December 11, 2025 • 35 mins
What happens when compassion collides with clinical skill and a stubborn belief that “anything is possible”? We sat down with aesthetician and educator SkyLee Edmiston — Dermascope’s 2025 cover contest winner — to trace her path from beauty-obsessed student to oncology-trained practitioner and nonprofit founder. SkyLee takes us inside oncology aesthetics with clear, practical insight, shares the soft skills that matter as much as protocols, and unpacks the DERMASCOPE cover journey and what it teaches about career growth. If you’ve wondered how to build a meaningful skin care career, one rooted in skill, empathy, and sustainable growth, this conversation will nudge you forward. If the show resonated, subscribe, leave a quick review, and pass it along to a fellow pro who could use the inspiration.
Follow DERMASCOPE:
Instagram: @dermascope
Facebook: facebook.com/dermascope
Pinterest: @dermascope
TikTok: @dermascope
Follow SkyLee:
Instagram: @facethefightwellness
Additional Links:
Visit our website.
Learn more about this podcast.
Subscribe to the magazine.
Read the December 2025 issue.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_03 (00:00):
Welcome to the Aesthetic Report, a podcast for
skincare professionals who wantto grow their careers by hearing
directly from the individualswho have been there, dealt with
that, and behaving the future oftheir industry.
Join us for the latest in allthings skincare, beauty,
wellness, business, and more.
From interviews with leadingexperts to the burning topics on
(00:22):
your mind.
The aesthetic report starts now.
SPEAKER_01 (00:34):
Hello, hello, everybody, and welcome to the
Aesthetic Report, a podcast byDermoscope.
I am your host, AIA Presidentand Director of Education,
Michelle de Allard Brenner.
And as so many of you know, theAesthetic Report is for skincare
professionals just like you whowant to learn more about how to
(00:54):
make it in the industry byhearing straight from our
industry leaders with thehottest one-on-one interviews
about all of the latest dish onall things professional
skincare.
And this episode's guest is anaesthetician, an educator, a
certified nutritionist, and thefounder of Face the Fight and a
(01:15):
Local Wellness Collective.
She's Tucson's only OTIaccredited oncology trained
esthetician and the winner ofDermoscope's 2025 cover contest.
It's December's cover girl, SkyLee Edmondson.
Skyly, thank you so much forbeing here with me today.
Thank you.
I am so excited.
(01:37):
It's going to be fun.
We're just going to chit-chat.
And I've got a millionquestions.
And I know our big focus today,we're going to talk about the
cover contest and what it is.
But you have a really greatstory as to how you built your
business, actually more why youbuilt your business.
And I'd love for you to tell ourlisteners a little bit about
(02:00):
what you do and why you do it,in case they haven't read the
magazine yet.
SPEAKER_00 (02:05):
Absolutely.
Well, I started, gosh, it'sbeen, I think almost 17 years
now.
I've been an esthetician, but Ibegan as an esthetician just
because I loved beauty,everything, beauty, including
hair.
And in school, it started veryearly that I was unfortunately,
you know, close to someone whowas diagnosed with cancer.
(02:27):
And she stopped coming to see meas a student, and I couldn't
understand why.
And, you know, she told me shewas scared.
She didn't know if it would besafe for her to receive
treatments during treatment.
And that kind of sent me downthe rabbit hole of oncology and
what they go through and all thedifferent things because I'd
never known anyone before thathad cancer.
And so, you know, that was kindof the first introduction to me
(02:49):
realizing that there was thiswhole other world that I had no
idea about.
That's where I found Morag,who's, you know, the pioneer of
oncology.
And, you know, I just gotobsessed, honestly, with helping
people feel better when theywere going through this awful,
awful thing.
And then my nonprofit kind ofsprouted from there because I
(03:10):
understood what it was like tonot be able to afford something
that you desperately needed.
And I didn't want that forpeople who were already
emotionally, physically, andfinancially expended at that
point.
So I decided I was just going tostart offering free services to
them and hope that I'd be ableto pay for it and help, you
know, have other people thatwould help me to be able to fund
(03:31):
it.
SPEAKER_01 (03:31):
So I I have two questions, sort of, that stems
with that from that.
But the first one is, you knowwhat, Skyly, so many people
think about or consider doingthings like a not profit and or
or getting involved for certainreasons.
And they say, Oh, but I don'tknow what to do or I don't know
how.
What was it either like aboutyou that did that?
(03:53):
Is it part of your personality?
Is it something that drove that?
Because you know it's sofrustrating.
Sometimes you hear people say,Well, I'd love to do that, but
and there's all these excuses,but you did it.
So what was that driving forceto make you actually take the
step, aside from the fact thatyour heart was obviously in it?
SPEAKER_00 (04:15):
I have a little bit of an obsessive personality, not
addictive, but obsessive.
I get something in my brain andI convince myself that like no
matter what anyone else says oror thinks, I'm gonna make it
happen.
And sometimes it's been to mydetriment when it's something
that I probably shouldn't be soobsessive about.
(04:35):
But for the most part, it tendsto work really well for me
because I'll I'll decide I wantto do something and you know,
people will say that's neverbeen done, or or that's not a
normal thing, or that's not howyou should do it.
And and I'm I'm a littlestubborn, well, a lot stubborn,
honestly.
And so, you know, I'm like, oh,really?
Okay, well, then you know what?
That's even more reason for meto want to prove you wrong
(04:56):
because I I just I don't know, Ihave this like almost
detrimental personality thatmakes me think that anything in
the entire world is possible ifyou want to make it happen.
And so I just do it and 99% ofthe time it ends up working.
So I guess it's not that bad.
I love that.
SPEAKER_01 (05:15):
And I don't think it's a detrimental personality
trait at all.
I because I'm I'm very much likethat, and you're right.
99% of the time, it usually endsup working out, and you know, I
said failure is just anopportunity to figure out
another way to do something,that's all it is.
Yeah.
So my second question, based offof, you know, just your
(05:38):
introduction, what we chattedabout a little bit.
There are so many of ourlisteners, and I will even say,
going back years and years ago,prior to knowing anybody that
had any type of cancer and wasgoing through this, you
oftentimes hear, well, skin isskin, or well, sensitive skin is
sensitive skin.
(05:58):
It's all the same.
Can you, and I know you couldprobably talk for hours about
it, but can you share with ourlisteners a couple of things
that you learned about cancerpatients that that are
different, that are differentfrom your regular customers?
SPEAKER_00 (06:15):
Yeah, I'd say one of the biggest ones that kind of I
didn't prepare for.
I mean, you know, I took theclasses, I read all the books
that were given to me, I learnedall the things in terms of like
the treatment courses they gothrough and the science behind
what cancer is.
The thing that I think we spentsuch a little bit of time on
(06:36):
that should have been expandedmore that kind of slapped me in
the face was the psychological.
I did not prepare myself, and itwas probably a couple years into
it that I finally feltcomfortable when I'd have
someone come in and they'd feeljust so ugly to themselves.
They were so hard on themselves,they'd feel awful, they didn't
(06:57):
want to go out in public, or ifthey did, they felt like they
had to put on like all thesethings, you know, wigs and fake
lashes and and things to makethemselves feel quote unquote
normal.
And they would cry in thestudio, and and I had to learn
how to function with that andnot spend all my time crying the
whole time with them becausesometimes it's okay, but you
(07:19):
know, for the most part, I needto let them have the treatment
be about them and not about meover here bawling in the corner,
too.
Right.
So I think that's the thebiggest thing that was such a
difference for me.
And I obviously I know asidefrom cancer, people every day
can feel ugly, can feel likethey're not themselves.
But I think with cancer, it'ssuch a fast thing and and it's
(07:39):
so unexpected.
And from every woman and manthat's ever come into my studio,
they have said that that'ssomething that the doctors have
never talked to them about.
Yeah, they talk to them aboutwhat might happen.
Sure, you might lose your hair,you might do this, but they
don't say prepare yourself tonot feel like yourself.
SPEAKER_02 (07:53):
Right, right.
SPEAKER_01 (07:54):
And I would have to assume too, another point, and
because you're right, we alwayscome across people that aren't
happy with themselves and don'tfeel good about themselves for
whatever reason.
