That one client who taught me to shut up and listen

Had a client come in last month with really blotchy redness around her nose and cheeks. She was convinced it was rosacea and kept apologizing for her skin. I took a closer look and asked about her morning routine. Turns out she was using a physical scrub every single day with crushed walnut shells. Poor thing just had micro tears from over exfoliating. Switched her to a gentle cream cleanser and niacinamide serum and she's a totally different person now. Has anyone else had a client come in with a total diagnosis mismatch?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey_lane731mo ago

Oh man, that reminds me of my buddy's girlfriend who kept slathering this harsh acne peel on her face every night because she thought she was breaking out? Turns out her "acne" was just irritation from the peel itself. She was chasing a problem she was making worse. My buddy finally made her go to a dermatologist who just said "stop using anything for two weeks" and her face cleared right up. She was so mad she wasted money on fancy bottles when the answer was doing absolutely nothing.

hollyramirez1mo ago

That is such a classic skincare trap. You try to fix one thing and end up making ten new problems. I've seen people do that with their face washes, scrubbing like crazy when their skin is just screaming for a break. It sucks to spend all that cash and energy just to learn that less is more. At least her boyfriend got her to a derm before she did any real damage.