If you’re obsessed with skin care, you might have a multistep daily skin care routine, might be scouring beauty YouTubers’ channels for tips and advice, and might always have skin care recommendations for all your friends battling dryness or blemishes. If you also love the science behind skin and have a passion for helping people, you might be thinking about becoming a skin therapist, or esthetician.
Estheticians are professionals who specialize in beautifying the skin. In the course of their work, estheticians render cosmetic skin care services that can include skin treatments, facials and advanced exfoliation treatments, laser hair removal, nail care, waxing, eyelash and eyebrow work, and makeup application. They work at salons, day spas, skin spas, medical spas, dermatologist offices, or medical practices.
All this might sound right in line with your goals, but you might also have several questions: How do I (become an esthetician)? (How long does it take to become an esthetician)? (What does esthetician school consist of), meaning (what do you learn in esthetician school)?
To answer the first questions: The timeline to become an esthetician can vary, depending on the licensing and certification requirements in your area and the length of your esthetics education. Broadly, you can expect to be in esthetician school for at least a few weeks, but up to two years for some coursework, such as a two-year associate’s degree in the esthetic arts.
What Does Esthetician School Consist Of?
To answer the second question around (what you learn in esthetician school), we’ve put together a quick sample course guide to help you picture (what esthetician school is like) and what esthetician school entails in terms of coursework.
Note: As at any college or institute, our curriculum updates regularly, so the specific esthetician class names and descriptions may differ after you have applied and joined the program. When you request more information during the application process, ask us for more details on what your specific program will involve.
Esthetician School: A Quick Course Guide Your program should offer training in both the theoretical and practical applications of esthetics. The theory classes may cover dermatology, physiology and histology of the skin, product chemistry and ingredients, and salon safety and sanitation. The practical side helps you develop the hands-on skills you’ll need to be successful estheticians in the field. Examples of instruction topics include depilatory waxing procedures, mask therapy, makeup application, and more. Below are some classes you might take at esthetician school:
Aging and Advanced Body Techniques: This covers the phases and management of aging theories and focuses on practicing body techniques such as wraps, scrubs, body masks, and sunless tanning. Anatomy and Physiology: Here, students learn about the physiology and histology of skin cells and tissues in order to better understand how skin functions. Business: To prepare students to enter the esthetics field, business courses include résumé writing, interview techniques, career opportunities, job hunting, and business/professional development. Color Theory and Makeup: In this course, students learn the basic principles of colors and the application of makeup. Students learn how to apply makeup for various situations, including everyday makeup, formal makeup application, and corrective makeup. Cosmetic Chemistry: This covers the basic principles of chemistry and biochemistry, the physical and chemical properties of products (including common ingredients in skin care products that can aggravate sensitive skin and allergies), pH, and how all these factors affect skin care products and treatments. Dermatology: Courses on dermatology teach students to identify skin conditions and lesions, understand the contraindications to treatment, and know when to refer the client to a dermatologist. Electricity: This covers the fundamentals of electricity, including safety concerns, and introduces students to equipment used in the esthetics industry. Masks: Students learn about masks (including mixing masks from natural ingredients), application techniques, and contraindications of mask therapies. Massage Techniques: These teach basic massage movements, plus the benefits of and contraindications to facial massage, body mechanics, reflexology, and lymphatic drainage. Medical Esthetics: Those who want to work in a medical office or medi-spa can learn about the scope of a physician’s practice and the various pre-operative and postoperative treatments that estheticians may perform. Methods of Hair Removal: Client preparation, proper waxing techniques, and waxing precautions, including gender-specific considerations, are covered here, along with sanitation, safety, and first aid for emergency situations. Sanitation — Bacteriology and Infection Control: This teaches the levels of decontamination, including sanitation, disinfection, and sterilization, and how to sanitize various implements and surfaces in the treatment room. Skin Analysis: This teaches students to identify skin types, skin conditions, and the causes of those conditions. Skin Clinic: A practical experience class, students here apply the knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom on clients from the general public.
Want to Know More About What Esthetician School Is Like?
This quick course guide is by no means comprehensive. Esthetician students who aim to focus on certain aspects of the business or certain demographics may take more specialized courses, such as how to comfortably make product and treatment recommendations for male clients according to their gender-specific needs. No matter where your skin care passion lies, the best way to act on it is to get educated.
If you’re still asking yourself, “What is esthetician school like?,” take the first step in visualizing your future by learning more about our esthetician programs. And if you want to hear more about what career training could look like for you, request more information from Cortiva Institute today!