April 17, 2017

Meet Andrea Stodola of Essential Skin & Beauty in Elmhurst

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Stodola.

Andrea, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I graduated college with a degree in Nutrition and Hospitality management and started my career in the corporate catering industry. Feeling a bit bored and frustrated with my career choice I decided to look into other options. I have always loved makeup and was fascinated by skin care. I checked out several cosmetology schools, but had no interest in cutting and coloring hair. As I did further research, I found that many schools offered a curriculum specializing in skin care, waxing and makeup. I signed up for a visit and knew at once that I had found what I was meant to do. Post-graduation, I started my Esthetics career in Northern California, just outside of San Francisco, at a wonderful day spa that took the time to train and nurture a new esthetician. After a couple of years, my husband and I decided to move back to Chicago, where we had both grown up, to be closer to our families. I worked for several years as the Lead Esthetician and a corporate Trainer for Coldwater Creek: The Spa, before venturing out on my own. I stared small, with a room in a salon suite, before expanding twice to larger locations. We opened up our current location in downtown Elmhurst, in 2011 and have been steadily growing since!

Has it been a smooth road?
Every business has its ups and downs, but I think that it is important not to “go big” too quickly. We started very small and built the business up slowly, expanding before we got too comfortable in our current situation. Change is very scary, but it is also necessary to keep your business fresh and current. It took a while for me to let go of having to control every aspect of the business and let others take the reigns. I am very lucky to have a remarkable staff that takes ownership of their positions and are very proud of their work. It has helped the business out tremendously and keeps everyone invested in its success.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I always hated going into a spa and feeling uncomfortable, like I wasn’t cool enough to be there. I wanted to create a space where people felt like they could ask questions about their skin without feeling judged. I want people to feel like they are getting advice from their (very knowledgeable in skincare) friend. What I like to hear most about our company is that our staff is professional and informative, but personable. We spend a lot of time keeping up to date on the latest skin care trends and science so we can give the best recommendations to our clients. We truly care about their well-being and I think that our clients appreciate that.

While we are known for our Facial services, our most popular and most referred service is our Brazilian waxing. Each and every esthetician goes through an intensive training process before they are put on the books to work on paying clients. This is to ensure that every experience is quick and comfortable. It always puts a smile on my face when a new customer tells me that it was the best wax she has ever received and she can’t believe she ever went anywhere else.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
The Chicagoland area is great and there is so much potential for growth. I think that Chicagoans are just starting to really become receptive to taking care of their skin and realizing that it is about heath as well as esthetics. Coming from California 12 years ago, where people really understand that taking care of your skin is a way of life, it was a little hard to get people in Chicago to even wear sunscreen. I have seen a tremendous shift in thinking in the past 5 years. People are realizing that the more you can do to take care of your skin now, the younger you will look and the less you have to do in the future. I see more and more people coming in looking for more natural alternatives to surgery, Botox and fillers. And even those people that are getting those procedures done are coming in to help maintain the health of their skin on a regular basis.

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