What qualifications r needed b4 becoming a beauty therapist?
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free skin care · Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:49 pm

Ever since last year, I've been very interested in skincare and can see that its a very well paid job Razz

, and was wondering what courses or training I need to do before becoming a professional beauty therapist?

Thanks for your help!

YY

free skin care · Sat Sep 15, 2007 4:25 am

i would like to know too... if there is a course one could take online??!

free skin care · Sat Sep 15, 2007 7:07 am

I've been doing some research online and there are definately some courses that you can take at home, but I'm not sure if passing them will qualifying you as a professional beauty therapist.

It would be great to see what steps are needed to be able to work in a salon!

free skin care · Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:42 am

Bump!

free skin care · Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:23 pm

Hey yeahyeah, nice to see you again! Very Happy

A really nice lady named Georgette posts under the name "hopeful" here on EDS. She's also one of the moderators on Ice Elements forum as well. She's a licensed cosmetologist and may have some input. You may try PMing her. If you don't reach her, let me know and I'll email her to respond to this thread.

free skin care · Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:16 pm

Hi athena!

Thanks for the reply. I will PM Georgette to see if she could shed some light on what courses and training are needed. I know there are a few members here that are aestheticians, but I really cant remember who Embarassed

!

free skin care · Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:14 pm

hi , i am sorry i didnt see this until today, and didnt see you sent me a pm, i never get email notification anymore. Confused

but i anwsered your pm and i hope that helps, and will look for more info for you.. so sorry didnt see the thread earlier
georgette

free skin care · Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:17 pm

ps, watch out for the on line courses, they have to be CE approved.or they wont count, but you need a international cosmetology licence, is there a CE approved school by you?

free skin care · Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:07 pm

I took a year off from work and uni studies to do a course in beauty therapy. I am now CIDESCO qualified. I'm located in Australia and I did a VETAB (Govt training recognised and approved) course at a VETAB approved CIDESCO school. The CIDESCO is basically an international accreditation meaning that your beauty diploma will be recognised worldwide. You can also look into ITEC (which is a British assoc. and world recognised). On each of the ITEC and CIDESCO website there should be a directory of colleges in your area/country that are "approved" schools.

I did the diploma as a career change but when I got my qualification and found work as beauty therapist, the pay was so minimal ($17AUD p/hr + 10% prduct sales commission) I had to go back to my previous vocation. Going from $50 p/hr to $17 p/hr is a huge crunch on the bills! Short of owning your own business, there's not much monetary reward in this field at least for the first 5 years or so.

free skin care · Mon Sep 24, 2007 11:15 pm

By the way, the studies aren't hard. I found it quite basic, alittle more advanced studies than High School on anatomy and physiology, biology, very basic chemistry and physics being the most challenging part of the entire studies but still very easy. Nothing like the load you get in uni.

For CIDESCO you have to sit a practical and theory exam and write a 2500-3000 word essay on a topic of your choice but it has to be beauty related.

The practical work is physically taxing especially the body massage. I tell ya I gained a whole new respect for masseurs and beauty therapists after doing the course. It is alot of love and physical labour they give you when you get a body massage! Very Happy

free skin care · Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:31 am

Thanks for the replies---Georgette, I PMed you.

Liza- so you are qualified but am not going to be a fulltime beautician?
I did read that the pay sucks, but I was thinking, everyone wants to be beautiful and are willing to pay so much to achieve that so the market for beauticians must still be growing!

Unless I fail in the course right now, I dont think I will be studying for the beauty therapy course until next year, but I wanted to see how and what qualifications are needed, the cost of the course and whether it will be wise of me to studying for one Smile

Thanks for all your replies!
yy

free skin care · Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:54 am

cosmetology classes here in ohio are easier now then when i went (18 years ago) we had to know evry nail and skin disease and disorder (you would be amazed how many there are lol) and the chemistry was crazy, i remember thinking, no clients wants to know the chemical make up of a perm or color, they just want it to turn out nice, and in all my years no client has asked, thank god because that was so long ago i would have to look up the anwser now.lol but its was way harder back then, and now i have heard state board is easier too to pass, when i went to state board, you would be wrapping a perm and the state board health inspector (everyone prayed not to get in her group,lol, but of course i was in her group.lol)she would ask you the chemical make up of color, and here your mind is set on perms. our state inspector retired last year, every cosmetologist in ohio will remember her(i have been doing hair for 18 years, and my mother in law for 40 years and we had the same inspector, i never thought she would retire.lol) she was the strictest and really the meanest lady i ever met, when she came in to a shop you ran. i remember in school if your white pantyhose were snagged or your uniform was crisp enough she would rip of your time sheet for the month. now a days at state board, they ask no questions nowadays while your doing your practical and the written is extremley easy. i got a 98% on my boards, and really studied my butt off, and i remember mrs Heath (thats is her name) trying to stump me, i dont think she liked that i anwsered all her questions, and she kept coming back to me.lol
hope ya enjoy cosmetology school yeah yeah, i never regretted getting my licence, thats one job that will always be out there, and there will always be work in that field, i have clients now that will get a highlight over paying a bill. good luck Very Happy

free skin care · Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:40 am

I would have expected the exams and teaching material to get harder as the years go by but I guess I'm wrong! However, it would be nice to know that your beautician is fully qualified and knows what she's doing.

