Community Highlights: Meet Sanjay Toure of Serene Holistic Beauty

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sanjay Toure.

Hi Sanjay, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The 15-year-old Sanjay who spent most of her days after school binging “E” news interviews on Youtube did not see this career path in her future. She certainly saw herself in the newsroom or on the rep carpet, interviewing Hollywood’s “who’s who”. However, I know she is super proud of where she landed!

Since I was a little girl, I have always been intrigued by the beauty world. I grew up being very insecure of what I looked like, constantly comparing myself to the girls around me. Staring at celebrities on my laptop every day after school didn’t help the situation either. Figured that if I invested all of my energy into working on myself physically, I would somehow gain confidence in who I was. As I grew into an adult, I soon realized that confidence is much deeper than that. It’s skin deep!

I now understand that beauty is skin deep, and how you feel on the inside usually reflects how you look on the outside. As above so below. It took a while for me to comprehend this concept. Once I did, I wanted everyone who ever felt the way I did as a young girl to get it too! This is why I created Serene Holistic Beauty. SHB is where beauty and the mind, body, and soul collide.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
When I decided to create Serene Holistic Beauty, I was just so anxious to get my business out there. The first thing I did was create an LLC. At the time, I thought that would be the hardest part of my journey. After attaining this document, I went on Amazon to purchase tools and products to put into my guest bedroom. I was creating an at home spa! After opening my business at home, I soon realized I was missing a key component, my Esthetician License!

Months later, I signed up for classes to get my license. When I was attending school at Health and Style Institute, I also had a full-time job. I would go to work from 8am to 4pm and then try my best to speed through Atlanta rush hour traffic to be in class from 5pm to 10pm. It was a struggle to say the least. I committed to this schedule for a full year. I had to cut back on a ton of social gatherings and really devote all of my time to graduating.

Once I completed my 1000 hours of schooling, I immediately signed up to take my written and practical exams to become a Licensed Esthetician.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I’m Sanjay Toure, Licensed Esthetician located in the Alpharetta GA area. I am also the Founder and Owner of Serene Holistic Beauty, a spa that focuses on corrective skin care while merging the gap between beauty and holistic wellness.

At SHB I focus on different ways to correct “problematic” skin and maintain “healthy” skin. My skin treatments include Signature Facials, Customized Facials, Acne Correction Facials, Dermaplaning, Microneedling, Microdermabrasion, Chemical Peels, High Frequency, Waxing and a ton of add ons!

Serene Holistic Beauty stands out because of the energy and the ambiance that has been curated for every client. The minimalist decor allows for individuals to feel at peace and free of distractions. The smooth jazz playing in the background and incense burning will direct you straight to serenity.

The most important thing that makes SHB different from others is simply the customer service and the undeniable results. You’ll come for the service, but you will always remember how I made you feel. The focus is never solely the physical, the mind, body, and soul is considered as well. That is done by simple conversation with clients, asking questions like “How is work?”, “Do you feel grounded in this moment?”, ” What are some of your stressors?”. This allows me to have a better understanding as to why their skin is existing in the way that it is.

More than anything, I love that my clients feel so at home in my spa. I am so proud that I was able to create a space for individuals to come in and relax while pampering themselves. That is what warms my heart and allows me to keep going!

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
While going through this journey to becoming a Licensed Esthetician and owning my own business, I was really quiet during the process. I did not share with my friends and family that I was in school for about the first five months! I was nervous that I was going to be judged. They all knew that I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Broadcast Journalism, and beauty school did not coincide with that.

When I was close to graduating, I finally told my dad. He was shocked but also proud that I was able to make my own decisions for myself with no help or extra assistance. After completing school and getting my license I had a plan to work for a spa for about six months to a year before opening my own business. Life happened and after working for a spa for about two months I knew it was time to get my own business up and going.

My dad asked me to write up a business plan for him, and he would help fund my spa if all the numbers made sense. Months later, here I am running my business, I guess it made a lot of sense! I owe my dad an immense amount of thanks and credit for where I am today. He has given me so much advise along the way and encouraging words to keep on going. My dad has been an entrepreneur my whole life and seeing him succeed no matter the odds stacked up against him has really allowed me to have a blueprint and something to refer to if and when it gets tough.

Pricing:

• Signature Facial $100
• Dermaplaning $80
• Chemical Peel $185
• Microdermabrasion $80
• Microneedling $180

Contact Info:

• Website: sereneholisticbeauty.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serene.holisticbeauty/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/serene-holistic-beauty-alpharetta
• Other: https://sereneholisticbeautybooking.as.me/