But when it comes to a customerwith cancer, that is something
they absolutely have no controlover and can't change.
It's like completely out of yourrealm of control.
SPEAKER_00 (08:16):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I mean, that's a good point thatI didn't even think of.
You know, it's like there's somany other things that we can
work on, we can help to treat,but you know, especially in the
midst of treatment, you can't beworking on hyperpigmentation.
You can't be, you know, workingon all these things
aggressively.
So you are kind of in this likeholding pattern where you've got
to try to help someone feel asgood as possible with as minimal
(08:39):
aggression and treatment aspossible.
unknown (08:42):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:43):
Well, you know what?
That I mean, thank you for yourservice in a sense.
I mean, it's really that's it'sa huge undertaking.
And I I can't imagine the skilland the effort that it took for
you to be able to separateyourself from those individuals.
That had to be a huge milestone,a huge stepping stone.
SPEAKER_00 (09:02):
Yeah, it and you know, it's something that I
think I had talked to Dorianabout this during our initial
interview.
You know, I have learned toreally be able to
compartmentalize things.
SPEAKER_02 (09:12):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (09:12):
And I think it kind of started with that and then
just kind of translated overinto working in schools with
students and things like thatand being able to separate, you
know, my feelings from what'sgoing on in the business.
Right, right, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (09:26):
Okay, so let's move on to something fun and
exciting, I guess.
Not that that isn't by allmeans, but Skyle, how long have
you been part of the Dermoscopecommunity?
I mean, there's yeah, I know, Iknow I can see that thinking
process.
Yeah.
What was it that drove you toour community?
SPEAKER_00 (09:46):
To be honest, so in the first few years of my
career, I was very segregated ina school because I worked for a
school that was very one productline, one focus.
And so I didn't spend a lot oftime outside of that.
I didn't go to conventions yet.
I hadn't really taken a lot ofextra courses.
So I want to say I I thoughtabout this for so long.
(10:08):
And I have to, I think when Iwent to the Vegas convention for
the first time, which wasprobably maybe 10 years ago, you
guys had a booth.
And I walked by and was like,what is this?
Like, okay.
And they were, you know, ofcourse, they were like, Oh, get,
you know, sign up today and youget a year for whatever price.
And I was like, Well, it's adeal.
(10:29):
I mean, what worse that couldhappen, right?
And then it was just kind ofhistory from there.
I just, you know, was excitedevery month to get my copy.
And every time I got a newmagazine, it was like some
amazing new information that I'dnever heard before.
So it just kind of became thisexciting little gift every
month.
That's awesome.
It is like a little gift everymonth.
SPEAKER_01 (10:49):
And even for all the years that I've involved, and
it's, you know, it's alwayseducation is so important.
And even if it's something youthink you know, hearing
something a little differentabout it just one more time is
like, ah, or you forget aboutsomething at the same time.
SPEAKER_00 (11:05):
Spoken like a true school owner.
SPEAKER_01 (11:07):
Yep, yeah, I know.
You can hear it 30 times andit's always gonna be different.
You're gonna hear it again.
That's it, that's exactly right.
Yes.
And then, of course, so you canhear it from your teachers a
million times.
Somebody else says it, andyou're like, ah, I get that now.
Yes.
I've never heard that before.
That's right.
So you're a multi-hypheniteprofessional in a sense.
(11:29):
So, how do you answer whenpeople ask you what you do?
Because you've kind of got yourfingers in in different areas.
SPEAKER_00 (11:36):
Honestly, it kind of depends on who I'm talking to.
If I'm talking to my dad, hestill thinks I rent a booth
somewhere.
So, you know, there's that.
Uh I'm talking to my clients.
I I don't talk a ton aboutmyself.
And, you know, aside from themasking me what I do during the
day, I'll say, Oh, I work for abeauty school.
But yeah, I don't, I guess Idon't spend a lot of time being
like, here's all of mycredentials.
(11:58):
Yeah, I I I just I'm anaesthetician.
I mean, at the heart of it, Ilove skin.
I love all things skin.
SPEAKER_01 (12:06):
It's such a great business.
There's there's just so manythings in it.
And I mean, so if you look atall the things that you do, what
are if you had to pick one ortwo highs and one or two lows of
wearing so many different hats,what would that be?
SPEAKER_00 (12:21):
The highs is I get to always have something new
happening.
You know, whether it's adifferent type of client or a
new service that I'm trying outor new curriculum that I'm
writing, there's just alwayssomething changing, moving, and
and it's keeps it really freshand exciting because I get bored
very easily.
I'd say probably the low of itis sometimes I take on more than
(12:44):
I should.
And my boyfriend will tell youthis more than anyone.
Like, finish a project beforeyou start a new one.
If you looked at my backyard andlike the amount of projects I've
started that I haven't finished,they eventually get done.
But he just says, I need you toto focus it in a little bit more
and like not take on so manythings.
So yeah, it can definitely be alittle overwhelming.
(13:04):
And I try to say no to thingsnow, whereas I never did before.
unknown (13:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (13:09):
I think that that comes with maturity, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_01 (13:13):
Either that or just the experience.
You just get to the point whereyou're like, oh my gosh, it's
too much.
Yeah.
So do you and I'm gonna ask you.
So first of all, do you rememberwhen the cover contest first
like stuck out to you or grabbedyour attention?
Was there a particular time thatyou're like, hmm?
SPEAKER_00 (13:34):
I'd say probably it had to have been two or three uh
ep uh episodes, two or threecovers ago.
Yep.
I had seen it and I didn'trealize when I first looked at
it that that's what it was.
I just thought, oh, this isanother person on the cover,
like whatever, you know.
Um, and then I opened it andstarted reading, and was like,
oh, contest winner, like what isthat?
(13:54):
And then last year I hadapplied, and never, never in a
million years did I ever thinkthat like I was at a place where
I'd be considered, even thisyear.
And so I applied last year andthen just kind of forgot
afterwards because I was like,yeah, it's probably never gonna
happen.
And then same with this year,like I did the application and
then I kind of just put it outof my brain and was like, yeah,
(14:15):
I'm not there yet.
Like one day I'm just gonna keepapplying and they'll get tired
of me.
So yeah, it was uh it was reallycool because I was like, man,
it's really detailed, but I justdidn't know what type of person
you guys were looking for.
So you know, I didn't I didn'tthink I had a shot.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (14:32):
Well, clearly you did.
I know.
No, which is just I it's justfantastic.
So talk a little bit about aboutthe process because you just
said, you know, it is a littledetailed for listeners that are
out there that you know didn'tpick up on it or didn't catch
it.
What are some of the details orsome of the things that caught
(14:52):
your attention that you're like,wow, this really is uh it does
require a little bit of effortand skill.
SPEAKER_00 (14:59):
Yeah, I mean, it was it was a pretty long application
in terms of questions.
I can't remember how manyexactly, but I want to say it
was at least 15 questions.
Uh, and it really makes you haveto kind of look at yourself and
also not be afraid to, I don'twant to say brag, but not be
afraid to like put yourself outthere as far as what you've done
(15:22):
and be proud of what you'vedone.
And it can be hard, you know.
I still struggle with it.
Like I want to find that finebalance.
I don't want people to think I'ma bragger, I'm egotistical to a
negative sense, but I also don'twant to minimize myself because
I have worked my butt off and Ihave done some cool things.
And so I think that's where weas women especially have to like
figure out how to look atourselves from an outside
(15:45):
perspective and and maybe list.
Like that's kind of what I didis like, okay, put down on a
piece of paper what are thethings that you did.
And that's what this applicationreally forced me to do was to
like think about in terms of ifI was looking at on a piece of
paper, what are the things I'veaccomplished?
What are the things that make medifferent than someone else?
Not better, just different.
And what are the things that I'mmost proud of or that I've
(16:05):
learned the most?
And it was a very likeintrospective application.
SPEAKER_01 (16:11):
And and that's really what it's aimed to do
too, is uh, you know, it wouldbe it would be so nice if if
more people in the world werelike proud of what they did, you
know, and really and and andfelt good about the things.
I can recall, and I've I've saidthis to actually all of my
children, male and femalechildren, but to be able to say
(16:34):
thank you when someone gives youa compliment instead of trying
to, oh, you know, oh, oh, thisold dress or oh, it's a bad hair
day, or coming up with an excusejust to say thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00 (16:46):
I love that.
