If there was ever a weekend that proved magnificence and enterprise can coexist with coronary heart, it was the Girls in Aesthetics Management Convention (often called WALC) on the breathtaking Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.
Hosted by the American Med Spa Affiliation (AmSpa), the second-ever WALC gathered girls from each nook of the aesthetics world—injectors, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, entrepreneurs and model founders for 3 days of inspiration, ocean air and actual speak about what it means to steer with authenticity.
Between pet yoga, ocean kayaking, archery and conversations that ran deep, attendees obtained the uncommon likelihood to pause, join and refocus on their function.
“WALC was a special event, and I was honored to be a part of it,” mentioned AmSpa founder and CEO Alex Thiersch. “The main thing that resonated was the feeling of community and support the attendees showed for one another. Despite being competitors, there was no ego, no desire to put others down to climb higher—only words of belonging, support and encouragement. I’ve never experienced an industry, or an event, where the leaders are as committed to helping one another as this one.”
An Entrepreneurial Mindset
WALC balanced management panels and hands-on workshops with moments of reflection and pleasure. This yr’s lineup featured powerhouse voices whose private journeys reminded attendees that actual success begins with self-belief.
Jamie Kern Lima, founding father of IT Cosmetics and writer of Consider It and Worthy, opened the weekend with a keynote on resilience and staying true to your imaginative and prescient. Rejected by buyers who informed her “women wouldn’t buy makeup from someone who looks like you,” she stored knocking till QVC mentioned sure, promoting out in minutes and later promoting IT Cosmetics to L’Oréal for $1.3 billion. “Don’t try to fit in when you’re born to stand out,” she mentioned, reminding the room that perseverance is the true magnificence secret in enterprise.
Classes in Human Connection
Subsequent, Dermalogica founder Jane Wurwand took the stage to speak about what she referred to as a “global epidemic of loneliness and isolation.” Her message: in a high-tech world, human contact is extra highly effective than ever. “For every action of high-tech, there’s an equal and opposite reaction of high-touch,” she informed the viewers. “We are rediscovering what makes us deeply human, and that’s connection.”
Wurwand traced her path from London magnificence faculties to launching Dermalogica and the Worldwide Dermal Institute, displaying how empathy and training grew to become the spine of her success. “Human beings are meant to be together,” she added. “We like bringing each other joy, we like touching each other, we like looking at each other in the eyes.”
Main with Coronary heart
The weekend additionally marked one of many first public appearances by Nicole Mowad-Nassar, the brand new World President of Allergan Aesthetics, who spoke candidly about her climb by way of company pharma and her pleasure to hitch the aesthetic business. “I grew up in corporate America where I was used to being the only woman in the room,” she mentioned. “To be in a room and in a business full of women is a welcome change in my life.”
She additionally shared how a private tragedy inside her staff reshaped her management philosophy. “Women show up as leaders differently,” she mentioned. “And that difference, our empathy, our ability to connect, is our strength.”
Extra Than a Convention
One of many weekend’s most significant moments got here through the Distinguished Girls in Medical Aesthetics Awards Dinner, introduced by Merz Aesthetics. The formal night celebrated 2025’s most influential voices in aesthetics, visionaries shaping innovation, mentorship and empowerment throughout the sphere.
Hosted by Susie Albion, senior director of training and advocacy at Merz Aesthetics, the occasion acknowledged 30 exceptional leaders together with Dr. Jennifer Walden, Dr. Sheila Barbarino, Traci Andreason, FNP-C, Shelby Miller, DNP, FNP-C, Michelle Doran, APRN-BC and Leslie Fletcher, NP-BC, every honored for advancing training, elevating affected person care, and galvanizing the subsequent technology of girls in aesthetics.
Over dinner and dancing, the message was clear: when girls have fun one another’s success, the whole business strikes ahead collectively.
