Skin Analysis, Consultation, and Client Recordkeeping
Consultation first
The service begins with a written intake: medical history, medications, allergies, pregnancy, prior treatments, home care, and the client's goals. Flag contraindications before you touch the skin - isotretinoin, prescription retinoids, blood thinners, recent peels, waxing, or surgery, active cold sores, conjunctivitis, or open lesions. Confirm consent and document what the client declined as carefully as what you performed.
Analysis
Observe under good light with magnification: oiliness, dryness, dehydration, sensitivity, Texture, pore size, hyperpigmentation, and sun damage. Fitzpatrick phototype predicts sun and pigment risk, not skin type. Palpation tells you about elasticity and hydration. A Wood's lamp can highlight dehydration (flaky violet), congestion, and pigmentation patterns, but it is an aid, not a diagnosis.
Lesions
Know the primary lesions (macule, papule, pustule, vesicle, nodule, wheal) and secondary lesions (scale, crust, excoriation, scar, keloid). A mole that is asymmetric, irregular-bordered, multi-colored, large, or changing is a referral, not a service.
Records
Chart in a consistent format (subjective, objective, assessment, plan), note products and timing, photograph only with written permission, and store records confidentially for the period your employer and state rules require.
Traps: dryness (lack of oil) is not dehydration (lack of water); an esthetician identifies and describes, never diagnoses; refusing or referring a client is a professional action, not a failure.
Rule of thumb: if a lesion, symptom, or medication makes you hesitate, stop, describe what you see in the record, and refer.