Facial Massage: The Category Most Competitors Underestimate
Facial Massage looks like the easiest category to enter, because it’s something you do every day, and that’s exactly why it can catch people off guard. TSG scores it across 10 criteria worth 10 points each, a 100-point test that covers your consultation, your treatment plan, your body mechanics, and your presentation as well as […]
Kelly Wolcott on What Has and Hasn’t Changed Over 25 Years in Esthetics
Kelly Wolcott has been a licensed esthetician since 2000 and Director of Judges at The Skin Games since 2021. In a 2019 interview she described the rule she works by, never skip a step, and years later she was still saying it. Nearly everything around that rule has moved. She relocated, sold a business and […]
Lash & Brow Competition at The Skin Games
If you do lash lifts or brow lamination for a living, The Skin Games has a stage for exactly that work, and we’d love for you to enter both categories. Lash Lift and Brow Lamination are scored by judges who know the services inside out, on the technical points you already care about, and entering […]
What the Live Waxing and Sugaring Competitions Actually Looks Like
Inside the Waxing category Jessica Young has been a licensed esthetician for 29 years, she’s built out of Mobile, Alabama, and in an industry full of people chasing the newest technique, she’s the one everyone points to for the Horseshoe Brazilian method, because she actually mentors other waxers in it directly rather than keeping it […]
A Season-by-Season Scoring Guide on What TSG Judges Are Really Looking For.
Acne: “one size fits one” David Valenzuela, founder and CEO of WISH Skin Health, has worked in the field since 1995. His standard for Acne judging, stated plainly on the panel: “One size fits one. Every person is unique; their skin, ecosystem, and microbiome are unique to them.” He judges alongside Lynn Ross, one of […]
Michael Razzano: The First Male Esthetician of the Year, and What Four Years of Trying Actually Looks Like
Michael Razzano is the first man to win Esthetician of the Year at The Skin Games. He won it at the 10th Anniversary competition in Dallas, after four years of competing and twenty-two documented clinical case studies. Here’s what that actually took. The career that wasn’t sustainable Before esthetics, Michael was building a music career. […]
Inside the Skincare Competition
Skincare is The Skin Games’ flagship competition path, and the one most people picture when they think of this event. It’s also the most misunderstood: it isn’t one category, it’s nine, each judged on the same foundation (an eight-week, documented client case study) but built around a completely different kind of work. Here’s what each […]
Everything You Need to Know About The Skin Games 2026–27 Season
The Skin Games 2026–27 live show dates is confirmed for September 9 to 11, 2027, in Dallas, Texas. Six competition paths, over fifteen categories, and a judging panel of 40-plus credentialed professionals make up what we call the Olympics of the skincare industry, and early-bird pricing is live right now. Here’s everything you need to […]
Your First Skin Games: What to Expect as a First-Time Attendee or Competitor
If you’ve never been to a Skin Games event, here’s the honest version of what to expect: no gatekeeping, no separate line for “real” competitors, and no requirement that you’ve ever set foot on our stage before to belong in the room. Whether you’re walking in with a Student ticket to watch and learn, or […]
How We’re Making 2026–27 The Biggest Season Yet
Most people find out about a season’s changes when the schedule drops. We’d rather you hear it from us first: 2026–27 has been in motion for months, and it’s the biggest lineup The Skin Games has ever put together. September 9–11, 2027 is locked in Dallas. Early-bird pricing is already live. And this season, “the […]
Turning Possibilities into Reality: Tammy’s Heartfelt Win at The Skin Games
Skincare is often celebrated for its visible, surface-level transformations. But at its core, this industry thrives on a deeper foundation: compassion. Recently, Tammy of Skin by Tammy proved exactly how far that professional compassion can ripple outside the treatment room. As a proud member of the Oklahoma City Exchange Club, Tammy took her passion to […]
The Skin Games Giving Vibes Compassion Auction Is June 7th
On Sunday, June 7th, The Skin Games is hosting the 2026 Giving Vibes Compassion Auction, and the lineup this year is worth showing up for. This is a live bidding event inside the TSG Estheticians’ Forum on Facebook. Products, professional tools, coaching packages, education, and original art are all on the block, with opening bids […]