Rising Stars: Meet Isabel Calleros of Chandler Arizona

Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabel Calleros.

Hi Isabel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
THE INSPIRATION FOR THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY

I was introduced to the beauty industry in the early 1970’s when I was 10 years old in a small town in Texas, Schertz Texas to be exact. My mother passed away when I was 10. I have 5 siblings and I was the oldest female in the house. My father was a very strict, catholic, Hispanic, old country culture, military father. I was raised very old country Mexican. The female role was to be foundation of the household. I was not allowed to cut my hair or wear pants, no makeup, indoors only and duty to care for my siblings. Having said that, when my mother passed, the nice lady next store, Mrs. Miller, helped me grow up as she understood my father’s demeaner. Mrs. Miller had converted her garage into a salon. So, she would invite me over on Saturdays to help her out in the salon by sweeping the hair and washing hair rollers. This was my first encounter of beauty. In the 70’s the hairstyles were ratted up and on top on the head. Nails were polished hot pink and the make up on the face was colorful. I LOVED IT. It was all new to me. I was amazed how the women would come to the salon with their hair brushed out looking like Einstein. What made an impact on me was that when they arrived to the salon, they were scary looking to a 10-year-old. Not to pretty, BUT by the time they left the salon, with every hair lacquered into place, nails polished, makeup defined, precision brows and defined lips, they were smiling beand felt so good about themselves. It was at that point that I realized this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

BEAUTY SCHOOL TRAINING

MY When I turned 16, my father retired and we moved back to his hometown in Brawley California, an agriculture town 10 miles from the Mexico border. I had the opportunity to go to beauty school through high school. Remember I am still only allowed to wear dresses below my knees, no makeup, no jewelry, with hair down to my bottom. I told my father I wanted to go to beauty school and he flipped a switch and said no daughter of his was going to go to beauty school. He wanted me to go to college. So, after many attempts, he finally gave in and said that I can go but with stipulations. First, I had to pay for my own beauty school (two-year program for parttime). So, I had to get a job. So, my day was 8-12 I went to high school senior year, then 1-5 I went to beauty school parttime and I went to work at night at Kmart to pay for my beauty school. After graduating high school, I continued attending beauty school but had to go to city college in the morning. Once I was in beauty school, I realize that I did not like to do hair. Did not understand hair color and could not cut a straight line if my life depended on it. It wasn’t until I was in the one-week facial class that I found my calling. Once I graduated and got my license, I worked in a unisex hair salon and was only allowed to cut men’s hair due to my inexperience of the long hair of the 70’s. During this time, I would offer quick facials at the shampoo bowl. I would use ponds cold crème to cleanse the face, ponds cold cream to massage the face, I would massage the face with ponds cold cream and mask the face with ponds cold cream and finally moisturize with Jergens lotion. I only charged 5$. In 1983 California introduced the Cosmetician license. This was a specialty license for skin care only and not hair. I really did not need a Cosmetician license since my cosmetology license covered skincare but I wanted the specialized in the science of skin care. I signed up at a beauty school that was offering the course. I was the only cosmetician student. I quickly found out that the instructor was a cosmetology instructor and did not know any more than myself. I was given a textbook and put in a room and told to read the chapter. In two weeks, I had no hands-on experience. So, I quit attending the school and decided that I would learn as much as I could on my own and I would turn around and teach it the way it should be taught. I went to the library every chance I got. I read medical books, magazines and anatomy books. And the rest is history.

AESTHETICS TRAINING

In those days if you had five years’ experience with your license you could challenge the state board for the instructor license. In 1984 I challenged the written and practical test and past. I now had not only a cosmetology license but now I earned a cosmetology instructor license. At the time there was no Cosmetician Instructor license. I taught skincare for six years at beauty schools in California before moving to Arizona. I moved to Arizona late in 1989. The Arizona state board of cosmetology already had an aesthetics license but did not have aesthetics schools. Plus, this board would not accept my license reciprocity from California because I did not take a 500-hour teacher training course through the board. So, I went to a beauty school and worked out a deal with a school owner and said if you enroll students for aesthetics, I will teach them for trade of hours. It worked. But I had to take the cosmetology instructor exam in Arizona and not the aesthetics instructor. That’s why I am still license as a Cosmetology Instructor and not aesthetics. I worked in cosmetology schools teaching aesthetics and found that the course was always secondary to hair. At the same time, I worked parttime at JW Marriott Camelback Inn Spa doing skin care and aesthetics spa management. I also worked with a plastic surgeon as an aesthetician at a time when this was unheard of. While employed parttime by Marriott at Camelback Inn. The hotel was inspected by the board and was informed that they would close down the spa due to unlicensed personnel doing body treatments. The management knew I was a license educator and asked me how could we fix this issue and get those employees trained. Long story short, I created an aesthetics spa curriculum for Marriott and trained 13 employees over one summer. Marriott took a two-room suite and torn down the dividing wall and that was our classroom. We held class from 6am to 2pm every day except Sunday for three months. Eleven of the thirteen employees received their aesthetics license.

