Ep 405 – The First Facial

Summary

ASCP Esty Talk – Ep 405: The First Facial

Release Date: July 22, 2026
Hosts: Maggie Stasik (ASCP Program Director), Alec Cressman (Licensed Esthetician, ASCP Content Contributor)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the pivotal role of the "first facial" in shaping client perceptions about professional skincare. Maggie and Alec explore why facials are often seen as optional luxury rather than preventive care, and how estheticians can turn a client’s first experience into an ongoing relationship. The conversation centers on shifting the client mindset from viewing facials as a “want” to recognizing them as a “need,” emphasizing the impact of experience over education alone.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Facials as Preventive Care: Shifting Perception

• Prison Barber Parable: Maggie opens with a story about a man in a prison barber program who pivots to offering facials, gaining popularity even among tough inmates.
  • Quote [02:01] Maggie: "What his clients say is, I didn't think I needed it until I got it. And now he has repeat clients. He sees about three a day. And I just thought that is aesthetics in a nutshell."
• Facials Misconstrued as Optional:
  • Quote [02:25] Maggie: “Clients often categorize facials as like a quote unquote, optional maintenance and not needed care because there's no immediate pain point driving them in.”
• Creating a Reference Point: Alec and Maggie discuss how clients don’t reject facials—they just lack familiarity or reference.

2. Importance of Experience Over Explanation

• Analogy to Other Disciplines: They compare facials to dental and chiropractic care, where ongoing maintenance is more valuable than reactive visits.
  • Quote [03:09] Alec: “Imagine going to the dentist only when you had a cavity, instead of preventing the cavity from forming… That analogy… very much applies in facial care.”
• Educational Limitations:
  • Quote [04:33] Maggie: "Education informs experience. Converts estheticians. I think we’re trained to explain the ingredients, the protocols, skin physiology. But explanation assumes the client is already engaged in that same framework."
• Experience as Activation: Simply explaining isn’t enough—the real transformation for the client comes from the lived experience during their first appointment.

3. Building Trust Through Service Design

• First Impressions Count:
  • Quote [07:34] Alec: “How does it look when you walk in the door? How were they greeted? What does it smell like?... Do they feel empowered when they leave? Do they feel better?”
• Trust is Earned, Not Explained:
  • Quote [07:55] Maggie: “We try to explain our way into trust... But trust usually comes after the experience.”
• Whole Client Journey Matters: Alec notes that trust can easily be lost even after a good stretch, underscoring the importance of consistent experience both in and out of the treatment room (booking, follow-up, retail interactions).

4. The Three Layers of Change in the First Facial

• Physical: Immediate effects (glow, treated acne, hydration)
• Emotional: Felt care, slowed down, reduced nervous system stress
• Cognitive: New understanding of what a facial can do
  • Quote [10:09] Maggie: “The physical skin feels different... Emotional, they feel cared for. Things were slowed down... Cognitive, they now have a reference point for what facials are going to do for them.”
• First Facial Creates Context, Not Loyalty:
  • Quote [10:40] Maggie: “That first facial doesn’t create loyalty, it creates context.”

5. Moving Services from a 'Want' to a 'Need'

• Citing an anecdote from Alec’s father-in-law about deciding between “wants” and “needs,” they note that a good first experience can shift facials into the “need” category for clients.
• Applies to all services—not just facials but waxing, chemical peels, and more.

6. Avoiding Over-Explanation and "Posturing"

• Meeting Clients Where They Are:
  • Quote [13:10] Alec: “Let me say where we are posturing and trying to say what we know... Part of that whole experience is not forgetting, do they feel heard? Do they feel understood?..."
• Don’t Pre-Justify the Experience:
  • Quote [13:51] Maggie: “Estheticians feel this need to justify the service before the client has even experienced it.”
  • Quote [14:08] Maggie: “The irony is, the more we try to reduce uncertainty verbally, the less space we leave for the actual experience to do its job.”

