Skin Care Schools

Skin Care Schools: The Best Get Training

A skin care specialist--also called an esthetician, aesthetician, or medical esthetician--must know how to perform a variety of services including facials, full-body treatments, head and neck massages, makeup application, and hair removal. If you want to offer the increasingly popular laser hair removal treatments, you even need additional training in medical esthetics.

Taking courses in medical esthetics allows you to offer a greater variety of skin care and beauty-enhancing services to your clients. Certain procedures, such as chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and eyelash extensions, require additional training. Not all skin care schools offer medical esthetics classes, so be sure to check before enrolling.

All states require skin care specialists to be licensed, which often means you must first graduate from a licensed skin care school. You can find these training programs at some high schools and in public and private postsecondary vocational schools. If you want to become self-employed or run your own skin care business, you may want to take extra classes in sales and marketing.

You must obtain your license in the state where you intend to work, since most states do not have reciprocity agreements. So check your own state's requirements before enrolling in any courses.

Why Become a Skin Care Specialist?

This is one of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. today. Only 38,000 estheticians worked in this country in 2006, but between 2006 and 2016, employment is expected to grow by 34 percent, bringing that number to 51,000. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, estheticians earned an mean hourly wage of $15.40, or a median yearly salary of $32,040 in 2008. The top 10 percent, however, earned over $50,000 in the same year. In a competitive job market, the training you get from a skin care school can set you apart from the pack. Start your esthetician classes today.