45 Years, a Few Crazy Stories, and One Incredible Industry

October 13, 1981 – October 13, 2026

Forty-five years ago today, just two months after my 21st birthday, I opened my very first skin center in Wichita, Kansas. I called it Ultissima Skin Center because, at the time, I thought the name needed to sound fancy and have a little French flair. European skin care was all the rage, and most Americans barely knew what a professional facial was. We weren’t even calling these places spas back then!

But my story in the beauty business actually started five years earlier.

I was 16 and working at Merle Norman while still in high school. At 18, I graduated early so I could attend beauty school, and by 19, I was on the road representing a professional makeup company. And when I say on the road, I mean it. I put 45,000 miles on my car in 18 months!

My job was to visit beauty schools, introduce products to students, sell the line into salons, and teach the teams how to use and sell the makeup. Through my involvement with a trade association, I was also teaching seasonal makeup looks and trends every six months.

Funny thing is, at 19, I was already selling, training, and teaching people how to make money with beauty products. Forty-five years later, I’m still doing pretty much the same thing!

It was during one of those salon calls that I met a woman who owned a hair salon in Wichita. She wanted to add facial treatment rooms, and I eventually went to work with her. Unfortunately, we had very different ideas about how things should be done, and I became increasingly frustrated.

Finally, I decided I could do it better myself.

And that’s how Ultissima Skin Center came to be.

Apparently, Financing a Pig Was Easier

Of course, deciding to open a business and actually getting one open are two very different things, especially in 1981.

Bank interest rates were hovering around 20 to 22 percent, and getting financing wasn’t exactly easy for a 21-year-old woman trying to open a business that most bankers didn’t even understand.

I managed to get a small loan from my auntie and another through the SBA Women’s Minority Program. At the time, the maximum amount available through that program was $15,000, and I remember sitting through multiple meetings with bankers and loan officers trying to explain what I wanted to do.

One banker told me they would love to help, but they’d had defaults from people selling cosmetics, which made them reluctant to finance another beauty-related business.

Then he said something I’ve never forgotten.

“If you wanted to borrow money for a pig, I could loan that to you. But I can’t loan you money for cosmetics and facial supplies.”

A pig. Seriously.

Apparently, livestock was a safer investment than professional skin care.

Somehow, I pulled together enough money to open the doors, and on October 13, 1981, Ultissima Skin Center officially opened for business.

Location, Location, Location. Oops.

I found a storefront in a shopping center in Wichita, but the rent was more than I could comfortably afford. The developer offered me a deal on a space tucked away in the courtyard, and because the rent was cheaper, I thought I’d found the perfect solution.

There was just one small problem. You couldn’t see my business from the street. You couldn’t see the signs, and unless you already knew where Ultissima was, you probably weren’t going to find it.

Looking back, it was a terrible business decision. But at 21, I was focused on what I could afford, not necessarily what would give the business the best chance of attracting new clients.

And then there was the telephone.

The phone company was on strike, and I couldn’t get a business line installed. So I had the phone number established at my apartment and hired someone to sit there and answer the calls.

Between facial appointments, I would run to a pay phone, call my apartment, and find out whether anyone had booked an appointment.

Can you imagine?

It took weeks before I could finally get the telephone installed at Ultissima. And you thought today’s online booking systems could be frustrating!

Fortunately, I had one thing working in my favor. I was really good at what I did, and many of the clients I’d treated at the hair salon followed me to Ultissima.

Now, admittedly, this was Wichita, Kansas, in 1981. There weren’t exactly professional skin centers on every corner. I was a big fish in a very small pond. But I’d also like to think my clients loved me.

And thank goodness they followed me, because with that hidden courtyard location, they certainly weren’t going to discover me driving down the street.

A Big Fish in a Small Pond

Over the next several years, Ultissima grew. I built an amazing team, developed wonderful relationships with clients, and started doing some things with sales, marketing, and the client experience that were pretty different for the time.

