Ashlee Black was trapped in a cubicle, waiting. She'd earned her bachelor's degree in Allied Health and was chasing a master's in Occupational Therapy, but grad school admissions were brutally competitive. In the meantime, she bounced between temporary jobs that felt like marking time.
Then one day, her aunt called. The receptionist at her medical spa had quit without warning—could Ashlee start tomorrow?
Ashlee showed up the next morning in Houston, trading spreadsheets for appointment books. At twenty-three, she thought the clients were a little... intense. "Women would call furious that they couldn't get in that day," she laughs. "It was a whole new world to me."
But as weeks turned into months, something shifted. She watched clients arrive during difficult chapters in their lives. Divorces, years of self-neglect, you name it. Then, shoulders relaxed, they'd leave transformed. Not just in appearance, but in presence. "They weren't just getting a facial," she says. "They were remembering themselves."
That's when it clicked. "I'm such a hands-on person. I didn't want to sit at the front desk anymore. I belong in the treatment room."
After three years of trying to force the grad school door open, Ashlee finally accepted it wasn't her path. She enrolled in esthetics school. The day she finished, she performed her very first HydraFacial.
Her mentor through all of it? Aunt Hilary, who spent the next decade teaching her everything she knew. "She's a really big part of where I am today," Ashlee admits with a smile.
Building a Holistic Skin Studio Brand
After nearly a decade in Houston's medical aesthetics scene, Ashlee faced a crossroads. With two young children and a demanding commute, the rigid schedule no longer fit. "I knew I needed something closer to home," she says. "But I didn't feel right working at a local med spa, building a clientele, knowing I planned to leave and open my own space."
So she took the hard road. Starting from scratch armed with the support of her family and a quiet confidence that if she put in the work and treated her clients right, it would all work out. And it did.
Nine months pregnant with her third child, Ashlee moved into her dream studio in Katy. Sunlight pours through the windows of the bright, airy space. Exactly what she'd envisioned. "It was everything I'd wanted," she says.
Her approach to building her aesthetic business was simple: no shortcuts, no borrowed clients, just genuine relationships and a commitment to doing things her way.
"I knew I needed something closer to home. But I didn't feel right working at a local med spa, building a clientele, knowing I planned to leave and open my own space."— Ashlee Black
Where Holistic Aesthetics Meets Science
Ashlee's skincare philosophy is refreshingly practical: holistic-minded and backed by science. "I'm not the esthetician who only uses beef tallow and rose water," she laughs.
"But I also don't believe harsher means better. I stand behind treatments that are effective but not harmful to the body."
Her product curation tells the story—Green Envee for its purity and potency, Epicutis for clean, simple, pregnancy-safe luxury, and Face Reality for stubborn acne. Every product is chosen intentionally, reflecting the values that attract her ideal clients. "A lot of my clients find me because we share the same values," she beams. "They care deeply about what goes on their skin and in their body."
It's a positioning strategy many aesthetic professionals overlook: leading with values instead of promotions builds deeper patient loyalty and word-of-mouth growth.
Client Care That Goes the Extra Mile
Ashlee's approach is refreshingly old-school: genuine connection over volume. She blocks extra time for every appointment so sessions never feel rushed. After facials, she sits with clients for 10 to 15 minutes reviewing routines. And when most people would be scrolling Instagram reels after putting their kids to bed? Ashlee is back on her phone... Checking in with her clients, crafting custom skincare routines, and following up on results. She cares deeply for each client's journey, and it shows.
"That's how my doors stay open," she says. It's a patient retention strategy rooted in care, not content calendars.
Her signature treatment? The Hydrafacial. "I've done thousands," she says. "It's hands down my favorite." She loves Dermabuilder for fine lines and the retinol booster for congestion, and she doesn't nickel-and-dime with upcharges. Her number one piece of advice for aesthetic professionals and their clients alike? Simplicity. Skincare can be so overwhelming and most people are using way too many products, and the wrong kinds. You don't need a 10-step skincare routine to see results. You need a few of the right products for your skin type and goals.
"That's how my doors stay open. It's a patient retention strategy rooted in care, not content calendars."
Cheeseburgers and Real Life
Outside the studio, life is a beautiful juggling act: a son in kindergarten, two daughters (including a newborn), and a husband who shares her love of really good cheeseburgers.
"My whole family picks on me because I eat gluten and dairy-free 90% of the time," she laughs. "But I will absolutely cheat for a good cheeseburger." It's that blend of discipline and indulgence, care and honesty, that makes Ashlee the kind of provider clients return to again and again.
She's building her practice intentionally in a saturated market. Not through flashy promotions or high-volume, high-pressure sales... but through relationships, results, and treating people the way she'd want to be treated.