7. Practical Advice: Designing the First Facial as an 'Activation Point'

• Create a Powerful Experience: Focus on what the client feels, not just what is technically performed.
• Clarity Over Pressure:
  • Quote [16:03] Alec: “Consistency comes from clarity and not pressure... if the experience is clear enough, the follow up... it’s not a sales pitch, it’s just a continuation.”
• Make Rebooking Logical, Not Pushy:
  • Quote [15:53] Maggie: "The goal isn't to sell follow ups, it's to make that experience self explanatory enough that the follow ups feel logical."

8. Funny & Memorable Moments

• Activated! Chiropractic Story: Alec riffs on his quirky chiropractor who would loudly exclaim “Activated!”—a reminder not to be performative or awkwardly ritualistic in the treatment room.
  • Quote [14:44] Alec: “He would do the back cracking, and then he’d be like, Activated. Yeah, activated... I went one time to that guy, like, thank you for the activation, but I’m out tapping out.”

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Maggie [02:01]: “What his clients say is, I didn't think I needed it until I got it. And now he has repeat clients.”
• Alec [03:09]: “Imagine going to the dentist only when you had a cavity... That analogy... very much applies in facial care.”
• Maggie [04:33]: “Education informs experience... But explanation assumes the client is already engaged in that same framework.”
• Alec [07:34]: “How does it look when you walk in the door?... Do they feel empowered when they leave?”
• Maggie [10:09]: “The physical skin feels different... Emotional... Cognitive, they now have a reference point for what facials are going to do for them.”
• Alec [16:03]: “Consistency comes from clarity and not pressure... it’s not a sales pitch, it’s just a continuation.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:57] – Prison facial story: How aesthetically unknown populations can quickly become converts
• [02:25] – Facials and the problem of being perceived as “optional”
• [03:09] – Analogies: Dentistry and chiropractic care as preventive maintenance
• [04:50] – The split between technical and experiential esthetician approaches
• [07:34] – First facial as a “trust” builder; every step of experience matters
• [10:09] – The three-layer shift: physical, emotional, cognitive
• [13:06] – Over-explaining as a barrier to trust; the issue of “posturing”
• [14:29] – Practical tips: Make the first facial an activation point
• [14:44] – Don’t “make it weird”—fun anecdote about performative rituals
• [16:03] – Consistency, clarity, and non-pressured rebooking

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Key Takeaways

• Clients don’t inherently reject facials; they lack experience or context.
• The first facial is an opportunity to shift perception—an “activation point” that moves facials from a “want” to a “need.”
• Building an exceptional lived experience is more impactful than over-explaining or posturing as an expert.
• Trust isn’t won through words; it’s earned through a consistent, welcoming, empowering experience both in and out of the treatment room.
• Practical advice: design the client experience to clearly guide them to next steps naturally, without pressure.

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End Note:
Listeners are invited to share their own “first facial” stories or perspectives via social media or email. For further resources, check the show notes.

Transcript

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[Maggie Stasik]

Hello and welcome to ASCP's STTalk. I'm your co host, Maggie Stasik, ASCP's program director.

[Alec Cressman]

And I'm Alec Cressman, licensed esthetician, ingredient junkie and content contributor for ascp.

[Maggie Stasik]

Ella, I read something recently that had nothing to do with aesthetics. On the surface it was this story about a prison barbering program. And one of the men in the program, he talked about how much he hated doing women's cuts. He felt that barbering was very much cut and dry, very simple. Follow the program. But what caught my attention wasn't that it, it was that he had pivoted to skincare. And he said he believes skincare is as important as dental care. And he started offering facials in prison.

[Alec Cressman]

Oh my gosh.

[Maggie Stasik]

And over time, he made them popular among the general prison population. And the article described something that really stuck with me. It's now not uncommon to see these tough male inmates, gang affiliated, hardened individuals, reclined in his chair with a steaming towel getting facials.

[Alec Cressman]

I love this. I'm. I'm envisioning it right now. And I think that is so cool. Yeah.

[Maggie Stasik]

And what his clients say is, I didn't think I needed it until I got it. And now he has repeat clients. He sees about three a day. And I just thought that is aesthetics in a nutshell.

[Alec Cressman]

Absolutely. Yeah. I didn't know I needed it until I got it.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah. So clients, I think they don't reject facials. They just don't have a reference for them.

