Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Ross.
Brittany, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I actually first stepped into the industry as a Holistic Massage Therapist, licensed in Massage Therapy, Reiki, and Polarity Therapy. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I envisioned myself performing magnificent body treatments; I saw a future brimming with seaweed wraps and Vichy showers, all the beautiful things you see in a typical Sandals Resorts advertisement. I would use crystals and talk about chakra-balancing all day long and everything would be wonderful. At that time in my life this seemed like a perfectly reasonable aspiration.
So, naturally, you can imagine my disappointment when I realized that I do not live in a tropical destination area, nor are the people of Boston lining up for holistic bodywork or luxury spa services. The final blow came when clarity revealed that no matter how much tenacity I had brewing in my single-income soul, folks in my chosen profession typically did not earn a living wage. So, to make a very long story short, my days as a Massage Therapist were short-lived and came to a screeching halt the day I could no longer afford to get to work.
Scrambling to figure out how I was going to support myself, I took a job as a hostess in a small restaurant 20-miles away and surrendered to a lifestyle of hot dogs and Ramen noodles (before they were cool). I decided that it made sense to pursue my esthetics license, believing that this was the one thing I needed to make all my dreams come true… it was really the only thing missing on my resume. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that it would be at least a decade before I could say that, and let’s not forget the enormous $445-billion-dollar Beauty-Industry-Beast I would need to confront before I could consider anything about my career, “a dream.”
The next several years would prove to be some of the most difficult years of my life as I consider myself to be someone who has been chewed up and spit out by the industry multiple times. I never fit in. Everything about it was so far from anything I believed in, the quotas, the makeup, the viscous hierarchy that plagued nearly every spa I worked in, none of it promoted health or caring for the body in any real way. As a result, I changed jobs with ferocity, landing positions in some of the biggest day spas and skin care practices in Boston. But, they were all the same and I struggled to fall in line often at the expense of my job. With each new position, I blindly maintained some glimmer of hope that I would finally be seen and given the opportunity to showcase the enormity of what I could do, but I was always kept in my place with a wage to match if I was even paid at all. Poverty keeps people in their place and whenever I asked for more I was told, “you make enough” or in one instance, “go back to your Ramen noodles.”
In 2015, bruised and broken, I decided to end my career. I applied for an open position at a popular airline and was offered the chance to interview as a flight attendant. I was ready to throw everything I had at this opportunity and leave the past and all of my work behind. However, I made one last-ditch effort that changed my career and my life forever… I sent my resume to Brad Duncan.
Brad was the first person to tell me that my work was valuable. He was the first to tell me that I would someday have my own practice, and he was the first to invest in making sure that I knew how to harness my power as a practitioner so that I could achieve my dreams. I had never heard anybody talk to me like this, let alone a giant in the industry, and it wasn’t until I heard my name and business in the same sentence that I ever considered that starting my own company was within my capability. Brads support nurtured my innate talent, and I’m not sure if he knows exactly what his mentorship really did for me. As the last Brad Duncan-trained Esthetician, it will always remain an enormous priority for me to express the significance of his work and preserve his methods.
Staying in my own vulnerability ultimately became the essence of my business. In the face of adversity, my enormous dedication and commitment to my work were unmoving. Skin Mastery reflects the very best parts of myself and the most beautiful teachings I have come across throughout my career and my life. I draw inspiration from the inner oasis, recognizing the importance of retreat and delighting the senses. But it was my education that formed my platform and granted me the freedom I always desired. Expansion needs something solid to push against and once I properly understood the relationship between the two, I became a master.
I opened my doors on May 1st, 2018.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Is it ever? Unfortunately, the nuts and bolts of the beauty industry are designed like a caste system and I found the hierarchy in the spas to be painful. But, challenging people in positions of power often leads to trouble and it wasn’t until I began to change my own narrative when I was disrespected from “I challenge you” to “I’m going to show you” that things really shifted for me. I had to stop getting angry when I was underestimated and use those moments to hone my craft.
