point B and getting
them to the end of the line andgetting them those results.
But what's more important isthat they know how they're
getting those results right.
And as we're going throughthose steps, we're telling them
how it's working right, where,if you're getting an IPL, you do
(22:10):
need a series of you know,three to four, depending on the
area, depending on the personright and you know, explaining
to them the process along theway.
And no, you're not going to seethat result after one right.
It's still doing its job, it'sgoing to get rid of it, but
you're going to need the rest ofthose treatments, you know, to
really get it.
So I think education of it isextremely important, but I do
(22:31):
believe that it needs to.
The way that you educate theclient depends on the client
themselves, but they need tounderstand or, you know, if
they're not, I feel if they'renot educated on it, they're
going to feel that maybe we'renot knowledgeable on it, right?
So I do feel like we want tomake them as comfortable as
possible.
They came to us vulnerable, solet's make them comfortable,
let's give them all theknowledge that they need and set
(22:53):
them on their journey with us.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, I think too that you know, not every single
person that works at Kator hasdone every single service that
we offer Maybe something thatyou know is not medically needed
for them or something like that.
But, just like you were saying,being able to share your
experience and it, it gives themmore realistic outcome to a
client, to where, yeah, it's not, we're not just selling them
(23:19):
and being like you need threetreatments of this, and that's
just because that's what it says.
Um, mine, that I love to sharewith clients is I struggled with
um and I still do um, withmelasma on my forehead and you
know it comes and goes,especially with summertime, and
you know, having a client, it'sfrustrating, it's, it's hard
(23:40):
when you have especially asomething that doesn't clear
right away or doesn't changeright away.
Um, and you know they're,they're paying money and they're
wanting to.
You know, see these big results, um, I always try and tell that
.
You know my melasma took meabout five years to really
subside and get under control.
Um, and that was withconsistent lasers and consistent
(24:05):
skincare products.
Um, and there's still timeswhere you know, I went to the
beach for a couple of days andyou know, I wore my sunscreen, I
wore my hat, I stayed in theshade, I did everything I could.
I came back and my melasma wasshowing up again, um, so it's
something that you know I'm ableto share with them.
Like I, I know what you'regoing through and I can give you
(24:25):
these tools to try and help.
But, you know, letting themknow that we've most of us have
all gone through these differentjourneys as well, and this was
my story and this is what I didand how I can help.
But to being able to see that,yeah, it's not just like, oh,
you have to have three to fivetreatments because you know
(24:46):
that's what this Handbook says,or whatever it is, but being
able to really explain and havethat knowledge behind it of, hey
, I've, I've tried these and Iuse these treatments as well and
I do these, um, but it's goingto.
It's going to.
It's a process and you have tobe consistent and you have to be
dedicated to it.
And you know, like you spokeabout before too, is also
maintaining because, yeah, youcan erase what was there in the
(25:08):
past, but, as we still age those, you know whether it's
millennial sites frompigmentation that are still
coming to the surface orwhatever it may be, we're still
fighting that aging process aswell, so it's not also just a
okay, you've seen some goodresults and then you just
stopped doing everything.
So, being able to really walkwith them through all parts of
that journey, to where they'rejust starting, to someone who is
(25:31):
feeling more confident and theyhave seen those results, but
giving them that education,that's like hey, I don't want
you to just stop doing whatyou're doing either.
Let's find more of amaintenance plan for you.
I think is really important.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
A thousand percent, I agree.
And I think when you talk abouteducation, too, it's not just
education on the services youknow that we're giving to them
too.
When you talk about melasma,it's kind of going back and
talking to them about melasma,right, and why it's going to
take that long, right, and thatit can pop up at different times
depending on hormones, right.
So really explaining to them sothat they understand the
process of what's happening tothem and why that's occurring,
(26:06):
prior to even talking about thetreatments to them as well.
So I do think that that'sextremely important and a great
conversation to have.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
So, ashley, thank you very much for being vulnerable
and sharing your journey.
I'm sure it resonates with somany people out there.
We there's, you know we allhave have our struggles and you
know we we want Couture to be aplace that people can come and
feel comfortable and know thatyou know, even if maybe it
wasn't that exact same struggle,but we've, you know, we've all
(26:40):
gone through something, um.
So I really appreciate yousharing your journey, um,
sharing that with us.
So if Ashley's journey hasresonated with you, or if you'll
might resonate with someonethat you know, share this
episode with someone you knowlet's help build some confidence
.
