A client in Portland taught me to listen more than I talk

She came in for a facial but kept mentioning her skin felt tight and itchy after every product. Instead of pushing my usual routine, I just asked her to walk me through her whole day, from shower to bed. Turns out she was using a super harsh bar soap her husband bought, twice a day. We swapped that out for a gentle cream cleanser and her follow-up appointment was a total 180. How do you guys handle it when a client's home routine is the real problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

burns.patricia20d ago

Honestly though, is a bar of soap twice a day that big of a deal? I mean, people have been using basic soap forever. Maybe her skin was just having a moment, or it was the weather. Feels like we overthink every little product now.

maryblack20d ago

Totally get what you're saying about overthinking. It feels like we've turned every daily choice into a research project. I see it with food, cleaning stuff, even how we sleep. We have so much information now that a simple bar of soap isn't just soap anymore, it's a whole list of ingredients to worry about. Sometimes I miss when things were just things, you know?