[Alec Cressman]

I think that's probably true.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah. In aesthetics, clients often categorize facials as like a quote unquote, optional maintenance and not needed care because there's no immediate pain point driving them in.

[Alec Cressman]

Yes. I experienced that early on in my career where facials, if I use. That's why I had to change my verbiage or my vernaculars because if I said facials, they thought Christmas and birthdays

[Maggie Stasik]

and maybe the industry's shifting a little bit because I know there's people out there that they never miss their appointment, they're getting their facial or they're getting their Fill in the blank, whatever it is. But I think it's similar to preventive care in general, like dental cleanings. People don't feel the need until they've experienced the benefit of prevention over time.

[Alec Cressman]

Or chiropractic care. All of those have this element of going in only when it's necessary. But if you stay up on it, maintenance, like imagine going to the dentist only when you had a cavity, instead of preventing the cavity from forming or seeing early signs of a formation where they can do some sorts of treatments. That's analogy that he used to dental care. Very much applies in facial care.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah, I agree.

[Alec Cressman]

Or skin care, I should say. Yeah.

[Maggie Stasik]

I think the key shift is that value isn't missing, it just hasn't been activated yet through the experience.

[Alec Cressman]

I love that. That's fantastic.

[Maggie Stasik]

Oh, thank you.

[Alec Cressman]

So it's like not a rejection of skincare, it's that they have a lack of reference for it, right?

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah.

[Alec Cressman]

So they. It's like the need doesn't exist in theory, but it shows up after their first experience. And sometimes that first experience could be a gift card that they're redeeming. Sometimes their first experience could be problematic that they're coming in for. So. So it's, it's a language thing for estheticians or skincare practitioners where that's our job, right, to. To change it, to explain it, to enforce the need of it.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah, exactly. In other words, it. And that first appointment may not even be enough. But you said it. It's jar our job as the esthetician to convert that first time client into a repeat client.

[Alec Cressman]

Yes. And that's a consultation.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah. Okay, very good. So education informs experience, converts estheticians. I think we're trained to explain the ingredients, the protocols, skin physiology. But explanation assumes the client is already engaged in that same framework.

[Alec Cressman]

Oh yeah, totally. Yeah. I didn't even think about it like that. I was explaining this to a colleague. We were in the same like building, if you will. She's very much that experiential. She always has been. The experience of the ritual, like traditional European and I'm like the experience of let's scrape it, let's. But I think that I was lacking in that area. So I was just telling her, yeah, I think I'm adding more of that experiential part back into it because I definitely see the benefit of it. But it's having a better retention on new clients.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah, I think that's one of the biggest challenges for estheticians and I think many clients aren't making decisions from a place of analysis. They're making them from familiarity, habit, and comfort level. And that goes to your point about the experience.

[Alec Cressman]

Yeah, for sure. Also, I was having this experience with life insurance lately. I know, random little left field, but I'm. I'm thinking of an industry where I know nothing about it. Right. We know skin, we know ingredients, we know pain points, we know what we can accomplish. But I recently had an opportunity to revisit my life insurance policies. I have three of them. And I'm like, I don't understand. I have a term whole life, a term and an executive whole life. What does this mean? And the agent still isn't able to explain it in a way that I'm seeing value in them now X amount of years later. And so I took it to a third party. I'm like, explain this to me so that I would want to keep these policies or not, you know? And so I think that had the other agent been able to explain it to me or had an experience for me to relate to, then I would have been like, okay, cool, great. But I went through all this rigor moro to try to figure it out. So if we remember that we're in it, we're thick in it, we're. We're about that life. I dream about skin and things, or when I close my eyes, I can see a pimple popping or whatever. I'm a problem solver in that. But our clients aren't. They work in other areas.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah, that's a perfect analogy. So a facial creates a lived experience. Right. We have temperature, touch, environment, nervous system response. That combination can't be fully translated through language. And so again, going back to what you said, creating that experience, this is where the disconnect happens. We try to clarify something that actually needs to first be felt.

