Why Is It So Hard for Top Surgery Patients to Find Good Aftercare?

It also depends on how you feel about scars. Some want their scars, and others don’t want them to show at all. 

Sicardi: Everyone has a different relationship with their body and what they want it to look like. 

Davis: It totally depends on the person. I’m always just looking to reduce inflammation, do massage, and [add] hydration. I specialize in this because I’ve done so many now. I know what works and what doesn’t. 

I had a client with spinning stitches, which is when stitches push through scars, creating little holes in the scar itself. I figured out how to help, and that helped other clients down the road. 

I’d love to partner with surgeons and be part of the after-surgery package that they send patients home with, so people know this is an option. I’d love to go over my treatment plan with surgeons and be part of aftercare teams. 

Sicardi: You’re building a body of knowledge that isn’t available to people who don’t directly experience it. 

Davis: When I started doing this, my goal was to not have anyone feel like an afterthought. So that’s what I’m trying to do; I’m trying to fill holes in the esthetic community where people are being left out, or feel like they don’t have proper care. I’m learning so much. Every day, people are like, “I never thought I would be able to come to a space like this and receive this type of care.”

Sicardi: It’s so affirming to walk into your studio and see art of trans people on the walls, to casually celebrate trans beauty where we are not often acknowledged. 

Davis: I talk to people, especially to other estheticians, about how to make their practice more accessible, and I bring this up a lot. Often they’re like, “Oh, these are things I never even thought of.” So let’s get you thinking about these things! You are saying your services are for everyone, but your business model doesn’t reflect that. 

I was on a podcast called Skin in the City, hosted by an esthetician named Casey Boone. We talked about how to make the treatment room accessible and the importance of what I’m doing. After that podcast came out, I had a bunch of estheticians and students reach out to me and say they were excited to incorporate what they learned.