Today we’d like to introduce you to Heidi Espey.
Hi Heidi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My passion for skincare really began with my own skin. Throughout high school and college, I struggled with severe acne, so I understand firsthand how much your skin can affect the way you feel about yourself. After college, I joined the military and was stationed overseas, but my interest in skincare never left me. When I returned, I had the opportunity to become one of the first franchisees of The Body Shop Skin and Hair in the United States, opening a location in Alabama. That experience introduced me to ingredients such as tea tree oil and a more natural approach to caring for the skin, and it confirmed that this was an industry I truly loved.
After selling my store, I joined Obagi Skincare, where I was a sales representative and manager for 11 years. That chapter of my career allowed me to combine my personal experience with acne with my desire to help other people feel better about their skin. I eventually joined VI Peel when the company and its chemical peels were still relatively new to the market. Thirteen years later, I am still with the company and currently work throughout Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle. One of the most rewarding parts of my career is seeing the transformation that can happen for someone struggling with acne, melasma, fine lines and wrinkles, uneven skin tone, or the changes that naturally come with aging.
Now that I am in my 60s, my connection to the people I work with has come full circle. When I was younger, I understood the frustration of acne; today, I also understand concerns such as skin laxity, deeper lines and wrinkles, and simply wanting to continue looking and feeling like yourself as you age. Aging can be difficult, but I don’t believe the goal of aesthetics should be to make us look like someone else or pretend we aren’t getting older. I believe it’s about having choices that help us care for our skin, age with confidence, and feel our best at every stage of life. After all these years, that’s still what makes me passionate about what I do.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t always been a smooth road. One of my earliest struggles was my own battle with severe acne. At the time, it was incredibly difficult, but looking back, that experience helped shape my career and gave me a genuine understanding of what it feels like when you aren’t comfortable or confident in your own skin.
Another challenge was balancing my career in aesthetics with my commitment to the U.S. Army. I remained in the Army Reserves for 25 years while also owning my franchise and later building my career in the aesthetics industry. Being in the Reserves gave me the opportunity to pursue both, but balancing military responsibilities with owning a business and developing a career certainly wasn’t always easy. I’m very proud that I was able to serve my country for 25 years while continuing to pursue something I was passionate about professionally.
And then there are the challenges that come with working in the aesthetic industry itself—especially as you get older. We work in an industry where appearance is naturally a focus, and today I often walk into offices filled with beautiful professionals who are much younger than I am. There are certainly days when I joke that I feel like the grandmother in the room! But I’ve learned that experience has its own value. I may not be the youngest person walking through the door anymore, but I bring decades of knowledge, relationships, perspective and firsthand experience with both problematic and aging skin. Hopefully, a little wisdom and experience more than make up for a few extra wrinkles.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I currently work with VI Peel, representing practices throughout Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle. My role is much more than simply selling a product. I work closely with physicians, nurses, aestheticians, and their teams to help them understand how to incorporate chemical peels into their practices and achieve great results for their patients. I specialize in skin concerns such as acne, melasma and hyperpigmentation, as well as fine lines, wrinkles and other signs of aging. After more than 30 years in the skincare and aesthetic industry, I have had the opportunity to see this field evolve tremendously, and I still love learning and sharing that knowledge with the people I work with.
What I am most proud of are the relationships I have built along the way. Many of my customers have become longtime friends, and I genuinely care about their success. I love helping an account grow, educating their staff, sharing ideas that have worked in other practices, and then watching both the practice and their patients benefit. I’m also very proud that after all these years, I still have the same enthusiasm for skincare that I had when I first entered the industry. There is something incredibly rewarding about seeing someone who has struggled with acne or melasma look in the mirror and finally feel good about their skin.
I think what sets me apart is experience, but also the way I approach my relationships. I don’t want to walk into an office just to sell something—I want to be a resource and someone they trust. I’ve experienced problematic skin myself, and now I’m experiencing aging skin, so I can relate to many of the concerns we’re trying to address. I also believe my 25 years in the military taught me discipline, commitment, resilience, and the importance of following through. I may have been in this industry for a long time, but I’m still excited by it, still curious, and still passionate about helping people and practices succeed. I think that combination of experience, relationships, and genuine passion is what has allowed me to build the career I have today.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Oh my gosh, there is so much I love about Nashville! It is such a vibrant, active city with so much to do and see. I love how clean and welcoming it feels and how every area seems to have its own personality. Nashville and the surrounding communities also have wonderful healthcare systems, great schools, incredible restaurants, entertainment, and of course, the music that makes the city so unique.
Professionally, Nashville is also very special to me because I have so many wonderful accounts and offices throughout the area. I have built relationships with some incredibly talented people in the aesthetic and medical communities. The city continues to grow and change, but it still has that Southern friendliness that makes people feel welcome. When I have events and trainings there are so many venues to choose from.
As for what I like least—that one is easy: the traffic! Nashville has grown tremendously, and unfortunately, the roads haven’t always grown quite as quickly as the city. But if traffic is my biggest complaint,
Pricing:
- VI Chemical Peel is $300-$350
- Dark Spot Lifting serum is $130
- Growth Factor Repair Cream $110
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vipeel.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vipeel/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
