If you’re feeling nervous about your case-study notes as you prepare for TSG, you’re not alone. Many competitors reach this stage and suddenly freeze — not because you don’t know skin, but because you’re not sure what to include or how to present it. The good news? Writing your case study isn’t about perfection. It’s about clarity, authenticity, and showing your professional thinking in action.
Why Your Case Study Notes Matter
As a competitor in The Skin Games, your case study is more than documentation — it’s your story of how you tackled a skin condition, how you adapted, how you applied your knowledge under real-world conditions. Your notes show:
- How you think through a client’s skin condition.
- How you apply product/technique decisions under pressure.
- How you adapt when things change (client feedback, skin reaction, timeline).
When the judges review your work, they want to see more than “I did a treatment” — they want to see why and how. A strong set of notes demonstrates your professionalism, your understanding, and your potential.
What to Include in Your Notes
Think of your case study notes as telling the story of your client’s skin journey — but also your journey as the therapist. Your notes should include:
- The starting point
- Why did you choose your Model for the Category entered? What were their skin goals or concerns?
- What was the condition of their skin at the start: texture, tone, barrier health, hydration, etc.?
- Your observations & assessment
- Describe what you noticed: skin type, condition, any complicating factors (lifestyle, health, barrier issues).
- Note what you felt (e.g., “dull, dry, asphyxiated appearance”) and what you saw (e.g., “enlarged pores, laxity along jawline, uneven tone”). Referencing the example instructions helps.
- Your reasoning/plan
- Why did you choose that treatment or product protocol? What theory or ingredient function guided you?
- What home-care plan did you set? What devices or techniques did you apply?
- Use clear professional terms and wording to show why and what you’re doing.
- Progress / changes
- What happened after each treatment and home-care cycle? Be honest — both improvements and challenges count.
- Did you adjust your plan? Why or why not? Be concise and specific.
- In the sample instructions you’ll see how weekly notes are structured for improvement, goals, updates.
- Reflection / learning
- This is often the part that sets a competitor apart.
- What did you learn about your client, about your protocol, about troubleshooting?
- What would you do differently in future? How has this case sharpened your skills?
- For example, the sample study notes:“The lesson for me is to engage fully with my new clients… I will ask better probing questions…”
Keep It Real (and Keep It Clear)
Perf-like polishing isn’t the goal — progress and clarity are. Don’t over-complicate or second-guess yourself. Use your own words, describe what you truly observed. If you were unsure about something, say so. Honest notes show you’re thinking, not just following.
A helpful mindset:
You aren’t being judged on flowery language — you’re being evaluated on how clearly you think and act as a therapist.
Pro Tips: Write Soon After Each Session
Especially in competition mode, details matter. Write your notes while the treatment, the client’s skin response and home-care feedback are still fresh. You’ll remember subtleties — how the skin felt, how the client reacted — before they fade.
If you’re juggling multiple models or categories then bullet points right after each session, followed by a fuller write-up later will help. Alternatively, record your observations using your phone’s Voice Memo feature for easy reference later.
Tip: Don’t Write “Same as Last Week”
Each week’s notes should stand on their own. Avoid phrases like “same as last week” or “Week 5 — no changes.” Judges are reviewing multiple case studies and shouldn’t have to flip back through pages to find out what you did. Clearly restate the treatment performed, the products or modalities used, and your reasoning behind them.
If your plan or home care stayed the same, note why. Maybe the skin was responding well, you were allowing recovery time, or observing how the barrier was maintained. Sharing your rationale shows thoughtful decision-making — and that’s exactly what judges want to see.
Final Thoughts
Every competitor in The Skin Games is aiming to elevate their craft. Your case study notes are not a burden — they’re an opportunity to show what you can do. The first few may feel awkward or incomplete — that’s normal. The goal isn’t to be perfect; it’s to be clear, engaged, and reflective.
Take a deep breath. Open your case study template (e.g., see the example here: TSG 23-24 Case Study Instructions ) and start writing. Your future self — and the judges — will thank you.
You’ve got this — and you’re building your excellence one note at a time.