How to Find the Best Esthetician School Near Lafayette California

Now that you have decided to enter the field of cosmetology and enroll in an esthetician school near Lafayette CA, the process starts to find and enroll in the right program. It's important that the school you select not only provides the proper education for the specialty you have selected, but also preps you for passing the licensing examination. When you begin your preliminary search, you might be rather puzzled about the distinction between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the titles are pretty much interchangeable and both refer to the same type of school. If you plan on commuting to classes you will need to find a school that is within driving distance of your Lafayette home. Tuition will likewise be a critical factor when assessing prospective schools. Just remember that because a school is the closest or the cheapest it's not automatically the right choice. There are many other considerations that you should evaluate when comparing schools, such as their reputation and accreditation. We will go over what questions you should ask concerning the aesthetician schools you are looking at later in this article. Before we do, let's discuss a little bit about what kinds of programs are available.

It Takes Just a Few Minutes to Start Your Esthetician Career Below!

Esthetics Training Programs

Esthetics school is an investment of time, energy, and money. Requirements vary from state to state, but the majority of states require that you complete at least 600 hours of training. Full-time school can take an average of six months to complete, and part-time school can take anywhere from 9-12 months. The primary purpose of esthetics school is to get you ready to pass the state licensing exam. They also teach basic skills that you will need to perfect through experience and sometimes additional classes, such as giving facials, body treatments, and performing waxing.  More advanced training includes learning to work with machines, such as IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) and Lasers used to rejuvenate the skin and permanently remove hair.

Esthetician Job Description

Estheticians provide a wide range of beauty services to help their Lafayette California clients look and feel better. This includes improving the quality of the skin (including the treatment of skin disorders), hair removal, permanent makeup application, and facial massage. Some types of estheticians, like medical estheticians, provide highly specialized procedures that require detailed training in order for it to be done safely and effectively. Medical estheticians can help individuals suffering from serious skin disorders, burns, and other trauma, and to help with pre and post-operative surgery affecting the health of their skin. Estheticians work closely with their clients in a friendly and positive manner, so an enthusiastic attitude and desire to help people is an excellent attribute for an aspiring esthetician to possess. Some of the basic duties an esthetician may perform will include such tasks as:

• Assessing a patient’s needs
• Chemical peels
• Laser treatments
• Waxing
• Facials
• Massage of the head and neck
• Microdermabrasion

Online Esthetician Schools

Online esthetician classes are convenient for Lafayette CA students who are employed full-time and have family commitments that make it hard to enroll in a more traditional school. There are many web-based beauty school programs offered that can be accessed via a personal computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More traditional cosmetology schools are frequently fast paced because many courses are as short as 6 or 8 months. This means that a considerable portion of time is spent in the classroom. With internet courses, you are dealing with the same volume of material, but you are not devoting many hours outside of your home or driving back and forth from classes. However, it's important that the school you select can provide internship training in area salons and parlors so that you also get the hands-on training required for a comprehensive education. Without the internship portion of the training, it's difficult to gain the skills necessary to work in any facet of the cosmetology industry. So be sure if you choose to enroll in an online school to confirm that internship training is available in your area.

What to Ask Esthetician Programs

Following is a series of questions that you should investigate for any esthetician training program you are contemplating. As we have already covered, the location of the school in relation to your Lafayette residence, together with the price of tuition, will probably be your primary qualifiers. Whether you wish to pursue a certificate, diploma or a degree will undoubtedly be next on your list. But once you have narrowed your school options based on those initial qualifications, there are even more factors that you should research and consider before enrolling in a cosmetology school. Below we have collected some of those additional questions that you need to ask each school before making a final determination.

Is the Esthetician School Accredited? It's essential to make certain that the esthetician college you choose is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged local or national organization, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Schools accredited by the NACCAS must meet their high standards guaranteeing a quality curriculum and education. Accreditation may also be essential for acquiring student loans or financial aid, which typically are not available for non- accredited schools. It's also a criteria for licensing in several states that the training be accredited. And as a final benefit, many Lafayette CA businesses will not recruit recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or might look more favorably upon those with accredited training.

Does the School have a Great Reputation?  Each esthetician institute that you are seriously considering should have a good to exceptional reputation within the field. Being accredited is an excellent beginning. Next, ask the schools for references from their network of employers where they have placed their students. Confirm that the schools have high job placement rates, signifying that their students are highly regarded. Check rating companies for reviews together with the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any contacts with Lafayette CA salon owners or managers, or someone working in the trade, ask them if they are acquainted with the schools you are looking at. They may even be able to recommend others that you had not considered. Finally, check with the California school licensing authority to see if there have been any grievances submitted or if the schools are in full compliance.

What’s the School’s Specialty?  Many esthetician schools offer programs that are broad in nature, concentrating on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, offering training in a specific specialty, such as hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs often expand into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's essential that you decide on a school that focuses on your area of interest. Since your goal is to be trained as an esthetician, make sure that the school you enroll in is accredited and well regarded for that program. If your desire is to launch a Lafayette CA beauty salon, then you want to enroll in a degree program that will instruct you how to be an owner/operator as well. Selecting a highly ranked school with a poor program in the specialty you are seeking will not deliver the training you need.

Is Any Hands-On Training Provided?  Learning and refining esthetician techniques and abilities demands lots of practice on volunteers. Check how much live, hands-on training is included in the beauty courses you will be attending. Some schools have salons on campus that make it possible for students to practice their growing talents on volunteers. If a beauty school furnishes minimal or no scheduled live training, but instead depends heavily on utilizing mannequins, it might not be the best alternative for cultivating your skills. So look for alternate schools that offer this kind of training.

Does the School Provide Job Assistance?  When a student graduates from an esthetician school, it's imperative that she or he gets support in landing that initial job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that offer assistance maintain relationships with Lafayette CA employers that are seeking skilled graduates available for hiring. Verify that the programs you are contemplating have job placement programs and ask which salons and organizations they refer students to. In addition, ask what their job placement rates are. Higher rates not only verify that they have wide networks of employers, but that their programs are highly regarded as well.

Is Financial Assistance Available?  Almost all esthetician schools provide financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Find out if the schools you are considering have a financial aid office. Talk to a counselor and identify what student loans or grants you may qualify for. If the school is a member of the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships available to students also. If a school meets each of your other qualifications with the exception of expense, do not drop it as an alternative until you find out what financial aid may be available.

Find Out How to Become an Aesthetician in Lafayette

Enroll in the Best Lafayette Esthetician Training

Locating and enrolling in the right esthetician school is essential to receive the appropriate training to become a licensed cosmetology specialist. Make sure to ask all the questions that you require in order to feel confident about your decision. Be sure to collect all of the responses you get from the beauty school admissions departments, prioritize what matters the most to you, and then employ that data to contrast schools. A sensible beginning in your due diligence procedure is to make certain that the institution and program you choose are accredited and have excellent reputations within the field. If you start with that base, and address the additional questions presented in this post, you will be able to reduce your list of schools so that you can make the ideal selection. Once you graduate and pass your licensing examination, you will be confident that you are ready to begin your new career as a professional esthetician in Lafayette California.

 

Lafayette Esthetician Classes Near Me | Lafayette Aesthetician Schools