Catiland Davidson says she was first inspired to pursue a career in the beauty industry by a close friend. The friend did eyelash extensions and nails. Davidson says that whenever she saw her, she loved how confident and cared for she felt. Davidson wanted to be able to offer other women that same feeling. She registered for the aesthetics program at MC College in Red Deer and took the program alongside another friend.

Davidson graduated from the program in September 2025. After graduating, she says she was looking for something that would give her purpose and independence, as well as room to grow. When an opportunity presented itself in Slave Lake, Davidson says she decided to make the move and open her business, Sweet Grass Aesthetics.

She says starting the business has allowed her to build a career around helping clients feel comfortable, refreshed and more confident in themselves.

One of the most satisfying parts of her job, Davidson says, is doing pedicures. She says the service is rewarding from start to finish. lients often come in looking for care and leave feeling better than when they arrived. Davidson says she enjoys seeing the immediate difference a service can make, both in how a client looks and in how they carry themselves afterward.

Davidson says a photographer with 32 years of experience in her industry once told her, “The best way for women to succeed is for women to support other women.”

Davidson says those words stuck with her, and she now carries them as a core value of her business. She says she wants Sweet Grass Aesthetics to be a welcoming place where clients feel supported, not judged, and where women can encourage one another through everyday acts of care.

Sweet Grass Aesthetics is located in Slave Lake. Davidson can be reached through the business’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Sara Driedger
Lakeside Leader