How to Pick a Sugar Educator and a Quality Training Program

Welcome to another thrilling episode of this Sugar Show, and today we're diving deep into a topic that's really close to my heart what to look for in quality body sugaring education and how to find yourself a really good trainer. Whether you are a newbie that's eager to embark on your sugar journey, or you're a season pro aiming to take your skills to new heights, this episode is for you. It is packed with valuable insights to guide you towards excellence. So let's jump right in to the sugary goodness. Welcome to this Sugar Show. I'm Shannon O'Brien, body sugaring expert and licensed esthetician, who's taken my own skincare business from zero to multiple six figures and has helped over 3,000 students learn how to do the same. Now let me tell you it wasn't all that long ago that I lacked the time, budget and knowledge needed to grow my small business as a body sugaring pro. If we were to press rewind, you'd see the many failed attempts and lessons learned that have helped me build the profitable business that I have today, one that runs on its own and gives me the lifestyle and freedom that I only used to dream of. I created the Sugar Show to hand you my secrets and give you the simple, step-by-step strategies to help you do the same. So if you're a cosmetologist or esthetician or wax professional who's looking to fill your books, make more money in your business and enjoy greater balance between your work and home life, you are in the right place. Let's dive in. Okay, so, when it comes to choosing the perfect body sugaring certification program, there's really a few things that you need to consider, because not all programs are created equal. Gosh, when we started this in 2014, we started as iSugar University and it was we were the only online sugar certification course and everyone said, oh, you can't teach sugar online. And nine years later, we have proved them wrong and now lots of people have followed the path. So really, it's about how to find the right program for you, and I want to go over a few things about that. So, first of all, there is a difference I want to be very clear between completion and certification, so I want you to hear this really closely. So, if you complete a course online we're talking about online and you have just watched the course to the end and you completed the modules, you watched it and it just shows that you've watched all the videos and you get an automatic certificate at the end. That is not certification. A certificate of completion means you just completed the class. It is a paper of finishing certificate of completion, okay, so, as those of you know that have been doing this a really long time, it is critical to get good education. Proper technique, understanding, theory, understanding hair growth is critical to your success, right? So you need to make sure that you find a program that actually certifies you, and what that means is they have taught you the skills and witnessed the demonstration of those acquired skills. Okay, so for a basic certification program, you should be able to demonstrate the mold inflict on at minimum a large body part and then using your one finger, say on a brow, to get into tight spaces. Now, this does not mean you are a master sugar pro, but you should be able to mold and flick that pays safely on a model client before you receive this certificate. So the certification will only validate your skills but also help you stand out in the competitive job market. So if you are someone who's shown and demonstrated your skills to an instructor and that person says, yep, you're ready to continue training and move on, then that is when you get a certification. And please, please, please, do not skimp on this, because really, it's about making sure that you have the skills before you go into that treatment room. We want to make sure that you understand theory, that you understand the technique and why we sugar the way we do. So, no matter what company you go through, make sure that that program is comprehensive and let's talk about that. So a good quality online body sugar certification education should offer a comprehensive curriculum that covers all aspects of the technique. So, again, I want you to be learning theory, history, hair growth, contraindications and I want you to have practical training where they're showing you from different angles the way you hold your hand, because we all know it is so critical to have the proper technique or you can hurt a client. You know we talk about all the time like, oh, sugar doesn't hurt anyone. Well, it hurts people if you're doing it wrong and it really makes the client uncomfortable. And I've heard so many students when I go to schools and I'll say, okay, raise your hand if you have been sugared, and the students will raise their hand Okay, raise your hand if you like sugaring and half of them lower their hand because they did not have a good experience, because the technique was wrong and it was someone who just tried to learn on YouTube or learn with a program, that was just a couple of videos and they felt like they got certified. So do yourself a favor and your clients a favor and get a proper certification. So when we talk about theory, y'all went to beauty school so you know what theory is, but it's really to understand the history of sugar and the science behind the ingredients, like how do they make it, why do they make it, what is happening when we're taking that hair out. I want you to understand hair growth cycles and ingredient and product knowledge. Whatever company that you decide to choose that is going to provide you with sugar and pre and post products, make sure you know the ingredients that are in there. Take a look, turn the bottle around and make sure that those ingredients are specific to sugaring and reducing an inflammation, hydrating the skin and really providing the proper pre and post experience for your clients will make your job a whole lot easier. So learn about it in the beginning. Ensure as well, obviously, that they offer demonstrations, that you have tutorials and that you have practice sessions. Don't just blow through the videos and think that you're just going to complete it and be able to start sugaring because it really is. We make it look easy it's harder than it looks and make sure that you are with a program that is keeping in touch with you along the way. Okay, let me back up and explain my experience with quote certification so that you can understand where I'm coming from and actually why we started