5 signs of burnout for makeup artists

Oh burnout, you wonderful, horrible crazy reality that we all experience at one point or another as makeup artists. Burnout can be horrible, you are exhausted, you love your job but you begin to resent doing it because you body is telling you NO. I see a lot of burnout happen at the end of wedding season for us makeup artists. For me, I’ve had burnout a couple of times in my career and I’m now starting to see the telltale signs that are signalling to me, hey - you need a rest. Here are my 5 signs of burnout and how you can recognise that you may be taking on too much.

1) Your communication is not great.

We’ve all been there. Friendships dwindling because its been 4 days and you can’t respond now, it looks too bad! Or you finally get 5 mins of admin and all your emails are a week old and left mid convo because you just don’t have time to respond. Your mum is mad at you because she’s been calling but every time you are free to see it, you are too tired to converse. The clients you ARE communicating with are getting the worst of you, quick emails (sent by iPhone) and abrupt quick messages back that border on rude. THIS is a telltale burnout sign. If you do not have the energy or space to communicate, it usually means you are spreading yourself to thin and are close to burning out.

2) You are miserable.

Lets cut to the chase here, when burnout is approaching - you are probably not the happiest camper. I know for me, if i’m tired (or hungry) i’m possibly the worst roommate to have (my poor boyfriend) and often burnout = tired. Tired = miserable. Listen, we don’t work to be miserable and sometimes burnout can make you feel like “damn, am I really cut out for this?” or “do I even WANT to do makeup for the rest of my life”. That is very often, the exhaustion talking. If you are finding yourself asking these questions, you are probably in burnout.

3) You aren’t being present.

Burnout (or rather, pre-burnout) is often hard to miss because it can feel like, hey, I really have my crap together. I’ve been there, feeling like i’m absolutely bossing it. I’m fully booked and yes, answering emails until 10pm but I feel great, I’m earning money and its not that bad right? Wrong! This usually means, you are in burnout denial! It’s coming, but you are powered by adrenaline and pure love for your own job. At this time, you are probably answering emails whilst with family, thinking about work on that rare day off with your other half and sitting on public transport plotting your next move or virtually writing a to-do list. You aren’t being present or living life how it should be lived. Your brain is thinking about work at every available second which can feel like ultimate girl boss mode, but is often incredibly unrestful and leads to a serious burnout in the coming weeks.

4) You aren’t taking care of yourself.

Because who has time seriously? Who has time to go the gym before work? I’m dry shampooing the hair, grabbing a coffee, putting mascara on (at most), then heading to my clients for the day. This is sarcasm by the way - this is absolutely NOT what we should be doing. But I can relate because I’ve been there. Running on empty, eating crisps or a quick coffee because its easier and quicker. Skipping the workout and generally not taking pride in my appearance (and as such, looking and feeling, like insert poop emoji). A sign burnout is coming, or you are fully in the throngs of it? You are not prioritising YOU because you are prioritising work.

5) You aren’t giving your best.

Because who can honestly give their best when they are at the very limit. I know I can’t. If I’m in burnout, my clients are getting the minimum I can offer, because I’m exhausted. My vibration is low and I’m conserving every little bit of energy I have. My makeup skills might be good, but my communication and people skills and probably not at their best. This is when you need a break, because ultimately most mistakes happen when in the depths of burnout.

I know I’m probably preaching to the choir here when I say, burnout is a bitch. It can be incredibly hard in some times of our life to NOT get burnout and I’ll be writing another post soon about how to deal with burnout so that we don’t get there at all - but for now if you have experienced any (or all) of these and wondered what the heck is going on, that my friend is burnout! Its normal, it happens and it can maker you feel like you want to give up. Avoiding burnout is surprisingly easy but also, being aware of the tell tale signs of burnout, helps ensure you can recognise it and give yourself time to rest. Business shouldn’t feel like the above and most certainly doesn’t have to.