Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Garza.
Hi Melissa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hi, I’m Melissa of Xochiq (pronounced: So-sheek) Skincare, specializing in facial and back treatments that are both results-oriented and relaxing. The name “Xochiq” comes from the Aztec Goddess Xochiquetzal, who’s associated with beauty and love. My goal as an esthetician is to help my clients feel confident and beautiful in their skin.
I could say my story started when I began esthetician school at 51, but that’s not entirely true. I think my real journey into skincare started when I was 11. My mom bought me a three-step skincare program from a well-known department store brand. The associates told us that I needed the strongest cleansing bar and toner because I had very oily skin, but the products didn’t feel right to me. They left my skin feeling tight and dry. After a while, I was using them only once or twice a week. I think that for that time period, the 80s, there just wasn’t a lot of knowledge about what oily skin needed. I didn’t think was products and ingredients that completely dry out the skin, but it seems like that’s all that was available. At that age I really learned how to pay attention to my skin and think about what felt right. I did this without even knowing anything about ingredients. I just went with how my skin felt after using the products.
I was fortunate enough to have decent skin. I did have breakouts here and there, but nothing really problematic. While in high school, I had an interest in going to cosmetology school, but only because I didn’t know that esthetician schools existed. Like most kids at that time, I went to college, and I ended up at Southwest Texas State (Texas State) majoring in Elementary Education. I taught Reading for a few years but started to realize that while I loved lesson planning and novel units, implementing them was not something I enjoyed. I started to look for something else, and my degree opened the door to the corporate world of educational assessment. This job allowed me to use my degree in a way I never knew existed. I was satisfied with it for a long time, nearly 19 years. It wasn’t until my company had their first layoff in 2017 that I realized I needed some type of backup plan. By that time, I had been getting facials regularly and diving into my own personal skincare journey. I just thought to myself “Hey, what if I go to esthetician school?” I loved how I felt after a facial. The thought of helping people feel good about their skin and knowing how great they would feel at the end of the treatment seemed like something I could get into.
When the opportunity came to leave my company with a severance package, I took it. It just seemed like the right moment to start something new for myself.
I learned a lot in esthetician school, and the one thing you learn, that everyone learns, is that there is so much more to learn. And I love that about this field! I met a lot of people and had a lot of experiences, some good and some bad. But life is a journey of learning, and you learn from your mistakes, hopefully, so that you can make smarter moves next time.
I graduated esthetician school with all A’s. But school wasn’t just about the academics of skin, ingredients, and sanitation. There is also the part about marketing yourself to bring clients in to the spa. And I hustled! I didn’t grow up with social media, so that was a huge learning curve for me. But I did it, and I wound up winning awards for having high client counts.
Academics had always come pretty easy to me, so I breezed through the state board multiple choice exam. The practical exam was the one that made me really nervous, and the wait to take it was so long. There weren’t any close testing dates for San Antonio or Austin, so my estie bestie and I traveled to McAllen for the earliest test date possible. And I’m so glad we did. We passed! It was such a relief to finally be licensed and ready to start the next phase of my new career.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
This road has been pretty good combination of smooth and bumpy. I didn’t intend to start a solo practice, but finding a job was extremely difficult. Most places want estheticians who already have a few years of experience. All the esthetician groups I was following on social media said to start at a corporate chain because those places were always hiring new estheticians. But it was a struggle to make headway for an interview at any of them. It was extremely discouraging! After several months, I decided to take my chance and open a solo practice. It was exciting and scary. I’ve been open for a little over 6 months now, and I’ve learned a tremendous amount about running a business, marketing, budgeting, and reinvesting. All the things that make a business a business. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but I’m determined to make it. This is my third career, and despite the challenges, I feel like I’ve finally landed someplace where I can help people in a way I’ve always wanted to.
The growing pains of learning how to market yourself have definitely been some of the bumpier parts, as well as growing a clientele. But those are the external challenges that all businesses, especially small businesses, are going to have. Getting my name out there is the key, and that takes time. Internally, my biggest challenges have been avoiding comparison and having patience. It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparison, especially since I’m already older as I enter esthetics. I feel so behind when I see where other estheticians are, seeing how far I have to go to be where I want to be. But I can’t let myself get caught up in those thoughts. I trust that everything will work out as long as I just keep moving forward and have patience. I’m so eager to learn all the things and do all the things, but I’m not there yet. I’ve come a long way in 6 months, and I’m excited to see where I’ll be this time next year, in 5 years. For right now I remind myself daily that this time is for elevating my skills and techniques, increasing my knowledge. I love learning, and I want to learn everything, but growing as a business is like skincare: this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I perform facial/skincare treatments on adults and teens to help with concerns about acne, sensitivity, hyperpigmentation, and aging skin. My menu has my Signature Facial, which I completely customize for each client. Because everyone’s skin is different and each person has different skincare goals, no two facials are the same. I’ll choose and mix products specifically for each person.
Some of my other services include microdermabrasion, corrective treatments, and a back treatment. I have a few specialized treatments to help with specific concerns, such as the Oxygen RX for acneic skin (but this treatment is good for everyone) and the Luxe Lift facial to help with fine lines and wrinkles. Every so often I’ll include a seasonal facial. In March I added the Teen Glow for proms and graduations. This promotion runs until the end of June. For May, I added the Berries & Bubbly facial as my Mother’s Day promotion.
Being an esthetician who’s still new to the field, I’m still learning and growing my menu of services. I’ll be adding chemical peels soon to get ready for peel season, which is typically fall and winter.
Because I was in education, I also love to educate about skincare. One of my favorite things to do is to go through my client’s homecare regimen and update it so that they’re using the right products for their skin. My clients come to see me once a month, but they do their skincare every day at home. That’s where the real work comes in. There’s so much information on the internet that looking for the right products can be overwhelming. Sometimes people choose products that are not going to be beneficial or that can cause damage to their skin, and I just want to get my clients on the right track.
I strive to be inclusive and have a judgment-free zone. All questions are important, and I hope that my clients feel comfortable enough to ask. If they ask a question about something I don’t know, then that’s something that I want to learn about. It benefits me and my clients.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Every summer my dad’s side of the family would go to Garner State park. I have a lot of great memories of my summers there. Hanging out with my cousins, meeting new people, tubing the Frio River or just sunbathing. And I can’t forget the dances down at the pavilion! There were many summers when I didn’t wear sunscreen or I used a weak one, like SPF 4, so that I could get a darker tan. There were other items when I used just baby oil! It’s crazy to think about doing that now. Now all that sun damage I got when I was young is starting to show on my skin, but I don’t regret any of it…yet. LOL! Now I wear sunscreen every day.
Pricing:
- Xochiq Signature Facial – $85
- Luxe Lift Facial – $125
- Oxygen RX – $125
- Level 1 Corrective Treatment $125
- Microdermabrasion – $100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.xochiqskincare.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xochiqskincare/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xochiqskincare/
- Other: https://xochiqskincare.glossgenius.com/
