As a salon professional, when was the last time you had a client sit in the chair and apologize for her appearance?

Do you hear, “Sorry, my roots look terrible,” or “Sorry about my split ends, I should’ve gotten a trim between cuts,” from clients on a regular basis?

Makeup artist and actress, Eva DeVirgilis, hears an apology every time a client sits in her chair.

“Sorry, I look like crap.”
“Sorry, I need to lose weight.”
“I feel old and ugly.”
“Sorry about all these wrinkles.”

In her Ted talk, DeVirgilis says she hears this type of statement from clients every day in her make-up chair.

“These are real words from real women,” she says. “Within the first three seconds of being in my chair, almost every woman apologizes to me about how she looks because she does not feel she measures up to the new standard of beauty.”

DeVirgilis will be the keynote speaker at the annual Face & Body Northern California Conference and Expo, August 20-22, at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California.

The conference, held exclusively for skin care, spa and wellness professionals features exhibitors, education and speakers.

DeVirgilis will present her keynote speech, “In My Chair: Makeup Chair Conversations” on Saturday, August 20, and highlight the role professionals play in their clients’ confidence in their appearance.

“I think make-up is the very least of what I do—I’m treading in the deep end of a shallow profession,” she says. “I think every client is beautiful and use make-up as my tool to help them believe it, too.”

DeVirgilis says it works, and her clients experience a physical and emotional transformation.

“It works almost every time—the client leaps out of the chair, looks in the mirror and smiles at herself,” she says.

DeVirgilis says the new standard of beauty women are holding themselves to is completely unrealistic and damaging.

“It’s an insane new measure that’s a combination of porn, fashion and Photoshop all mixed up in one,” she says. “It’s not going away though, so we have to feel and appreciate what we have.”

There is a group of women who do appreciate their beauty though, DeVirgilis says. “Older women and women who are going through chemo or aware of their own mortality are happy to be pampering themselves or think they look good for their age,” she says.

DeVirgilis’ message on empowerment and client conversations is an important one for all professionals to hear. Her mission to end apology in women starts in the salon, and she helps shed new light on conducting positive conversations with clients.  

To learn more about the Face & Body convention and register, visit faceandbody.com/california.