In Ekaterina Khramozina’s treatment suite in Budva, Montenegro, one can hear at least five different languages in a single day. Here, European office professionals mingle with Asian tourists, whilst locals mix with Russian-speaking clients. Yet it’s rather more than just about languages. Each culture has its perception of beauty, its skincare traditions and, most importantly, its expectations from a beauty therapist.
The Cultural Influence on Beauty Standards
“Once I had two clients with the same concern – age-related skin changes. One was from Korea, the other from France. Although the medical indications were similar, I had to develop altogether different approaches to solving their problems“, Ekaterina Khramozina recalls. This case became the starting point for creating a system for working with multicultural clientele.
By 2025, Ekaterina’s client base includes representatives from more than 15 nationalities. Working with such a diverse audience requires not merely language skills, but a great deal of understanding of cultural nuances and the ability to adapt professional protocols to different mentalities.
Adapting to a Multicultural Clientele
“In today’s world, the ability to work with different cultures is becoming terribly important for a beauty therapist“, industry experts note. Ekaterina Khramozina’s story demonstrates how a professional methodology created in Russia has been rather successfully adapted to meet the demands of an international audience.
Success in working with an international clientele didn’t begin with learning languages, but rather with understanding how different cultures perceive beauty and skin care. After opening her treatment suite in Budva, her first clients were locals and Russian-speaking tourists. But quite soon, word of mouth brought an entirely new audience.
The French Connection: Expanding Beyond Borders
“It all started when one of my clients, a French lady, recommended me to her friends“, Ekaterina remembers. “That’s how I gradually began working with clients from different countries, which became my first experience in understanding and adapting to different care standards and expectations“.
Asian Influence: A Paradigm Shift in Skin Care
The next phase began with the arrival of Asian clients. In the summer of 2023, a Korean blogger published a post about treatments at Ekaterina’s practice. This resulted in the first clients from Korea and Japan.
“Working with Asian clients completely changed my perspective on the profession“, Ekaterina explains. “I had to do rather more than just translate protocols into another language – I had to rethink the entire approach to skin care. What’s considered normal in European practice might be quite unacceptable for Asian clients“.
Individualised Beauty Programmes for a Global Audience
Today, Ekaterina’s client base resembles a miniature UN. Each client has an individualised programme that considers not only their skin condition but also their cultural background.
Such diversity in the client base required an in-depth study of cultural peculiarities and their influence on a beauty therapist’s work.
“The first thing I understood was that it’s not about the language of communication“, Ekaterina shares. “You might speak perfect French, but still not understand why a French lady categorically opposes certain procedures that Asian clients rather fancy“.
Bridging the Gap: Understanding Cultural Nuances in Beauty
The differences begin with the very understanding of beauty. European clients value naturalness and individuality. They’re quite willing to accept certain age-related changes if they don’t disrupt overall harmony. Asian clients, conversely, often strive for specific beauty standards accepted in their culture.
“Once I had a Japanese client who came in with a photograph of a European model“, Ekaterina Khramozina recalls. “It took two hours of consultation to explain that what looks rather lovely on European features might appear quite unnatural with Asian facial characteristics. Eventually, we developed a programme that enhanced her natural beauty whilst considering Asian beauty canons“.
Tailored Services: From Booking Systems to Room Temperatures
The attitude towards the procedures themselves differs as well. European clients prefer lengthy, relaxing treatments where both the result and the process matter a great deal. For Asian clients, the priority is efficiency and speed. They’re rather willing to sacrifice comfort for quicker results.
Understanding cultural differences is just the first step. The main challenge is creating a service system that works equally well for all clients.
Even the appointment booking system had to be reconsidered. Whilst European clients comfortably plan visits weeks in advance, Asian clients prefer more flexible scheduling. A rather special booking system with quick appointment options was created for them.
“A fascinating case occurred with the loyalty programme“, Ekaterina shares. “We noticed that European clients rather like to accumulate bonuses and use them for additional procedures. Asian clients prefer immediate small discounts. We had to create two quite different loyalty systems“.
“Even such a minor detail as room temperature matters“, Ekaterina notes. “Asian clients prefer rather cooler treatment suites, European clients fancy warmer ones. We constantly have to adjust the climate control between procedures“.
