At 40 years of age, Gail Pugh decided to take a chance and make a change in her career. She created a new life for herself in skin care and has never looked back.
What inspired you to get into skincare?
I first discovered I had an interest in skincare in my early 40s. I started using Mary Kay and started selling it, not because of the money but because it really worked. I never had issues until I moved to Florida 33 years ago. The humidity really took a toll on my skin. I had bad skin, it was broken out and oily. When I started using Mary Kay, I saw what it did for my skin and the confidence it instilled in me as a woman and wanted to help other women. I still use Mary Kay foundation to this day.
At the time I was married and my husband and I had a successful business. I did the bookkeeping. I was 40 when I went through a divorce. I figured I had 25 years left to work, so I went back to school, I wanted to do something that I would enjoy and skin care is what I chose.
Do you love it?
I love it! I won’t retire at 65, I’ll continue doing this. I may do shorter hours, but I won’t stop.
What skin care line to you use now?
I use Image, it’s the skincare I use here at the salon. This is the sixth skincare line I needed to learn. I like Image because there are five lines within the brand. This brand has something for everybody.
-Clear cell for problem cat and acne
-Vital C for rosacea and sensitive skin
-Anti-aging and premature skin
-Max line for sun damage and repair
-Organic line
I personally don’t use the organic line, because I need a little acid, but I pull from all the line for myself and will customize depending on my client's skin.
How long have you live in St Augustine?
I’m from Atlanta and moved to St. Augustine 33 years ago. years.
How was it when you first started in your new career?
I was recruited by the manager of JC Penney Salon located right here in the mall on Rt. 1.
before I even graduated. Her name was Eileen Heinrich and would come out to the school to recruit students. I had done a facial on her and she hired me.
At the time JC Penney Salon didn’t have estheticians, so they had to build to make me a room for me. Corporate knew nothing about this. I was hired to do facials and body waxes. Since it was a new service, we didn’t have all the things estheticians typically have, I had to heat my towels in crockpots.
One day corporate came in for a visit and was shocked to see this extra room built. They asked what it was all about and the manager said to wait and let me show you her numbers. They were floored!
Corporate ended up expanding my space into the wig salon and back office.
This store never offered it before facial and waxing before I got there and that room they built me is still there to this day.
Why did you leave JC Penney?
I was ready to expand, I wanted to do microdermabrasion and the machine is $9,000, I knew JC Penney wouldn’t have paid for that and I didn’t want anything less than that.
I went downtown to a small spa, but it didn’t work out. I found it to be pretentious. The manager didn’t create a good atmosphere for me there, so I left and opened my own salon nine years ago and it was the best decision I ever made.
How was it when you first opened up the salon?
It was awesome from day one, I had all my clients from JC Penney and 80% are still with me to this day.
When I first opened I had a partner who was a hairdresser I worked with. The deal was I would handle the bookkeeping side of the business since I had the background and she would handle the hairdressing side. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, so I just lease the booths for the hairdressers now, they have their business within mine.
I thank god every day for the three hairdressers I have. They all have twenty plus years experience, they are all happy to be here renting a booth and none of them want to own their own salon.
What other services do you offer?
I do facials, full body, and facial waxing, microdermabrasion, body sugar scrubs, and spray tanning.
The spray tanning I use Norvell, it’s the best. All sunless tanners are not created equal. Someone will come in and say “I don’t want to look orange” and I’m like “Well who the hell does?”. You mean you don’t want to leave looking like a sweet potato…haha!
If I had a dollar for every time I heard that I’d be a rich woman.
Do you offer any specials?
I will give a 15% discount off a customers pre-booking of their next bikini wax. It gives my customer’s an incentive to continue to come in to maintain their waxing, which is important because it helps to make it less painful and more efficient for me to do the job.
What do you like to do on your day off?
I like to be outside, I’ll ride my bike and go to town. I enjoy going to Now and Zen Studio. It’s become an important part of my life, it gets my day started.
What’s the most memorable experience you have had with a client?
My first waxing client at JC Penney is by far my most memorable. A beautiful Spanish woman who was an exotic dancer visiting from New York came in with her boyfriend who resembled Mr. T. with all the gold chains. She came in and asked for a waxing, for everything to be gone from the waist down. I’ve never done this before. They didn’t teach this in school and at this point in my career, I’d not done a bikini wax yet. She took off her pants and I started sweating, I was so nervous. Common sense had to play in a bit, put the wax on in the opposite direction and pull off in the same direction. She clearly saw how nervous I was and said “look I get this done all the time and I will show you how to do it” and she did. In the middle of the treatment, she left went to lunch and came back to finish up her legs.
I believe to this day that God sent her to me. She is the one who taught me the proper way to do a Brazilian wax. I often wish I kept her number so I could thank her.
Salon 192 is located at 192 FL-312, St. Augustine, FL 32086
Contact them at (904) 825-2314 | Website
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