I’ve been going to esthetician trade shows since the early 2000s. Trade shows in any niche industry are funny because they offer a broad stroke of everything that exists, all crammed under one roof. In our little corner of the beauty industry, that means a hundred different approaches to what beauty should be.

I’ll never forget sitting in the audience, horrified, as someone got permanent lipstick tattooed on stage. Bright red liner, their lips fully filled in with a tattoo gun. That moment summed up how I always felt at these shows, like nothing there was made for me. I’d walk the aisles, pick up a new pair of tweezers, and leave with a sinking feeling that no one was speaking to the kind of healing work I cared about.

So when I started Botnia in 2017, one of my very first dreams was having a booth at an esthetician trade show. Not because I suddenly believed in the shows themselves, but because I knew there were other skincare professionals who felt just like I did. They deserved a booth that spoke directly to them.

It took me eight years to get here. Not because we couldn’t have shown up earlier, but because I wanted to arrive as the company we are today with real systems in place for the industry we’re building. Professional skincare. That took time.

Seven years of developing formulas in my own treatment room.
Eight years of building education that truly supports estheticians.
A philosophy grounded in plants, the most potent ones we could imagine, designed in a system that lets estheticians be the master of their own formulas.

Today, more than 400 Botnia spa partners nationwide believe in that philosophy. This is more than skincare, it’s a movement. And for me, this little show in Long Beach feels like a coming out party.

I know we’ll probably be one of the only booths like us. We’re truth tellers. We’re not greenwashed. We’re selective about who we partner with, and that hasn’t changed. Estheticians won’t be opening wholesale accounts at our booth. They’ll apply, because we’re not interested in growing for growth’s sake. We’re growing with integrity, in alignment with our values.

At the show, we’re offering estheticians a way into our world through our Intro to Holistic Esthetics education, through conversation, through seeing our apothecary up close. My goal is simple: spark change. Inspire our industry to move toward actually healthy skincare. Away from greenwashing. Away from invasive treatments that force the skin into submission.

This show might be incredible. It might be full of reminders of why I wish our industry was different. Either way, it’s a massive milestone for me personally and for Botnia as a company.

If you’re an esthetician in Southern California, come say hi. And if not, hopefully I’ll see you at another show in the future. We’re dreaming of a better future for all of us.

Xo,
Justine