Jennifer, how did you get into the world of beauty? What has been your journey?

I’ve been working in the industry for over twenty years. I’m a trainedestheticianand I started out teaching esthetics at the trade school level.I wanted to change the world (laughing), especially the perception of esthetics in Québec. I wanted to give it more class by improving the level of education and knowledge and including a holistic dimension. I worked very hard to try to modernize the curriculum and bring it to a higher, more complete level.

How did you develop MAX LED technologies?

After my time as a teacher, I decided to start my own business in 2003, with my husband. I’ve always been passionate about the potential benefits of light. I was convinced that you could care for and treat skin, and especially skin problems, with different spectra and wavelengths of light. My own skin is very reactive and sensitive, so I love to deal with problems like rosacea and acne and treat severe burn victims. These cases touch me deeply and I have a strong desire to help people suffering from this type of problem. On a trip to Germany I was lucky enough to meet a photodermatologist who used a laser composed of several wavelengths of light to treat different anomalies. We talked a lot …

 

When I got home, I started thinking about a device, a technology, that would use all the benefits of the sun without the harmful effects, with all the colour spectra of the rainbow. My husband, who is an engineer, said, “Tell me exactly what you want and I’ll design it.” That’s where MAX LED technologies came from!

You’ve won various awards and received prestigious nominations. Can you tell us about them?

I’ll never forget our first trade show in Orlando, Florida, in 2003, where we won two awards: Most informative booth and Most innovative booth (IECSC). Then, in 2004, we won the Québec Entrepreneurship Competition – Grand prize in the Technological and Technical Innovations category. Then in 2005, at the International Congress of Esthetics and Spa in Paris, we won the H. Pierantoni Prize for Best Innovation. In 2012, I was nominated for the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award and, in 2013, for the F100 Best Women Entrepreneurs in Canada.

 

Since then we’ve had an excellent reputation internationally, including in the United States, where I spend a lot of time. We’re now in over forty countries around the world, and soon we’ll be in eighty.

So your business is really “Made in Québec”? How many employees do you have?

Totally! We have fifteen employees and three divisions: Sisu Innovations (MAX LED), Bella Clinique and JB Skin Consultations.

Tell me about the technology and its benefits. It’s not a laser?

No, it isn’t a laser. I absolutely wanted to develop something that was 100% safe for all ages and skin types (especially reactive and problem skin), all ethnic groups and all phototypes, from very pale to very dark. The technology isn’t ionizing, so it’s very safe and non mutagenic. MAX LED was the first technology to provide multiple spectra to treat the skin in depth. Visible results include increased skin vitality, skin that looks healthier and younger, soothing general redness and acne, and decreases in fine lines wrinkles and photoaging.

How many treatments does it take to see results? Do they last?

Often, you see results after just one treatment. The skin is already clearer, more even and more beautiful. For me the first treatment is always the “discovery” treatment where I see what state the skin is in. One effect of our treatment is to stimulate production of natural collagen, so the beneficial effects can last up to nine months. For optimal effects, we six treatments for scientifically proven cumulative benefits and then single treatments when needed. For acne, for example, the ideal is twelve treatments.

What’s different about MAX LED technologies?

It’s a holistic approach to beauty. Because of my experience in integral esthetics, I see the skin as a whole. It’s a vital organ, the largest of all, and I am very concerned first for the person. Skin reflects what is going on inside a person. That’s why I ask lots of questions about my clients’ lifestyles, like their diet, their recreational activities, their moods, etc. It’s of prime importance for me to take all this into account and to care for them as a whole.

 

How did you become the “Skin Guru” to the Hollywood stars?

During my travels and speaking engagements, I met a dermatologist from Beverly Hills and “the rest is history”, as they say! After I explained what makes our technology different, I left him a machine for a two-week trial. He called me three days later to say that he wanted to buy it right away! My clientele includes internationally famous celebrities, VIPs and politicians. That being said, I also have a very diversified clientele.

What is your greatest success?

Apart from professional recognition and the awards we’ve won over the years, it’s the final results and their quality that I’m most proud of. The stories of my clients, especially those who had major problems and that I managed to treat, touch me deeply. When a client tells me that I’ve changed her life in a drastically positive way, I’m very proud and, especially, very honoured. For example, I treat women who’ve been treated for breast cancer and whose skin is damaged. The results after treatments with MAX LED technologies are extraordinary, and even physicians are surprised by the quality of the skin.

What does beauty mean to you?

For me, beauty is a whole. It is the reflection of a number of factors and is far more than just physical. True beauty reflects a state of grace, wellness and peace.

With your expertise, what advice would you give women?

To be authentic, to be themselves, to not compare themselves to anyone else. We need to show solidarity and to avoid judging and criticizing ourselves and others. To find solutions and to act instead of complaining. Most of all, to follow their passions, to dare and to achieve their dreams.

Jennifer, you speak all over the world. I want to emphasize the extent of your work, your leadership and your contribution to the world of beauty and du wellness. It’s high time for Québec to discover you and make you a prophet in your own country!

Thank you. I have exceptional clients in Québec. I’ve also been lucky that journalists, beauty editors and celebrities from here speak well of me and of our treatments. Also, I’ll be speaking for the first time in Montréal at Esthétique Spa International this September.

 

The first time and very certainly not the last. A huge thanks to Jennifer for this interview, and keep up the good work!

 

Text: Nadia Sofia Segato