An Open Letter to My Peers

By James Vivian

Our industry has a bad reputation.

Whether it’s an article appearing in a major news publication, an anti-antiageing Instagram reel or another negative skincare review, it seems that there is a constant spotlight illuminating our industries supposed ‘dark side’ - an industry that prays on people’s insecurities, their vulnerabilities and their physical and emotional weaknesses.

Now, like myself, you might read these articles or see these posts and think they are not the part of the industry that I swim in. On a daily basis, I contemplate how I could possibility be contributing to the negative impact that our industry could be having on our community, and I also contemplate what I can do to change it for the better.

Year on year, our industry grows bigger and louder and with it needs to grow our responsibility to ensure a greater level of scrutiny and consideration for how this growth impacts our individual corners of the industry and the ever-growing possibilities that come with it.

There are so many moving parts to our industry with so many people contributing to its ecosystem. There are beauty therapists, dermal therapists and clinicians, cosmetic injectors, GPs, plastic and cosmetic surgeons, dermatologists, skincare brands and their representatives and many other allied health professionals that, like you and me, all got into this industry to help and look after people.

Many of us are working to enhance, uplift and strengthen our industries presence and reputation as a safe, non-judgemental and esteem affirming necessity, but these intentions are often drowned out in comparison to the negative messaging and attention surrounding the work we do.

So, what can we do to help? Continuing to simply and bravely show up to work every day and doing your best to engage with your clients and industry with integrity and honesty is already a great place to start. There is a possibility that we are, unknowingly, perpetuating centuries of old language, traditions and philosophies that we don’t even realise could be causing harm. People are tuning into and relying on our industry more and more every day and we cannot underestimate the power and therefore the responsibility that comes with it.

We must be mindful of how our words can make people feel or may be construed. We must ensure that the information that we share with our communities are true and free from polarising biases, fearmongering and demonisation. We must be able to believe in our industry just as much as we oppose it and to understand that we’re not for everyone and that to engage in our services or not engage in our services mean both everything and nothing.

We must remember that whilst skincare and treatments have become so normalised to us, that this isn’t the case for most people and it potentially never should be. We must be able to talk about the risks just as much as we talk about the positives. We should be able to recommend an alternative treatment or product that we do not offer just as swiftly as we recommend ones that we do offer. We must know what we can do, just as well as what we cannot do. We must offset our industries lack of regulation with thorough and regular training and education.

I have begun sharing these feelings with my colleagues to gauge their thoughts as I believe that it is through a collective conversation about what we’re doing right, what we can do better and how we are going to get there that we can truly analyse ourselves and our impacts, both positive and negative.

Our industry didn’t develop its bad reputation overnight and I do believe that for many of us working in the industry today, we are not responsible. However, if we do not take action to improve its character, then we are culpable for its future.

If anything, I’ve said here sparks a feeling in you, then I’d love you to share it with me and I’d like to speak to as many people as possible e.g. colleagues, customers, media etc. to discover alternative perspectives and suggestions.

Looking forward to continuing the conversation with you.

james@jamesvivian.co @jamesvivian