And, you know, if you want tocome check us out, if you're
ready to start your owntransformation, you can come see
(27:00):
us at any of our Couture MedSpa locations.
You can visit us atcouturemedspacom, check out some
before and afters, and you canfollow us on all of our social
media.
So we're on YouTube, tiktok,facebook, instagram, all the
things.
So until next time.
Thanks for joining us, thankyou.
Hello everyone and welcome back to Couture
Conversations, the podcast wherewe share real stories, real
confidence and everything inbetween.
I'm your host, lindsay, andtoday we are sitting down with
someone very special, not just avalued team member, but someone
whose personal skincare journeywith Couture is truly inspiring
.
I'm talking to none other thanAshley Gillen.
(00:37):
She is part of our Couturefamily in more ways than one,
and today she's opening up abouther own skin struggles and how
they shaped her confidence, andhow finding couture changed
everything, and what it's likenow to help others struggling in
the same process.
Ashley, thank you so much forjoining me.
Thanks for having me.
I'm so excited, I'm superexcited for today's episode.
(00:59):
So let's take it back to thevery beginning.
So, before you ever joined thecouture team, what was your skin
like growing up or as a youngadult?
What sort of struggles did youface?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
So I mean, I did start with couture as a young
adult.
I was about 24, 25, um, andpregnant, but prior to that I
would say, since you know thatwas a younger age, I'll say like
high school to there.
Um, I, you know, I've alwayshad rosacea.
I've struggled with rosacea anddryness of skin.
Um, uh, freckles like I've.
(01:32):
I am a freckly person all overum, which the people who don't
have freckles don't understand.
The struggle of.
You know what it's like.
I mean, growing up I had to, Ihad sometimes if I was sitting
there in class I had people play, connect the dots, so you know
things like that, but, um, theredness is really one of my
biggest.
You know things that I didn'tlike.
(01:53):
Um, growing up, I would alwaysbe covering it, you know, with
heavy makeup, trying out newthings, just for like halfway
through the day.
You know you could, it's goingto come and it's going to show
back up, um, even like withfreckles.
Um, this is just cause I'mwearing a couture shirt, but, uh
, I would always have longsleeves.
You know pants, I mean, yeah,sometimes we grew up in Florida
(02:16):
there's a swimsuit and shorts,but I never felt.
I guess I never feltcomfortable in my own skin
growing up, um, and even then,when I got pregnant, then I
started to struggle with likecystic acne, and it was just
from pregnancy, but it left alot of scars, you know, on my
cheeks on both sides, and thatwas something new to me too,
right?
(02:36):
So I'm struggling as a brandnew, soon to be mom, and then I
was having the cystic which Itold myself this is just
pregnancy, right, it's going togo away.
Well, it goes away and leaves apretty little scar in its place
, um, and so then I'm strugglingas a new mom, trying to figure
out who I am and a new job.
And then, you know, andeverything was changing and
(02:57):
coming and working with couturesreally, really, really helped
me, um, because there werethings that I didn't realize
that I could.
I could fix right Not fix, butI could make me feel better, um,
so I would say I struggled alot with just feeling really
uncomfortable with who I was.
I didn't really know who I was.
Um, I like to say that I'mproud and I'm happy that I
(03:18):
actually do know who I am now,um, inside and out.
Um, and honestly, my journeywith skincare has helped me
become that person I think I wastoo afraid to be that person.
You know, when you're alwaysthinking about insecurities and,
oh my gosh, do they notice that?
And they're staring at thescars that are on my face?
Or I don't have the clear skinthat everybody else has, right,
it's not tan, it's not white.
(03:40):
There's sunspots everywhere,right, and because it is that's
what freckles are.
They are sunspots everywhere,right, and because it is that's
what freckles are.
They are sunspots, right, andend of the day, it's not that
they're not healthy.
Um, so it.
It is hard.
And then my second child was agirl, right, so you want to
always be positive, you know,for them as well.
So it's really really hard.
It's a struggle, um, you knowthat I did have, but coming to
(04:02):
couture really really helped mewith that.
But I must say that when Istarted with Couture, it was
never.
They never said anything to me.
Diane and Eric never once werelike hey, are you going to fix
that redness, you know?
Or what do you want to do?
What treatments would you liketo do?
They never even asked me, theyjust brought me on and they, you
(04:22):
know, they did treatments andas I saw them on other clients
and as I saw them on otherclients.