And it's true.
We do.
I mean, it took me years to notalways discount what people were
saying to me.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:54):
Well, and especially in the field that we're in, and
for yourself, you know what, asas aestheticians, I always said
it's the best job in the worldbecause we have the ability to
change the way people look andfeel about themselves.
I to me, there's like nothingmore powerful than that, and to
be able to just say thank youwhen someone says, Oh my God,
(17:16):
you're so amazing, or oh my God,what you've done to me, or oh my
gosh, that was the best ever,and to just say thank you.
Because you're right.
You said, you know what, youworked your butt off for it, and
you do.
Yep.
You do.
Oh, absolutely.
Dermoscope magazine is thecontinuing education resource
(17:38):
that skincare professionals needto stay current on all things
aesthetics, attracting the mostprolific experts in the industry
for almost 50 years.
Dermoscope offers unparalleledcontinuing education to tens of
thousands of subscribersmonthly.
And you could be one of them.
For only$4 a month, gain accessto 13 annual issues of the Crypt
(18:00):
magazine and live webinars tokeep your knowledge base
growing.
Don't miss out on theopportunity to take your career
to the next level with the bestin industry education, because
we are more than just amagazine.
We are content you can trust.
Subscribe today atwww.dermoscope.com backslash
subscribe or by calling800-961-3777.
(18:29):
So when you discovered you'dwon, who called you and told you
that you were our cover contestwinner?
SPEAKER_00 (18:36):
Oh my gosh.
So that day was such a blur.
I feel like it was not Dorian.
I think it was Amanda.
Oh my gosh.
I'm gonna be honest, I don'teven remember who called me
because I was like, you'relying.
Like, this is a joke.
I thought it was like a prankcall at first.
And you know, I was like, who'smessing with me?
(18:58):
You guys are crazy.
And my dog was sitting next tome, and I just remember because
I'm the crazy dog lady, beinglike, What this is weird.
Like, what kind of day are wehaving?
This isn't real, and it didn'tlike feel real at all.
And I sat there for a moment andwas like, no, they're gonna
they're gonna call me back andbe like, just kidding, we messed
up, it's not you, it's someoneelse.
(19:19):
So yeah, so I uh I called mypartner right after and was just
like, so I think I'm gonna be onthe cover of a magazine.
And he's like, that's cool,babe.
And of course, you know, likemen and you know, he's on our
industry.
He was just like, Cool, youknow, whatever.
And then like later on thatnight, he'd called me back after
work and was like, So can youtell me more about this?
Because I I wasn't really payingattention when he first told me,
(19:41):
and so I explained it.
He's like, Oh, all right, you'rea baddie.
And I was like, Thanks.
SPEAKER_01 (19:47):
It's so cool.
How about the first time you sawit when you actually saw your
was that just unbelievable?
SPEAKER_00 (19:55):
I got super teary eyed because you know I had been
communicating.
Back and forth with Dorianregarding like some questions
she had about the article andthings.
And I knew the photographer haddone all the photos and
everything, but I hadn't seenthem.
So I had no idea what it wasgoing to look like or which
pictures they were going tochoose, which outfits, like
nothing.
And I, to be honest, I hatetaking pictures.
(20:16):
I had just, I was have the urgeto make a weird face.
So I wasn't sure what they weregoing to look like.
And it just didn't feel like itwas a real thing.
I was like, Am I really lookingat myself on the cover of this
thing?
And it just made me reallyteary-eyed.
That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (20:31):
So, Skyly, for our listeners that don't know the
process, once you got chosen,what happened next?
You know, how did we get to thepart that we got an article on
you and we got your pictures andwhat was the process that you
went through?
SPEAKER_00 (20:45):
So the first portion of it was the interview, which
was done over Zoom since youguys are based in Dallas and I'm
in Arizona.
Um, and I'd assume unlesssomeone wins from Dallas, that's
kind of how it would probablyalways go.
And so we did a Zoom interview.
There was a few of us, and theyrecorded it and just asked me a
list of questions, which theydid send me beforehand so I
could kind of look at them andhave an idea of what they were
(21:05):
gonna ask me.
So we went through that.
That was really fun, reallycasual, just kind of a back and
forth, kind of like we're doinguh almost identically.
And then after that, wescheduled the photo shoot and
they asked me if I had aphotographer that I wanted to
use it locally.
Uh, they I guess prefer to workwith local people, which I love.
And so we scheduled a photoshoot.
(21:27):
Dorian came out here for thephoto shoot, and she really gave
us amazing creative liberty tojust do what we thought was
best.
I mean, I had no idea what Ishould be doing, so I left it to
the photographer.
And yeah, we just did a bunch ofdifferent shots in different
places in the studio, and youknow, she just kind of chatted
with me that day casually.
And then, gosh, that was inOctober.
(21:51):
So then from October till the umissue came out, I was kind of
just like hanging out on pinsand needles.
And, you know, Dorian had acouple questions after the fact,
um, just to clarify some of theinterview questions and whatnot.
And then yeah, you guys mailedme the magazine, and I wasn't
sure if I could share it or notbecause I didn't know if it was
(22:11):
like a ahead of time kind ofthing.
So I had these boxes I was likehoarding in the back, all
excited.
And uh I filmed that video theday I got the boxes for
Instagram, but then I didn'tpost it until I had gotten the
okay from Dorian that it wasgood to post.
So yeah, it was it was reallyinteresting.
And then that day, of course,the digital issue came out, and
(22:32):
then here we are a week later.
SPEAKER_01 (22:34):
That's awesome.
That is so awesome.
That's just I love hearing thatstory.
So, why do you feel it'simportant to showcase
aestheticians with eitherdifferent or smaller platforms?
SPEAKER_00 (22:47):
I honestly think we have spent so much time, and I I
see the value in social media,don't get me wrong, but we've
spent so much time putting somuch stock into people who have
these crazy followings.
And we, these neweraestheticians are coming out of
school and they're thinking, inorder to make money, in order to
be successful, in order to begood at what I do, I have to
(23:07):
have 300,000 followers and branddeals and all these things.
And it's not true, you know.
And and yes, if that's the routeyou want to go, by all means,
strive to get there.
I want you to get wherever youwant to go, but I don't love
that there are people out therewho think that that is the only
idea of success.
And so, you know, I love seeingdifferent types of estheticians
(23:28):
and different levels who stillare making it.
I mean, I I know really oldschool estheticians who don't
even use social media at all andthey have full books and they're
making all the money they wantto make and they're happy and
living their life, and they'renot doing lasers or they're not
doing this or that, they'redoing exactly what they want to
be doing with no thought towhat's going on in the outside
world.
And, you know, I think there's aplace for all of us.
(23:51):
And as long as you're authenticand you do exactly what you want
to be doing and don't do it forother people and don't do it for
the gram, then there's a placefor all of us.
And I think that's important tosee.
I think that's really importantto see.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
And it's it's really important for newer and younger
aestheticians to hear that froma seasoned professional because
they do think the only way tobuild their business is social
media.
And we know that 98% of yourclients are coming from
referrals, they're coming fromreferences.
It's not that often someone seessomething on social media and
(24:25):
says, Oh, I'm booking anappointment with that person.
And I loved your last statementbecause, you know, first of all,
you also use the word oldschool, and I'm so old school
that we're circling back aroundto old school, one-on-one,
communication, all of thosethings we we lost a little bit.
But uh, what I really love thatyou said is people think they
(24:48):
have to have a niche or theyhave to somehow stand out in
some crazy unique way.
And your exact words of you knowwhat, you just have to be
authentic and true to yourself,and that is what builds your
business, and you and you haveto love what you do.
And if you don't have thosethings, then why bother?
(25:11):
Exactly.
Yeah, I thought that wasfantastic.
SPEAKER_00 (25:14):
I think we spend so much time, like especially new
aestheticians think you need toneed to add every service or do
this hot new salmon sperm facialor whatever the other hot new
thing is, right?
And I'm not saying that's a badthing, but there's nothing wrong
with the tried and true, andthere's nothing wrong with
saying, I'm not gonna jump onevery new trend that comes out.
