Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/1533707
Protection. Education. Connection. There's an app for that at ascpskincare.com/app 59 SD: Is that when you decided to go to school for esthetics? BM: Right after I had my daughter—she was a newborn—I started going through medical assisting school. I thought I wanted to be a nurse. Once I really got into [the nursing program] and I had a little bit of time being in the hospital, I was like, "This is not for me." At the time, my grandma was part of a multilevel marketing company selling skin care, and I thought, "Oh, this is interesting. Maybe I'll do this because then I'm kind of my own boss." But then I started finding an interest in skin care [and thought] it would be super cool if I got my license so I could use those products. (Little did I know there's a huge difference between professional- grade and multilevel marketing skin care.) My daughter turned 1 while I was in esthetics school. SD: Now that your daughter is in her teens, what surprising lessons does she—or your other children—teach you? BM: My kids are mirrors. Any shortcomings that I have, they mirror them back. They're teaching me to be more self-aware. I'm really trying to drop the ego and see where I can improve. My husband, Chance, and I are big on making sure we have that open communication with our kids. We try to really have transparency with them. Being able to lead by example, being self-aware, and knowing my strengths but also being aware of weaknesses [are key]. And knowing that it's OK to fail. SD: After you graduated, you chose to specialize in waxing. Why this niche? BM: Doing facials, I really liked building connections with people. But then there were some people who wanted a quiet service, which I totally respected. I also realized I was tied down to an hour or hour-and-a-half appointment; and there was nowhere else to really go from there— especially because I was working for someone else. European Wax Center reached out to me. I had been doing a little waxing at the day spa—quick add-on services with facials—and I really enjoyed it. I loved the idea of European Wax Center's tiered system (I'm really motivated by that kind of stuff), it being fast-paced, and knowing I would receive the results based on my efforts. If I took it seriously, got great at the technique, got faster, then I could in essence make more money. [In that moment, I realized] this is what I'm meant to do. SD: Around the time you made that decision, you also lost your grandmother. BM: It was devastating. I was so young when I lost my mom, so I don't remember a lot of it, but I know the impact it had on me. Then, with my grandma [passing], it was so hard because I was newly married. There was so much thankfulness at the same time, though, because of the timing. We were supposed to get married in December, but things happened that forced us to push our wedding up to September, and then she went into the hospital right after that. I am who I am today because of my grandma. She modeled servant leadership. She was senior VP of Bank of America, and after she retired because of health reasons (she had cancer for 18 years), she got really into giving back and helping. She had a passion