Cierra O. | Esthetician

A little about me:

I was born and raised in Hawaii and came to Seattle thinking that I was going to be a chef and I never imagined a different path than that, but life has other plans sometimes. I love caring for people and always have. Something my family instilled in me at a young age. I love being able to be that change in someone's day. Going from a stressful day after work or maybe it's some family turmoil and they come to you; then seeing that wash of relief, that expel of stress flooding their body, that sense of peace. I feel like that is my purpose in life, to help people.

Tell us about your motivation and how you decided upon your career:

Well, I got burnt out during the pandemic like a lot of people and realized I needed a career change. My first love, cooking, wasn't igniting my spark the way that it used to and I had to figure out if I was going to push through and maybe things would turn around or if I wanted to find a new love. I went with the latter and dove into the world of skin care. Don't get me wrong, this was one of the hardest decisions of my life, but I had always been fascinated by skin. It's so incredibly cool. It's so strong, yet malleable. It does so much for us, but I honestly didn't know that much except for the fact that I loved extractions, until I started esthetics school. And now after going to school I have an even greater love and a greater respect for our skin. I want to be able to treat people holistically, whole body health, because everything is connected.

Success story with a particular client- results. You are proud of:

I once had a client who was gifted their facial by a friend tell me they were very hesitant about coming and were not looking forward to even having a facial. After talking with them I found out they had a traumatic experience for their first and only facial before coming to see me. We went very slow, with a lot of check-ins, but throughout the cleansing I could see the stress start to melt away as they slowly started to trust me. At the end they told me it was one of the best experiences they had ever had. It was amazing.

Additional continuing education courses or additional education /training you would be interested in?

I am always looking for more knowledge and would always like to take continuing education courses to further my knowledge. I plan to eventually go back to school for my master esthetician license.

What do you appreciate most when receiving facials yourself?

I always appreciate a very nice hot towel and once that is put on good pressure and length of time with that hot towel because it's so relaxing. I also love a good firm but not hard facial massage. I appreciate when the esthetician is very informative about what they are using. And I really appreciate when the esthetician shows me what she has extracted from my face after the service is done.

What keeps you passionate about skin care?

There is always more to learn! Your skin is the largest organ of your body and it protects you in so many ways. I want to educate people on how to care for it because it takes care of you! Skin care is not just about looking nice, looking younger, but really about the health of your body. Your skin really reflects what's going on internally and needing to have that balance is so important.

What do you enjoy most outside of aesthetics (hobbies/interest) you don't mind sharing?

Besides esthetics I enjoy spending time with my boyfriend, friends, and my kitty Dot. Visiting family is a must, especially because they are all so far away. And I love cooking, eating, talking about food, hearing about food, anything food.