THE OPENING ARIZONA FIRST LICENSE AESTHETICS SCHOOL

After the Marriott project, I thought that was easy. So, I went to all the beauty schools in phoenix metropolitan area and asked about putting a true 600 aesthetics course. Basically, everyone laughed and said that aesthetics would never make it on its own as a school. You need hair to keep a beauty school open. So, I decided to open my own aesthetics school. I wanted to give the aesthetics trade the professional recognition it deserved as a profession. There was one problem, state board had no licensing for a solo aesthetics school and told me it could not be done. So, I challenged the ruling. Long story short, I jumped through all the hoops, worked with the board on the rules and regulations and on January 12, 1997 I was issued the states first license for an aesthetics school in Arizona; National Aesthetics Institute-Scottsdale (NAI-S). The school was located in Scottsdale Arizona. The curriculum was 100% based on spa treatments for face and body for the time. The curriculum format set the standards for aesthetics education and us used my most schools currently opened. This was a cash paying school only. No FASA or grants. The tuition was 11,500$ for the 600-hour course. The first school space was 1500 square feet with an enrollment of two students in the day and three at night with enrollment every month. By the end of the first 12 months, we had an enrollment of 67 students. Eighteen months after opening we moved to a 5,000 square foot building, opened a permanent makeup school, and added an additional 5,000 square feet. At the end of five years our consistent student enrollment was 20 students per month with a steady 120 students on a daily basis. I truly believe that our format changed the way the industry saw the career of aesthetics. The curriculum changed the standards of the beauty school environment. For example, I had three kids still in elementary and high school. So, there for I needed time off throughout the year when they were off. So, it was never heard of that a beauty school closed two weeks for winter break. There was no such thing as spring break and summer vacation for employees or students. Also, we were Monday through Friday. Not the traditional Tuesday through Saturday. I felt moms needed their time with their children when they were out of school. The student kit included a facial bed, steamer, lamp and enough product and supplies to open their own business as soon as they were licensed. We had dedicated class units lasting four weeks each with its own designated instructor. For example;
• Primary Unit – Course foundation, state board rules and regulations, basic facial concepts, skin consultation and analysis, anatomy of skin, universal precautions. Product knowledge
• Intermediate I Unit – Body Treatments to include waxing, spray tanning, spa body services and aromatherapy, facial and body massage. Product knowledge
• Intermediate II Unit – Clinical treatments to include, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, microneedling, acne treatments, oxygen facials, product knowledge
• Makeup Unit – General makeup application, brow tinting, lash perming, lash tinting, lash application, product knowledge.
• Clinic Floor Unit – Practical Hands-on experience

We were open 8-3pm. Our success was based first on the need for qualified training and second the dedication to the industry. I personally recruited and trained all our instructors as 99% were our aesthetics students. It took five years before the second aesthetics school opened in west phoenix. There are currently approximately over forty schools teaching aesthetics. In 2007, NAI was sold to a large beauty school chain, ITS Beauty Systems. There was a signed non-compete agreement in place for two years for Arizona. I could not teach aesthetics for two years. So, I worked with my friends in California for the time.

AFTER NATIONAL AESTETHETICS INSTITUTE

Once the two year non-compete agreement had expired, I was called on by several school owners that wanted to put an aesthetics school. So, I was hired to design, write, establish and train the foundation of the original aesthetics curriculum. With my experience in spa management and medial office training, I found it easy to adapt to the individual school concepts. My most challenging school concept was for a laser school adding aesthetics. This allowed me to use my laser training to write the curriculum. I ventured out into working with brand name product lines to produce training material for their team. I worked many aesthetics trade shows. It was during this time that I traveled extensively to several countries to teach American aesthetics, including chemical peels in Korea, permanent make up in Mexico. I have sense written curriculum in Spanish and English, trained school employees in aesthetics. I was selected to evaluated the NIC national aesthetics examination for the standardized testing center I South Carolina. I have reviewed and evaluated the Milady Esthetics Textbook for Cengage publishing.