I'm gonna wait and see and youknow, figure out if it's
(25:34):
something I even actually reallywant to do.
SPEAKER_01 (25:37):
I spent a ton of time on a couple of platforms of
aestheticians asking questionsabout everything and anything
all of the time.
Sometimes I find myself gettingvery frustrated, but it's very,
very common that I'm finding,and even with seasoned
professionals, so for all of ourlisteners listening to this,
they're trying to get up onwhat's hot, what's new, what's,
(26:00):
and then at the same time, I'llget the next message of how do I
perform a proper skin analysis?
Or or a skin, you know, so and Igo back to you can't be doing
those things if you don't knowthe basics.
If you're not tried and true100%, then leave, you know, RF
and all those other things tothe side if you don't know.
SPEAKER_00 (26:21):
Absolutely.
Yeah, if you don't even knowingredients, why are you trying
to add 50 different new thingsto your menu?
SPEAKER_01 (26:27):
Right, right.
So, Skyle, how has once you gotto open your box of take out
your magazines and share it withyour friends and your coworkers
and and everyone around, howhave people reacted to seeing
you on the cover of a magazine?
SPEAKER_00 (26:43):
So my family, of course, razzes me because that's
what they're there for.
You know, they're like, I'm inAsh a supermodel in our midst.
I expect nothing less from them,but they are proud at the end of
the day.
They didn't give me crap, I'd beworried.
But um, you know, my renters,uh, it's hard to gauge because I
never see them in person.
We're like so opposite on ourschedules, you know.
(27:04):
So they'll like message me onInstagram when they saw it.
I'm like, hey, it's out,woo-hoo! Because obviously they
knew when the photo shoot washappening, what was going on.
Uh, and then the my school hasbeen great.
The uh social media team posteda thing on our main social media
feed about it.
And then a bunch of my schoolshave reached out when they saw
it and we're like, oh my god, Ijust saw you, how cool.
(27:26):
And of course, the CEO and theowner both uh personally reached
out and and congratulated me,which was really sweet.
So, I mean, it's all been very,very positive.
And, you know, I I I bragged alittle bit in my SD groups
because I was like, I am in hereanswering questions for y'all
all the time.
I'm gonna post this.
So I just posted it andeverybody was super warm and
(27:47):
welcoming about it.
Yeah, it still doesn't, I stilldon't know that I understand the
magnitude.
Like I keep having people tellme, like big industry leaders
that are like, this is such anaccomplishment.
And I know it is.
I just I it doesn't feel realyet.
SPEAKER_01 (28:04):
Well, that's what makes you a real person.
That's okay.
That's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
Uh Sky, I thought that I lovedyour article.
I loved your story.
I thought that was just, I mean,you were an ideal pick for us by
by all means.
What for for the listeners thatread it, and for those that are
going to go grab their magazineand read it as soon as they
(28:25):
listen to this, what would youlike for them to take away from
your story?
If you had to pick one thing,what would that takeaway be for
listeners or readers, I shouldsay?
SPEAKER_00 (28:37):
I honestly think at the core of everything I do, and
even with my students andteaching, I always want people
to do what they think is rightfor themselves and to not worry
about what other people aredoing.
I think we spend so much timeworrying about what people think
about us or what would lookright or what would feel right.
And there's a different path foreach people.
(28:59):
You know, I've seen amazingaestheticians on Instagram who
their whole basis of theirbusiness is their religion and
praying over their clients.
I've seen people who, you know,that's not anything that would
ever come into their purview.
And it works for them.
And I've seen people who do themedical side or the holistic
side.
I think don't go where you thinkpeople want you to go or where
(29:20):
you'd make the most money orwhere you'd get the most
recognition.
Go where your heart tells you togo.
Because if you don't, thenwhat's the point?
You know, people are gonna seeright through you and it's not
gonna feel good for anybody.
SPEAKER_01 (29:34):
I love that.
I love that.
So, any words for ostheticianswho want to apply next year but
feel hesitant about doing it.
Anyone out there that's eitherlistening to us or that reads it
and they're like, oh, you knowwhat, they're never gonna pick
me.
So you know what?
SPEAKER_00 (29:51):
So what?
The thing is, I say you'reapplying in private.
It's not like Dermoscope isposting all of the people who
applied in their magazine andbeing like, hey, look at these
losers, right?
That's not happening.
So who cares?
Do it.
If you don't get it, nobody'sgonna know.
Just if you're worried about it,don't tell anyone you're
applying, just apply and put itout of your brain.
(30:11):
And if it happens, then that'samazing.
And if it doesn't, then go backagain next year and do it and
keep doing it until it happensfor you.
Because yeah, I mean, I saw thisguy on TikTok today that said I
posted four times a day for thelast year, and I only had four
videos last year go viral.
But from those four videos, Imade like a hundred thousand
(30:33):
dollars.
He said if I had stopped afterthe first month, I wouldn't have
made anything.
So I just kept up with theinsanity.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (30:40):
So it works.
Yep, insanity.
Keep up with the insanity.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
So I always have to end mypodcast with a game, but before
we play our game, Skyly, isthere anything that I didn't ask
you that I should have or thatyou want to say to our listeners
(31:00):
that we missed out on?
SPEAKER_00 (31:02):
I would say if you're not already getting out
there and doing things outsideof your treatment room, you
should.
It's it's just fun and it's goodfor you.
You know, the trade shows, thethe you know, men's conferences,
the skin games, all thesedifferent things that are out
there, even if you don'tactively are participating in
them, just go to them because itjust inspires you every time you
(31:23):
do.
And I think I wouldn't still bein this industry if I didn't
start getting out of where I wasand seeing what was out in the
world.
And same with Dermoscope.
If you're not reading it, youshould be because it kind of
gives you an idea of what'shappening.
SPEAKER_01 (31:34):
And for so many aestheticians that came into
this profession in the last fiveyears or early COVID time, they
have no idea.
I mean, they entered theprofession almost in their own
little bubble.
There's so much, there's so muchout there and so much support.
Uh, it's just, it's so exciting.
(31:54):
It's so exciting.
Yep.
Yeah.
Yep.
Okay.
Are you ready to play a game?
Okay.
I know.
This is actually this is a funone.
And I just I love this that youhave to play the game, not me,
because I hate playing games.
So okay.
So the name of the game isapply, try, or pass.
(32:16):
So simply, I have six questionsfor you.
Six scenarios, six questions.
And you have to, as quickly asyou possibly can, say, yes,
absolutely, I'm gonna apply it.
Love this.
Try means maybe or pass.
Absolutely no.
It's a no-go.
(32:36):
Okay, so apply, try, or pass.
First one, you're invited tospeak at an international
conference you've always dreamedof, but it's in one week.
Apply.
Absolutely.
A brand wants you as aneducator, but you've never
worked with them.
It'd be a try.
You're asked to mentor someonewho reminds you exactly of
(32:59):
yourself at 19.
Apply.
A client brings their entiresupport squad, partner, friend,
and neighbor to theirappointment.
Try.
A client asks you to explaineverything you know about
herbalism in five minutes.
SPEAKER_00 (33:17):
Apply.
SPEAKER_01 (33:20):
And the last one, a client wants to bring their
crystals into the facial.
Apply.
Absolutely.
There were no passes.
How did I know you weren't youwere gonna do that?
SPEAKER_00 (33:30):
You know, I throw caution to the wind to my own uh
demise.
SPEAKER_01 (33:35):
Everything is a learning opportunity, no matter
what, right?
Exactly.
Right.
Skyle, thank you so much foryour time.
Congratulations on your cover.
I think that is I'm just it's agreat feeling.
I'm super happy for you and whatan accomplishment.
So congratulations on that.
SPEAKER_00 (33:54):
Well, I'm honored that I got to hang out with you
today because you are a baddiein this industry.
I've been stalking you.
SPEAKER_01 (34:02):
Thank you.
No, there you go.
There you go.
You know what?
I I love this industry.
I love what we do.
I'm very much like you.
I like putting myself out thereand doing the things that apply,
apply, apply, because sooner orlater you're gonna get there,
right?
It's all gonna work out.
It will.
It will.
So, Sky Lee, thank you again.
(34:23):
Congratulations again to all ofour listeners.