Honestly, you have to remember,when I started I was originally
pregnant and then, you know, Iwas a new mom, so there was
treatments I couldn't do.
But I watched other people'streatments and I watched the
results and you know I believedin it and I'd always believed in
it to begin with.
You know that we were going toget results.
But seeing them and feelingthem every day and seeing the
(04:45):
clients light up when they gotit, you know it was really,
really, it really changed for meand it, you know, helped me
realize oh, I can do that formyself.
I enjoy doing it, you know, forthe clients, but I really could
do that for myself and you knowthat's kind of how I got here.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Were there any?
Were there anything likeproducts or things that you
tried or used in like the earlytimes that you were like man,
that just really didn't work orwasn't something that I'm trying
to think of, like cause I?
I struggled with redness, andso I know there's things that I
would always like go and try andyou're like, oh, that did
nothing.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Well, I guess it's going to be really bad to say,
but I grew up, kind of in ahousehold where we didn't have a
skin regimen there.
It wasn't a thing, right?
Sunscreen was barely a thing,you know, um.
So it was just oh, it's red.
You live in Florida, you're.
Those freckles are kisses fromthe angels, like.
So I didn't know for a long timeand you know that, and maybe I
(05:41):
didn't want to.
You know, um, that there werethings that I could do, did I?
I did eventually start trying,you know, some vitamin C over
the counter, you know, to helpwith redness and things like
that.
Um, I tried some products youknow the ones that you see on
like TV, um, and ordered them,but I don't know that if I was
consistent enough either withthem.
Honestly, again, I was youngalthough that's when you should
(06:04):
start taking care of your skinUm, I, nothing, nothing really
did work for me.
Honestly, um, and again, Idon't know if it was the product
or if it was me, but it wasbeing in an atmosphere where I
knew I could, you know, like,with IPLs, help me with.
You know, they're going to helpme with everything my, my
sunspots, my redness, anythingthat I had, going on there,
(06:24):
broken capillaries that come outof rosacea as well too, which
you know can be kind ofembarrassing and mortifying as
you have them being able to bein a location where I was
consistent with my treatmentsand, you know, with the team I
had Diane behind me.
You know she would support meall along.
Okay well, you did that firstone.
It's been four weeks.
It's been four weeks.
(06:44):
It's time to do that next one.
You know, making sure that Idid stay consistent with them as
well, you know, and her stayingconsistent with me helped me
stay consistent with everybodyelse too.
Um, because the more you seehim with you, it's like me and
some of the clients in thebeginning.
We're going on those journeystogether.
You know.
We're all watching each otherand cheering each other on, and
it was fun, um.
But to answer your originalquestion is I didn't really have
a product too much that I tried.
I tried stuff here and there,but I wasn't consistent because
(07:04):
it wasn't something I knew ofright, and I think, I want to
think, that there's probably alot of people out there like me
who didn't, you know, who didn'tknow that there were things out
there, even as simple asskincare products that can help
you with some of the things.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Yeah, I think that is .
You're not wrong.
A lot of things are just kindof oh, maybe I'll try this or
this, and it's a very sporadictype thing.
So being able to have somewherethat can help you stay super
consistent and loves consistency, so that's going to be one of
the biggest keys is findingsomething that can help, but
(07:39):
staying consistent with it is ahuge part of it, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
And you know, obviously here we, we pride
ourselves on education, right.
So I, Diane, taught me a lot inthe beginning, right?
And then we've taught ourselvesa lot throughout all of this
too.
And then, you know, bringing onestheticians such as yourself,
you know, I've learned even moreand it's a continuous.
I feel like I'm learningsomething every day and I really
really like that and I enjoythat and I get to push that out
to not just the team but to, youknow, any clients that I can
(08:04):
touch and I can talk to.
But I do think, going back toskincare and the regimens, you
do need a great skincare regimenin order to be doing like if
you're going to be doing IPLsand you're going to be doing
fractionals and you're going towork lasers in general, even
injectables, you have to startwith that baseline.
You really really do.
You have to have that good.
You know elasticity in yourskin and you have to make sure
you're consistent, you know withit and start from there.
(08:27):
And once you start, you know,once you start and are
consistent with that, then goinginto your treatments.
So if you're not going to takecare of your skin to begin with
and in the long term, the othertreatments are just going to,
you know, kind of hold off.