By my mid-20s, I was lecturing, being recognized as a young entrepreneur by Inc. Magazine, and developing a reputation for some of the things we were doing in our little corner of the beauty industry.

And yes, I was pretty hot stuff. At least in my small marketplace!

One of the things I’m most proud of was the team we built and the relationships we developed with our clients. I loved the one-on-one time, watching someone’s skin improve, helping them feel better about themselves, and seeing the difference that great treatments and proper home care could make.

We were also doing exceptionally well with one of our professional skin care lines. In fact, Ultissima became the company’s number-one client.

Apparently, they noticed, because they eventually offered me the opportunity to move to Southern California and become their Vice President of Sales.

It was an exciting opportunity, and I was ready for a new adventure. But before I could begin that chapter, I had to figure out what to do with Ultissima.

You Don’t Know Until You Know

One of the biggest things I learned during those early years was that being an exceptional service provider and being a successful business owner are two entirely different things.

I loved doing facials. I loved my clients, the relationships, the conversations, and the results we achieved together. I also loved teaching my team, creating new programs, and finding better ways to sell and market our services and products.

But owning a business meant so much more than being good in the treatment room. There was payroll, staffing, bookkeeping, cash flow, and a never-ending list of responsibilities. Some of those lessons were wonderful. Others were incredibly difficult.

I tried selling Ultissima several times before moving to California. We had equipment, inventory, years of client profiles and treatment histories, and a terrific team. But there was a challenge. Much of the business’s reputation was tied directly to me, and there was no guarantee that a new owner would be able to retain those client relationships.

Ultimately, I closed the business.

I still remember the day we moved out. A friend of mine who owned several salons was there helping me, and I remember standing at the front door with a razor blade, scraping the Ultissima vinyl lettering off the glass.

We didn’t want someone else moving into that location and simply taking over the identity of the business we’d worked so hard to build.

So we took the name off the windows and the door, packed everything up, and I headed to California to start the next chapter.

I had no idea where that opportunity would eventually lead, but I knew I was ready for something different.

Forty-Five Years Later

Since those early days in Wichita, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some extraordinary people and businesses throughout the beauty, spa, and wellness industries. I’ve trained thousands of professionals, worked with some of the industry’s most recognized brands and destinations, and watched our industry evolve in ways I never could have imagined in 1981.

I’ve also made plenty of mistakes, learned some expensive lessons, and had more than a few moments when I wondered what on earth I was doing.

Interestingly, decades later, I found myself helping turn around a struggling location here in Southern California. It was fascinating to revisit some of the same challenges I’d experienced as a young business owner, only this time with a whole lot more experience and perspective.

There’s something about having actually worked behind the chair or in the treatment room that gives you a different understanding of this industry. You know what it’s like to spend your day taking care of clients, building relationships, recommending products, and trying to create an exceptional experience. And when you’ve also been responsible for payroll, employees, marketing, and profitability, you understand the business from another perspective entirely.

You don’t know until you know.

I think that’s one of the reasons I’ve always enjoyed working with owners, managers, and service providers. I’ve been on both sides of the equation, and I understand that knowing what needs to be done and actually making it happen are often two very different things.

And here I am, 45 years after opening Ultissima, still coming up with new ideas, still teaching, still learning, and still challenging the way things have always been done.

In fact, I’m getting ready to launch another new business, the Beautee & Brains Success Club, bringing together some of the brightest minds in our industry to share ideas, experiences, and practical ways to help beauty and wellness professionals grow.

Oh, and did I mention I’m 66?

Apparently, nobody told me I’m supposed to be slowing down.

I still love this industry, still have plenty of opinions about how things could be done better, and still get excited about helping people and businesses succeed.

Some things never change.

Here’s to 45 years since Ultissima opened, an industry I love, and whatever comes next!

Carol Phillips

Founder, BeauteeSmarts Global LLC