Annette Hanson Hailed as an Industry Legend – Dermascope

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thriving aesthetic school,
her own product lines,
countless certifications…
how the unstoppable Annette Hanson
has transformed herself from small
town girl to skin care superstar.
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Annette’s story is one of family values and support – of an
ongoing commitment to professionalism and recognition of
the importance of standards. She has spent her entire career
upholding the accountability of government to consumer safety and remains a relentless figure in the world
of legislation on behalf
of the aesthetic industry.
While
down-toearth, she has a sophisticated intelligence and
possesses a high standard of conduct, honesty, and integrity in her
work and life. With a
Annette (far right) with father Hy Hanson tireless determination to
and sister Candice on their weekly trip to enlighten her students,
Calgary Zoo
Annette developed Atelier Esthétique Institute to provide the best in skin care education. After almost 25 years in the aesthetic industry, Annette
stays true to her mission that she established from day one:
"Excellence in Education, One Student at a Time."
Annette lies on the treatment
table waiting for the flashes of
beaming light to permanently
zap away a few fine hairs on her
brow. It is the first day of Atelier
Esthétique’s 75-Hour Certificate
Course in Laser Hair Removal
and Skin Rejuvenation, and in
Annette’s signature style, it is
strictly hands-on.
She volunteers not out of aspirations of cosmetic improvement,
Daddy’s little girl
but rather out of a heartfelt desire
to give her students an authentic perspective of the coursework. Her philosophy is that the difference between a good
aesthetician and a great aesthetician is attitude, education,
and application. Annette emphasizes that her students take
pride in themselves, their studies, and their work. She has an
innate understanding
of how to make them
strive and achieve
their best.
For more than
two decades, Annette
has been mentoring
and educating aspiring
aestheticians at her
licensing aesthetic
Annette's niece and nephew, Davita & Benny
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school and post-graduate facility in New York City. As
President and Founder of Atelier Esthétique Institute, Annette
has focused on the highest educational and professional
standards. Annette explains that “to run a school, you must
be an administrator and an aesthetician; you must be a
psychologist and a disciplinarian.” It is this impassioned
mentality that sets Annette apart from other educators in
the industry.
A current Atelier Esthétique student, Kim Schanzer, admits
that although Annette is strict, her goal is “to provide the skills,
both hands-on and business-related, enabling her students to
successfully practice their profession as aestheticians within the
industry on all levels.”
Annette personifies Manhattan: fastpaced, poised, and
elegant. Her need
to continually strive
for excellence stems
from her childhood.
Raised in Calgary,
Alberta, Canada,
she honed her retail
skills at age six when
she sold penny candy
at her parents’ drugHanson’s mother Lucille in the family pharmacy
store. Annette is the
eldest of three girls.
She credits her parents — Dad was a
pharmacist and Mom
ran the cosmetics
counter — for teaching her the value of
hard work and the
drive of an entrepreneurial spirit. Her
father passed before The pharmacy in Calgary owned by
Annette was 30, but Hanson’s father
she still carries with her the pearls of wisdom he left behind.
“My father always taught me to be kind and generous
in spirit, and that I could achieve any goal through hard
work and determination.” Even though he was already
a well-respected pharmacist, he never ceased to update
his knowledge of current drugs and treatments. Annette
has inherited his passion for learning.
Crediting much of her success to her strong
family ties, Annette notes that her sisters, Candice and
Dorothy, showed unwavering support growing up and
throughout their adulthood. She stresses that it is the
newest generation of the Hanson family that provides her
with a lasting sense of unconditional love and encouragement.
The Hanson family: (from left) sister Candice, Annette Hanson, sister
Dorothy, and mother Lucille
Davita and Benny, Annette’s adorable niece and nephew, offer
a fresh perspective and encourage her to pursue her passions
in work and life equally. “They are the loves of my life, and
have shown me that it is the little moments of happiness that
measure your success,” explains Annette.