Practical Examples of Cultural Adaptation
This fine-tuning of service for different cultures is best illustrated through specific practical examples.
“The most illustrative case happened last summer“, Ekaterina recalls. “I had two rejuvenation procedures scheduled in one day: morning for a French client, evening for a Korean client. Both were around 45 years old, with similar skin concerns. But the approach had to be altogether different“.
The French lady wanted to preserve her facial expressions, considering them part of her individuality. A programme was developed for her that delicately corrected age-related changes whilst maintaining natural facial movements. The Korean client, conversely, aimed for perfectly smooth skin and was rather keen on more intensive procedures.
“This case taught me the main lesson – there are no universal solutions“, Ekaterina explains. “What’s considered a successful result in one culture might be perceived as quite disappointing in another“.
Another rather interesting example is working with Middle Eastern clients. They often come in family groups, and treatments become a sort of ritual. The treatment suite and schedule had to be adapted to comfortably accommodate entire families.
“There was a case when a client from the Emirates refused treatment because there wasn’t enough space for her sister“, Ekaterina remembers. “After that, we redesigned the waiting area to make it rather more spacious and private“.
The Role of Technology in Cross-Cultural Beauty Services
To effectively work with an international audience, understanding cultural peculiarities alone isn’t enough. Modern tools are rather necessary to help overcome language and cultural barriers.
“Initially, we tried maintaining documentation in several languages simultaneously“, Ekaterina explains. “But this proved rather inefficient. The solution came in creating a unified digital system with automatic translation and cultural adaptation of content“.
Now the practice uses a specially developed application where clients can not only book appointments but also receive recommendations in their native language. The system considers cultural specificities when forming notifications and advice.
A visual diagnosis system with artificial intelligence is currently being refined. When clients see objective data on screen, the language barrier becomes rather less significant. Numbers and graphs are understood by all, regardless of culture.
“Technology helps create a common language“, Ekaterina notes. “When clients from any country can see their skin condition in real-time, track changes, and receive recommendations in an understandable format – this creates a great deal of trust and comfort“.
Training for Cross-Cultural Communication in Beauty Therapy
Working with an international audience required a rather different approach to specialist training. It’s not enough to simply teach them procedure techniques – it’s terribly important to instil an understanding of cultural peculiarities.
To address this, Ekaterina supplemented her “7 Steps to Mastery” methodology with a cross-cultural communication module. Each specialist undergoes rather specialised training where they study the specifics of working with clients from different cultures.
“We analyse specific situations“, she explains. “For example, how to properly compliment clients from different countries. What’s considered perfectly polite in one culture might be perceived as quite forward in another“.
Special attention is paid to non-verbal communication. The training programme includes studying gestures, personal space, and peculiarities of eye contact in different cultures. This helps avoid awkward situations and creates a rather comfortable atmosphere for each client.
Embracing Diversity as a Competitive Advantage
In a world where globalisation is often perceived as a threat to cultural diversity, Ekaterina Khramozina’s experience shows a different path altogether. Her approach proves that it’s precisely attention to cultural peculiarities and their deep understanding that creates a new quality of service in the beauty industry.
Perhaps we’re witnessing the birth of a rather unique trend in the beauty industry – where respect for cultural differences becomes not an obstacle, but an advantage. This is particularly important in today’s world, where borders between countries gradually blur, whilst the need to preserve cultural identity only grows.
The Future of Beauty: Harmony Through Cultural Understanding
Beauty truly speaks different languages, and the ability to hear and understand each one is becoming terribly important for modern professionals. In this context, the experience of Russian specialists, accustomed to working at the intersection of different cultures, proves particularly valuable for the global community.
Budva: A Hub of Cross-Cultural Innovation in Beauty
This is rather more than just one specialist’s success story – it’s an example of how attention to cultural peculiarities can become the foundation for creating a truly global service that doesn’t lose its individual approach to each client.
The treatment suite in Budva has become a place where East meets West, where tradition meets innovation, and where cultural differences become not barriers but bridges to understanding. In a world that sometimes seems increasingly divided, such examples of cross-cultural harmony
Written by Selma von Schönburg