Joie Tavernise of JTAV Clinical Skincare: “Why making conscious choices about what you put into your body will help you feel beautiful”

…Making conscious choices about what you put into your body. I strongly feel that the foods we use to fuel our body have a large and lasting impact on how we feel. Choosing fresh, local, and organic foods not only gives you energy and nourishes you, it makes your skin glow.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Joie Tavernise the founder and owner of JTAV Clinical Skincare, located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Joie is a member of the Society of Plastic Surgery Skincare Specialists; National Coalition of Estheticians, Manufacturers/Distributors & Associations; and Society for Medical & Clinical Hair Removal and has been a practicing esthetician for 18 years. Through her many years of hands-on experience as an esthetician and business owner, Joie has created a signature method that focuses on a customized experience for every client; one that unites modern technologies with traditional approaches and incorporates a whole body/whole life perspective.

Thank you for joining us Joie. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

My passion for skincare began when I was a teenager. When I was a teen my skin was constantly breaking out. I would go to different spas for facials and would always leave with my skin worse than it was before, so I decided to learn how to treat my own skin at home. I researched products and different home remedies, and educated myself on ingredients and the best treatments for my skin. I found that the more time I dedicated to treating myself, the better my skin became, and my passion grew from here.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

The most interesting that that has happened to me since I began my career has been moving from a small space in a townhouse into our new larger space. Years ago when we moved into the ground floor of a townhouse, I thought that it was an extremely big deal and I had no idea how I was going to fill the space with employees and clients; I was both excited and very overwhelmed. Cut to 5 years later we were bursting at the seams and it became very apparent that we need to move out and find a larger space. I walked up and down the streets of the Upper East Side day and night, knowing that I would find the perfect new space. It was a very exciting moment when I realized that even more growth was possible, and this made me realize that I would really never stop growing. Once we found the ideal new space, I worked on architecture, construction, and design; all things that I had no idea I would ever do as an esthetician.

Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success?

A real tipping point in my career success-wise was definitely building out a new space. This is when I truly realized that I made the power to make something from scratch that was completely mine. This level of empowerment fueled my motivation to push harder to reach my goals.

Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?

I started focusing on educating my staff on my “JTAV Method” so that I could ensure that treatments were being done in the way that I did them, without me having to spend so much time physically in the treatment rooms. This gave me the time to focus on business development. The more that I started teaching my stuff to emulate my method, the more I was able to feel comfortable dedicating my time to the aspects of my business that I always wanted to grow more.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are?

Rather than one person in particular, I am grateful for my team. My staff believed in me and trusted me 100% to grow the business and continue to teach them new things. Working together, all of us were able to grow in our positions and make more money. We encourage and support each other, and this is the foundation to my business.

Can you share a story about that?

We were all comfortable when we were in our previous smaller space, but the potential for us to learn and grow was there. Collectively we all encouraged each other to believe that growth was possible, and to get out of our comfort zones. Together we took on stronger roles and grew togehter.

The beauty industry today has access to technology that was inconceivable only a short time ago. Can you tell us about the “cutting edge” (pardon the pun) technologies that you are working with or introducing?

What sets JTAV Clinical Skincare apart is our method of layering modalities with less downtime. I am always researching what the latest and greatest technology is, in order to offer this to our employees, but I have found that rather than constantly introducing new technology it actually proves better results if you find a way to layer these existing technologies so that they all work together to treat different concerns and layers of the skin.

Conversely, one must never forget how important the fundamentals are. As estheticians our hands are our more valuable asset. Learning how to properly use your hands as tools will yield excellent results. I also always encourage learning about products and their ingredients, because this is also the foundation to excellent results.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Looking into having a consultation, learning about what the treatment is. 30 different machines but it’s all the same things. As consumers are very savvy to what’s available — they are always asking about different machines that have different names

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the “beauty-tech” industry?

Staying on the forefront of what’s new

Attending educational seminars

Always evolving, having more result driven treatments with less downtime

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry?

Education is key and we want to make sure that our team is always having continuous education. Sometimes I am concerned about the level of training that estheticians are committing themselves to. As the field is always changing and growing, it is imperative to seek out ways to educate yourself. One more thing that concerns me is the idea of instant gratification. To truly see results, a client needs to commit to a long-term trusting relationship with their esthetician. While it is true that you will see results after one treatment, the real results come with continuous treatments.

If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

I feel that ongoing education should be mandatory. I am always sourcing online courses and in-person trainings for my staff. My Director Chelsea and I are constantly designing protocols to follow and implementing these protocols and structures in the space.

You are an expert about beauty. Can you share 5 ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? Please share a story or example for each

1. Develop and stick to a home routine. Making time for yourself is essential to feeling good, which leads to feeling beautiful.

2. Spirituality and meditation are two huge ways to opening up the pathways to feeling beautiful. True beauty, as we all know, is not always about what is on the outside but rather what is on the inside. If someone does not feel beautiful on the inside, no amount of beauty treatments will fix that.

3. Making conscious choices about what you put into your body. I strongly feel that the foods we use to fuel our body have a large and lasting impact on how we feel. Choosing fresh, local, and organic foods not only gives you energy and nourishes you, it makes your skin glow.

4. Choose wisely on how you spend your time and who you surround yourself with. Craft your own beautiful world and you will feel beautiful every day.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I feel that so much good is brought from supporting women and small businesses. If I could inspire a movement, I would encourage people to think twice about where they are spending their money .More now than ever, it is so important to identify with the companies that bring you joy and support them. Look at the smaller companies rather than the large ones.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Believing in yourself is the secret to success.” This quote has motivated and comforted me every step of the way throughout my career. It also could not be more helpful in times like these. A lot of us are wondering if we will be successful once life returns to normal. I know in my heart that if I believe in myself and work hard, I will always find success. Don’t question your own ability. Get rid of fears and self doubt. Anything is possible.

How can our readers follow you online?

@JTAVClinicalSkincare