As estheticians, we were taught certain practices in school that don't always translate well to real-world experiences with clients. So many brands use harsh ingredients, fragrances, and overly stripping formulas. We found ourselves needing to do extra research to find products that truly worked for different skin types and conditions.

I remember one client who came to me wanting help with chronic breakouts. Her skin was oily, yet flaky. I prescribed the typical acne products you learn about in school - salicylic acid cleanser, benzoyl peroxide spot treatment. But after a few weeks, she came back just as frustrated. Her skin was irritated and angry. 

That experience stuck with me. I realized I needed to dig deeper to find gentle, natural ingredients that didn't just treat the surface level, but got to the root causes for true healing. Other estheticians I networked with felt the same way. We were tired of the "squeeze and slap" approach that didn't honor the skin's individual needs.

Out of that frustration, Botnia Skincare was born. Instead of prescribing blanket solutions, Botnia looks at each client as a unique individual. Our holistic approach uses botanicals that work in harmony with the skin to restore balance. - Justine, Founder of Botnia skincare

What you get as a Botnia spa partner

Once approved for a wholesale account with us, you’ll receive our four-hour back bar training that gets into the nitty gritty of our 23 raw ingredients, how to use them, and why they’re effective for specific skin conditions. Followed by a Q & A session to help answer any questions that may come up in the following weeks using Botnia in the treatment room. We also share our three-hour retail training that explains how to recommend our retail products to guests so they can use Botnia in their home care regimen after their facial. 

In addition to the trainings, we offer a monthly check-in call open for our entire community to get any questions answered by our team and our estheticians regarding wins and struggles in the treatment room, business questions, marketing questions and more. It is through the experiences of our estheticians and connecting with each other that helps our communities grow. 

As a spa partner, you also get access to our private esthetician Facebook group to connect with fellow Botnia spa partners and peers and get support directly from your community. Both new and experienced estheticians can share recipes they love that have been working for their clients. Offer advice on tools to use in the treatment room. Suggestions for things that are working well or ask for advice for things that aren’t. Our hope is that our community helps boost each other and up-leveling their skills in the treatment room. 

We offer masterclasses throughout the year from feedback we receive from our monthly calls, questions our estheticians are asking, or trends we see in the industry we think will help to foster the growth of our spa partners. In the past, our masterclasses included topics on herbalism and skincare, supplements, looking into the non-botanical ingredients in our formulations, diving into why plant-based skincare works for our skin and plant biology and so much more! 

Once a year, we host our annual Esthetician Workshop, a two-day event surrounding a theme we find our spa partners need in their practices. Our past themes included helping our estheticians “Get back to work” in the treatment room after the pandemic, “Honoring our practices of healing” and this year’s theme, “Harmonizing Healing: Crafting a Balanced Practice,” focused on balancing different aspects of our businesses. The classes are chosen from feedback we receive from our partners in different areas they need support in. Our speakers are all professionals in the subject and theme who can provide guidance and practical solutions our spa partners can apply right away in their businesses. We hope to share the advice from professionals who have helped Botnia thrive, and support our estheticians so they can blossom and grow in their businesses too!

Here are some of the testimonials from last year’s workshop:
“There was so much to unpack, it was amazing. With opening up a new business it gave me some great insight on how to tackle some issues I was running into.”

“I actually found everything useful and got at least one thing out of every class. I loved the variety of subjects and how they all made sense for our businesses. I really enjoyed them all!”

“This was another epic workshop. I have been using these classes daily since the workshop.”

Free Botnia class open to licensed practitioners and esthetician students

In 2023, we offered our second annual free class, open to all licensed practitioners and esthetician students. This free training session was all about balancing hormones: Restoring your clients’ rhythm: protocols for hormonal harmony. Justine taught how to master scientifically-backed botanical solutions that holistically restore hormonal balance for clear, glowing skin in the treatment room and beyond. In this virtual class, we taught:

-The physiology of hormonal disruption: How fluctuations in estrogen, cortisol, progesterone scientifically manifest on skin.

-The science of natural balancing: How targeted botanicals containing phytochemicals gently optimize hormonal pathways and levels.

-Assessment and customization: Clinically-proven tips to evaluate each client’s hormone levels and provide personalized botanical care

-Balancing botanicals: The specific medicinal plants, and carrier oils proven to restore equilibrium

-Creating hormonal harmony: Formulating layered routines scientifically designed to help clients find their natural rhythm

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“After graduating esthetics school, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a skincare line that felt more aligned with my values and what I found in my research about the skin. I also loved being connected with other estheticians in school and sharing ideas and feedback, but once we all went our separate ways I found myself searching for more community and support. For estheticians, community is everything - especially if you're a solo practitioner. When I discovered that Botnia offered both education behind their holistic skincare and access to a like-minded, welcoming community, that was it! The dream partnership I never knew existed, with endless possibilities to healing skin and creating a balanced life as an esthetician.”
-Julianna, of Blu Moon Beauty, Botnia Master Esthetician  

Our goal is to continue to widen the scope of our learnings, keeping our curiosity and interests fresh, as new methods and discoveries are made in our industry. We know that our spa partners have the same curiosity to help our clients achieve happy healthy glowing skin and overall health they want to reach.

If you’re a holistic practitioner and esthetician who’s interested in partnering with us, submit an application through our website. If you’re a client who’s looking for a holistic esthetician in your area, find a Botnia spa partner near you here. Not yet in your state? Share with us your favorite esthetician in your area and request Botnia, or submit your skincare journey and our master estheticians can help recommend a Botnia protocol that’ll work best for your unique skin!  

No matter where you are in your skin journey and career, our hope is to bring more holistic healing to the world and change our relationship with our skin, seeing it as it is, a perfectly functioning organ, and our job is to help aid it in healing. Cheers to curiosity and skin health!

Xo,
Botnia