Thank you so much for spending45 minutes with Sky Lee and I.
This is Michelle Dialer Brennerfrom the Aesthetic Report, and
we'll talk to you guys nextmonth.
Take care, everybody.
SPEAKER_03 (34:38):
Thank you for listening to the Aesthetic
Report.
Be sure to subscribe whereveryou listen to podcasts so you'll
never miss an episode.
If you love the show, leave areview on Apple Podcasts and
Spotify.
And all your FDP.
And don't forget.
Welcome to the Aesthetic Report, a podcast for
skincare professionals who wantto grow their careers by hearing
directly from the individualswho have been there, dealt with
that, and behaving the future oftheir industry.
Join us for the latest in allthings skincare, beauty,
wellness, business, and more.
From interviews with leadingexperts to the burning topics on
(00:22):
your mind.
The aesthetic report starts now.
SPEAKER_01 (00:34):
Hello, hello, everybody, and welcome to the
Aesthetic Report, a podcast byDermoscope.
I am your host, AIA Presidentand Director of Education,
Michelle de Allard Brenner.
And as so many of you know, theAesthetic Report is for skincare
professionals just like you whowant to learn more about how to
(00:54):
make it in the industry byhearing straight from our
industry leaders with thehottest one-on-one interviews
about all of the latest dish onall things professional
skincare.
And this episode's guest is anaesthetician, an educator, a
certified nutritionist, and thefounder of Face the Fight and a
(01:15):
Local Wellness Collective.
She's Tucson's only OTIaccredited oncology trained
esthetician and the winner ofDermoscope's 2025 cover contest.
It's December's cover girl, SkyLee Edmondson.
Skyly, thank you so much forbeing here with me today.
Thank you.
I am so excited.
(01:37):
It's going to be fun.
We're just going to chit-chat.
And I've got a millionquestions.
And I know our big focus today,we're going to talk about the
cover contest and what it is.
But you have a really greatstory as to how you built your
business, actually more why youbuilt your business.
And I'd love for you to tell ourlisteners a little bit about
(02:00):
what you do and why you do it,in case they haven't read the
magazine yet.
SPEAKER_00 (02:05):
Absolutely.
Well, I started, gosh, it'sbeen, I think almost 17 years
now.
I've been an esthetician, but Ibegan as an esthetician just
because I loved beauty,everything, beauty, including
hair.
And in school, it started veryearly that I was unfortunately,
you know, close to someone whowas diagnosed with cancer.
(02:27):
And she stopped coming to see meas a student, and I couldn't
understand why.
And, you know, she told me shewas scared.
She didn't know if it would besafe for her to receive
treatments during treatment.
And that kind of sent me downthe rabbit hole of oncology and
what they go through and all thedifferent things because I'd
never known anyone before thathad cancer.
And so, you know, that was kindof the first introduction to me
(02:49):
realizing that there was thiswhole other world that I had no
idea about.
That's where I found Morag,who's, you know, the pioneer of
oncology.
And, you know, I just gotobsessed, honestly, with helping
people feel better when theywere going through this awful,
awful thing.
And then my nonprofit kind ofsprouted from there because I
(03:10):
understood what it was like tonot be able to afford something
that you desperately needed.
And I didn't want that forpeople who were already
emotionally, physically, andfinancially expended at that
point.
So I decided I was just going tostart offering free services to
them and hope that I'd be ableto pay for it and help, you
know, have other people thatwould help me to be able to fund
(03:31):
it.
SPEAKER_01 (03:31):
So I I have two questions, sort of, that stems
with that from that.
But the first one is, you knowwhat, Skyly, so many people
think about or consider doingthings like a not profit and or
or getting involved for certainreasons.
And they say, Oh, but I don'tknow what to do or I don't know
how.
What was it either like aboutyou that did that?
(03:53):
Is it part of your personality?
Is it something that drove that?
Because you know it's sofrustrating.
Sometimes you hear people say,Well, I'd love to do that, but
and there's all these excuses,but you did it.
So what was that driving forceto make you actually take the
step, aside from the fact thatyour heart was obviously in it?
SPEAKER_00 (04:15):
I have a little bit of an obsessive personality, not
addictive, but obsessive.
I get something in my brain andI convince myself that like no
matter what anyone else says oror thinks, I'm gonna make it
happen.
And sometimes it's been to mydetriment when it's something
that I probably shouldn't be soobsessive about.
(04:35):
But for the most part, it tendsto work really well for me
because I'll I'll decide I wantto do something and you know,
people will say that's neverbeen done, or or that's not a
normal thing, or that's not howyou should do it.
And and I'm I'm a littlestubborn, well, a lot stubborn,
honestly.
And so, you know, I'm like, oh,really?
Okay, well, then you know what?
That's even more reason for meto want to prove you wrong
(04:56):
because I I just I don't know, Ihave this like almost
detrimental personality thatmakes me think that anything in
the entire world is possible ifyou want to make it happen.
And so I just do it and 99% ofthe time it ends up working.
So I guess it's not that bad.
I love that.
SPEAKER_01 (05:15):
And I don't think it's a detrimental personality
trait at all.
I because I'm I'm very much likethat, and you're right.
99% of the time, it usually endsup working out, and you know, I
said failure is just anopportunity to figure out
another way to do something,that's all it is.
Yeah.
So my second question, based offof, you know, just your
(05:38):
introduction, what we chattedabout a little bit.
There are so many of ourlisteners, and I will even say,
going back years and years ago,prior to knowing anybody that
had any type of cancer and wasgoing through this, you
oftentimes hear, well, skin isskin, or well, sensitive skin is
sensitive skin.
(05:58):
It's all the same.
Can you, and I know you couldprobably talk for hours about
it, but can you share with ourlisteners a couple of things
that you learned about cancerpatients that that are
different, that are differentfrom your regular customers?
SPEAKER_00 (06:15):
Yeah, I'd say one of the biggest ones that kind of I
didn't prepare for.
I mean, you know, I took theclasses, I read all the books
that were given to me, I learnedall the things in terms of like
the treatment courses they gothrough and the science behind
what cancer is.
The thing that I think we spentsuch a little bit of time on
(06:36):
that should have been expandedmore that kind of slapped me in
the face was the psychological.
I did not prepare myself, and itwas probably a couple years into
it that I finally feltcomfortable when I'd have
someone come in and they'd feeljust so ugly to themselves.
They were so hard on themselves,they'd feel awful, they didn't
(06:57):
want to go out in public, or ifthey did, they felt like they
had to put on like all thesethings, you know, wigs and fake
lashes and and things to makethemselves feel quote unquote
normal.
And they would cry in thestudio, and and I had to learn
how to function with that andnot spend all my time crying the
whole time with them becausesometimes it's okay, but you
(07:19):
know, for the most part, I needto let them have the treatment
be about them and not about meover here bawling in the corner,
too.
Right.
So I think that's the thebiggest thing that was such a
difference for me.
And I obviously I know asidefrom cancer, people every day
can feel ugly, can feel likethey're not themselves.
But I think with cancer, it'ssuch a fast thing and and it's
(07:39):
so unexpected.
And from every woman and manthat's ever come into my studio,
they have said that that'ssomething that the doctors have
never talked to them about.
Yeah, they talk to them aboutwhat might happen.
Sure, you might lose your hair,you might do this, but they
don't say prepare yourself tonot feel like yourself.
SPEAKER_02 (07:53):
Right, right.
SPEAKER_01 (07:54):
And I would have to assume too, another point, and
because you're right, we alwayscome across people that aren't
happy with themselves and don'tfeel good about themselves for
whatever reason.
But when it comes to a customerwith cancer, that is something
they absolutely have no controlover and can't change.
It's like completely out of yourrealm of control.
SPEAKER_00 (08:16):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I mean, that's a good point thatI didn't even think of.
You know, it's like there's somany other things that we can
work on, we can help to treat,but you know, especially in the
midst of treatment, you can't beworking on hyperpigmentation.
You can't be, you know, workingon all these things
aggressively.
So you are kind of in this likeholding pattern where you've got
to try to help someone feel asgood as possible with as minimal
(08:39):
aggression and treatment aspossible.
unknown (08:42):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (08:43):
Well, you know what?
