Holy Shnikies, Batman! This is a win-win situation! You receive a massage and/or a fascial at a highly discounted rate and the students gain their required hours of experience. It’s perfect! So why not get both, a massage and a fascial? I got on their website to see if I can schedule the appointments and it required me to call to make the appointments. I called and it was super easy. The lady kindly scheduled my appointments (an hour facial and an 80-minute massage) and asked that I arrive a few minutes before my appointment to complete the intake forms. Couple days before my appointment, they called and left a voicemail confirming the appointments.
The location was easy to find; their logo is on the front of their door. As soon as I walked in, the person behind the desk checked me in and handed me two intake forms, one for my fascial and one for my massage. Once completed, I returned them back to the front desk and sat back down. Not even five minutes later, one of the students kindly introduced herself and talked about my intake form while walking me down the hall. We walked into the esthetician room and approached the classroom coach. The student read off the products she thought would be the best fit for my fascial. The coach looked at my form and agreed with the products the student selected and handed them all to her. She then walked me to my booth. The booth had curtains all around it to give us some privacy and feel like although we are at a school, we are still in a somewhat professional setting. She explained the level to undress, showed me where to put my clothes and the robe to put on. While I dressed into the robe, she was outside the booth and waited till I whispered “ready”.
I don’t receive facials on a regular basis. And this was my first experience at a school so I had no idea what to expect. She was so nice. She whispered to me the steps she was doing, the products she was using, and what it was doing to my face. She did everything that licensed professionals do. Before I knew it, she whispered that our session was over, take my time getting dressed and simply open the curtain when I was ready. Wow! That flew by fast! I got dressed and opened the curtain to see her standing with her clipboard waiting to escort me back to the front desk.
She kindly escorted me back to the front desk where I was to wait for my massage therapist student. Couple minutes later, a young gentleman in massage therapy scrubs called my name. He shook my hand, and went over my intake form while walking me down the hall towards the massage therapy classroom door. As he walked me into the room, I saw curtains everywhere again. I walked past their classroom coach and stepped into our assigned booth. He did the same as the ethician; explained what to do with my clothes, and where to lay on the table, and what position to be in (face up or face down), and that he’d be outside the curtain waiting.
I undressed to my comfort level, laid on the table face up, and whispered that I was “ready”. He walked back into the booth, closed the curtain, and started on my neck. I could tell that he was a little nervous because his hands were shaking a little. Immediately, I could tell my cover was somewhat blown. I knew he knew I was a Massage Therapist. (Side note, I never tell anyone that I’m a Massage Therapist when getting a massage. Either my therapist will shake the whole time or he/she will talk the whole time about massage lol. I just want to relax like everyone else on the table.) He continued on towards my arms, legs, little on my feet and flipped me over to do my posterior chain, aka my back side. He proceeded to work the back of my legs and finished the session with massaging my back. Once the session ended, which I couldn’t believe how fast 80 minutes flew, he whispered the next step instructions. He left the booth and gave me time to get dressed. Soon as I opened the curtain, he was standing next to it waiting to escort me back to the front.
As he was walking me to the front desk, he mentioned that he heard I was a Massage Therapist. I was right! I knew he knew lol. Someone at the school informed him that I was a licensed Massage Therapist. So I told him about my studio and welcomed him to contact me anytime. (I am always happy to help mentor other therapists.) He shook my hand and thanked me for the opportunity. I went back to the front desk and saw a blank “feedback” form. I gladly filled it out, paid for my sessions, and left.
My take-a-way
- Whether you are on a budget and want to receive massages and/or facials on a regular basis, or you are open to helping students learn, this is a great experience! Just know that when receiving the service, the students are in fact students. Some students are further in their education than others. You might have an ethician or Massage Therapist that just started his/her clinical hours. Or you might have one that is close to graduation. So have an open mind when going. If there is something specific that you want, such as a Lymphatic Drainage massage or a Microdermabrasion, simply tell the person when you call to make your appointment. But again, just know that they are students.
- Both the Esthetician student and the Massage Therapist Student were professional and kind. They looked at my intake forms, repeated the things I wrote down to make sure they understood what my goals were, and asked if there was anything else that I forgot to write down. They were both great at communicating throughout the entire time, from beginning to end. The Esthetician was great at explaining the products, why she used them, and what it does to my face. The Massage Therapist was consistent with checking in on the pressure. Both did a great job!
- Both the Esthetician and the Massage Therapist welcomed feedback. The lobby had two different folders; one for Massage Therapy and one for Estheticians. They value your feedback and discuss the forms in class. And the form has questions like, “what were the three best things about your session today?” “What three things need improvement?” etc. When you go, stay a few minutes longer and complete a form.
