3 Things I Learned From My Dermalogica Training

As most of you will already know, when I'm not here gushing about the latest products, I'm working full time in a salon and attending college to become a qualified beauty therapist. Well, last month I was lucky enough to do some training with skin care geniuses Dermalogica - we had a full day learning about the history of the brand, the products on the market, their techniques and approaches. For a skin geek like myself, it was just so much fun and I really did learn a lot - here are the top three things that really stood out during my Dermalogica training:

The Amazing Precleanse

Precleanse is designed to be used prior to your usual cleanser to break down oils and make up and ensure a thorough cleanse. I have to admit - before my training I really didn't see what the fuss was about but I have officially been converted. As our lovely trainer explained, a lot of us these days are wearing heavy, long lasting, wax based make up, which can be incredibly resistant to our usual cleansers. So to demonstrate the power of Precleanse, she put it to the test against (wait for it...) black boot polish. Eek! She put two swatches of boot polish on her arm - on the first she used a regular Dermalogica cleanser (I believe it was Special Cleansing Gel). She cleansed once and, as you can expect, the polish barely budged. A second cleanse removed a little more, but she was still left with a great black smudge. On the second swatch however, she used Precleanse and it was gone (and I mean completely gone) in one cleanse. Amazing!

The Dermalogica Girls Really Know Their Stuff

This one might be a little obvious, and maybe a little more interesting to budding beauty therapists, but during the demonstration of a Prescriptive Facial I was just completely in awe. From the little unique touches in her treatment - such as wrapping her client in a large sheet, almost like a cocoon, rather than using a blanket - to the basic, practical, 'Oh-my-god-how-did-we-never-think-of-that' additions, we were all pretty envious of her techniques and skills. The part that really stood out to me was when she started her blackhead extractions. Now, if you're training in beauty, you'll understand how awkward it can be to get your extractions technique just right - even the more experienced girls in my salon have trouble with them from time to time. But this girl did it so quickly and made it look so easy, we all ended up getting out of our seats and crowding around her saying "How the hell are you doing this so quickly?". With that in mind, if you ever have the opportunity to get a treatment at one of Dermalogica's flagship spas, go!

 joinFITE

Maybe I was a bit dim to have not known this before, but Dermalogica are partnered with non-profit organisation joinFITE (Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship) - a wonderful organisation that helps women finance their own business through microloans in countries where it may not be the norm for women to to be entrepreneurs and may face discrimination when attempting to fund their business through traditional methods, such as bank loans. Dermalogica products with a FITE logo on the box contain a code for you to use on the joinFITE website to contribute $1 to a microloan - you can choose the country and the type of business you want it to go to and they'll send you an e-mail when the loan is financed, introducing you to the woman and the business that you've helped. Fantastic products and a fantastic cause.

Before we finished our training we all got a handful of samples as well, so keep your eyes peeled for some Dermalogica reviews in the near future!