Jas Sahota already had an entire life established and a career on the go in California when she found herself moving to Canada. Though her career as a certified nursing assistant working with psychiatric clients made the move from California with her, it wasn’t long before Jas started noticing that she felt increasingly drained and exhausted after each day of work. To focus on her skin and health, she began seeing Dr. Shah at Beautiful Canada Laser & Skincare Clinic who encouraged her to consider a career as an Esthetician—even promising her a job once she had graduated and gotten some experience. Jas took his suggestions to heart and took a leap of faith by beginning an entirely new career and enrolling in Esthetics school. True to his word, Jas has been with Dr. Shah—the “Yoda of lasers”—for over eight years as a Senior Esthetics Technician. If you ask Jas how she got to where she is today, she has only one thing to say “It’s all because of Blanche Macdonald!”
“It did take me a while to decide but once I made my decision, Blanche Macdonald was the clear choice; it’s just such a reputable school.
“Going into the Esthetics program as an adult made me so nervous but it was such an amazing program; at no point did I ever feel uncomfortable or intimidated. [Esthetics Program Director] Simona [Gozner] helped me the whole time I was doing my course. She was always there and very supportive whenever I needed to talk to someone. Even now, I’ve got her on Facebook and she checks in every once in a while.”
It did take me a while to decide but once I made my decision, Blanche Macdonald was the clear choice; it’s just such a reputable school.
Jas’ Esthetics program took her from Makeup, to Nails, and then through the Esthetics portion of the program where she started building the foundation of her career. She immersed herself in the theory of skin, the Fitzpatrick Scale—a way to classify skin types—, facials, and massages. The program provided Jas with all the hands-on experience she could handle as well as exposure to other areas of the spa industry such as professional speakers, medical spa equipment, and spa and clinic tours. Jas always knew that the technology behind lasers therapy was her calling, and so after four months of experience after graduation, she headed back to Dr. Shah who started her in his clinic as a Senior Esthetics Technician within the week!
“Dr. Shah loves people fresh out of school. They’re eager and so willing to learn absolutely everything and I was no exception. There’s a reason I’ve been here for over eight years! I know the clinic inside and out and now I help with the training for others that are coming in. And there’s always a few other Blanche graduates around. Dr. Shah knows how good the training is at Blanche Macdonald so he knows that everyone comes out with this super-strong foundation in skin which is all you really need to know. For medical esthetics, laser theory and other specific things are taught at the clinics for the most part. I’ve learned, and continue to learn, so much at the clinic even now.”
And there’s always a few other Blanche graduates around. Dr. Shah knows how good the training is at Blanche Macdonald so he knows that everyone comes out with this super-strong foundation in skin which is all you really need to know.
It’s no surprise that Jas’ learning and knowledge base is constantly evolving. Dr. Shah’s clinic has housed over 20 different medical esthetic devices to date.
“He has every single laser you could talk about or use. It’s no joke that he’s referred to as the ‘Yoda of lasers’! He’s always upgrading the lasers we use in the clinic and we get so much training for every single one. The machine comes with a team to train us, we shut down the clinic for a day to learn and practice with each laser. We keep practicing on each other until we’re comfortable with our performance on it and then we can offer it to our clients.”
Speaking of clients, Dr. Shah’s clinic attracts clientele from all over the Lower Mainland and, not surprisingly, the rest of North America as well.
Once you build that bond with your clients, they’ll stick with you. They don’t come to us for trendy skin care treatments. They come to us for a regimented, measured treatment plan and solution to what they’re experiencing.
As Dr. Shah’s right-hand assistant and Senior Esthetics Technician, that client bond is one of the most important aspects of Jas’ job.
“My day-to-day as Dr. Shah’s assistant is so different every day. I help him with fillers, tattoo removal, hyperhidrosis treatments, skin tightening, and anything else! It’s a pretty busy day with mostly back-to-back procedures. That’s why having a good connection with your clients and creating that trust so they feel like they can open up is the most important part of the job. My favourite part is assisting with fillers. It’s one of the few treatments that you can see immediately and when their face lights up, it’s just such a great feeling for your day’s work.”
Thanks to Dr. Shah’s recommendation, and now his clinic, Jas is living the life of her dreams.
“I honestly love my job and can’t see myself doing anything else, ever. I’m so glad I changed careers. Even though every day is different, I’m always so comfortable and sure of myself in what I’m doing and that’s because of Blanche Macdonald. Taking the Esthetics program really changed my life. It changed everything for me. Everything they did or taught was for a reason. They guided me the right way and I wouldn’t be here without them.”
