BTI Salon Spotlight
Salon Spotlight is officially BACK! It was a feature that we all really enjoyed throughout the pandemic and the busy months that followed with everyone finally able to return to their salons. We would love Salon Spotlight to make a return, so we can continue to have the opportunity to talk to all of our wonderful LYCON therapists across the UK.
Let's get straight into it! This month we hear from the wonderful Helen De la Hoyde, the founder of Bare Beauty. Helen is a beauty and holistic body therapist, aromatherapist, make up artist & yoga teacher based in the beautiful seaside town of North Berwick in East Lothian, Scotland. Here are just some of her absolutely glowing reviews!
“Friendly, professional service with a good range of treatments for men. Best back wax I’ve had.”
“Super professional, with years of experience. The salon space is beautiful, relaxing and calm, just like Helen.”
“A really professional service but incredibly personal & friendly, can’t recommend enough.”
“A really professional service but incredibly personal & friendly, can’t recommend enough.”
Without further ado, lets hear from the woman herself - take it away Helen!
Hello, I'm Helen De la Hoyde, founder of Bare Beauty. I originally qualified over 15 years ago at the Mary Reid international school of Beauty in Edinburgh after working as a florist & stylist and heading up a Montessori nursery in my previous working worlds.
Helen, you describe yourself as a ‘Beauty & Holistic Body Therapist’, could you tell us what it means to offer holistic therapies?
I have always been interested in a holistic way of life. For me that means every aspect of how you live your life, what you place in as well as on your body. I love all of the history involved with the ancient therapies passed down from the wise sage of the village, the elders, from woman to woman through the generations in terms of self care and well being. I practice yoga and am qualified to teach Hatha and facial yoga. Right from the start of my journey into beauty & well being in my early days at beauty collage I was naturally drawn to those types of treatments.
I am a calm, gentle, caring soul, keen to pass on all of the elements gleaned over the years of working in this industry to caring for your body to others. I absolutely love my working world having created a gorgeous space in my garden to house my beauty studio and chill zone in the courtyard. A bit of the ‘white island zen like vibe' going on.
It means everything to me to be authentic, kind, & genuine to clients and to be able to offer such a lovely holistic treatment menu that encompasses your mind, body and soul to create balance and a feeling of harmony. To encourage effortless skincare to pass on techniques as well natural approaches using organic ingredients.
How did you hear about LYCON & what made you decide to train with us?
The LYCON reputation has always been a high end strong leader as a quality waxing brand. I use it exclusively for the Bare Beauty waxing menu. Having been trained by a LYCON trainer on a 1/1 basis onsite at my salon in advanced waxing techniques. Correct training is essential to be able to confidently deliver all waxing treatments particularly in male & female intimate waxing. You need to be quick, perform as pain-free as possible and have confidence in your ability to trouble shoot if required and that starts with excellent training to then develop your waxing techniques to deliver a full waxing treatment menu effectively.
Could you share with us some of your best top tips for fellow LYCON waxers?
Top tips for fellow waxers for me are to never overlook the most basic, simple ones which would be:
Always check your wax containers are set at the correct temperature and to check each and every time you put your heaters on. Self test for temp accuracy before applying to the client.
To always always stretch the skin correctly to avoid any potential bruising. Always focus & look at the area you are waxing even when talking to the client.
Use all the pre & post waxing products and to show LYCON brand loyalty as there is no other brand as alternative.
Do you have a favourite LYCON product? Tell us why it’s your fave!
The hot wax is utterly reliable when waxing male and female intimate areas. My go to favourite choices would be the original sunshine hot wax in classic gel formula, I love the colour, its like honey to apply & the aloe vera strip wax because it is perfectly suited for sensitive skin. I love the fact there are also vegan wax formulas too.
Finally, do you have any advice for our budding beauticians just starting out?
For any one interested in entering the beauty business it’s a fantastic working world to be involved in with so many differing elements to it, endless career development and opportunities from creating your own skin care brand, to working in spas & salons all over the world to running your own business. LYCON is the salon brand of choice for me that offers a complete range of products that as a therapist you can totally rely upon to deliver great waxing treatments even with really short hair and for the client to be confident in the finished result that they feel is worth booking in again for.
Some final words from the lovely Helen... 'Be your own kind of beautiful.'