[Alec Cressman]

How do we get them in there to feel it?

[Maggie Stasik]

Exactly.

[Alec Cressman]

Yeah. Nice.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah, it's all about that first appointment. So we're doing what we can to market ourselves, bring that first client through the door. The job then is to how to turn them into a repeat client. That's through experience, the entire experience.

[Alec Cressman]

How does it look when you walk in the door? How were they greeted? What does it smell like? Do they feel educated? Do they feel judged? On the flip side of that, that could be, you know, make or break opportunity. Do they feel heard? Do they feel empowered when they leave? Do they feel better?

[Maggie Stasik]

Right, yeah. And I think all of that you're saying is about trust.

[Alec Cressman]

A hundred percent.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah. So we try to explain our way into trust. And this is a generalization, not every esthetician operates this way. But trust usually comes after the experience. All the things that you just said, if they're walking away feeling like they have been comforted and welcomed and they had an amazing experience, they now have trust with you and want to rebook.

[Alec Cressman]

And I think that experience happens not just in the treatment room. Yeah, it's everything. Was it easy to book online? Did they get a follow up call? Were they. Did they feel pressured to buy retail? Or did they feel empowered, supported, easy, all that, the entire experience. And I feel like sometimes too, trust can be lost in one appointment each. Like you can have somebody for a while and then you lose stress. Like that too.

[Maggie Stasik]

Oh, a hundred percent. I think that's so right.

[Alec Cressman]

Hold that thought. We'll be right back.

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[Alec Cressman]

Okay, here we go. Let's get back to the podcast.

[Maggie Stasik]

So the first facial is a perception shift, not just a service. The repeat client doesn't come from the facial being quote, unquote good. It comes from it being unexpected in outcome or feeling.

[Alec Cressman]

Yes, I would agree because it give. Oh, I had a good facial. That was great. See you next year versus Wow. I know what's going on now. I know what to plan for. I know where the holes in my system are. Or I didn't even think about that. Or I feel like they understood what I was saying, what I needed in the moment.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah. So I think there's three layers that shift. Physical, emotional, cognitive. The physical skin feels different. They perhaps achieved their goals. Or they're walking out feeling glowing or fresh, or their acne was treated, or they're more hydrated. I don't know. Emotional, they feel cared for. Things were slowed down. Their nervous system had a positive reaction. Cognitive, they now have a reference point for what facials are going to do for them.

[Alec Cressman]

Yes. Oh, nailed it. I love that.

[Maggie Stasik]

Once that reference exists, the decision making changes completely. It's no longer abstract. That first facial doesn't create loyalty, it creates context.

[Alec Cressman]

I would say yes. And it also creates from. I think I told you, my father in law makes or he suggested we write lists of need and want in the situation when we're evaluating a big decision. And so I'll still tease him, I need a steak dinner or I need a new car. And he's like, do you want it? Do you need it? So I think want is where facials can usually land in the want category. But having a good first experience moves that to the need category.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah. And so we're using this, we're using facials as the example here, but you can fill in any treatment in and apply this, whether it's the brow wax, the body treatment, the chemical peel.

[Alec Cressman]

Dermaplane.

[Maggie Stasik]

Dermaplane.

[Alec Cressman]

Intimate brightening.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah, intimate brightening. And I think it's about knowing your demographic and your client because. Okay, so I for one can say this as an esthetician and apply it to facials and. But as the consumer, I, I know what it's going to do for me. I know how it'll benefit my skin. I know what the outcome will be at the end. I'm still not getting a facial.

[Alec Cressman]

Well, I'm going to give you my website. You can book an appointment. The experience is fantastic. I'm going to nail the consultation for you and then you'll see the benefit. I'm also thinking, though, just my mind was going, as you were saying that for our medical spa listeners, a lot of those seem very trans. I say a lot of those, but a lot of those. A lot of services in the med spa area. Let's just take neurotoxins, for example. Those are necessities and they're coming three or four times a year. But having a good experience could bring them in for some other services. And it's the same if we look at the waxing. I have a client now, I don't wax anymore, but she started seeing me for bikini wax. She started with eyebrow wax, trusted me. It says, okay, can you do my bikini? Yes. And then, oh, can you do my face? Like that was the order of trust for her. Now we don't wax anything, but we still do her face and that's awesome. So I guess my point is like building from there and having a return for other services.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So I think where estheticians get stuck is over. Explaining can unintentionally delay the trust.