That I mean, thank you for yourservice in a sense.
I mean, it's really that's it'sa huge undertaking.
And I I can't imagine the skilland the effort that it took for
you to be able to separateyourself from those individuals.
That had to be a huge milestone,a huge stepping stone.
SPEAKER_00 (09:02):
Yeah, it and you know, it's something that I
think I had talked to Dorianabout this during our initial
interview.
You know, I have learned toreally be able to
compartmentalize things.
SPEAKER_02 (09:12):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (09:12):
And I think it kind of started with that and then
just kind of translated overinto working in schools with
students and things like thatand being able to separate, you
know, my feelings from what'sgoing on in the business.
Right, right, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (09:26):
Okay, so let's move on to something fun and
exciting, I guess.
Not that that isn't by allmeans, but Skyle, how long have
you been part of the Dermoscopecommunity?
I mean, there's yeah, I know, Iknow I can see that thinking
process.
Yeah.
What was it that drove you toour community?
SPEAKER_00 (09:46):
To be honest, so in the first few years of my
career, I was very segregated ina school because I worked for a
school that was very one productline, one focus.
And so I didn't spend a lot oftime outside of that.
I didn't go to conventions yet.
I hadn't really taken a lot ofextra courses.
So I want to say I I thoughtabout this for so long.
(10:08):
And I have to, I think when Iwent to the Vegas convention for
the first time, which wasprobably maybe 10 years ago, you
guys had a booth.
And I walked by and was like,what is this?
Like, okay.
And they were, you know, ofcourse, they were like, Oh, get,
you know, sign up today and youget a year for whatever price.
And I was like, Well, it's adeal.
(10:29):
I mean, what worse that couldhappen, right?
And then it was just kind ofhistory from there.
I just, you know, was excitedevery month to get my copy.
And every time I got a newmagazine, it was like some
amazing new information that I'dnever heard before.
So it just kind of became thisexciting little gift every
month.
That's awesome.
It is like a little gift everymonth.
SPEAKER_01 (10:49):
And even for all the years that I've involved, and
it's, you know, it's alwayseducation is so important.
And even if it's something youthink you know, hearing
something a little differentabout it just one more time is
like, ah, or you forget aboutsomething at the same time.
SPEAKER_00 (11:05):
Spoken like a true school owner.
SPEAKER_01 (11:07):
Yep, yeah, I know.
You can hear it 30 times andit's always gonna be different.
You're gonna hear it again.
That's it, that's exactly right.
Yes.
And then, of course, so you canhear it from your teachers a
million times.
Somebody else says it, andyou're like, ah, I get that now.
Yes.
I've never heard that before.
That's right.
So you're a multi-hypheniteprofessional in a sense.
(11:29):
So, how do you answer whenpeople ask you what you do?
Because you've kind of got yourfingers in in different areas.
SPEAKER_00 (11:36):
Honestly, it kind of depends on who I'm talking to.
If I'm talking to my dad, hestill thinks I rent a booth
somewhere.
So, you know, there's that.
Uh I'm talking to my clients.
I I don't talk a ton aboutmyself.
And, you know, aside from themasking me what I do during the
day, I'll say, Oh, I work for abeauty school.
But yeah, I don't, I guess Idon't spend a lot of time being
like, here's all of mycredentials.
(11:58):
Yeah, I I I just I'm anaesthetician.
I mean, at the heart of it, Ilove skin.
I love all things skin.
SPEAKER_01 (12:06):
It's such a great business.
There's there's just so manythings in it.
And I mean, so if you look atall the things that you do, what
are if you had to pick one ortwo highs and one or two lows of
wearing so many different hats,what would that be?
SPEAKER_00 (12:21):
The highs is I get to always have something new
happening.
You know, whether it's adifferent type of client or a
new service that I'm trying outor new curriculum that I'm
writing, there's just alwayssomething changing, moving, and
and it's keeps it really freshand exciting because I get bored
very easily.
I'd say probably the low of itis sometimes I take on more than
(12:44):
I should.
And my boyfriend will tell youthis more than anyone.
Like, finish a project beforeyou start a new one.
If you looked at my backyard andlike the amount of projects I've
started that I haven't finished,they eventually get done.
But he just says, I need you toto focus it in a little bit more
and like not take on so manythings.
So yeah, it can definitely be alittle overwhelming.
(13:04):
And I try to say no to thingsnow, whereas I never did before.
unknown (13:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (13:09):
I think that that comes with maturity, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_01 (13:13):
Either that or just the experience.
You just get to the point whereyou're like, oh my gosh, it's
too much.
Yeah.
So do you and I'm gonna ask you.
So first of all, do you rememberwhen the cover contest first
like stuck out to you or grabbedyour attention?
Was there a particular time thatyou're like, hmm?
SPEAKER_00 (13:34):
I'd say probably it had to have been two or three uh
ep uh episodes, two or threecovers ago.
Yep.
I had seen it and I didn'trealize when I first looked at
it that that's what it was.
I just thought, oh, this isanother person on the cover,
like whatever, you know.
Um, and then I opened it andstarted reading, and was like,
oh, contest winner, like what isthat?
(13:54):
And then last year I hadapplied, and never, never in a
million years did I ever thinkthat like I was at a place where
I'd be considered, even thisyear.
And so I applied last year andthen just kind of forgot
afterwards because I was like,yeah, it's probably never gonna
happen.
And then same with this year,like I did the application and
then I kind of just put it outof my brain and was like, yeah,
(14:15):
I'm not there yet.
Like one day I'm just gonna keepapplying and they'll get tired
of me.
So yeah, it was uh it was reallycool because I was like, man,
it's really detailed, but I justdidn't know what type of person
you guys were looking for.
So you know, I didn't I didn'tthink I had a shot.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (14:32):
Well, clearly you did.
I know.
No, which is just I it's justfantastic.
So talk a little bit about aboutthe process because you just
said, you know, it is a littledetailed for listeners that are
out there that you know didn'tpick up on it or didn't catch
it.
What are some of the details orsome of the things that caught
(14:52):
your attention that you're like,wow, this really is uh it does
require a little bit of effortand skill.
SPEAKER_00 (14:59):
Yeah, I mean, it was it was a pretty long application
in terms of questions.
I can't remember how manyexactly, but I want to say it
was at least 15 questions.
Uh, and it really makes you haveto kind of look at yourself and
also not be afraid to, I don'twant to say brag, but not be
afraid to like put yourself outthere as far as what you've done
(15:22):
and be proud of what you'vedone.
And it can be hard, you know.
I still struggle with it.
Like I want to find that finebalance.
I don't want people to think I'ma bragger, I'm egotistical to a
negative sense, but I also don'twant to minimize myself because
I have worked my butt off and Ihave done some cool things.
And so I think that's where weas women especially have to like
figure out how to look atourselves from an outside
(15:45):
perspective and and maybe list.
Like that's kind of what I didis like, okay, put down on a
piece of paper what are thethings that you did.
And that's what this applicationreally forced me to do was to
like think about in terms of ifI was looking at on a piece of
paper, what are the things I'veaccomplished?
What are the things that make medifferent than someone else?
Not better, just different.
And what are the things that I'mmost proud of or that I've
(16:05):
learned the most?
And it was a very likeintrospective application.
SPEAKER_01 (16:11):
And and that's really what it's aimed to do
too, is uh, you know, it wouldbe it would be so nice if if
more people in the world werelike proud of what they did, you
know, and really and and andfelt good about the things.
I can recall, and I've I've saidthis to actually all of my
children, male and femalechildren, but to be able to say
(16:34):
thank you when someone gives youa compliment instead of trying
to, oh, you know, oh, oh, thisold dress or oh, it's a bad hair
day, or coming up with an excusejust to say thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00 (16:46):
I love that.
And it's true.
We do.
I mean, it took me years to notalways discount what people were
saying to me.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (16:54):
Well, and especially in the field that we're in, and
for yourself, you know what, asas aestheticians, I always said
it's the best job in the worldbecause we have the ability to
change the way people look andfeel about themselves.
I to me, there's like nothingmore powerful than that, and to
be able to just say thank youwhen someone says, Oh my God,
(17:16):
you're so amazing, or oh my God,what you've done to me, or oh my
gosh, that was the best ever,and to just say thank you.
