Ethnic Skin Aficionado

A Global Service Outlook was published in September ’12 Issue of Skin Inc By Linda Harding-Bond

As the world becomes smaller and new demographic markets emerge, the opportunities to work on a global clientele are increasing. If you want to attract a multicultural audience, you must have a global service outlook that will suit every ethnicity. Following is a cheat sheet for skin care professionals who want to attract and keep a multi-ethnic clientele. Read the rest of this entry »

In the movie ‘The Devil wears Prada, employees were seen ducking into doorways, hiding  and quickly exiting elevators in an attempt to avoid the caustic editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly played by the brilliant Meryl Streep. As funny as this scene was it unfortunately showed the reality of so many employees at their place of employment.  Read the rest of this entry »

‘African-Americans’ buying power is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2015, according to The State of the African-American Consumer from Nielsen and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a federation of more than 200 Black community newspapers across the U.S. Read the rest of this entry »

My father, Jonas,  is an award winning coach but in his spare time he has always loved woodworking. He is in love with the smell and texture of wood; not surprisingly he eschewed a scholarship for architecture only because the siren call of the gym was stronger. Like most folks’ Dads he has pearls of wisdom he likes to drop. When my sister or I  are endeavoring to create anything new he says to “focus, give it your undivided attention, measure twice and cut once”. Read the rest of this entry »

Out of the mouths of babes….

Last week I signed an on-line petition started by a teenager in Maine. She wanted to see “real girls” of different races and sizes reflected in the pages of Teen Vogue magazine. How dare she! Read the response of Teen Vogue’ editor and my response as well in Huffington Post.   http://huff.to/RHpLO9

Linda Harding-Bond is President of Moontide Consulting, specializing in ethnic skin and retail training from a global perspective. www.lindatheskindiva.com

It’s that time of year again to vote for the best Black blogs on the web. Please cast your vote for Ethnic Skin Aficionado in the categories of ‘Best New Blog’ and “Best Beauty Blog’. Here’s the link-

 http://www.blackweblogawards.com/vote-here/

Don’t forget to scroll down and hit the submit button after casting your votes, before leaving the page. I will keep my readers updated on how things are going with the voting process. Thank you so very much for your readership and your votes.

Xoxo

Linda

Linda Harding-Bond is President of Moontide Consulting specializing in ethnic skin training from a global perspective.

Evelyn Lozada, a D list celebrity with about 30 seconds of fame remaining in her questionable “career” recently managed to garner one minute extra due to a head butt during an altercation with her husband, a former Miami Dolphins wide receiver. Read the rest of this entry »

I have to veer away from skin care for a moment because a contest is happening that is near and dear to my heart; America’s Best Bathrooms. Like most estheticians I have a thing for good loos, one might even call it a fetish. I’ve learned throughout my years of working at spas with other water signs that loving a good tub and luxurious self care area is just part of our nature. I try to check out the bathroom of any vacation spot before I book (thank you Homeaway and Tripadvisor) my vacations because a porely executed bathroom can really mess with my head. But a beautiful bathroom, public or private can make my day. I was totally seduced by the exquisite bathroom at Rajvilas in India with its deep marble tub and glass wall that allowed a view to a bamboo garden while luxuriating.

So here without further ado is the actual link to either nominate or vote for your favorite public bathroom. http://www.bestrestroom.com. And just to relax your mind, a slideshow from ABC News of the best private bathrooms in the world. http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/slideshow/photos-worlds-best-hotel-bathroom-views-10625158

Linda Harding-Bond is President of Moontide Consulting, specializing in ethnic skin and retail training from  a global perspective.  

This article is in the September 6 edition of the Huffington Post and was initially positioned next to a photo of our radiant first lady at the Democratic National Convention. It lists five ways to ensure that you have a positive spa experience. Enjoy. http://huff.to/OdeqKh

Linda Harding-Bond is President of Moontide Consulting specializing in ethnic skin and retailing training from a global perspective.

Truly, there is nothing new under the sun. Recognizing the need to treat Black and ethnic skin differently is a perfect example. Former Ebony Fashion Fair model Irma Denson was doing it back in 1977. She was beautiful, innovative and as evidenced by her Jet Magazine cover, socially conscious. Here is the review of her day spa (which earned 5 stars) by New York Magazine. 

E, V at Lexington Ave.-53rd St.; 4, 5, 6 at 59th St.; N, R, W at Lexington Ave.-59th St.

After a career as an Ebony model, Irma Denson earned her certification as an esthetician and reflexologist in Paris and opened her mini-spa in New York in 1977—likely the first to specialize in African American skincare. Floral rugs and paintings of black women give the space a personal touch, and pairs of fresh socks for clients in the changing room are homey comforts. Denson oversees a staff of estheticians and massage therapists, but also performs some of the facials herself. These treatments are geared toward issues like dehydration and hyperpigmentation, among a host of other skin concerns, and include a combination of steaming, exfoliation, and hydrating masks. Denson’s touch is firm, but the extraction process is gentler and safer-feeling than most, since she uses the pressure of a metal tool rather than squeezing. Particularly luxurious, in addition to aromatherapy, is her attention to pressure points when massaging the face, and her incorporation of soothing hot stones. The workers provide informed advice on nutrition and caring for the face, and also offer waxing, paraffin hand and foot treatments, and makeup application. — Karen Hudes

Linda Harding-Bond is President of Moontide Consulting, specializing in ethnic skin and retail training from a global perspective. www.lindatheskindiva.com