Working -- Lillie Wilcox

--Story by Torus Tammer; photo by Sean Hiller

SHE IS

The woman who makes your face look good

IN THE GENES

Inspired by her sister, Lillie Wilcox, 35, decided to become an

esthetician -- a skin care therapist -- three years ago.

“Before working in Huntington Beach, I used to work in La Palma with

my sister,” she said. “That is pretty much where I got my training.”

Today, Wilcox works at Body Centre in Huntington Beach, where her

other specialties include body wraps, body polishes and waxing.

DEFYING THE ODDS

Wilcox attended Career Academy of Beauty in Anaheim, which typically

offers a four-month course.

But not for Wilcox, who was in the middle of her training when she was

involved in a car accident and suffered severe injuries that she was told

would leave her without the use of her left hand.

“Doctors said I wouldn’t be able to recover the use my hand ever

again,” she said. “But I was so persistent to finish my training that

with six months of therapy and the help of great surgeons I was able to

recover to have full use of my hand. So, what should have taken me four

months took a year.”

UNEXPECTED MOVE

About a year ago, Wilcox started work at Body Centre in Laguna Hills.

One week later, the building burned down.

So, with no place of employment, Wilcox went back to work with her

sister and waited for a new Body Centre location to open.

It was only two months ago she received a call asking if she wanted to

work in Huntington Beach. She accepted.

BLISS, NOT WORK

Wilcox said she really likes working with people, especially because

the nature of her work is very nurturing and allows her to see results.

“With skin care, there are times when people have had noticeable

improvement after treatments and you see that it has helped their

self-confidence and self-esteem,” she said.

“I have the freedom to be creative and see the rewards of the work.”

The most popular treatment, Wilcox said, is the European classic

facial, in which she applies creams to the face, does a deep cleansing

and deep exfoliating and then steams the skin to soften it up.

“What that does is remove the dead skin cells and blemishes from the

face, leaving a shine and freshness to the skin,” she said. “As I’m doing

it, I inform the person about what I’m doing and that usually relaxes

them; that part is important.”

FAVORITE ASPECT

Wilcox said she thrives on the “relaxing atmosphere” at Body Centre

and the positive effects people see from treatments.

“I just love the person-to-person contact and the type of

relationships I’ve been able to develop with clients,” she said. “But one

of the best things is that as staff, we get to trade off and give each

other treatments too.”