Thanks for giving an insight into working in this industry!

yy

free skin care · Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:15 pm

your welcome, it really is a great field to work in Very Happy

free skin care · Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:57 pm

Just out of interest...LizaA said the pay is not desirable but from your opinion what is the pay like? For example, as a freshly graduated beautician, is the pay enough to live by---with a few beauty splurges Wink

.

free skin care · Tue Sep 25, 2007 1:06 pm

well it depends where you go, if you go to an upscale salon that helps new stylist build there clientel. and most pay is either hourly with commision, commision is great if you have the clientel. or you go to a fast pass lower scale salon and where you have walk in's all day, and work there for about 1 year, and then take your clients with ya to your next salon, (always keep your own record of client list and phone numbers, a salon owner doesnt have to give you your client card when you leave.i have been doing hair for about 18 years and have a loyal following and only work a couple days a week and make excellent money. you just have to get a following going.hth

free skin care · Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:57 pm

Thanks very much Georgette! It seems like so much fun to have clients really appreciating what you are doing for them.
Woooh, you only work a few days a week!? WOW, that's amazing! I really want to hurry and pass my Masters degree and go straight into beauty!

Thanks Smile

free skin care · Tue Sep 25, 2007 4:06 pm

your welcome, keep me posted on how it goes for you Very Happy

free skin care · Tue Sep 25, 2007 4:16 pm

It will be a year from now that I can study for the beauty course. Because I am doing my Masters degree full time, and if that goes successfully then I will finish Sept 2008.
However, next year if I do enrol, I will sure post on EDS!

free skin care · Wed Sep 26, 2007 1:53 am

I think the payscale and commission structure is very different according to the country you live. From what I hear in USA and Britain you can walk off with clients when an esthetician/stylists leaves. You couldn't do that in Australia, you'd become "untouchable". The industry is very small and you pretty much come across the same people at some point so it becomes very much an ethical/political issue. You can work out commission structure based on your gross sales in services/goods but I haven't come across many therapists and businesses that do this. But then again the beauty industry is now catching on to the business savvy to that of N.American beauty industry now.

Beauty industry is a growing market, though some areas are pretty saturated- female and spa market being couple of them. Check out spasabout.com as they have great overview of annual trends in spa and beauty industry.

Over the last few years there's been a huge growth in medi-spa as doctors and nurses are joining in the game. But you have to remember that as estheticians you can't do treatments that penetrate the skin, so majority of medical aesthetics are being dominated by doctors and nurses. I think in USA, some states don't allow estheticians to perform IPL or may require a separate license to perform IPL. You may have to check.

I read that you're doing a Masters? What are you studying? I ask because I've noticed that in the beauty industry there's a gap for educated and tertiary qualified people. Advanced training and education trend took place in America and it's catching on. In Australia, there's a growing number of estheticians going on to do a Bachelor of Health Science and then go on to work as paramedical esthetician, industry consultants, educators, freelance writers and etc. I remember one lady esthetician and Vodder MLD trainer saying to me that the beauty industry loves estheticians with degrees and it didn't matter what degree so long as it was a uni degree! Very Happy

I hope I haven't dampened the mood but just my 2 cents from my experience.

free skin care · Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:21 am

I don't know if courses have become easier over the years. I take it that the standard text book is the Milady series. But most colleges have their own text and it follows the guideline set by ITEC/CIDESCO. The anatomy and physiology would probably be the same as would be the chemistry and physics (which respectively asks you questions like, what are the 4 elements, define milliamps and etc). The operational safety rules and regulation may have changed over the years but there would be more to cover on spa and medical aesthetics treatment protocols and its theory. There's also business subject where you have to write a business plan at the end of it. If you've done this before for work then it's no biggie.

The most challenging and interesting part of the study was the anatomy and physiology- the study of entire body and systems which I loved. I also loved nutrition.

Check out Advanced Professional Skin Care (Medical Edition) by Peter T. Pugliese MD, by far the best and most concise text book on aesthetics I've ever come across- short of medical textbooks and journals. My college trainer would often refer to this textbook for all the skin disease/conditions and molecular structure of the skin and the treatment of it.

Otherwise, Milady Standard Textbook for Estheticians is a good, basic guide to what you'll be covering in beauty therapy (though not a thorough guide).

free skin care · Wed Sep 26, 2007 3:13 am

Thanks for all the info Liza.
Its great to hear people want to emply estheticians that have a degree! Because, I've always heard that beauty school were for those students who didnt get the grades to go into uni!
But my degree has nothing to do with beauty. Im doing it in a business related course. Well I guess I can use the skills and knowledge I've learnt (if I can remember them Rolling Eyes

) so I can set up my own salon one day Wink

Thanks again for your reply Smile

free skin care · Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:43 am

I just knew hopeful would be able to help, good luck yeah yeah! Wow, working only 2 days a week? I'm in the wrong business! Laughing

free skin care · Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:24 pm

hi athena , how are you? i used to work more days, but wanna be home with my kids, and plus i am not the main bread winner so to speak, my husband is, but i make a very good amount for the 2 days i do work Wink

free skin care · Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:08 pm

Business degree will come in very, very handy! Very Happy

G'd luck and all the best! And let us know if you enrol!

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