They're still going to work,but you're not going to get the
overall glow that you're reallywanting in your skin.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Yeah, um, so, as someone who, now, how important
do you think it is to be able toand I know not everyone is
super open about their journeyand their insecurities that they
have had and things thatthey've struggled with but being
able to kind of share thatjourney with clients and letting
(09:04):
them know that they're notalone, how important do you
think that is, to kind of beable to have that connection?
I?
Speaker 2 (09:11):
think it's extremely important.
I think it's what sets us asidefrom a lot of other companies.
Not to say that you can't getthat from any other med school
I'm not saying that, but I doknow that we pride ourselves on
that right.
We bring people in who arecomfortable telling their
stories, um, and saying how youknow where they were, how bad
were they struggling and whatdid we get out of right, and
(09:33):
bringing this to our clients andsaying we've been there, right,
it might be a little bit of adifferent story.
We all have them, you know.
I think being human, you know,is super, super, super important
, and letting the world knowthat it's okay, we're here, we
got you and we're going to helpyou, we're going to hold your
(09:59):
hand, you know, along the way.
That's the whole thing is.
You know, we're results drivenand we want to ensure that, if
somebody is coming in throughour doors, that whatever it is
that really is struggling withthem or is bothering them, that
we're going to get them theresults.
You know we're going to be openand honest, right, is that
something we can get themresults on, you know?
And if we could do, here's yourregimen for it, and then we
want to ensure that we areholding ourselves responsible,
that they are going to getthemselves those results right,
because that's what's important,that's what they came there for
.
They trust us to be that onebecause, like I was saying, I
(10:22):
wasn't consistent in thebeginning, right when I was
younger I wasn't consistent andconsistency is key, right, and
and I know, for a lot of peopletoo, they can't afford all of
those treatments, right?
So that's why our model isreally really helpful and
beneficial and it is affordable,you know, to more people than
most, let's be honest, a lot ofother places are more expensive.
So, anywhere we get discountson things, we push them out, you
(10:43):
know, to our clients and honorthem with them, because we want
them to have those results and,I think, you know, holding their
hand and being human with themand saying let's sit down, let's
talk about it, and the peopledon't want to.
So we just share our journeysand, along the way, they'll
eventually share theirs withours.
But knowing that we're going toget them from point A to, you
know, to point B and possiblyeven further down the road with
(11:03):
them, depending on what it isthat they want, is really really
extremely important.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
What were?
What were some of your favoritetreatments that you've done?
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Well, IPL is definitely one of my favorites.
I have a love-hate relationshipwith IPL because of, you know,
IPL with the red flashes and myblue eyes, it doesn't hurt, it's
just.
It's an odd sensation, but theresults for it are amazing.
I love IPL.
For those of you who don't know, you know I've moved back to
(11:35):
Oregon, still in the company,but prior to moving to Oregon,
Diane, she, I've held mebasically from head to toe and
you know I obviously needconsistency and key is key again
of keeping up with theirtreatments is once you've gotten
those desired results.
Maintenance is extremelyimportant because now we've
erased the past, but the futureis still there If you're not
taking care of yourself.
And even if you are taking careof yourself here we're Florida,
right.
Anywhere there's sun, there'sdamage, there's, you know, dirt
(11:58):
and grime out there, Right.
So it's going to build up on toyour skin.
Just taking care of it andmaintenance is key.
Um, but IPL would be one of myfavorite treatments, Although
Dysport is another very, verysecond.
Um, anytime I start gettingmovement, I'm like I need to
support diane, you know, or anyof the providers.
I just say diane because youknow me and her.
(12:19):
From the beginning I was diane,but I trust every single one of
our providers to do whateverthey think.
You know it is that I need um,but ipl, disport and fractionals
.
Fractionals are my nextfavorite and when I do go too
long without a maintenancefractional, I do start seeing,
you know, some of my linesstarting to come back because we
(12:40):
all age.
It's there, it's going tohappen, so just staying
consistent with it.
But those are my threefavorites.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Yeah, so can you tell us, for anyone who doesn't know
, what are IPLs and Fractionals?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
for anyone who doesn't know what are IPLs and
fractional?
Yeah so IPL is intense pulselight.
Um, for anyone who's out there,it's going to get rid of, you
know, redness like rosacea forme, sunspots like freckles, or
you know even just differenttypes of sunspots any, any
pigmentation that you have onyour face it's really going to
get rid of.
Um, dysport is a neurotoxin,just very, very, very similar to
Botox.
