The Importance of Good Posture | Starpil Wax

We at Starpil Wax know first-hand that working in the beauty business requires a lot of repetitive movements and good posture to do your job effectively.

However, the esthetician's working stance isn't always the same and can be as varied as how we each use our salon supplies. Whether you're standing with some soft wax and muslin on an eyebrow, seated, pivoting from your professional wax warmer to a body part, or hunched over using hard wax on hard-to-reach places, every service can require its own form of “good posture.” So, what does good posture look like for an esthetician?

How can you use your tools and products to protect your back, and what kind of moves are best for working estheticians of all kinds? Read on to discover more about good posture and the esthetics professional.

What Does Good Posture Look Like?

What does good posture look like for a beauty professional whose services cause them to be in different positions all day long? Typical standing good posture sees the ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles aligned in a straight line, but what’s the best stance to take when your movements are all over the place? The goal with any action at work is to avoid stress and exertion on the back and muscles doing and muscles supporting repetitive movements. Here are a few things to keep in mind with the ever-changing esthetician’s working stance.

• Standing

Some pros stand while tweezing or tinting eyebrows, or while applying makeup to a client. The best posture for those service types is to have your client sit in a tall enough chair to have your back perfectly straight up while being close enough to the client so that your arms are relaxed and balanced. If you’re reaching for them, not able to stabilize yourself or are too close, you can strain your back, shoulders, and arms.

• Sitting

If you are sitting over your client doing a service such as a lash extension, microblading, or need to be extremely close to the client, you've got to focus on keeping your core engaged while bent at the waist to lower yourself. Maintain good posture by staying aware of holding up the back and shoulders so that you’re not hunched or rounded to get to the client.

• Interpretive Dance

If you find yourself in strange positions where you are standing but need to crouch, remember to use your legs to lower yourself and engage your core as much as possible. If you are seated and need to "get all up in there," don't only use the waist or hunch the shoulders to get low, engage the whole body to support yourself.

Salon Supplies

Engaging your core is something you might only do when doing crunches, but it's a must when continually using our backs at work. Even leaning over to dip into your professional wax warmer and scoop up some hard wax can eventually become problematic if you're only "putting your back into it." How you use your salon supplies is very important for protecting the back. Whether in a chair, for example, are you twisting at the waist to reach for some soft wax, or are you using a swivel chair and your legs to maneuver your whole body in different directions?

Speaking of chairs, what kind of chair or stool are you using? Saddle chairs used by dentists or seats specifically made for estheticians can offer ergonomic orthopedic designs meant to support and stabilize your posture. These kinds of chairs help to relieve stress and tension on the back and provide 360° rotation. Use them for any service that requires you to sit. Set the height of your stool so that your legs are at a 45° angle.

If you are standing, know that your shoes and clothes can also be considered salon supplies in how they support or impede your posture while working. Wear shoes that support your posture and the arches of the feet. Avoid wearing heels, even if your services have you seated most of the day. Use salon floor mats at your stations and adjust all beds, chairs, and tables according to the specific height needed for any given service that you're doing so that you're not stressing the back.

Your Schedule, Breaks, and Stretching

It's fantastic if you are booked with back to back clients, but if you are holding the same position for multiple hours a day, and not taking stretching breaks, your back and supporting muscles will eventually feel the impact.

There are a few things to keep in mind in how you schedule your services, and when to take three to five-minute stretching breaks in between clients. Your number one priority is your back, even if you’re running late with a client because if your back is shot, you won't be able to make your clients a priority at all. Starpil Wax has got your back—literally. Here are a few tips for breaking up "back-breaking" repetitive movements to benefit good posture and the esthetics professional.

• If you are a versatile esthetician with many different service types on your menu, try to schedule different service types throughout the day. For example, don't do one eyelash extension after the other if you can book a quick standing service in between.

• Seriously, change up your positions frequently—if you're sitting a lot, stand up and stretch, if you're standing a lot, do some squats and take a seat for a few minutes.

• Whatever movements you're doing mostly on one side of the body, do little exercises and stretches that work the opposite side of that muscle group. If you're sitting and bent, do back bending stretches. If you're standing and arms are bent, practice a forward folds and shoulder release movements.

• Focus on moving your entire body around your client when doing a service as much as possible.

• Set a timer every hour to stretch out the back muscles, your arms, and legs.

• Though every esthetician's working stance can be different, be conscious of your posture and how you’re contracting your core throughout each movement. If you have to leave notes or set reminders, do it.

• Hold up those ab muscles to support the back at all times and keep your legs relaxed.

Starpil Wax carries a wide variety of premium wax pots for both hard wax and soft wax. If you’re an esthetician who uses wax for large or small areas, we’ve got the perfect waxing supplies and professional wax warmer for you!

SHOP NOW