Jordan: Welcome to CoolCast! All about Advanced Skin and Body Solutions in Bellevue, Washington, the country’s #1 CoolSculpting team. I’m happy to be here with Licensed Master Esthetician and CoolSculpting / Body Contour Specialist, Sarah Erley. Sarah, thanks for coming on the podcast!
Sarah: Thanks for having me!
Jordan: I’m looking forward to learning more about your “boots on the ground” CoolSculpting experience. So, the first thing to ask: How did you get started at ASBS and how long have you been here so far?
Sarah: I came in for a CoolSculpting treatment during that quarantine time of COVID, around May or June, 2020. I got to see the spa, met the owner, some other coworkers here and had a really great experience! I was finishing up my Master Esthetician license at that time. Just chatting about what my future career outlooks were. There was a part-time opening to help out at the front desk. Then, by about September of 2020, I started doing CoolSculpting treatments to learn more about it.
Jordan: Out of curiosity, did you know going into treatment that you were also looking for a job? Or did it just happen that way?
Sarah: Not at all. It just happened that way! There were good vibes here, I liked the space, I thought, “I could maybe pursue this and get my foot in somewhere.” It seemed like a good place to start my esthetics career.
Jordan: Definitely. So I know you’re still a Master Esthetician, but do you find yourself doing much esthetics work now? Or does your job mainly involve CoolSculpting?
Sarah: I mainly do CoolSculpting. We also have Emsculpt NEO (Muscle Toning). On occasion, I’ll do esthetics focused things: like facials, chemical peels, microneedling, and dermaplaning. I wouldn’t consider those treatments my full time job, but I’m still able to do them and love performing them. It’s nice to switch things up and have a thorough understanding of everything we offer. I can help with consults, or if clients have questions I’m able to give them details about our services.
Jordan: So jumping off of that, what is your favorite treatment out of everything you perform?
Sarah: My favorite is dermaplaning! Because it gives immediate results and satisfaction. You’re removing that top layer of dead skin and peach fuzz. The first pass you do results in immediate glow, shine and healthy looking skin. I like that aspect. Really, CoolSculpting is super fun too. It gives me more time to build relationships with clients because they’re here longer.
Jordan: Sure, because they’re sitting in that treatment chair for longer and there’s time to chat.
Sarah: Yes, 2 to 8 hours sometimes!
Jordan: I haven’t heard of 8 hour sessions. How many body areas would be treated?
Sarah: For 8 hours, probably full torso and abdomen; your stomach, back, flanks, arms, etc. Sometimes, depending on the person it might be submental (under the chin area). Or inner and outer thighs. 8 hours would be a full body treatment depending on the number of cycles needed. The majority of that time is spent with abs and flanks.
Jordan: Going back to the first step, can you describe the process clients can expect going from CoolSculpting consultation all the way to treatment?
Sarah: Yes, so when a client comes in for a consult, we educate them on how CoolSculpting works, the process, and what to expect. We determine whether they’re even a candidate. We tell them about complications, contraindications, and go over a price quote. After the consult, our CoolSculpting expert will take photos of the patient’s body. We always take weight and mark treatment areas. We apply a gel pad and attach the applicator. We make sure you’re really comfortable: with fuzzy socks, a robe, blankets, we offer coffee, tea, and snacks! Clients here for 4+ hours get a free lunch, then you basically can work, relax, nap, watch Netflix or make phone calls. Do what you’d like to do for 35, 45 or 75 minutes.
Next, we remove the applicators, do a massage (not super comfortable) but it’s part of the treatment to kill more fat cells. We might repeat these steps: downtime, switch applicators, downtime, etc. At the end, we apply a treatment cream by Alastin called “TransFORM” – that helps speed up the process of dead fat cell removal. Last, we end treatment, walk the client to the front and they either schedule another treatment within 30 days, or if they’ve been advised to wait, they book a follow up. 10 weeks from that date. In 10 weeks, we’d take photos and decide how to move forward. Post-treatment, patients can expect to be swollen, tender and sore for 1-2 weeks. Expect to see results around 4 weeks. You’ll continue seeing fat reduction for up to 20 weeks.
Jordan: Ok. How often can clients go directly from their first consult, right into treatment?
Sarah: Fairly often. A lot of times clients will come in for a consultation and if we have time in our schedule, we book them for the same-day. If not same-day, definitely within a week. We have a large team that does CoolSculpting full-time. It gives clients more options to book.
Jordan: Yeah, I imagine that’s more convenient. So, the last question I’ll do for this “Part 1” (hear Sarah next time in Part 2): What’s your favorite success story of working with one client to achieve their aesthetic goals?
Sarah: I would say my favorite aesthetic outcome was CoolSculpting arms on a woman. We applied a couple applicators, just after one treatment (10 weeks later) she wasn’t sure if she saw results, but we compared before and after pics and saw huge improvement. You can’t even tell it’s the same person. It looks like a completely different arm! That was a great one .
Jordan: Some people just have a fat type that responds very well to the treatment…
Sarah: Definitely. After seeing the comparison pictures, the client was very happy and impressed. Sometimes it’s hard when you look at yourself every day in the mirror to see a change, so hard evidence is good!
Jordan: Totally. Well Sarah, thanks for answering those questions for me. I’m going to wrap it up for Part 1, but I’ll see you soon for Part 2!
Sarah: Thank you!
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