Love to Sugar in the first place. It started at iSugar University and then it just grew with the podcast and the app and all of the things that we do to Love to Sugar. But before Love to Sugar, before iSugar University, I had moved to this little town, folsom it's now a bigger town and I knew no one and we were going through a recession. If you have not heard this already, go back to my how Sugar Saved my Life episode. We'll put that in the show notes. But before all of that, I went to get certified. I'd gotten sugared by someone, absolutely loved it and said okay, I need to set myself apart. So there was no certification hands-on classes in my area. So the girl that sugared me was an educator for one of the big sugar companies a great name Sugar Company and she was a master educator with them. So I had to get the people together to join the class. So I got a couple of my Esthetician friends to join us for this two-day hands-on class and what we did was we read the manual and we didn't really talk about it, we just read the manual together and then she demonstrated and I tried to do it and by the time the day two was over and we took a little quiz and I'm really good at memorizing, so I memorized all the stuff. I left there feeling like and this was $1,000. And I left there feeling like I wouldn't want to sugar anyone because I was terrible. But I stood there with my little certification in hand and was ever so proud of myself that technically, I could offer this to clients now and I really did myself a disservice by not doing more research. And my gal, she just took off, she moved to Canada and I never saw her again. So here I was, trying to learn, trying to get to be the best I could be, finally found some educators and finally found people that could help me and a whole lot of practice and a whole lot of models that I feel so bad that I just oh, I was bad in the beginning, but anyway, I kind of created it myself and I really thought to myself you know what we have got to make sure that in this industry, we are working together to provide the best education, the most solid curriculum. And now we have done for the last nine years I can't believe I'm saying that 2014,. For the last nine years we have been gosh we're going on almost 10, but we have been teaching everyone proper theory, proper technique. You have to send in your videos and there's no judgment, but we have to be able to see these sugar pros from all over the world or students that want to be sugar pros, and we help you every step of the way. And so if you are thinking about a certain online education program that's not ours, that's fine, but make sure that when you vet that educator a little bit and vet the program a little bit to make sure that they do offer a proper curriculum, that they do check your technique before you get that certificate, because you don't want to walk out the door and not like me and not be able to sugar, and I felt in the beginning like it was a waste of my money. I would have wasted the $1,000 if I didn't keep at it. So I want your educator to teach you about proper sanitation. I want your educator to teach you about client consultation. I want your educator to teach you about safety protocols, because we want to make sure that we're creating a safe environment that's healthy and happy for our clients, because they're going to go tell their friends and we do not want them to say that sugar is dirty or we have bad experience, right, or the person knew nothing about what they were doing and they just slapped some sticky stuff on my parts, right? We want to make sure that you are absolutely ready to go when you get into that treatment room. Okay. Now the other thing is that sugaring is just not a technique, one and done type thing. So, once you have your certification, look for a program that also will teach you how to market your body sugaring services and help you to run a successful business. To be honest, because there's lots of tips and tricks that you might be using too much sugar, for example, you might be using too much product pre and post, or just a little couple of sprays or a little dollop will do you. If your company helps you get to that next level with their products, then you are in the right hands. So really do your homework first, okay. The next thing I want to talk about is interactive learning. So, if your educator does not allow or do, follow up live webinars, discussion forums, maybe virtual training where, even if you have like flown to a different city to learn sugar from this master educator, are they still available for you when you're really just in a jam? Do you have a tribe of sugar professionals that you can call them and say what do you do when X happens? Don't put yourself on an island. Learn from the best company you possibly can and get a demand follow up right, because you can have in person classes all you like, which is awesome, the traditional hands on class, which you absolutely should do. But nowadays, it's very possible for your educator to continue communicating with you and everything can be done online, okay, as you know. So look for programs that offer that. Make sure that the program that you're looking for hands on online whatever is flexible and really aligns with your schedule, so that you're not having to wait three months to get another class in or you're not having to wait to ask your questions. Make sure that they offer mobile friendly options and that you have the ability to pull it up on your smartphone and remind yourself quick what to do with that pregnant client or what to do with those eyebrows. Alright, the next thing is probably the one that people struggle with a little bit, which is cost, and while cost is an important factor, it should not be the sole determinant of your choice. Consider the overall value that you're getting from that program. Do you need to spend a couple thousand dollars to learn how to sugar? Absolutely not. Do you know? Does a free online tutorial help you? Absolutely not. Should you pay 50 bucks to just watch a video and then pay more and more and more and more down the line? No, it should be a comprehensive program that really provides quality curriculum that can lead to better skills, which ultimately lead to higher earning potential. Right, so we're talking long game, not short game, all right. So the last but not least thing I will say is check reviews, check testimonials, pay attention to what people are saying before you make that final decision. You know, do some research by reading reviews and see what previous students are