Client Consultation and Skin Analysis
Build the file before you touch the face
A consultation is a history plus a physical assessment plus a documented plan. Start with an intake form: medications, allergies, pregnancies, surgeries, skin diagnoses, current home care (retinoids, acids, benzoyl peroxide), and previous professional treatments. Ask open questions about goals, then set realistic expectations and obtain informed consent. Note everything in a SOAP-style record so the next visit starts where this one ended.
Reading the skin
Cleanse, then analyze under magnification and good light. Assess skin type (normal, dry, oily, combination, sensitive), hydration versus oiliness, pore size, texture, tone, elasticity, and sun damage. The T-zone is typically oilier than the cheeks. Wood's lamp is a black-light aid, not a diagnosis: normal skin reads blue-white, dehydration shows violet, sebum fluoresces yellow, and thickened corneum looks yellow-white. Palpation confirms what the eyes suggest.
The traps
Confusing dehydration with dryness (dehydration is water loss and can affect oily skin), skipping the medication question, and treating a client's stated diagnosis as your own finding. Sensitive skin is a reactivity pattern, not a type you can assume. Fitzpatrick typing guides sun and peel decisions, not product preference.
Rule of thumb: if a product or device could interact with a medication, ask the physician's clearance in writing and keep it in the file.