[Alec Cressman]

Oh, my gosh. Yes. I would call that posturing.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah.

[Alec Cressman]

Would you?

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah.

[Alec Cressman]

Like where they're posturing. Let me say where we are posturing and trying to say what we know and positioning ourselves as an expert. And part of that whole experience is not forgetting. Do they feel heard? Do they feel understood? Can they understand what's happening or what's going on? I use a lot of analogies when I'm talking to the clients, that I'm meeting them where they're at. And then I always reference back to, like, this is what you told me you needed, that this is. This will, you know, satisfy that problem. Whatever the problem is, this is how you do it. Let me teach you something. I'm gonna teach you how to do it, but not. Not in an arrogant way or a posturing way. Finding. Meeting them where they are and explaining it that way.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah. And I think sometimes, too, estheticians feel this need to justify the service before the client has even experienced it.

[Alec Cressman]

A hundred percent. Yeah. But we're trying to solve this uncertainty with more information, when really that answer is not words, it's experience.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah. I think the irony is the more we try to reduce uncertainty verbally, the less space we leave for the actual experience to do its job.

[Alec Cressman]

Let me not tell you. Let me show you.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Sometimes we're trying to solve uncertainty with more information. When the answer is experienced is ultimately what this whole episode is about.

[Alec Cressman]

I agree.

[Maggie Stasik]

So some practical shifts in the treatment room you can make. Design the first facial as an activation point, not just a service.

[Alec Cressman]

Okay. Can I say one thing, though? Back to the chiropractor.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah.

[Alec Cressman]

Don't make it weird, though.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah.

[Alec Cressman]

I was referred to this chiropractor by one of my clients, and you kind of just jogged my memory with this. He would do like the back cracking, and then he'd be like, Activated. Yeah, activated.

[Massage Envy Announcer]

Yeah.

[Alec Cressman]

I went one time to that guy, like, thank you for the activation, but I'm out tapping out. So there.

[Maggie Stasik]

There is somebody out there that's loving that, though.

[Alec Cressman]

I know. So find your people. But I'm not going to pop a pimple and be like, yes, mirror squirter.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yes.

[Alec Cressman]

Or, you know what I'm saying, like, mirror squirter. I mean, I'm thinking in, inside, but I'm not saying it. So. Yeah, don't be weird.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah, totally. So I think that it means thinking about what the client feels, just not what is done. Do they feel rushed or held? Do they understand what just shifted in their skin or their body? Do they leave with a clear next step narrative? I think that's a big one.

[Alec Cressman]

Yeah. Like, you can rebook if you want, and you could try this cleanser if you want. Or hey, I'd like to see you back here in four weeks and you're going to use those four weeks with this cleanser and we're going to check on you and then we'll adjust from there.

[Maggie Stasik]

Yeah. So I think the goal isn't to sell follow ups, it's to again make that experience self explanatory enough that the follow ups feel logical.

[Alec Cressman]

I think that's you just nailed it really. Cons, it's about being consistent, right? Yeah. So consistency comes from clarity and not pressure. The first facial or the first treatment or the first visit, this is where belief gets bigger built and if the experience is clear enough, the follow up like we're asking them to come back, it's not a sales pitch, it's just a continuation of what they came to you for in the first place. You're not just treating the skin, you're not just waxing the brows, you're not just, you know, doing a salt scrub, which is my favorite. You're establishing a reference point for what skin care, body care, self care is.

[Maggie Stasik]

Listeners, we want to hear from you. What's your opinion on the first facial? Share with us on social media, through Instagram, Facebook or by emailing getconnectedscpskincare.com thank you for listening to ASCPSDtalk and as always, for more information on this episode or for ways to connect with Ella and myself, or to learn more about ascp, check out the show notes.