saying. Their experiences will provide valuable insights into a program's quality and effectiveness and really, support is key, not only from the company that you go to, but from their educator as well. So take a look at reviews and testimonials. Inside our Facebook community, people are always giving positive compliments to different educators. Take advantage of that. We're always about positivity in that community. So you're not going to see me allow people really bashing on an educator. But if you're not hearing a lot about an educator and how much success people have experienced with that person, it's probably likely that there's not a lot of great things to say. Or maybe that person is new because y'all we make it look really easy. And even if you've been sugaring a long time and you're trying to really get a more advanced technique like one of our girls just learned Manzilian she's been sugaring for a little bit and she wanted to learn about how to do outside parts and so if she didn't have that video to watch and get her prepped, she wouldn't be ready to do that service and would really do a disservice to the shop, the reputation of sugar and to the client most importantly. So make sure that you are really vetting, reading reviews, reading testimonials. If they have a brick and mortar shop, make sure that the brick and mortar shop is getting great reviews. Look and see the cleanliness of their space and the depth of the education that you're getting, because nowadays I mean back in the day, like I said we were the first to do it there wasn't many others that did. There was a lot of hands-on educators, but there wasn't a lot of people that were doing online. And if we are not demanding that those educators are high standard as well, just about anybody can video themselves sugaring and charge money and take your money from you. So please, please, please, be careful and if you have any questions about an educator or a different company, you can always reach out to us via DM or email and we will help you select a really good educator for you and it could be with another company, which is great, especially if they're in your area. So we highly recommend that you find someone that's close by so that you can have them at your fingertips. So really, it's about Making sure that not only you find a company that is very strong, but you seek out an educator that is strong. So there have been over the years I absolutely love the professional sugar supply companies and, to be honest, over the years they've made some poor choices on who they've hired and those folks don't work for them anymore. So if your educator is jumping from company to company and your company is probably a reason If your educator is not associated with a company. There's probably a reason If your company is not really promoting this educator or they're brand spanking new. Pay attention to the reviews. Okay, prioritize those with extensive industry experience and hands-on experience, so not just somebody that's been an esthetician for a year or two. They learned how to sugar, they feel like they're pretty good at it and they want to make a couple of bucks right. You want to make sure that it's somebody that has ownership experience, that has experience as an employee, that has really kind of built their business on sugar, because those are going to be the people that are your mentors and help inspire you. So they might be really good at body sugaring, but are they good educators? Because being able to sugar is one thing very amazing skill to perfect, right and if someone is a really good body sugar pro, awesome for them. Their clients will be happy. But if that person cannot communicate and be able to enunciate and articulate the course that you need, that's going to take you to the next level. You've just wasted your money. Okay, so do a little investigating and really I like that they have a website If you can go get sugared by that instructor. If they're too far away, like some people, I would love to have sugar in here. In fact, we're expanding our shop in here so that we're going to be doing some hands-on classes, because so many people have asked to work with myself and my other educators. So come get sugared by them. If you are near Sacramento, come get sugared by me. If you're near one of the other sugar professional companies and like if you're in Walnut Creek, go get sugared by Sweet and True. If you're in Southern California, run at Myrat. Like, go get sugared by Tapira on the East Coast, you know, have Mabel sugar you or one of her staff so that you can see the professionalism that is there, experience their touch and I promise you it will be no brainer to, whatever the cost is, to make sure that you get the right education. Okay, again, teaching is not just doing. I have a teaching credential from Chickas State University and I learned about how to build curriculum. This is not just okay, everyone get around that table and you know I'm going to. I'm going to show you what I do and hopefully you can get it when you are stuck and you don't understand that educator needs to be able to think quickly in their mind. Which which way that you learn. Do you learn by hands and by doing? Do you learn by hearing? Do you learn by reading? Do you learn just by sight? Because some people only can learn if they put their hands on it. For some reason, their brain just doesn't click with their hand and if your educator can't think of different ways to teach, you might completely miss the whole lesson, like I did in my training. So make sure that your educators can break down complex concepts If they are online, they will be able to do that as well and that they can provide step by step instructions to really help you when you're frustrated. They should possess excellent communication skills, a whole lot of patience and, like I said, the ability to kind of adapt their teaching styles. Check out their social media and see if there's examples of them educating, see how many people they've educated and really take a look at and dig deep into what type of an educator they are and whether or not they can communicate that to you. So if you if a good idea is to look at their social media and see their hand movements, see, take a look at the back of the room? Is their room a mess? Is their product and powder everywhere? Do they? Do they use a technique that's more wiping? Are they using a lot of product? And that's really just to make it look pretty. Really, truly, it's whether or not those people can demonstrate their skills to you will be really helpful