How to Choose a Skin Care Specialist
How to Choose a Skin Care Specialist
If you are to use certain types of skin care products or if you are planning to undergo a cosmetic procedure to enhance your skin tone or feature, it is always advisable to consult a licensed and well-experienced skin care specialist or dermatologist.
To help you choose a skin care specialist that you can trust, below is a list of tips on what to look for:
1. Certification of passing the board
Take note that any esthetician can declare that they are a skin specialist. This means that there are some esthetician who can claim that they are a registered esthetician even if they are not.
In the United States, becoming a esthetician requires hundreds of hours studying skin, nails, and hair disorders at any authorized cosmotology school in the country. Special trainings for different types of skin conditions are also required for estheticians.
When all the required trainings and studies are completed, the esthetician is then expected to take the board exam, which consists of comprehensive sets of skill assessment tests. The board exam is conducted by the American Board of Cosmotology. This academic body sets the standards for the competency level of a esthetician or a skin specialist.
However, passing the board does not always guarantee that a esthetician is sure to become a good skin specialist. It is more of a proof that a esthetician completed all the required trainings and curriculums on dermatology as well as learned enough to pass the board exam.
If you already have a esthetician in mind, you can check out at the state Board of Cosmotology website if the name is one of those that pass the board exam.
2. Specific area of expertise
It is a must to check first the expertise of your chosen esthetician or skin specialist, for while majority of esthetician know how to treat all skin-related problems, there are other licensed skin specialists today that hold additional certifications on special areas of dermatology namely the Pediatric Dermatology, Clinical and Laboratory Dermatological Immunology, and Dermatopathology.
Apart from the three special areas of dermatology, estheticians can also practice their area of specialty. For instance, an esthetician can be known for handling patients with allergy, those with severe acne, and people with skin-related cancer condition.
3. Attitude towards his/her profession
An esthetician cannot be considered a good esthetician (even if he is a competent one) if his attitude towards his patients is unprofessional or contemptible. Avoid estheticians who are inattentive and do not really seem to care whatever treatment would be best for their patients. Go for the ones who are willing to give you the proper treatment that you need and are interested to hear your ideas, thoughts, and questions regarding the skin care treatment, procedure, and consultation.
4. Clinic ambiance
The ambiance of the clinic doesn’t necessarily have to be the fancy decors or the number of flashy certificates posted on the walls. The clinic’s ambiance is more on the environment. Better trust clinics of formidable and well-experienced doctors that have clean waiting areas and offices. A plus, of course, is the presence of helpful, attentive, and friendly medical staff inside the clinic.
