Celebrate Excellence in Esthetics

Everyone has a story to tell, and we’re guessing yours is pretty great. Tell us about your inspiring career journey, and you could be the 2026 ASCP Esty of the Year! We’re inviting ASCP members to write a short story describing their unique professional journey—the ups, the downs, everything in between. The 2026 ASCP Esty of the Year will receive a custom photo shoot, an article featuring their story in ASCP Skin Deep magazine, and the chance to represent ASCP for 2026. You are an inspiration to all your clients, your loved ones, and our readers. Share your story now and inspire skin pros everywhere.

ENTER NOW

Submit your story or nominate a friend by filling out the online form. Professional members of Associated Skin Care Professionals are eligible to apply—if you’re not yet a member, join now to submit your story.

If you submitted a nomination in previous years but didn’t win, you are still eligible to enter and win! Simply update your story and resubmit it—we don’t hold submissions from previous years.

Do’s and Don’ts When Submitting:

Do write your story directly into the form rather than copying and pasting from another word processing system.
Do keep your story authentic and truthful.
Do not include special characters or emojis.
Do not use AI to write your story. Be authentic!
Do not exceed 3,500 characters (about 500–700 words).
Do not submit after the deadline has passed.

If you have trouble submitting your story, email your story with all the form’s fields to editor@ascpskincare.com.

Terms and Conditions

Nominee must be a member of Associated Skin Care Professionals. If chosen as the winner, the winner must continue their ASCP membership throughout the entire year (January–December 2026) they are the “Esty of the Year” to fairly represent ASCP.
A nominee’s essay must be original work that has not been previously published, does not infringe upon copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property, and is a truthful account of the nominee’s life story.
The winner will be chosen by ASCP staff. The winner must agree to a background check to confirm eligibility and story details.
At the discretion of ASCP, the winner may be disqualified for the following reasons:
- Winner is not eligible as determined by background check.
- Winner does not truthfully represent their life story.
- Winner does not continue ASCP membership for the entirety of their year as the winner.
All decisions are final.
Deadline for submissions is midnight (MT) December 1, 2025.
Winner must agree not to discuss their win or share news about their win until the publication of the ASCP Skin Deep issue featuring their article.
The winner will be notified in December 2025 or early January 2026. ASCP staff will schedule a photo shoot with the winner for the beginning of 2026, depending on availability.
The winner will receive a feature article in a future issue of ASCP Skin Deep magazine.

Check out our previous ASCP Esty of the Year honorees:

ASCP 2025 Esty of the Year: Bree Mesquit

Bree Mesquit has always been authentic to herself in forging her own path. She pursued esthetics at a young age—when she was 19 and a newly minted mom. She then became the first red-level waxer in European Wax Center’s location in Newport Beach, California. After going solo, Bree created her own product company, Lash and Wax OC, which has garnered a dedicated following on social media. Now, Bree is armed with a story of success and is ready to train the next generation of waxers.

ASCP 2024 Esty of the Year: Ximena Juarez

Ximena Juarez was raised by strong women. Her mother was a single mom; her gradmother was a single mom; she was surrounded by female cousins and an older sister she considers her role model. Now the owner and master esthetician of Dalior Advanced Clinical Aesthetics in Bellevue, Washington, Ximena hopes to inspire her kids by being a strong woman too.

Guided by values of hard work and determination instilled by her mother, Ximena’s journey includes moving to the US as a teenager, serving time in the US Navy, opening a business straight out of esthetics school, and employing a dozen beauty professionals.

ASCP 2023 Esty of the Year: Stephanie Andresen-Stevens

Stephanie Andresen-Stevens has a philanthropic mission to care for others and put them at ease in her spa with treatments from her two nonprofits. Restorative Ink provides tattoo removal to human trafficking survivors and domestic abuse survivors who were forced to receive branding tattoos, and Wings of Hope offers patients undergoing cancer treatments an escape with treatments performed by oncology estheticians.

Stephanie's story of selfless actions, inspired by her personal medical journey, earned her the title of ASCP Esty of the Year for 2023.

ASCP 2021 Esty of the Year: Nicole Gauci

Nicole Gauci is a force to be reckoned with—a woman who does not back down from her fears. After learning to control her shyness, anxiety, and panic attacks, the owner of Belle Skin Spa in Livonia, Michigan, set her course to becoming a successful spa owner.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, anxiety affects 40 million adults, and an estimated 31 percent of all adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their life. With those statistics and the struggles we all faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gauci’s fierce determination to conquer her mental illness resonates.

ASCP 2020 Esty of the Year: Jessica Marie

The journey has not been easy for Jessica Marie, ASCP's 2020 Esty of the Year, but she continues to rise to the challenge with grace, dignity, and true success.

Jessica Marie is a warrior. At 39 years old, she is the mother of two, grandmother of three, and the owner of two medical spas. Both JMarie Skin Studio locations are in Longmont, Colorado, a thriving community of 100,000 people 30 miles north of Denver. Jessica is also the Associated Skin Care Professionals 2020 Esty of the Year.

ASCP 2019 Esty of the Year: Pamela Bolado

ASCP's 2019 Esty of the Year Pamela Bolado knows how to make an esthetics career soar.

Master esthetician. Business entrepreneur. World traveler. Military spouse. Mother of three. These attributes do not begin to graze the surface of the woman we were about to meet at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the Pacific Northwest, 40 miles south of Seattle. Dressed in a soft pink pea coat, her blonde hair falling gently around her shoulders in loose curls, and greeting us with a warm smile was ASCP's 2019 Esty of the Year: Pamela Bolado.

Be the Next ASCP Esty of the Year