What is an esthetician?
An esthetician is a person trained in skin care, skin treatments, makeup application, hair removal, and facials. Beyond the skills of a cosmetologist, an esthetician is licensed to perform more intense procedures and can treat skin conditions at a more advanced level.
How do I become an esthetician?
Estheticians must complete a state-approved esthetician program and pass a state exam to get their license. The only exception is in Connecticut, where a state exam is not a requirement.
Esthetician programs are provided by esthetician schools. These training programs include all the tuition, books, and kits you require to prepare for your career in esthetics.
Not only do you get hands-on training in advanced skin care treatments, dermatology, makeup artistry, waxing, and eyebrow and eyelash techniques, but you are also taught skills in business management, social media marketing, and finances.
How is an esthetics program structured?
A typical esthetics program will run multiple semesters over 9-12 months. You’ll study full-time for around 1,000 hours, learning everything you need to become a qualified, licensed esthetician.
What will I learn first at esthetician school?
Although every esthetician school has its own syllabus, most programs require 60 hours of training on infection control. This includes sterilization, disinfection, and sanitation procedures.
Typically, a significant portion of the course will be on understanding skin anatomy and physiology. An esthetician must understand how cells, tissues, and nerves work together, and the structure of the skin and glands. You will learn how nutrition plays a part in healthy skin, as well as elements of cosmetic chemistry and pharmacology.
Moving on to practical uses, you’ll learn how to perform consultations and skin analyses. This part of the course will see you identify different skin types and specific conditions so you can accurately diagnose methods of treatment.
What skin treatments will I learn at esthetician school?
All esthetician schools will teach you how to perform skin treatments. These include exfoliation, conditioning, chemical resurfacing, cleansing techniques, and masque therapy.
More advanced skin treatments you’ll learn include microdermabrasion, extractions with a lancet, electrical treatments with microcurrents, and LED treatments.
You’ll be taught how to use all the equipment part and parcel of performing these treatments, including facial equipment, steamers, and galvanic skin treatments.
Do they teach hair removal and body treatments in esthetician schools?
Esthetician schools teach a range of hair removal techniques. You’ll learn how to perform waxing, tweezing, and sugaring. In some cases, you’ll learn about threading and photo epilation.
Body treatments like body exfoliation and body wraps will be taught by all quality esthetician schools. Hydrotherapy is also sometimes taught in an esthetics program.
Will I learn about makeup in esthetician school?
Makeup and cosmetics are an important part of any esthetic program. You’ll learn the purpose and effects of all cosmetics, color theory, facial profiling, and the tools you need to make a client look and feel their best. You’ll learn how to apply cosmetics and even how to perform consultations and arrange photo shoots.
Do esthetician schools teach anything else?
A significant portion of an esthetician school program focused on business practices and law. To run a legal and successful salon, you require skills in management, salesmanship, and communication.
Esthetics schools will cover all this, including details on the type of compensation packages estheticians should expect and how salon development insurance can help protect you when building a business.
Esthetics schools will typically cover any laws specific to the state you live in and guide you on how you pass the state laws to get your certification.
What career paths do estheticians have?
Estheticians have a particularly wide set of career paths available to them, even straight after graduation. Skincare specialist jobs are projected to increase 29% over the next decade.
With an esthetics certificate, you’re eligible to apply for your license, so that you can pursue a variety of fields related to being an esthetician.You can be a medical esthetician, makeup artist, lash extensionist, or hair removal specialist. You can choose to cover beauty for magazines as an editor or blogger or become an esthetics instructor yourself.
With the business training you receive in esthetics school, you can own your own beauty spa or beauty center. And many estheticians go on to be brand representatives or cosmetic buyers.
A career in esthetics
Esthetics is a booming field. The demand for licensed estheticians has never been higher, and the prospects for even further growth have never been brighter. Esthetician schools teach you everything you need to know to join and succeed in the industry. What are you waiting for? Get started today!