Christine Valmy
| Christine Valmy | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Cristina Xantopol October 25, 1926 Bucharest, Romania |
| Died | January 18, 2015 (aged 88) Bucharest, Romania |
| Nationality | Romanian |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, consultant, esthetician |
| Known for | Skin care, esthetics |
Christine Valmy (October 25, 1926 – January 18, 2015) was a Romanian-born American esthetician, consultant, and entrepreneur known as a pioneer in the fields of skin care and esthetics in the United States. Valmy founded the first esthetician school in the United States in 1966, and is widely credited as one of the most influential figures in modern aesthetics.
Christine Valmy was born Cristina Xantopol in Bucharest, Romania in 1926. She graduated from the law school of the University of Bucharest in 1946. During this period, she took a course in dermatology and skin care, which later formed the foundation of her career as an esthetician. In 1948, she opened her first salon in Bucharest, offering skin treatments based on traditional botanical remedies. To avoid the Communist pressures imposed by the Soviet Union, along with her mother and young daughter Marina, she emigrated to Greece in 1959. After working as the representative of a cosmetics company for Greece and Israel, Valmy and her family emigrated in the United States in 1960 penniless and unable to speak the language.
In New York City, Cristina Xantopol changed her name to Christine Valmy, inspired by the victory of the French over the Austrians during the French Revolution. After working in various places as an esthetician, she opened her own salon, but found teaching more rewarding. She persevered with her own techniques, now collectively known as the "Valmy method", with a philosophy to "reveal not to conceal" the natural beauty of a healthy, well-functioning skin.
In June 1966, Christine Valmy opened her first skin care school in New York. Her next step was to create an American association of skin care specialists (estheticians), an association which gained the respect of the international governing body of skin care professionals, CIDESCO. "[T]hrough her years", said the National Cosmetologists Association, "she has brought respectability and professionalism not only to the skin care and esthetics specialties but to cosmetology at large."
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