BEAUTY INSIDER: WITH MASTER ESTHETICIAN BEKAH FOSTER

In today's Beauty Insider feature, Omayma interviews the incredible Esthetician & owner of her delightful skin studio Rising Willow Skin. 

Ever since I was a baby I've had very sensitive & reactive skin. Throughout my early years I never really found products that worked for me & started to get curious about the ingredients that made up the products I was using. When I was studying for my undergrad in my hometown of San Diego, I didn't find a major that intrigued me more than skincare. So, I decided to attend Bellus Academy in 2014 for my Esthetician license. My main reason for joining the beauty industry was to help others heal their skin conditions through education & top quality products. After 7 years I am fully living out this dream through my recently launched skin care studio. I offer services & products that encourage sustainable skin care results through holistic beauty rituals.

When you get a new client, how do you decide what kind of facial you are going to do?

All of my facials are completely customizable & every treatment ends up being as unique as the clients skin I am working on. I always begin with an in depth consultation where we discuss the clients ultimate skin goals, current skin care routine & internal health. Through my holistic approach of looking not only at a person's skin but also at their life as a whole we can find answers as to why the client's skin is at its current state. Through the consultation I am able to choose which ingredients to mix in their two custom herbal masks, whether we should focus more on extractions + minimizing inflammation, or if they would benefit most from a massage focused treatment. 

When I met you and you gave me a facial, I was amazed at how you really got my skin so fresh. Do you have any secrets you can share on this?
I would say the key to fresh skin is massaging the skin during almost every step of the treatment. Creating movement through massage is such an important aspect of how the skin absorbs the products I apply. 

My favorite treatment to give is hands down my Gua Sha & Thai Herbal Poultice treatment. It's a 90 minute treatment solely focused on easing neck + facial tension & lymphatic drainage. I always use your Bedouin Elixir for this treatment. It really makes the experience incredibly luxurious & aromatic. I took a 3 day course with a prominent teacher of Gua Sha, Cecily Braden. She studied under Traditional Chinese Medicine & Traditional Thai Medicine practitioners for over 20 years & really is a wealth of knowledge. It really elevated my understanding of how to work synergistically with the pathways & muscles of the face to enhance my clients natural beauty through a contouring technique. We begin with a steamed poultice made of organic lemongrass, hibiscus, ginger, bergamot & patchouli. It works to ease tension in the muscles as well as awaken the lymphatic pathways. This allows the lymphatic drainage motions of the Gua Sha technique to work more effectively. With the stone tool we do slow sweeping movements to move any stagnations of toxins & fluid out to the rest of the body. The result is a really vibrant glow from the inside out!

I am so proud to have my Bedouin Elixir Facial Oil carried at your salon! Who do you recommend should use it? What is your favorite way to use this facial oil?

I am so proud to carry your creation! I love that your choice of carrier oils & botanicals work great for all skin types because that makes it wonderful for any of my clients. My favorite way to use the oil is when performing facial massage + gua sha on myself or my clients. I also personally use your oil morning + night & I have fallen in love with how the aroma makes me feel. I've never smelled anything quite so divine. It brings me positive energy & is a lovely way to start or end the day.

Who is your beauty icon? 

I honestly don't really have one but someone who comes to mind is Alicia Keys. I love her comfortability in her own skin. I value celebrities who are able to be vulnerable like that & show people a more natural side of themselves. 

What do you think makes someone beautiful?
I think beauty is about embracing your unique features & carrying yourself with a sense of pride. I also think treating people with kindness & compassion is true beauty. 

I’m a massive lover of skin-technology tools. Do you have any favorites?

My favorite tool would have to be my ultrasonic spatula. It helps extract so much dirt, oil & dead skin cells from the pore. It leaves my clients skin so incredibly soft!

You’re going on vacation - what skincare makes the edit?

I always bring my whole skin care routine on vacation with me! 

1. Native Atlas Mimea Oil Cleanser

2. Blissoma Serene Hydrating Toner

3. Blissoma Aura Vitamin C Serum

4. Omayma Bedouin Elixir

5. Blissoma Photonic SPF

Do you have any skincare pet peeves? 

Over exfoliation. Many times I have new clients who are using a scrub or chemical exfoliant every day. When we don't allow our skin to have a bit of dead skin cell accumulation then we make it more susceptible to sun damage, pathogens, bacteria & pollution. Our top layer of skin cells acts as our skin's immune system. I recommend that my clients exfoliate once or twice a week max.

If you could give one piece of skincare advice to everyone, what would it be?

I believe having healthy & balanced skin should be the goal. Perfect skin is unattainable. Every person that I've had on my table has texture, visible pores & something unique they are dealing with. Also, facial massage is the key to aging gracefully! Carve out a little bit of time to apply an oil & create some movement in your skin at home. It's a valuable tool that does so much for your skin.

What steps should every skincare regimen include no matter what?

I think simple routines & ones with more steps are both great. I have some clients who really love to keep it as simple as possible. Cleanse, tone, moisturizer with SPF in the am & an oil at night. Those steps in my opinion are the crucial basics but I also have others that love to use serums & masks. It really depends on what your goal is. Serums & masks are the key to working to change an aspect of your skin because they will contain much higher concentrations of nutrients. 

What’s your skincare philosophy?

My philosophy is all about pairing tried & true beauty rituals with skin care products that use quality botanicals to heal the skin. I believe in seeking synchronicity between a person & their skin by looking towards the nutrients that Mother Earth has created for us to use to heal both topically & internally. Bringing herbalist knowledge into my career as a beauty professional has been monumental in offering a holistic approach. 

Thank you so much Bekah for sharing your story! Follow her on instagram here!