Upon graduating with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in
French from the University
of British Columbia in
Vancouver, Annette traveled
alone to Paris to immerse
herself in the language and
lifestyle of the French. She
returned to Paris several
years later never dreaming
she would discover her true
School photo of Annette Hanson at passion — skin care. “I fell
in love with Paris,” Annette
The Carita Institute in Paris
reminisces. After months of searching, Annette decided to
pursue aesthetics at the renowned Carita Institute of Beauty
and enrolled in their one-year aesthetic program entirely
in French.
Annette’s life changed dramatically when the President of
Lancôme came to the school and asked the Director if he could
interview only the best aestheticians. Annette was chosen to
open the first Lancôme Institute in the U.S. and she was quickly
relocated to New York City. Later she went back to Paris to
study at the prestigious Dr. Payot Institute in order to return
to the U.S. to manage their salons in Boston and New York.
Annette continued her education by studying internationally
at the Nemectron Equipment Institute in Germany, the BCM
Institute of Thalassotherapy in Brittany, France, and finally with
the eminent aromatherapists Micheline Arcier and Eve Taylor
in London, England. Annette
gained immeasurable business
experience when she opened the
first ever Estée Lauder counter at
Macy’s Department Store in New
York City. As the manager, she
transformed it into the nation’s
highest grossing sales counter
in only three months. She also
credits Jack Finger, owner of the
former Dynex Corporation, for Annette Hanson preparing her
mannequin for the New York State
the experience and confidence Cosmetology Licensing Exam
she gained as their Training
Director for five years.
With the encouragement of her family, Annette applied
everything she had learned to make one of her biggest
dreams come true: she opened an educational facility in
the Empire State Building.
The impetus behind
creating Atelier Esthétique
Institute of Esthetics was
to advance, educate, and
improve the standards of
the aesthetic industry, and
with that goal the school
continues today.
As a continual supporter of stricter regulation, one of Annette’s
proudest contributions to
the aesthetic industry was
working with the New York
Annette with Erica Miller, former AIA
Department of State in July
Legend and friend, after lecturing in
1994 to create a separate
Las Vegas
license for aestheticians,
apart from cosmetology. She wrote New York State’s 600-hour
aesthetic licensing curriculum and helped develop its written and
practical examinations.
Annette is not “afraid to fight for anything she believes in,
and this drive always leaves her triumphant,” declares Linda
Lavelle, Annette’s long time friend and colleague.
Annette was active for over 10 years in the New York
State Cosmetology Association, the California Barbering
Cosmetology Legislative Alliance, as well as sitting as
the Legislative Chair for the Esthetic Manufacturers and
Distribution Alliance (EMDA) for four consecutive years.
Her dedication to the field of aesthetics, as an educator and
business woman, prompted her to be a founding member
of the National Coalition of Estheticians, Manufacturers/
Distributors & Associations (NCEA) whose goal is to define
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Annette Hanson at the International Congress of Esthetics in Dallas
and convey standards of practice, while educating the industry
and the public.
Susanne Warfield, the publisher of PCI Journal and a fellow
Canadian says, “Energetic, unique, and a born leader, Annette
demonstrates to all that if one works hard and stays true to
yourself, you can and will be successful.”
Many aestheticians
got to know Annette
through her countless
appearances
as
a
conference presenter and
panelist at professional
conferences worldwide
where she lectured to
packed audiences on
marketing, waxing, the
threat of deregulation,
and more. As a
renowned skin care
expert, Annette is a Annette Hanson, a life-long consumer
safety advocate, addressing issues facing
regularly featured author the aesthetic industry
in industry periodicals
such as DERMASCOPE, Skin Inc., American Spa, and Les
Nouvelles Esthetiques magazines; she appears as an aesthetics
expert on television and is quoted in leading health and
beauty publications.
With her firm understanding of the power and influence of
state laws and regulations, Annette has spent her entire career
upholding the accountability of government to consumer safety
and remains a relentless figure in the world of legislation on
behalf of the aesthetic industry. She demands that people “do
not just sit back and complain after the fact, but rather serve on
the committees, attend industry meetings, voice their opinions,
get involved, and make a positive difference!” She always says,
“The professional life you save may be your own.”
