Hidden Gems: Meet Barbara Pabalan of Barbara Beyond Skin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbara Pabalan.

Hi Barbara, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
At the beginning of my skincare career, I started my own beauty salon as a cosmetologist in 1998. But I began to really understand skin after managing a laser center led by Board Certified Dermatologists. Fast forward to 2017, I created Barbara Beyond Skin with the mission to combine beauty and relaxation with deep scientific understanding. I instantly fell in love with Hydrafacial’s science based, results oriented approach and wanted to offer it to my studio.
After completing both their professional and expert training programs, I was hand selected to complete their first ever “Master’s” training. We were only 14 at that time across the country and now I think we are just a little over 2,500 across the country. Through the years, I’ve had collaborations with different skincare companies like Epicutis, Eminence Organic Skincare, Alastin, Isdin, VI Peels among many others. I have expanded our treatments to Glo2Facial, RF, Microneedling, Chemical Peels in order to ensure that our patients and clients are given the top care in skin health. They have all provided my team with further training courses as well as opportunities to attend conventions worldwide.
While I’ve gained expert knowledge from all my credentials. I’ve learned the most about the “science of skin” through experience. I treat my clients like family members and listen to their personal stories of their skin and their lives. I can confidently give them realistic goals and expectations by intuition. I truly love what I do and put my love into every treatment.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a smooth road and we all have had our challenges in any given situation. Being an immigrant coming from the Philippines, the mindset and beliefs are very different from what we are used to back home. I have “restarted” my career here in California in my 50’s so there was definitely an adjustment on how I should position my business in already a growing market for beauty and wellness. But armed with my knowledge and expertise, I am trying to make the most of what I can offer to the people by being sincere in helping them transform their skin to a healthier state and lifestyle. I am not very good with social media advertising but I’m very happy with how my children are helping me in that department. Of course I continue to learn all the new ways and technology in improving so I could give more to make a difference in my own small way – one face at a time.

As you know, we’re big fans of Barbara Beyond Skin. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My business is everything about skin. We help people get their skin into a healthier state. We specialize in HydraFacials, Glo2Facial, Anti aging treatments and even scalp health. We take pride in our back bar products like Epicutis, Hale and Hush, Eminence Organic Skincare, Circadia among many others to bring out the best in our client’s skin.

We do a customized and personalized treatments depending on what the clients need in order to get that Barbara Beyond Skin experience!

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
We are currently experiencing some challenges in the beauty industry because of the economy and people are afraid to spend to save money in anticipation of inflation but I am hoping that this will only be temporary. Doing facials and other related treatments are not only essential but it is necessary to improve one’s skin health. In fact, we as Estheticians have the ability to listen to our client’s concerns even outside the skin care topic. We are there for them as their confidant without any judgment.

It is known all over the beauty industry that the State of California is very strict when it comes to the regulations of the State Board of Cosmetology. We are hoping for some big shifts and changes if we will be allowed to do Microneedling at a certain depth as well as deep pore extractions by using lancets. For as long as we are trained to perform the tasks, it would be a great help to our clientele.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.barbarabeyondskin.com
• Instagram: @barbarabeyondskin
• Facebook: Barbara Beyond Skin
• Yelp: Barbara Beyond Skin Facial Studio