Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/1514075
58 ASCP Skin Deep Winter 2024 A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE Leigh Wick, a thriving esthetician, brand owner, and educator not only has knowledge of accessibility in spas from a licensed esthetician's perspective, but she also has perspective as a person who uses a wheelchair. She understands essential accessibility aspects, such as designing a spa space for easy access and inclusivity, as well as curating marketing materials and websites for hearing-impaired and vision-impaired clients. Wick was born with lumbar sacral agenesis, a rare genetic birth defect, at a time when the world was not nearly as accessible—53 years ago. Sacral agenesis is a rare condition that affects how the lower part of the body develops in the womb. The sacrum is formed by five vertebrae that are joined together; babies with sacral agenesis are born with part or all of their sacrum missing. Wick was the first child to have a groundbreaking surgery where her legs were amputated and the bones were used to reconstruct her spine so she wasn't sitting on all her major organs. She spent most of her early childhood in and out of surgeries and was in the hospital until age 4. Altogether, Wick braved 14 surgeries between birth and 4 years old. She tears up thinking back to those memories—even at that tender age, she knew she had an intrinsic purpose to show the world what she could do. "I always had that innate sort of knowledge in me, and I always was able to sort of feel ways that I could lift other people up just from getting their sense of what was insecure for them and what was not," Wick says. Wick's career in the beauty industry started more than 20 years ago, when she took on a part-time job at MAC Cosmetics as a makeup artist while still working as a paralegal, a career she held for a long time. While she excelled at her paralegal career, MAC Cosmetics was alluring; in the early days, before YouTube tutorials and social media, it was the place everyone would visit to learn how to apply makeup from the pros. "I really felt that was my purpose," Wick says. "I wasn't trying to be a poster child anymore. I was just a regular makeup artist who was hot, who happened to be in a wheelchair." At that time, Wick didn't know what an esthetician was, but she knew she loved giving her MAC clients a natural, dewy look, something that wasn't necessarily trendy in the early 2000s. Her friend recognized Wick's talent and suggested esthetics school. So, Wick embarked on her journey to becoming a skin care professional at Paul Mitchell The School. Since then, she has become a six- figure esthetician at her own practice, Vanity Makeup and Spa, and has created her own successful skin care line, Matusa. From Wick's experience, accessibility in your business is not a direct link to success, but it does speak volumes about you, your business, and the work you do. Here, she shares tips for effective communication and accessibility plans to improve your business and ensure a comforting experience for every client. "The beauty industry has ignored the conversation regarding accessibility, even though it is a law and is a conversation that has been long overdue." —Leigh Wick, esthetician, brand owner, and educator