Because you're right.
You said, you know what, youworked your butt off for it, and
you do.
Yep.
You do.
Oh, absolutely.
Dermoscope magazine is thecontinuing education resource
(17:38):
that skincare professionals needto stay current on all things
aesthetics, attracting the mostprolific experts in the industry
for almost 50 years.
Dermoscope offers unparalleledcontinuing education to tens of
thousands of subscribersmonthly.
And you could be one of them.
For only$4 a month, gain accessto 13 annual issues of the Crypt
(18:00):
magazine and live webinars tokeep your knowledge base
growing.
Don't miss out on theopportunity to take your career
to the next level with the bestin industry education, because
we are more than just amagazine.
We are content you can trust.
Subscribe today atwww.dermoscope.com backslash
subscribe or by calling800-961-3777.
(18:29):
So when you discovered you'dwon, who called you and told you
that you were our cover contestwinner?
SPEAKER_00 (18:36):
Oh my gosh.
So that day was such a blur.
I feel like it was not Dorian.
I think it was Amanda.
Oh my gosh.
I'm gonna be honest, I don'teven remember who called me
because I was like, you'relying.
Like, this is a joke.
I thought it was like a prankcall at first.
And you know, I was like, who'smessing with me?
(18:58):
You guys are crazy.
And my dog was sitting next tome, and I just remember because
I'm the crazy dog lady, beinglike, What this is weird.
Like, what kind of day are wehaving?
This isn't real, and it didn'tlike feel real at all.
And I sat there for a moment andwas like, no, they're gonna
they're gonna call me back andbe like, just kidding, we messed
up, it's not you, it's someoneelse.
(19:19):
So yeah, so I uh I called mypartner right after and was just
like, so I think I'm gonna be onthe cover of a magazine.
And he's like, that's cool,babe.
And of course, you know, likemen and you know, he's on our
industry.
He was just like, Cool, youknow, whatever.
And then like later on thatnight, he'd called me back after
work and was like, So can youtell me more about this?
Because I I wasn't really payingattention when he first told me,
(19:41):
and so I explained it.
He's like, Oh, all right, you'rea baddie.
And I was like, Thanks.
SPEAKER_01 (19:47):
It's so cool.
How about the first time you sawit when you actually saw your
was that just unbelievable?
SPEAKER_00 (19:55):
I got super teary eyed because you know I had been
communicating.
Back and forth with Dorianregarding like some questions
she had about the article andthings.
And I knew the photographer haddone all the photos and
everything, but I hadn't seenthem.
So I had no idea what it wasgoing to look like or which
pictures they were going tochoose, which outfits, like
nothing.
And I, to be honest, I hatetaking pictures.
(20:16):
I had just, I was have the urgeto make a weird face.
So I wasn't sure what they weregoing to look like.
And it just didn't feel like itwas a real thing.
I was like, Am I really lookingat myself on the cover of this
thing?
And it just made me reallyteary-eyed.
That's awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (20:31):
So, Skyly, for our listeners that don't know the
process, once you got chosen,what happened next?
You know, how did we get to thepart that we got an article on
you and we got your pictures andwhat was the process that you
went through?
SPEAKER_00 (20:45):
So the first portion of it was the interview, which
was done over Zoom since youguys are based in Dallas and I'm
in Arizona.
Um, and I'd assume unlesssomeone wins from Dallas, that's
kind of how it would probablyalways go.
And so we did a Zoom interview.
There was a few of us, and theyrecorded it and just asked me a
list of questions, which theydid send me beforehand so I
could kind of look at them andhave an idea of what they were
(21:05):
gonna ask me.
So we went through that.
That was really fun, reallycasual, just kind of a back and
forth, kind of like we're doinguh almost identically.
And then after that, wescheduled the photo shoot and
they asked me if I had aphotographer that I wanted to
use it locally.
Uh, they I guess prefer to workwith local people, which I love.
And so we scheduled a photoshoot.
(21:27):
Dorian came out here for thephoto shoot, and she really gave
us amazing creative liberty tojust do what we thought was
best.
I mean, I had no idea what Ishould be doing, so I left it to
the photographer.
And yeah, we just did a bunch ofdifferent shots in different
places in the studio, and youknow, she just kind of chatted
with me that day casually.
And then, gosh, that was inOctober.
(21:51):
So then from October till the umissue came out, I was kind of
just like hanging out on pinsand needles.
And, you know, Dorian had acouple questions after the fact,
um, just to clarify some of theinterview questions and whatnot.
And then yeah, you guys mailedme the magazine, and I wasn't
sure if I could share it or notbecause I didn't know if it was
(22:11):
like a ahead of time kind ofthing.
So I had these boxes I was likehoarding in the back, all
excited.
And uh I filmed that video theday I got the boxes for
Instagram, but then I didn'tpost it until I had gotten the
okay from Dorian that it wasgood to post.
So yeah, it was it was reallyinteresting.
And then that day, of course,the digital issue came out, and
(22:32):
then here we are a week later.
SPEAKER_01 (22:34):
That's awesome.
That is so awesome.
That's just I love hearing thatstory.
So, why do you feel it'simportant to showcase
aestheticians with eitherdifferent or smaller platforms?
SPEAKER_00 (22:47):
I honestly think we have spent so much time, and I I
see the value in social media,don't get me wrong, but we've
spent so much time putting somuch stock into people who have
these crazy followings.
And we, these neweraestheticians are coming out of
school and they're thinking, inorder to make money, in order to
be successful, in order to begood at what I do, I have to
(23:07):
have 300,000 followers and branddeals and all these things.
And it's not true, you know.
And and yes, if that's the routeyou want to go, by all means,
strive to get there.
I want you to get wherever youwant to go, but I don't love
that there are people out therewho think that that is the only
idea of success.
And so, you know, I love seeingdifferent types of estheticians
(23:28):
and different levels who stillare making it.
I mean, I I know really oldschool estheticians who don't
even use social media at all andthey have full books and they're
making all the money they wantto make and they're happy and
living their life, and they'renot doing lasers or they're not
doing this or that, they'redoing exactly what they want to
be doing with no thought towhat's going on in the outside
world.
And, you know, I think there's aplace for all of us.
(23:51):
And as long as you're authenticand you do exactly what you want
to be doing and don't do it forother people and don't do it for
the gram, then there's a placefor all of us.
And I think that's important tosee.
I think that's really importantto see.
SPEAKER_01 (24:05):
And it's it's really important for newer and younger
aestheticians to hear that froma seasoned professional because
they do think the only way tobuild their business is social
media.
And we know that 98% of yourclients are coming from
referrals, they're coming fromreferences.
It's not that often someone seessomething on social media and
(24:25):
says, Oh, I'm booking anappointment with that person.
And I loved your last statementbecause, you know, first of all,
you also use the word oldschool, and I'm so old school
that we're circling back aroundto old school, one-on-one,
communication, all of thosethings we we lost a little bit.
But uh, what I really love thatyou said is people think they
(24:48):
have to have a niche or theyhave to somehow stand out in
some crazy unique way.
And your exact words of you knowwhat, you just have to be
authentic and true to yourself,and that is what builds your
business, and you and you haveto love what you do.
And if you don't have thosethings, then why bother?
(25:11):
Exactly.
Yeah, I thought that wasfantastic.
SPEAKER_00 (25:14):
I think we spend so much time, like especially new
aestheticians think you need toneed to add every service or do
this hot new salmon sperm facialor whatever the other hot new
thing is, right?
And I'm not saying that's a badthing, but there's nothing wrong
with the tried and true, andthere's nothing wrong with
saying, I'm not gonna jump onevery new trend that comes out.
I'm gonna wait and see and youknow, figure out if it's
(25:34):
something I even actually reallywant to do.
SPEAKER_01 (25:37):
I spent a ton of time on a couple of platforms of
aestheticians asking questionsabout everything and anything
all of the time.
Sometimes I find myself gettingvery frustrated, but it's very,
very common that I'm finding,and even with seasoned
professionals, so for all of ourlisteners listening to this,
they're trying to get up onwhat's hot, what's new, what's,
(26:00):
and then at the same time, I'llget the next message of how do I
perform a proper skin analysis?