along the way. So the other thing that I really like to see in an educator is someone who is accessible. Someone is around for questions and guidance and support, both during your training and after your training. So, for example, my educator was very sweet. Never heard from her again. She was very kind but didn't really care that I couldn't sugar when I left. She was just there to make the money and again $1,000 that I paid for basic certification. They should encourage that you communicate with them and they should be totally open to providing feedback for your skills. And if they are not and you're coming up with kind of some blockades on that look for somebody else. Look for someone who's going to really take the job as mentor seriously and probably even has more advanced trainings to offer you as well down the line. So if they have a Brazilian class, if they have a troubleshooting class, my experience with hands-on educators is that, if it's two days and done, you're not going to be able to be a great sugar pro without a lot more education. So start from the beginning with a comprehensive program and I promise you, even if it's a couple of bucks more than the other guy, it's worth every single penny because you will just get to the next level ever so much faster. Okay, next one is an ethical and client-centered approach. What does that mean? Well, make sure that your educator is demonstrating ethical practices and they should emphasize, for example, the importance of client safety, of hygiene, the comfort of those who are receiving the services. So, for example, if you are sugaring with an educator and they're working with you and there is sugar everywhere and it is not clean and they're not cleaning those implements in between services, guaranteed they're not doing that with their clients and they're not teaching you proper technique. Make sure that the way that you learn from the beginning is from someone who values the principles in your treatment room. So if it's someone who's just like, yeah, I know how to sugar, you know, give me 500 bucks and I'll teach you how. That is not what you want. You want someone who has a clean treatment room, who understands client protocols, who understands what to do with different types of skin, is always concerned about the client's safety and comfort first and can in turn bring that to you. And if they cannot answer those questions or they really don't talk about it when you talk to them and you get to know them at first, pick someone else, okay. The other thing is there's a lot of people that have been sugaring for a really long time and they have not taken their business to the next level. They've kind of stuck in a rut. I would like to throw out there that the best educators stay up to date with the latest trends and techniques and products. Seek educators that are committed to their own professional development and can introduce you to innovative practices that keep you competitive in the field. For example, if you are someone who's a really good sugar pro but you do not have any sort of knowledge on oncology aesthetics, I highly recommend that you find a quality program and if you need to know one, let me know and we'll get you set up. If you are someone who has always kind of used the same sugar and really doesn't deviate and doesn't realize that there's amazing new products that have come on the market that can really benefit your clients. You're not someone who's going to take my business or my students business to the next level. You really want to look for somebody who's done their homework and they are a student as well. I can't tell you how many times I go in to learn how, to teach someone how to sugar, and I'm like I never thought of that. Look at that tool or look at that technique and really it makes me a better sugar pro, it makes me a better esthetician and it definitely reflects in my pay at the end of the weeks and months and years. So investing in your education and them investing in their education is critical. So, taking your final decision, do some research on your educators reputation. I have seen a few different educators that get on social media and they're cussing or they are showing you their personal life, which is maybe a little bit more colorful than it is what they're hanging their hat on. And if you want to make sure you dive a little bit deeper and find someone who really just aligns with you, you'll have a much better experience. So you're going to read the reviews, read any testimonials and ask your peers. You know, pull someone aside and say hey, I'm really looking for a great educator. You know who did you learn from? Because a well regarded educator with a history of satisfied students is a strong indicator of quality. That's a lot, I know, and I'm sure your head's spinning a little bit. If you're new, if you are an advanced sugar pro and you're looking for that person at the next level, these all apply to you. This is not just certification, but really selecting the right body sugaring educator is a crucial step in your journey to become a skilled and successful professional in the beauty industry. This is not just in sugar, this is also in skincare as well. So look for educators, like I said, who possess industry expertise, have relevant certifications, see how long they have been certified. Certifying people have effective teaching skills and a commitment to ethical practices, and by choosing a quality educator, you will not only enhance your own skills, but you'll also contribute to the overall standard of excellence within the body sugar profession. We need you to be amazing so that the reputation of sugaring continues as a really great one. So invest in your education wisely and you'll be well prepared to provide top not sugaring services to your clients. So here we have folks. If you are someone who's really ready to get started. We have all kinds of resources for you. There is just a treasure trove of information and advice just that we are available for inside the community, inside the sugar tribe, inside our app. If you're one of our students and always contact me, I'm there for you. So are our educators, and your peers are there for you as well, to really empower you in the quest for the best education program and really for the best trainer in the body sugar universe. I hope that you felt inspired and well equipped to take your sugaring skills to the next level, and the right education and training are the sweet path to success in this profession. So until next time, stay sweet, keep sugaring and be fantastic.