Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassi Bergland.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Cassi. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As far back as I can remember, I have always been particular (and maybe a little obsessive) about skin. Even though I was lucky enough to have pretty clear skin naturally even in my early teens, I would poke and pop anything that shouldn’t be on my face. I drove all my friends crazy trying to get rid of their blackheads and breakouts. Of course, I cringe now looking back because you should never do extractions unless you’ve been trained as it can cause more damage than good.
At that point, I didn’t even know having a career taking care of skin other than being a dermatologist was even an option. I’m sure I had heard the word Esthetician, but I did not know what it actually meant. Fast forward, I’ve now been working in healthcare for 15 years moving my way up to a medical billing/finance director position. Over the past few years dealing with insurance companies and having to tell parents that their insurance was refusing to pay for care their child needs started to really wear on me, I knew I needed something I was passionate about and that I enjoyed doing but didn’t know what that would be. Strangely enough, I was researching getting eyelash extensions and was shocked about how much they cost and thought ‘maybe I should do that’. I started researching schools, licensing and everything in between. With this, I learned that Estheticians can do lash extensions plus so much more and there it was… skin! Deciding to take the leap took a lot of thought, I wasn’t sure I could handle going to school and working full-time.
And unfortunately none of the schools close to me had schedules that would work around my current hours. I had hit a roadblock and somewhat given up when I was scrolling mindlessly through Instagram and saw a post for a back-to-school special at a school in Dallas that had evening classes. I showed my husband and being his always 100% supportive self he said: “if that’s what you want to do go for it!” So I did, I enrolled and drove an hour and a half each way to school three sometimes four days a week while still working full time. The drive and hours were brutal, most days I would only get 2-3 hours of class in and get home after midnight. But from the minute I started class I knew I had found what I wanted to do. And I knew I wanted to work for myself but it’s very hard to start out on your own. Luckily I met another amazing Esthetician and owner of Bare Esthetics Studio. Amanda took me under her wing as a new Esthetician. I was able to rent a beautiful space inside Bare right out of school. She also helped me build my confidence as an Esthetician and find my love for waxing.
Since graduation I am constantly growing and learning, I have taken many advanced treatment classes to ensure I am knowledgeable and up to date in every area, this enables me to provide my clients with the best and most effective services possible. I specialize in corrective skin care services and my passion is to help anyone struggling with acne or other skin conditions. So many suffer from acne and I have seen first hand how much it can affect their self-esteem especially in teens. There is nothing more rewarding than helping someone that was struggling feel more confident and happy when they look in the mirror.
Has it been a smooth road?
There have been so many challenges along the way from finding the courage to go back to school to the ongoing challenges of owning a business. The very long commute to school and trying to maintain my regular job was the hardest. There were tears, dangerous drives through bad weather late at night, blown tires from hitting debri on the highway and missed time with family. After school just prioritizing my business, learning to be a social media and marketing guru, building clientele, and juggling life have been the biggest challenges. Also figuring out how to be your own business when you are located inside another business can be hard, sometimes the lines can be blurred and you have to learn to navigate through. With all of that said there is almost always a moment during a treatment when I think “I really do love doing this” and that makes it all worth it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am located inside Bare Esthetics Studio in the historic downtown Sherman, Texas. I specialize in corrective skin care treatments that treat mild to severe acne, pigmentation & other advanced skin conditions. I offer facials, microdermabrasion, chemical peels, light therapy and other treatments. In addition I also offer full body waxing, brow/lash tinting, classic and hybrid eyelash extensions, and airbrush tanning.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Well a couple of months from now might be a better time for me to answer this since COVID-19 has not been kind to Estheticians, Cosmetologists, and anyone in a similar business, but I have no doubt we will come back stronger than ever. If nothing else it has helped many see how important we are. The skincare business is growing constantly and new advanced treatments are coming out so fast it’s a full-time job just to keep up with and stay educated on. I think more and more people are learning that taking care of their bodies vs. trying to correct after the fact is better, so I don’t see anything but growth in the future.
Contact Info:
- Address: 117A E. Lamar St
Sherman, Texas 75090 - Website: https://www.vagaro.com/bareestheticsstudio
- Phone: 9038156964
- Email: cassi.bergland@gmail.com
- Instagram: @cassibergland.esthetician
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cassiatbaresherman
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