CURRENTLY

In 2020, I was hired to develop a medspa in Chandler Arizona which I am currently the Administrative Director. Then Covid hit which closed schools, and hindered the medspa industry. In post Covid, I opened a licensed laser school training center in Chandler. It was just getting off the ground when I had a TIA stroke and spent about a year in recovery. I am recovering from a TIA stroke and reopening the laser school. I am currently still the Administrative Director for the medspa and teaching cosmetic laser. In both English and Spanish.

CONCLUSION
This is a raw version and a synopsis of my 50 years. I am an open book, you can ask me anything you like. I hope this is what you wanted. If not, can you send me specific questions. Thank you.

Isabel Calleros
Isabel@microaestheticsmd.com
480-550-0942

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Nothing worth having comes without struggles

1. Social Media Marketing – People believe everything they read and see (AI). In the old days you had two things; word of mouth and yellow pages. At 68 years old i consider myself social media challenged. To many choices to get your word out and without proof.
2. Youtube university and Amazon – Everyone is an expert now because they saw it on tic tok or youtube. And now you can purchase professional products on amazon with out a license.
3. Relating to the young aesthetician or student. The style of teaching is less about about experience and more about what is popular. The style of teaching has change from textbooks to online to lecture in person to Zoom.
4. At home aestheticians, post covid.
5. The value of the treatment or services. Since aesthetics is a popular quick training course there are more single unit skin care salons. This drives up competiion by those that undercut the competition but decreases the value of the services and treatments.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am most proud of proving all the cosmetology school owners that aesthetics training would never be a stand alone school in Arizona. I proved them wrong. HAHA. There are over 40 schools that teach the aesthetics course.

Opening the states first licensed aesthetics school in arizona in 1997. No one can make that claim.

what sets me apart from everyone else is my time. I always tell students that we are both on the same playing field. The only difference between them and me was time.

I am always ask how i learned aesthetics. It was old school. Go to the library. Open a book. study anatomy, biology, I traveled 7 countries for aesthetics and recieved a treatment in each country and came back and added it to our curriculum.

My dedication to helping individuals find their niche and feed it. Teaching them to be different. I believe if 100 students go to one school and they all come out doing the same facial they were taught, then why should a client stay with them if they can go to 99 other aestheticians to get the same service. Take what you learn and put your own FLAVOR and VIBE into the treatment.

Here is from one other article:
REDEFINING AESTHETICS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF SKIN CARE PROFESSIOALS – Innovator
I have been considered a pioneer of Aesthetics in Arizona who revolutionized the aesthetics field. With over four decades of experience, Isabel is best known for founding the very first state-licensed school of aesthetics in Arizona in 1997, a landmark achievement that established the educational standards for the entire state. I have had the experience as a global educator and a specialist in clinical aesthetics and laser technologies, and have dedicated my career to mentoring the next generation of skincare professionals.

Educator
As an educator for over forty years, I have not only shaped countless careers but also developed comprehensive curricula for schools and major skincare companies. I have been credited with introducing and writing one of the first aesthetics and laser programs in the state. My intention was to bridges the gap between beauty and science and feel that has continued to elevate professional standards in aesthetic education. This was accomplished by taking the aesthetics department out of the general cosmetology hair school environment and established it as a stand-alone, bonafide industry in Arizona. As the founder of IzaBella Aesthetics, LLC and a driving force behind MicroAesthetics Laser Education, I have spent my career advocating for and providing high-quality, specialized training.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Growing up in a military family with many sibilings. walking on base to the movies and at or 5pm. If you walking you had to stop and put your hand on your heart while the flag come down and listen to Reville. I think every child should have that experience. It teaches you respect, confident, social skills when you move around so much. You learn to adapt to most situations. You dont take anything for granted because it is goig to change in a year or two.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Microaestheticslasereducation.com
• Instagram: Microaestheticsbyic
• Facebook: Isabel Calleros