How to Find the Right Esthetician School Near Pleasant Hill California

Now that you have decided to enter the field of cosmetology and attend an esthetician school near Pleasant Hill CA, the task starts to locate and enroll in the ideal program. It's important that the program you choose not only provides the necessary training for the specialty you have chosen, but also preps you for passing the licensing exam. When you start your initial search, you may be somewhat unclear about the contrast between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the titles are basically interchangeable and both relate 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 Pleasant Hill residence. Tuition will likewise be a critical consideration when assessing potential schools. Just remember that because a school is the nearest or the cheapest it's not always the best option. There are many other factors that you should weigh when analyzing schools, for instance their reputation and accreditation. We will examine what questions you should ask regarding the aesthetician schools you are thinking about later within this article. Before we do, let's talk a bit about what types of training programs are available.

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Esthetics Training Requirements

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 Pleasant Hill 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 Classes

Online esthetician schools are accommodating for Pleasant Hill CA students who are working full-time and have family commitments that make it challenging to enroll in a more traditional school. There are numerous web-based beauty school programs available that can be attended via a desktop computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More conventional beauty schools are often fast paced given that many programs are as brief as 6 or 8 months. This means that a large portion of time is spent in the classroom. With internet programs, you are dealing with the same volume of material, but you are not devoting many hours away from your home or travelling to and from classes. However, it's vital that the program you choose can provide internship training in area salons and parlors to ensure that you also receive the hands-on training needed for a comprehensive education. Without the internship portion of the training, it's impossible to gain the skills needed to work in any facet of the cosmetology profession. So be sure if you choose to enroll in an online school to verify that internship training is available in your area.

Questions to Ask Esthetician Schools

Following is a series of questions that you should investigate for any esthetician training school you are contemplating. As we have previously covered, the location of the school relative to your Pleasant Hill residence, as well as the expense of tuition, will probably be your first qualifiers. Whether you would like to pursue a certificate, diploma or a degree will probably be next on your list. But once you have narrowed your school choices based on those preliminary qualifications, there are even more factors that you need to research and take into consideration before enrolling in a cosmetology school. Following we have collected several of those additional questions that you should ask each school before making a final determination.

Is the Esthetician Program Accredited? It's necessary to make sure that the esthetician college you pick is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education certified local or national agency, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Schools accredited by the NACCAS must measure up to their high standards guaranteeing a superior curriculum and education. Accreditation may also be essential for getting student loans or financial aid, which often are not obtainable 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 Pleasant Hill CA employers will not hire recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or might look more positively upon those with accredited training.

Does the School have a Great Reputation?  Every esthetician school that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to excellent reputation within the field. Being accredited is a good beginning. Next, ask the schools for references from their network of businesses where they have placed their students. Confirm that the schools have high job placement rates, showing that their students are highly regarded. Visit rating companies for reviews along with the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any contacts with Pleasant Hill CA salon owners or managers, or someone working in the field, ask them if they are acquainted with the schools you are considering. They may even be able to recommend others that you had not considered. And finally, check with the California school licensing authority to find out if there have been any complaints submitted or if the schools are in total compliance.

What’s the School’s Focus?  A number of esthetician schools offer programs that are expansive in nature, concentrating on all facets of cosmetology. Others are more focused, offering training in a specific specialty, such as hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs commonly broaden into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's essential that you select a school that focuses on your area of interest. Since your ambition 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 dream is to open a Pleasant Hill CA beauty salon, then you want to enroll in a degree program that will teach you how to be an owner/operator as well. Selecting a highly rated school with a weak program in the specialty you are seeking will not provide the training you require.

Is Enough Live Training Provided?  Practicing and perfecting esthetician skills and techniques involves lots of practice on volunteers. Ask how much live, hands-on training is provided in the cosmetology courses you will be attending. A number of schools have salons on site that allow students to practice their developing skills on volunteers. If a beauty program provides limited or no scheduled live training, but rather relies heavily on using mannequins, it might not be the most effective option for acquiring your skills. Therefore search for other schools that furnish this type of training.

Does the School have a Job Placement Program?  Once a student graduates from an esthetician academy, it's important that she or he gets support in landing that initial job. Job placement programs are an important part of that process. Schools that provide aid develop relationships with Pleasant Hill CA employers that are seeking skilled graduates available for hiring. Check that the programs you are considering have job placement programs and inquire which salons and businesses they refer students to. In addition, ask what their job placement rates are. High rates not only confirm that they have wide networks of employers, but that their programs are highly regarded as well.

Is Financial Assistance Offered?  Most esthetician schools offer financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Find out if the schools you are reviewing have a financial aid office. Speak with a counselor and identify what student loans or grants you might get approved for. If the school belongs to the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships offered to students also. If a school fulfills all of your other qualifications with the exception of cost, do not eliminate it as an option before you find out what financial assistance may be offered.

Find Out How to Become an Aesthetician in Pleasant Hill

Enroll in the Right Pleasant Hill Esthetician Course

Finding and enrolling in the right esthetician program is imperative to get the proper training to become a licensed cosmetology professional. Be sure to ask all the questions that you need to in order to feel positive about your decision. Be sure to compile all of the information you receive from the cosmetology school admissions departments, prioritize what matters the most to you, and then use that data to compare schools. A sensible beginning in your due diligence procedure is to make certain that the college and program you select are accredited and have excellent reputations within the profession. If you start with that foundation, and address the additional questions supplied in this article, you will be able to filter your list of schools so that you can make the right choice. And when you graduate and pass your licensing test, you will be self-assured that you are qualified to begin your career as a professional esthetician in Pleasant Hill California.

 

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