Face & Body Midwest Breaks Record Attendance in 2016

Over 6,000 spa, skin care and wellness professionals attended the exciting expo and conference event in Chicago.

Produced by Allured Business Media, the 2016 Face & Body Midwest expo and conference continued its run as a top professional event this year. Face & Body welcomed an energetic crowd of 6,431 spa, skin care and wellness professionals — up from just over 5,600 in 2015 — from across the United States. Face & Body Midwest has evolved beyond the traditional expo to become one of the industry’s most comprehensive events for professional spa, esthetics, wellness, massage and advanced education.

Face & Body is known for its diverse exhibitor base and 2016 was no exception. Known as a launch and networking pad for new spa and skin care products and services, this year’s event featured more than more than 140 exhibiting companies. Ranging from international beauty leaders to indie trendsetters, exhibiting brands included Advanced Mineral Makeup, CAILYN Cosmetics, Eminence Organic Skincare, Fake Bake, HydraFacial MD, Image Skincare, Jenetiqa Professional Skincare, LightStim, PCA Skin, Revitalash by Athena Cosmetics, and Satin Smooth.

Face & Body Midwest Show Highlights

Advanced Education Conference Program: The Advanced Education program provided robust, unbiased education that is critical to elevating the knowledge of the esthetician and spa owner. This year, with 280 attendees, education was broken up into a Wellness Track, a Business Track, a Science Track and a Treatment Track. Kicking off the conference was “Lotions and Potions: Deciphering Formulation and Chemistry,” a panel of four chemists that was moderated by Skin Inc. magazine managing editor Katie Anderson and cosmetic bio-evangelist Rebecca Gadberry. The panel guided attendees through ingredients and technologies to help them make better product choices for treatments, as well as make better recommendations to their clients.

New for 2016, Face & Body Midwest was proud to be approved by the Ohio State Board of Cosmetology to provide continuing education for sessions in the Treatment Track. And Illinois estheticians once again had the chance to have one Continuing Education (CE) hour authorized for each one hour session in the Advanced Education Conference program. Face & Body’s parent company, Allured Business Media, has been an approved sponsor of continuing education by the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation.

Supplier Classes: Industry suppliers presented their specific products and techniques and conducted hands-on demonstrations and lectures in Supplier Classes. The Supplier Classes were included in the registration fee and proved to be a great way to gain valuable face-to-face time with respected industry suppliers.

Passport to Prizes: With the help of select exhibitors, Face & Body Midwest brought back its Passport to Prizes contest. Attendees who visited participating booths and got their Face & Body passports stamped were eligible to be entered as one of the three prize winners. Announced on the last day of the show, the three winners are:

• Grand Prize ($500): Beth Satyr, esthetician at Innovative Dermatology in Chicago, Illinois
• Second Prize ($250): Emily Williams, esthetician at Revive Salon & Spa in Apple Valley, Minnesota
• Third Prize ($100): Kathy Deaton, esthetic coordinator at Hauser Ross Eye Institute in Sycamore, Illinois

Next year’s Face & Body Midwest will take place January 21–23, 2017 and, due to demand, will be expanding to a larger show floor at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Face & Body is open to skin care facility owners, directors, managers, estheticians, massage therapists, dermatologists, and other medical esthetics professionals. For additional information and photos from Face & Body Midwest and updates on next year’s show, please visit faceandbody.com/midwest.