Amy Tebbatt – Beauty Therapist
Meet Amy, Beauty Therapist at Ragdale Hall, Leicestershire.
It can be extremely daunting entering into a new industry; what does an average day look like? What can they expect? What are the challenges? And why is it so rewarding? Well, we caught up with one of our elite beauty professionals, Amy, who studied Level 2 Beauty Therapy at Stephenson College, and then came to Ragdale as an Apprentice Beauty Therapist to do her level 3. Here’s just a few things we discussed about her position as a Beauty Therapist at Ragdale Hall Spa, and why she loves it so much!
What made you want to work in the industry? What route did you take in?
When growing up, I originally wanted to pursue hair-dressing as a career, but having studied my Hair and Beauty diploma, I found a real passion for the beauty element. I therefore went straight to college from school to study Level 2 in Beauty Therapy and I haven’t looked back since!
The best part of my job is actually delivering such a variety of unique treatments. It’s so rewarding knowing that my training makes people feel relaxed and happy – I just love helping them to see results.
I’ve always wanted to work in a Spa environment and the extensive training at Ragdale was a massive influence in my decision. Generally, spas offer a much wider variety of treatments, so I knew that I was going to be able to develop my skills better in that environment. I was also impressed that Ragdale offered opportunities for progression and different career routes, so naturally it seemed like the right move for me.
What is an average day like for you?
Since completing my level 3 in Beauty Therapy, I have moved to work in both the Beauty Salon and the ‘Beauty Express’ areas, which offer great variety within my week.
In salon, I perform longer, treatments which can focus on a range of areas of the body and can consist of anything from 25-minute treatments, to the longer, more luxurious treatments including the ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Facial at 70 minutes in duration.
I chose to join the ELEMIS team as I love their treatments and products, and being a British brand, they source natural ingredients as close to home as they can. Being a member of this Team, I have been fortunate enough to specialize in our fantastic range of ELEMIS treatments, my favourite of which has to be the results-driven ELEMIS BIOTEC Facials – they are just lovely treatments to perform.
In the ‘Beauty Express’, on the other hand, my day is more similar to that of a Beautician in a beauty salon, offering the ‘quick results’ treatments, such as eyebrow threading and tinting, nails and lash extensions (to name a few). As it’s more focused at ‘on-the-go’ beauty, the environment is fast-paced and buzzy which I find so rewarding, being able to change it up and experience both areas.
In the salon my day begins at 9.00 am. I collect my schedule from the Duty Supervisor, examine the health questionnaires for my upcoming treatments for that day, and then I prepare my treatment room for the first treatment. After doing this, I continue through to the beautifully ornate ‘Atrium’ waiting area, where I will meet my first guest, and call them through for their treatment. From this point I will have back-to-back treatments right up until lunchtime, after which, my professional day continues until my shift ends at 5.30pm.
Lunchtimes are always so sociable as there are so many people around, which is especially apparent of the Beauty department, housing over 140 beauty therapists, and also being based in the heart of the employee area of the Hall. Therefore, during my lunch break, I either choose to relax in the Staff Restaurant for half an hour, chatting and laughing with my friends over some food (which we don’t have to pay for!), or I might see who’s just finished treatments around the Beauty offices, and go and watch some TV with them in the ‘chill-out’ room.
Tell us about a good day, an unusual story/a day that wasn’t normal and why it was memorable?
There have been a couple of occasions where, due to power cuts in the local area, our computer systems have gone down for a short while, which means it’s not always immediately clear who is going to turn up for what treatment that day! We always prepare for such an event, ensuring all schedules are manually printed the day before any treatments, but as we are so used to being able to rely on such an efficient spa system, there is still that inevitable element of panic whilst we ensure all the therapists have their schedules!
A good day would definitely be when everyone runs on time! Our guests are so relaxed when they are staying with us that they sometimes forget what time it is and turn up late for their treatments. This then sometimes puts you slightly behind on your schedule for the rest of the day, but it’s almost a bit exciting and I find I thrive under this slight addition of pressure as it means I get to develop my professional skills to deal with these situations in the future.
Tell us about your working environment and how it feels to work in such an unusual, picturesque location?
Ragdale is just beautiful. Everyone always comments that it must be nice to work in such a rural and peaceful setting and that we must all be so relaxed all the time (which is obviously not true of any career!). But I love working in the beauty departments because the ‘Atrium’ and Beauty Express areas is situated in a light and airy conservatory, which means we can enjoy Ragdale’s location more than others within the Hall. Our treatment rooms are also all beautifully decorated, which makes it so pleasant when preparing for, and performing, treatments, as working in such lovely surroundings is so rewarding.
Ragdale Hall definitely has a family-feel to the workforce as you work so closely with a variety of people over the weeks, especially which is especially apparent in the Beauty Express Team, being slightly smaller – we are all really close.
Even in salon it’s really friendly, with over 140 therapists that you will see day in, day out, everyone gets on really well.
What would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?
If I hadn’t completed my hair and beauty diploma, I’d probably have been a hairdresser now. I also had thoughts of being a dental nurse but the smell and the thought of seeing blood put me off – my sister is now a dental nurse, so with the stories she tells me, I know I’ve made the right decision!