Or or a skin, you know, so and Igo back to you can't be doing
those things if you don't knowthe basics.
If you're not tried and true100%, then leave, you know, RF
and all those other things tothe side if you don't know.
SPEAKER_00 (26:21):
Absolutely.
Yeah, if you don't even knowingredients, why are you trying
to add 50 different new thingsto your menu?
SPEAKER_01 (26:27):
Right, right.
So, Skyle, how has once you gotto open your box of take out
your magazines and share it withyour friends and your coworkers
and and everyone around, howhave people reacted to seeing
you on the cover of a magazine?
SPEAKER_00 (26:43):
So my family, of course, razzes me because that's
what they're there for.
You know, they're like, I'm inAsh a supermodel in our midst.
I expect nothing less from them,but they are proud at the end of
the day.
They didn't give me crap, I'd beworried.
But um, you know, my renters,uh, it's hard to gauge because I
never see them in person.
We're like so opposite on ourschedules, you know.
(27:04):
So they'll like message me onInstagram when they saw it.
I'm like, hey, it's out,woo-hoo! Because obviously they
knew when the photo shoot washappening, what was going on.
Uh, and then the my school hasbeen great.
The uh social media team posteda thing on our main social media
feed about it.
And then a bunch of my schoolshave reached out when they saw
it and we're like, oh my god, Ijust saw you, how cool.
(27:26):
And of course, the CEO and theowner both uh personally reached
out and and congratulated me,which was really sweet.
So, I mean, it's all been very,very positive.
And, you know, I I I bragged alittle bit in my SD groups
because I was like, I am in hereanswering questions for y'all
all the time.
I'm gonna post this.
So I just posted it andeverybody was super warm and
(27:47):
welcoming about it.
Yeah, it still doesn't, I stilldon't know that I understand the
magnitude.
Like I keep having people tellme, like big industry leaders
that are like, this is such anaccomplishment.
And I know it is.
I just I it doesn't feel realyet.
SPEAKER_01 (28:04):
Well, that's what makes you a real person.
That's okay.
That's a good thing.
That's a good thing.
Uh Sky, I thought that I lovedyour article.
I loved your story.
I thought that was just, I mean,you were an ideal pick for us by
by all means.
What for for the listeners thatread it, and for those that are
going to go grab their magazineand read it as soon as they
(28:25):
listen to this, what would youlike for them to take away from
your story?
If you had to pick one thing,what would that takeaway be for
listeners or readers, I shouldsay?
SPEAKER_00 (28:37):
I honestly think at the core of everything I do, and
even with my students andteaching, I always want people
to do what they think is rightfor themselves and to not worry
about what other people aredoing.
I think we spend so much timeworrying about what people think
about us or what would lookright or what would feel right.
And there's a different path foreach people.
(28:59):
You know, I've seen amazingaestheticians on Instagram who
their whole basis of theirbusiness is their religion and
praying over their clients.
I've seen people who, you know,that's not anything that would
ever come into their purview.
And it works for them.
And I've seen people who do themedical side or the holistic
side.
I think don't go where you thinkpeople want you to go or where
(29:20):
you'd make the most money orwhere you'd get the most
recognition.
Go where your heart tells you togo.
Because if you don't, thenwhat's the point?
You know, people are gonna seeright through you and it's not
gonna feel good for anybody.
SPEAKER_01 (29:34):
I love that.
I love that.
So, any words for ostheticianswho want to apply next year but
feel hesitant about doing it.
Anyone out there that's eitherlistening to us or that reads it
and they're like, oh, you knowwhat, they're never gonna pick
me.
So you know what?
SPEAKER_00 (29:51):
So what?
The thing is, I say you'reapplying in private.
It's not like Dermoscope isposting all of the people who
applied in their magazine andbeing like, hey, look at these
losers, right?
That's not happening.
So who cares?
Do it.
If you don't get it, nobody'sgonna know.
Just if you're worried about it,don't tell anyone you're
applying, just apply and put itout of your brain.
(30:11):
And if it happens, then that'samazing.
And if it doesn't, then go backagain next year and do it and
keep doing it until it happensfor you.
Because yeah, I mean, I saw thisguy on TikTok today that said I
posted four times a day for thelast year, and I only had four
videos last year go viral.
But from those four videos, Imade like a hundred thousand
(30:33):
dollars.
He said if I had stopped afterthe first month, I wouldn't have
made anything.
So I just kept up with theinsanity.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (30:40):
So it works.
Yep, insanity.
Keep up with the insanity.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
So I always have to end mypodcast with a game, but before
we play our game, Skyly, isthere anything that I didn't ask
you that I should have or thatyou want to say to our listeners
(31:00):
that we missed out on?
SPEAKER_00 (31:02):
I would say if you're not already getting out
there and doing things outsideof your treatment room, you
should.
It's it's just fun and it's goodfor you.
You know, the trade shows, thethe you know, men's conferences,
the skin games, all thesedifferent things that are out
there, even if you don'tactively are participating in
them, just go to them because itjust inspires you every time you
(31:23):
do.
And I think I wouldn't still bein this industry if I didn't
start getting out of where I wasand seeing what was out in the
world.
And same with Dermoscope.
If you're not reading it, youshould be because it kind of
gives you an idea of what'shappening.
SPEAKER_01 (31:34):
And for so many aestheticians that came into
this profession in the last fiveyears or early COVID time, they
have no idea.
I mean, they entered theprofession almost in their own
little bubble.
There's so much, there's so muchout there and so much support.
Uh, it's just, it's so exciting.
(31:54):
It's so exciting.
Yep.
Yeah.
Yep.
Okay.
Are you ready to play a game?
Okay.
I know.
This is actually this is a funone.
And I just I love this that youhave to play the game, not me,
because I hate playing games.
So okay.
So the name of the game isapply, try, or pass.
(32:16):
So simply, I have six questionsfor you.
Six scenarios, six questions.
And you have to, as quickly asyou possibly can, say, yes,
absolutely, I'm gonna apply it.
Love this.
Try means maybe or pass.
Absolutely no.
It's a no-go.
(32:36):
Okay, so apply, try, or pass.
First one, you're invited tospeak at an international
conference you've always dreamedof, but it's in one week.
Apply.
Absolutely.
A brand wants you as aneducator, but you've never
worked with them.
It'd be a try.
You're asked to mentor someonewho reminds you exactly of
(32:59):
yourself at 19.
Apply.
A client brings their entiresupport squad, partner, friend,
and neighbor to theirappointment.
Try.
A client asks you to explaineverything you know about
herbalism in five minutes.
SPEAKER_00 (33:17):
Apply.
SPEAKER_01 (33:20):
And the last one, a client wants to bring their
crystals into the facial.
Apply.
Absolutely.
There were no passes.
How did I know you weren't youwere gonna do that?
SPEAKER_00 (33:30):
You know, I throw caution to the wind to my own uh
demise.
SPEAKER_01 (33:35):
Everything is a learning opportunity, no matter
what, right?
Exactly.
Right.
Skyle, thank you so much foryour time.
Congratulations on your cover.
I think that is I'm just it's agreat feeling.
I'm super happy for you and whatan accomplishment.
So congratulations on that.
SPEAKER_00 (33:54):
Well, I'm honored that I got to hang out with you
today because you are a baddiein this industry.
I've been stalking you.
SPEAKER_01 (34:02):
Thank you.
No, there you go.
There you go.
You know what?
I I love this industry.
I love what we do.
I'm very much like you.
I like putting myself out thereand doing the things that apply,
apply, apply, because sooner orlater you're gonna get there,
right?
It's all gonna work out.
It will.
It will.
So, Sky Lee, thank you again.
(34:23):
Congratulations again to all ofour listeners.
Thank you so much for spending45 minutes with Sky Lee and I.
This is Michelle Dialer Brennerfrom the Aesthetic Report, and
we'll talk to you guys nextmonth.
Take care, everybody.
SPEAKER_03 (34:38):
Thank you for listening to the Aesthetic
Report.
Be sure to subscribe whereveryou listen to podcasts so you'll
never miss an episode.
If you love the show, leave areview on Apple Podcasts and
Spotify.
And all your FDP.
And don't forget.
Popular Podcasts
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.