Nice to Meet Ya: Carrie Napiórkowski

The dictionary definition of aesthetician is “a person licensed to provide cosmetic skin care treatments and services (such as facials, hair removal, and makeup application).” When it comes to facial treatments, this type of specialist can help people who experience a variety of issues with their skin. This could be dry skin that comes with the winter season, acne worsened by stress and hormones, or just plain old fashion aging.

One local expert, an aesthetician with an aesthetic medical education and background, is Carrie Napiorkowski. Carrie works at Pink West Salon in Dripping Springs. Her story however starts outside of the United States, as she was raised in Canada. “Outside Toronto, in St. Catherine, Ontario. My family moved to Cleveland, Ohio when I was sixteen,” Carrie said. During college, she met her husband Vic, a Polish national who immigrated with his family when he was a young teen.

Her husband’s job moved them from Cleveland to the Woodlands, north of Houston. From there, he took a position in Austin. They’ve been in Dripping Springs for fifteen years now. The first time she laid eyes on Dripping Springs, it reminded her of her native Canada.

“Seeing the beautiful countryside, the rolling hills in the Hill Country reminded me of Northern Ontario,” she said. Her family was also attracted to the high-rated school district.

“We also wanted to have a more diverse socioeconomic population. The Woodlands was wonderful but also such a bubble,” she continued.

“We moved here and built what she thought would be her dream house,” she said.

During this time of transition, however, is when Carrie would have an experience that would ultimately change her path in life.

She had once been a regional office manager for the third largest rental car company in the United States. After the birth of her second child, she chose to be a stay at home mom. The stress of the move, and feelings of no clear purpose caused depression and stress. As a result, her skin broke out terribly.

She went to see an aesthetician to get help with her acne. She asked a lot of questions about skincare and the training required to work in the field.

“I thought it was God’s way of tapping me on the shoulder and leading me to a new direction in my life,” Carrie said.

Becoming an aesthetician has enabled her to have a work/family life balance. Upon learning that Deborah Carter, an acclaimed hair artist who had won international awards for cut and color, was Pink West Salon in Dripping Springs, Carrie reached out to inquire about working with.

"It was important to me to surround myself with excellence, as I am never satisfied with the status quo.”

The two met for the first time at Thyme and Dough, hit it off and the rest is history. “I absolutely love what I do and my goal is for every person that I have the pleasure of working on to walk out of my room feeling really positive about themselves and their future,” Carrie said.

Carrie was doing extremely well and even had to hire an employee to work for her. Then the pandemic hit, which caused the shop to temporarily close its doors. “We were shut down for six weeks,” she said. Still, Carrie was able to do some business.

“Through the pandemic I was able to sell professional grade skin care products that included complimentary facial kits and have it shipped to people’s doors via FedEX.”

The doors are open once again at the salon and safety protocols are in place.

“We wear masks and sanitize between each client. We take temperatures before you enter the salon. We use disinfectants and have a HEPA filter on at all times,” Carrie said. She took a class on sanitation and is barbicide certified, “bleach is not good enough,” she said. They have an Ozone/UV sanitizer that is sanitizing every hard surface in the salon.

When it comes to the types of services and treatments Carrie’s clients are receiving, she’s noticed a trend--something that is a sign of the times. “Covid has put an emphasis on the eyes--lash tinting and eyebrow shaping,” Carrie said. Another sign of the times is that folks may be experiencing “maskne” which is acne caused by a mask.

The CDC states that “masks are a critical step to help prevent people from getting and spreading COVID-19.” There are however some extra steps you can take to care for your skin.

“A lot of it is caused by bad bacteria growth in your gut,” Carrie explained. Take a daily probiotic. Change out your masks, and wash them in hot water. Taking care of your skin includes not going to bed with your makeup on, gentle exfoliation, and using professional grade serums and hydrators.”

Aside from helping people with skin issues, Carrie is also a firm believer in giving back to the community. She currently serves as President of the Warburton Family Foundation, a charitable family foundation formed to combat social inequality and social injustice.

“There are significant contributions made within the Dripping Springs community but our reach is also global,” Carrie said. “It means more to me than all my other work. I feel that everyone has an obligation to help their fellow man, so whether that means you can donate $3, $3 000, or $3 million, it’s equal sacrifice.”

To learn more about Carrie’s work, please visit drippingspringsfacial.com.