A career in the beauty industry can be rewarding and put people on a path to entrepreneurship, but the trouble is often in starting.
How do aspirants begin their journey into esthetics? What do you need to find the right school?
Skin Inc. spoke with Armenthia Carr, an instructor and esthetician based in Little Rock, Ark. and LaTisha Talley, an instructor at the Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology in Spartanburg, SC.
Deciding on a School
Carr says that when people are looking for the right esthetics school to attend, they should focus on the school’s success rate. She says that people should ask about a school’s placement rates, graduation rates, employment rates and drop rates, as well as their pass rates for State Board exams.
“You need to know if they are actually producing people who can graduate a program and get a job in this industry,” she says.
Talley says students should consider the instructors when deciding their road to success. She cautions students away from glitz and glam and to focus on the quality of education instead.
"If you're looking for someone who is going to care about your education and teach you the right things, you're in the right place," she says about Kenneth Shuler.
Building Blocks of Education
When Talley is instructing her students, she teaches the rhythm of waxing. First, she has them practice on paper, then on a mannequin, then on their fellow students. For protocols, she walks them through it, then she lets them try it and watches them as they do it, giving instructions and directions along the way.
To really master the craft, estheticians at any point in their career should take advantage of continuing education opportunities. To find out where they can get advanced training, Talley says the internet is a good place to start. Professional skin care brands and suppliers also have plenty of advanced education and product education opportunities for emerging and established estheticians.
Carr says there should be more focus on beauty professionals being educated on how to open a business, how to run a business and how to do social media and marketing. She says with the high dollar amount that it costs to attend esthetician school, beauty professionals should graduate knowing how to open and run a business.
Carr tells her students that education never stops. She says that once a beauty professional graduates, that is when they start to learn the most because that is when they are learning and perfecting the skills required to service their clients. She says that beauty professionals should learn about the ingredients in the products from the brands they use and take advanced ingredient classes. She says the professionals should consider how the ingredients in a product will work with the client’s skin type, skin complexion and any skin condition they might have. She says taking classes on ingredient is something that will set them apart in the industry. She says the school she attended was heavy on teaching ingredients. When she graduated, she knew how to read the ingredients and knew who the product would be good for. Carr says that students should also take advanced nutrition classes. She says nutrition plays a huge role in skin health, hair health and lash retention.
Questions to ask:
What are the school’s class sizes?
How does the school prepare students for testing?
What is the school’s drop rate?
How does the school prepare the students for state boards?
What is the school’s passing rate for the state boards?
What is the school’s graduation rate?
What is the school’s placement rate?
What is the school’s employment rate?