Annette spent over 17 years as a national educator and
distributor for Sothys, Phytomer, and M.D. Formulations,
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in which she lectured on
ground-breaking
skin
care procedures such as
aromatherapy, thalassotherpy,
hydrotherapy, and the benefits
of innovative ingredients
such as antioxidants, retinol,
salicylic, and glycolic acids.
She was a consultant for
world-renowned
spas
including Avon Spa Trump
Tower, New York City;
Turnberry Isle Resort and
Spa, Miami, Fla.; Origins Feel Annette demonstrating LED Therapy
Good Spa, New York City,
N.Y.; and Helena Rubenstein, New York City, N.Y.
In 1999, Annette
became a U.S. Citizen
to serve in public office
as the “Educator” to
the Secretary of State
in Albany, N.Y. on all
matters of hair, nails,
and skin on the New
York
Appearance
Enhancement Advisory
Committee – a position
she proudly continues
to hold.
Two of Annette’s
most
important
Annette Hanson performing hydrotherapy treatment
contributions to the
aesthetic industry are
her efforts towards standardizing educational requirements
and pioneering certification in many areas including postgraduate studies. Atelier Esthétique Institute became the first
aesthetic school in the U.S. to be accredited by the International
Therapy Examination Council (ITEC) in London, which
issues the highest diploma in aesthetic throughout the world
A recent graduation at the Atelier Esthétique Institute of Esthetics in
New York
today. This means that
on top of providing its
students with the finest
basic and advanced
education,
Atelier
Esthétique offers its
graduates international
certification to practice
their specialties around
the world without taking
another exam.
In March 2001,
Annette was able to
realize her dream of
creating her own product
William
Strunk,
publisher
of
lines. After licensing the
DERMASCOPE, introduces Annette
Hanson at the International Congress of GHK copper peptide for
Esthetics in Dallas
the spa industry, Annette
formulated Simple Solutions® anti-aging skin care line for
the face, while concurrently developing AquaSante® Marine
line for the body. Having a thriving small business of her
own product lines, Annette had finally accomplished a lifelong goal, but found she
had very little time to
dedicate to her school. So
in 2004, Annette decided
to sell both product
lines after three years
of U.S. distribution to a
bio-medical company.
Although the decision to
sell her creations was a
difficult and emotional
one, Annette knew that
she would be able to focus
on Atelier Esthétique
Institute’s future and share
Annette obtaining her recertification for more of her knowledge
MLD (Manual Lymphatic Drainage) in and experiences with
Vancouver
her students.
“It is her drive and relentless perseverance that is
incomparable to any other,” says JoAnn Juralewicz, former
Atelier Esthétique client and current spa owner. She claims
Annette’s ability to “pick herself up, dust herself off, and move on
helps her overcome anything.”
With such impressive contributions to the aesthetic
industry as an aesthetician, salon manager, body therapist,
spa consultant, advocate, writer, educator, and speaker; it is
presumed that these accomplishments are the things that
Annette will be remembered for. However, it is her character
Annette Hanson at a DERMASCOPE event with Joel Gerson (center) and
her colleague Harold Flannigan (right)
that lingers with everyone she meets. Not only does Annette
have an impressive career, she has the personality to match. She
is gregarious, humorous, and fun-loving. With an infectious
laugh that draws people to her like a magnet, she thoroughly
enjoys life and friends say that she has never lost her childlike excitement for simple pleasures. Her colleagues find her
determined, charming, and hugely talented. When describing
Annette, her peers agree that they have never met anyone so
energetic, enthusiastic, strong, and so endlessly curious.
Joel Gerson and Susanne Warfield lecturing at Atelier Esthetique Institute
Joel Gerson, publisher of the Standard Textbook for
Estheticians says, “I have had the opportunity to work with
many aestheticians, teachers, school directors, and owners, and
I can honestly say that Annette Hanson is one of the best our
industry has to offer.”
As Annette reflects upon the incredible milestone of
Atelier Esthétique’s 25th anniversary in 2010, she looks forward
to what the future may hold for her.
As for now, in between lessons on skin cleansing, makeup
application, and customer relations, she is the master teacher
that tells us all to breathe more deeply, laugh more freely, love
life more fully, and enjoy every moment on the path to your
own personal destiny.
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