Today we’d like to introduce you to Rochelle Edwards.
Hi Rochelle, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am the owner/operator of Synergy Holistic Esthetics LLC in Georgetown, Texas! I was not always in Georgetown, and I was not always an esthetician. I’m very proud of how I got this far and hope to inspire others into following their hearts!
Ever since I can remember, I was a hugger! Hugs felt good. Holding hands felt good. Loved massaging and being massaged. All together, I loved touched! I never thought that one day that would be my career.
I grew up in a small town in Eastern Washington. When I was 25, I transferred from my small town college to Seattle and enrolled in the Bio-Tech program. I LOVED science. I dreamed of being a scientist and exploring the world. However, I ended up getting sidetracked into DENTISTRY! I took a part-time job at a dental practice while I was completing my college. I became fascinated with oral health and ended up pursuing that and becoming a dental practice manager and financial coordinator for over eight years!
Towards the end of my eight years, I was encouraged to change my career into a field where automation couldn’t take over. I reflected onto my own Esthetician and how happy and inspiring she was and is. Because of that, I chose Esthetics. After much research, I found Gary Manuel Aveda Institute located in Seattle. Aveda taught Esthiology and Ayurvedic ways of healing. This combo was everything I could have dreamed of and felt it was invented just for me. Being in the scientific mind, I fell in love with the scientific study of our skin, our anatomy, nervous system, and so much more that comes along with taking this path of Esthetics.
I love sharing and providing knowledge along with the services that help an individual feel relaxed, comforted, and renewed by the end of an hour. I guarantee one will leave not only feeling awesome but also will be leaving with newfound knowledge and a sense of self-love.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely was not a smooth road. I have always been a very independent woman that didn’t have kids. I dedicated my time to education and travel. So at 35 years old when I married, I was encouraged to quit my career and fully depend on my husband at the time. To not be working and going to school was very hard as I felt I was not contributing to my portion of our living costs. Then taking the time to build by brand and business to catch up financially with my partner.
Right when I graduated, I worked as an independent contractor for a year then broke off into my own business for three years in Seattle. What was hard about this was I thought my husband would help me build my business and give me encouragement and ideas when business was low. He said my business was a good “hobby”, and I was trying to create an empire. I learned we both had different views of what SHE was for me and what SHE was for him. I learned so much through the change of my career and what my unspoken expectations were becoming as a wife that it would only be four years later after graduating from Aveda that my husband and I would be going through a divorce.
As Seattle began to expand, it seemed EVERY esthetician was providing sugar hair removal and energy work, and Reiki Facials to the point that it was losing its purpose. I very badly wanted to leave the city. When I was twenty, I visited the outskirts of Austin, TX and have always wondered what it would be like to go back.
In 2019, during the divorce proceedings I reflected back on my forty years in WA state and felt my business could do so well in an area that doesn’t know about sugaring, Reiki, and how I can help relax, guide, and provide loving self-care to others. I know I didn’t want to be in Austin, as I was trying to get out of Seattle. I came to find a place that felt like my home town and that place happened to be Georgetown, TX.
Getting here was not easy, nor was the transition of healing from a divorce, then restarting what I built in Seattle to an area I can only hope is ready for what SHE provides.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I came up with Synergy because of the combination of science and ayurvedic ways coming together to provide optimal healing and care for the skin.
Holistic comes from the past seven years that I have been providing Sugar hair removal (very holistic) and organic facials using some of the most sustainable products. I also use ElleBana for my lash lifts from Australia, which is known for their holistic ingredients that help strengthen lashes during their lifting process.
What makes sugar hair removal holistic is that it’s not damaging to the skin. Sugar is made up of water, sugar, and lemon juice. It is cooked to a precise temperature and then is applied to the region using nitrile gloved hands.
Sugar only sticks to the hair and dead skin cells, leaving behind the healthy skin. When waxing, that healthy skin is waxed off, exposing a wounded area. It’s noticed after waxing the red, raised, shiny skin; this is a wound. With that exposed new skin, a person is exposed to ingrown hairs (bacterial infections). The healing time after a wax is typically three days. With sugar, the healing time is only 24 hours due to the follicles are the only part of the area that needs healing time.
And then we have Esthetics. Esthetics to me is the caring and beautification of the skin. Whether that be from hair removal or facials to lash lifts and tints.
When receiving a facial, I bring the whole SHE to the picture. With the synergy of esthiology and ayurvedic ways, I am able to help guide one down into a relaxed state while I exfoliate, treat, and infuse the skin with healing serums and peptides. All facials come with aroma therapy, guided meditation, full body relax down, and massage. Being trained in Acupressure is very helpful in achieving results. Products used are Eminence Organics. I have been trained with Eminence since 2015. All their products are cold pressed, all organic, do not contain water, and is made up of plants/flowers/fruits/and roots.
What I’m most proud of is the reputation that comes with the SHE brand. We cannot have SHE without the HE. SHE welcomes every individual no matter their race, sexual orientation, and believes. As long as we all can agree that we are all here to be cared for and are able to take a break from the stressors that lay outside the spa. I promote a place that will help you leave all worries and stressors at the door. And sometimes, when done, those worries and stressors have sometimes disappeared.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
To keep going, meditate, journal, wake up early and exercise!
Whenever I feel like my business is slow, this is the time I remind myself there is more going on that I cannot see, touch, or hear. This is when I love to meditate and visualize my business being recommended, Picturing people viewing what’s available. Do my admin work. Promote and get content out.
Journaling helps me with my manifestations and getting anything off my chest that could be causing any blockages.
Exercise!! Being an esthetician wears on the body. Staying strong and keeping up with my health helps me maintain motivation throughout the day. It keeps me mentally sharp, and it helps me show up as my best for my clients so I can help achieve their goals. Exercise also moves around all that icky feelings we sometimes get as business owners. It is a roller coaster of good weeks, okay weeks and bad weeks.
Surrounding myself with like-minded business owners and having a new loving partner helps keep my motivation going. Having a good team is necessary and I encourage others to link with other like-minded business owners.
Pricing:
- 60 min customized facial $95
- Sugar Brazilian $75
- Lash Lift & Tint $95
- Blueberry Detox Facial $120
- Reiki Facial $150
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shespa.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/synergyhealingesthetics
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/synergy-holistic-esthetics-georgetown
Image Credits
Photos taken by Emmalee David; www.emmaleedavid.com Denver, CO and Kristin Calhoun-Wood; Kristin Wood Photography Yakima, WA