(13:12):
It's going to get rid of any ofthe muscle movements that you
make.
It's going to stop you frombeing able to make those,
depending on how much you'regetting and how you want your
desired result to be.
And then fractionals are more oflike a resurfacing laser for
you.
We do numb for that one forabout 45 minutes prior to
treatment.
Treatment itself takes about 10minutes long and it is
(13:34):
resurfacing, getting rid of finelines and wrinkles, enlarged
pores.
It's stimulating your owncollagen Because, for those of
you who don't know, typicallyyou know as we age we lose the
collagen.
You know that we are naturallyproducing, so we're putting it
back in there and re-stimulatingthat collagen to really help
with the natural growth for us.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Yeah, ipls are one of my go-tos for the same thing my
redness, my rosacea.
I always just felt like I wasreally red and blotchy and
always just thought like, oh, Iguess I'm just going to have to
stay like this, like that's justhow it is.
And, yeah, when I startedworking at couture, I started
(14:13):
doing IPLs for my pigmentation,my freckles, but I noticed how
much it was helping with myredness and my rosacea as well.
Um, so that is one of thethings I tell every client if
you're a candidate for IPL, doit.
It's amazing.
Um, fractionals I've done acouple of fractionals.
I do love them as well.
That's the one I have a lovehate relationship with.
They don't feel great, but theygive great results, so I'll
(14:40):
take it.
Um, are there any skincare?
Speaker 2 (14:41):
products that you've loved.
Well, I mean, you have to havea hyaluronic serum in life, um,
hyaluronic serum, obviously,sunscreen, um, and for a long
time I was a tinted sunscreengirly, but I'm not.
I've recently, you know causeI've I've gotten so much.
You know, we, we, we've gottenso much better with our, you
know our skincare regimen overthe years, and I find now that I
(15:02):
tend to just go for the regularsunscreen in the morning, um,
rather than, you know, a tintedone, Um, but you have to have
your hyaluronic and you have tohave sunscreen.
Other than that, I like gentlecleansers.
You know I'm more of a gentleperson.
I am more sensitive due tohaving rosacea.
Obviously, you need a type oftretinoin or retinol, but for me
(15:26):
, because I am sensitive, youknow, it's one that I go every
like three days and do but yeah,get me hyaluronic, get me some
sunscreen, I'll wash my face.
And then, you know, my retinols, those are, you know, go-to.
Obviously, I have otherproducts that I'm using, but
those are, you know, the basisof my regimen.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, that's a really good core foundation for it.
Like you said, we stoppedproducing our own collagen every
single year as we get older, sohaving some sort of retinol
tretinoin in there to help speedthat up Sunscreen obviously to
help you know everything, stopeverything from breaking down.
So good for for products.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
So Absolutely.
And you know, since I said thatIPL is my favorite, I have to
have sunscreen with that one too.
So Better be wearing yoursunscreen with that so fast
forward now.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
now that you're working at Couture and you can
help other clients who arewalking in with the same
insecurities or frustrations youwant to have, how does it feel
being on the other side of thatnow?
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yeah, it feels it feels good.
It feels good to be on theother side of that.
But in order for it to feelgood, you do have to get
emotional right.
You have to bring in thatemotion with clients and that
doesn't always feel good whenyou have to hear somebody else's
struggles.
It can be hard, right, havingto hear their struggles and but
(16:42):
it feels good knowing that theychose you to be the person to
tell it to right and thatthey're trusting you to be the
one to help them out of thosestruggles.
So the end result feels greatand the you know going through
it and really pushing them and,you know, cheering them on to
get, you know, to the end of theline feels great.
But in the beginning you dohave to get a little emotional
with them, you know, and havethem really work a trust with
(17:05):
you, right, so that they knowthat you're going to get them
where they need to go.
But it feels good at the end ofthe day.
It feels good knowing that we'rehelping people really, really
enjoy themselves and feel goodabout themselves at the end of
the day, right, and aboutnatural beauty and anything, and
sometimes it's not even justabout natural beauty, it's about
making them feel good on theinside, whatever that may be to
(17:27):
them.
And I think at the end of theday, that really, really feels
good and it lights me up whenyou know that you've succeeded
right.
But when you see somebody elsewho's struggling, who doesn't
feel like they're succeeding,you always have to remind them
of those little wins, right hereor there, where we're not there
yet but we're getting there andyou can see it, and showing
them those before pictures andthose after pictures and kind of
(17:47):
going through the motions withthem.