My resume was an enormous source of strength and something nobody could ever take away from me. It reflected my experience, which grew more powerful with each new endeavor. As much as I suffered within the spas, questioning my own work ethic as I changed jobs so frequently, what I was really doing was generating more power. Each new position required that I be trained by their brands, their techniques, and of course I had to be certified in any advanced modalities practiced within the spa. I gained experience with all types of clients—young, old, dark skin, light skin, rich, poor, health-focused, and not. There was value in digging in the trenches and I would encourage anybody starting out in any industry to embrace this incredibly difficult chapter and to learn as much as you can. If I hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have been prepared to step into a position left vacant by one of the biggest names in Boston when the time unsuspectingly presented itself. My enormous power was that I was prepared.
So, I would say, be ready for an opportunity. Don’t expect anybody to come and find you and give you the recognition you think you deserve. Even though you are very worthy, you are not owed anything, and you’ll be waiting a very long time for somebody to show up. Go out there and make yourself seen.
Please tell us about Skin Mastery.
My clinical technique has evolved to include what I consider to be the most therapeutic aspects of the spa experience, alongside the most technologically-advanced skin care systems available. I recognize that this essential duo is severely lacking in the industry, and I will continue to do my best to preserve the most influential, effective, and honest treatment methods I have come to know.
I specialize in corrective skin care, treating individuals who suffer from acne, pigmentation, sensitivity, and other common skin conditions. I help support those undergoing regular injectable enhancement procedures, medical needling, and cosmetic laser series, while my unique background affords me the capacity to provide holistic therapies and education as well. I have successfully helped thousands of people make better overall skin choices that support their lifestyle.
Beautiful, healthy skin is not elusive, it is for everyone. I hope that my influence will reinforce skin care as a lifestyle and part of a greater, more complete self-care practice.
Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
It would be easy for me to say that because I wasn’t dealt an easy hand I learned how to endure difficult situations and leave it at that. While it may be true I don’t believe that a complicated life is necessary for success, and it was less about the struggle but the beauty within my life that played a role in elevating me to a higher place.
I really wasn’t set up for success. I was the daughter of single-mother who was not only a single-mom but a teen-mom. We lived in dire poverty with very little family support, and opportunities that typically come up to help make young people successful were simply unavailable to those within our economic class. My mom did whatever she could to try to create the same opportunities for me as my peers, exposing me to a much bigger world than I would have seen otherwise. Many adults would make it very clear to me that I didn’t belong participating in whatever the activity was or attending that dancing school, but I still did whatever it was as I listened to the comments they made under their breath.
We certainly didn’t have much at the time, but we sure had books! As my mother moved her way through social work school filling our bookcase with the applicable reading material, I couldn’t help reaching for books like Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain from our massive collection. The cover alone, that crystal-blue background with the most stunning rainbow mandala, was enough to draw me in. As a result of this exposure, I would set up for elaborate mediations and practice visualization for fun. I was 10-years-old. My early-developed spirituality would play an enormous role in my ability to dream bigger than my station in life.
Tossed aside by the school system, I was the quintessential rebellious youth, a character whose behavior is often seen as a negative trait when in fact, it’s radical! I wasn’t raised steeped in judgment nor was given any sense that I was inferior to the woman in charge. Therefore, I questioned authority, and I refused to do anything I didn’t agree with. This would later serve as my only defense against the many figures throughout my life who would inevitably tell me I would never amount to anything. I didn’t totally believe them.
Resilience is my most beloved virtue and it healed me each time I tumbled from the cliff-sides of my life. As bloodied as I could become, it was never too long before this untouchable powerhouse within myself would swoop in and heal my wounds. I harnessed this power, I paid attention to it and how it moved, and I became a master in transforming what seemed like straw into gold—I became willing to engage with my own darkness so that I could change it.
But, there is nothing special about what I did to become successful. Everything that I did is accessible to everyone and I am no different than anybody else. I wish I could have been one of those people who created this whole calculated, crafty plan, but I wasn’t. I was merely someone who kept trying, maintained my vision, and never gave up. I was never any different than the people signing my checks and once I stopped believing those who told me I was, everything changed.
Pricing:
- Customized Facials – $150-$210
Contact Info:
- Address: 75 Arlington Street
STE 500
Boston, MA 02116 - Website: www.skinmastery.com
- Email: info@skinmastery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skinmastery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skinmastery/
- Other: https://brittanyinboston.wordpress.com
Image Credit:
Angela Russo
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