But it really does.
It feels good.
It's something that reallymakes me happy to see other
people happy.
I'm a happy person.
I like to create joy and to seeit in other people.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, I always like when I have a client that has
been coming to us for a whileand then I finally hear them say
, I just feel like I don't haveto wear as much makeup anymore,
have a client that has beencoming to us for a while and
then I finally hear them saylike, yeah, I just feel like I,
you know, I don't have to wearas much makeup anymore, or I
just wear a tinted sunscreen.
Now, you know, coming fromsomeone who, um, maybe, you know
, felt like they always had towear a full face of makeup or
felt like they couldn't docertain things, or whatever it
(18:23):
may be, to then feel comfortable, to be able to.
You know, their end goal was tonot feel like they always
needed to cover up, um, to beable to hear that is so exciting
or, um, not so much on the skinside of the journey.
But I had a client not too longago that we've been doing, um,
some body contouring on.
She's been doing her therapy,um on her arm area and, uh, I
(18:46):
think we've maybe done like fiveor six treatments now, and she
finally was like, yeah, you know, cause?
I was asking her, you know, doyou feel like you're seeing any
differences or seeing anychanges.
And she's like, you know,physically like when I
physically look she's like.
Sometimes I feel like I can.
Sometimes I'm not sure she'slike, but the other day I put a
tank top on and didn't thinktwice about it and she's like I
(19:06):
would have never even wanted towear a tank top before.
So even being able to hear andsee that confidence change in
someone whether it is in or youknow, body contouring that we're
doing, or laser hair removalfeeling like they can, you know,
whatever it may be being ableto share those little wins with
them, is really cool and isreally exciting and is something
(19:28):
that and I'm sure, somethingthat you might feel the same way
about as well.
But sometimes I feel like I cansee myself in that person, like
I have those same insecuritiesthat I've been able to work on
and see those changes.
To be able to see that in ourclients that we're helping is
really exciting.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
No, I a thousand percent agree.
And the fact that you bring upthe tank top does remind me of
myself, and you know we'vetalked about insecurities and
there were so many that I hadprior to this.
You know, I just kind of focusedon the basics of the redness
and things like that, but I'vealways had a very big insecurity
of my arms, always, um, and Ididn't like them in pictures.
I would make sure I wore longsleeves or at least, you know,
(20:06):
short sleeves, never a tank top,and I just wouldn't wear them,
I didn't like them.
And you know, now that we offer, you know, the GLP ones, the
weight loss medications outthere, and I've, you know, been
taking them and on them and Iactually same thing, I wore a
tank top the other day and itwas very eye-opening to me as I
put it on and you know I waswalking around and my daughter
comes up to me and she goes Mom,I've never seen you in a tank
(20:29):
top and you look so gorgeous andI loved it, you know.
And so things like that does westill resonate with our clients
, right, there's always, youknow, something different and
things like that out there.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
So, yeah, I do like seeing that in our clients and
being able to feel human withthem and watching them, you know
, grow.
So we've kind of touched onthis a little bit as well.
But how important do you thinkeducation is when it comes to
what we do at Couture and beingable to help our clients, you
know?
What role does education reallyplay with that?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Education plays a huge role in that.
Education plays a huge role inthat Education plays a huge role
in everything I think in life,but specifically for you know
our services and our products.
We have a lot of clients whoare coming in and they're
trusting us right.
So being able to break it downfor them in a way that they
understand, too is important tome.
Because, you know, I've been toother places where you go and
(21:28):
you sit down and they explainsomething to me and what I need
to do, and I had no idea whatthey meant, right, like they
explained it, and it wasn't theproblem, right, it was the
education behind it.
But sometimes I didn't knowwhat that education meant.
Like what, what is that?
So I think for me, education isextremely important, but you
also have to know your audienceright and be able to explain it
in a way that the client sittingin front of you is going to
(21:50):
understand and be okay and say Ithink that sounds great, right,
so that they know every step ofthe way we talk about.
You know leading them frompoint A to point B and getting
them to the end of the line andgetting them those results.
But what's more important isthat they know how they're
getting those results right.
And as we're going throughthose steps, we're telling them
how it's working right, where,if you're getting an IPL, you do
(22:10):
need a series of you know,three to four, depending on the
area, depending on the personright and you know, explaining
to them the process along theway.
And no, you're not going to seethat result after one right.
It's still doing its job, it'sgoing to get rid of it, but
you're going to need the rest ofthose treatments, you know, to
really get it.
So I think education of it isextremely important, but I do
(22:31):
believe that it needs to.
The way that you educate theclient depends on the client
themselves, but they need tounderstand or, you know, if
they're not, I feel if they'renot educated on it, they're
going to feel that maybe we'renot knowledgeable on it, right?
So I do feel like we want tomake them as comfortable as
possible.
They came to us vulnerable, solet's make them comfortable,
let's give them all theknowledge that they need and set
(22:53):
them on their journey with us.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Yeah, I think too that you know, not every single
person that works at Kator hasdone every single service that
we offer Maybe something thatyou know is not medically needed
for them or something like that.
But, just like you were saying,being able to share your
experience and it, it gives themmore realistic outcome to a
client, to where, yeah, it's not, we're not just selling them
(23:19):
and being like you need threetreatments of this, and that's
just because that's what it says.
Um, mine, that I love to sharewith clients is I struggled with
um and I still do um, withmelasma on my forehead and you
know it comes and goes,especially with summertime, and
you know, having a client, it'sfrustrating, it's, it's hard
(23:40):
when you have especially asomething that doesn't clear
right away or doesn't changeright away.
Um, and you know they're,they're paying money and they're
wanting to.
You know, see these big results, um, I always try and tell that
.
You know my melasma took meabout five years to really
subside and get under control.
Um, and that was withconsistent lasers and consistent
(24:05):
skincare products.
Um, and there's still timeswhere you know, I went to the
beach for a couple of days andyou know, I wore my sunscreen, I
wore my hat, I stayed in theshade, I did everything I could.
I came back and my melasma wasshowing up again, um, so it's
something that you know I'm ableto share with them.
Like I, I know what you'regoing through and I can give you
(24:25):
these tools to try and help.
But, you know, letting themknow that we've most of us have
all gone through these differentjourneys as well, and this was
my story and this is what I didand how I can help.
But to being able to see that,yeah, it's not just like, oh,
you have to have three to fivetreatments because you know
(24:46):
that's what this Handbook says,or whatever it is, but being
able to really explain and havethat knowledge behind it of, hey
, I've, I've tried these and Iuse these treatments as well and
I do these, um, but it's goingto.
It's going to.
It's a process and you have tobe consistent and you have to be
dedicated to it.
And you know, like you spokeabout before too, is also
maintaining because, yeah, youcan erase what was there in the
(25:08):
past, but, as we still age those, you know whether it's
millennial sites frompigmentation that are still
coming to the surface orwhatever it may be, we're still
fighting that aging process aswell, so it's not also just a
okay, you've seen some goodresults and then you just
stopped doing everything.
So, being able to really walkwith them through all parts of
that journey, to where they'rejust starting, to someone who is
(25:31):
feeling more confident and theyhave seen those results, but
giving them that education,that's like hey, I don't want
you to just stop doing whatyou're doing either.
Let's find more of amaintenance plan for you.
I think is really important.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
A thousand percent, I agree.
And I think when you talk abouteducation, too, it's not just
education on the services youknow that we're giving to them
too.
When you talk about melasma,it's kind of going back and
talking to them about melasma,right, and why it's going to
take that long, right, and thatit can pop up at different times
depending on hormones, right.
So really explaining to them sothat they understand the
process of what's happening tothem and why that's occurring,
(26:06):
prior to even talking about thetreatments to them as well.
So I do think that that'sextremely important and a great
conversation to have.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
So, ashley, thank you very much for being vulnerable
and sharing your journey.
I'm sure it resonates with somany people out there.
We there's, you know we allhave have our struggles and you
know we we want Couture to be aplace that people can come and
feel comfortable and know thatyou know, even if maybe it
wasn't that exact same struggle,but we've, you know, we've all
(26:40):
gone through something, um.
So I really appreciate yousharing your journey, um,
sharing that with us.
So if Ashley's journey hasresonated with you, or if you'll
might resonate with someonethat you know, share this
episode with someone you knowlet's help build some confidence
.
And, you know, if you want tocome check us out, if you're
ready to start your owntransformation, you can come see
(27:00):
us at any of our Couture MedSpa locations.
You can visit us atcouturemedspacom, check out some
before and afters, and you canfollow us on all of our social
media.
So we're on YouTube, tiktok,facebook, instagram, all the
things.
So until next time.
Thanks for joining us, thankyou.
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