How to Select the Best Esthetician School Near West Hollywood California

Now that you have made a decision to enter the field of cosmetology and attend an esthetician school near West Hollywood CA, the process begins to locate and enroll in the right program. It's essential that the school you choose not only provides the proper instruction for the specialty you have chosen, but also prepares you for passing the licensing examination. When you start your preliminary search, you might be rather puzzled about the difference between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the names are essentially interchangeable and both relate to the same type of school. If you intend on commuting to classes you will need to locate a school that is within driving distance of your West Hollywood residence. Tuition will also be a critical consideration when assessing possible schools. Just bear in mind that because a school is the closest or the least expensive it's not necessarily the best choice. There are many other qualifications that you should evaluate when comparing schools, for instance their reputation and accreditation. We will examine what questions you should ask regarding the aesthetician schools you are thinking about later in this article. Before we do, let's discuss a bit about what types of courses 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 (or aestheticians) are skin care specialists who typically work in West Hollywood California spas and salons as well as resorts and medical facilities to provide a variety of treatments for their clients. Some of the typical duties of an esthetician include performing deep skin cleansing and treatments, hair removal, and massages. Estheticians also recommend skincare treatments, products, and regimens to their clients. Many estheticians are self-employed, which allows them to set their schedules and work where they wish. However, these professionals still often need to work evenings and weekends. These skin care specialists also spend much of their time standing and may be exposed to harmful chemicals. Certified estheticians have excellent customer service and communication skills. They're adept at time management, observation and monitoring and are competent in understanding and using the tools necessary for facial procedures and extractions. Certified estheticians are familiar with medical, spreadsheets, and word processing software. They present a professional appearance and have the physical fitness to stand for prolonged periods of time. A career in esthetics generally requires working evening and weekend hours.

Online Esthetics Classes

Online esthetician classes are convenient for West Hollywood CA students who are working full-time and have family commitments that make it hard to attend a more traditional school. There are a large number of online beauty school programs offered that can be attended by means of a home computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More conventional cosmetology schools are often fast paced due to the fact that many courses are as brief as 6 or 8 months. This means that a considerable amount of time is spent in the classroom. With internet programs, you are dealing with the same amount of material, but you are not spending numerous hours away from your home or driving to and from classes. However, it's important that the school you pick can provide internship training in area salons and parlors to ensure that you also receive the hands-on training required for a complete education. Without the internship part of the training, it's impossible to gain the skills required to work in any facet of the cosmetology profession. So be sure if you decide to enroll in an online program to verify that internship training is provided in your area.

Questions to Ask Esthetics Trade Schools

Following is a series of questions that you should look into for any esthetician training school you are contemplating. As we have previously discussed, the location of the school relative to your West Hollywood residence, as well as the cost of tuition, will probably be your first qualifiers. Whether you wish to pursue a certificate, diploma or a degree will undoubtedly be next on your list. But once you have reduced your school choices based on those preliminary qualifications, there are even more factors that you should research and take into consideration before enrolling in a cosmetology program. Below we have collected some of those supplemental questions that you need to ask each school before making a final determination.

Is the Esthetician School Accredited? It's essential to make sure that the esthetician school you select is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized local or national agency, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Programs accredited by the NACCAS must comply with their high standards ensuring a superior curriculum and education. Accreditation can also be necessary for obtaining student loans or financial aid, which often are not offered for non- accredited schools. It's also a prerequisite for licensing in several states that the training be accredited. And as a final benefit, many West Hollywood CA businesses will not recruit recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or might look more favorably upon individuals with accredited training.

Does the School have an Excellent Reputation?  Any esthetician college that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to excellent reputation within the profession. Being accredited is a good beginning. Next, ask the schools for endorsements from their network of businesses where they have referred their students. Confirm that the schools have high job placement rates, showing that their students are highly sought after. Check rating services for reviews in addition to the school's accrediting organizations. If you have any relationships with West Hollywood CA salon owners or managers, or someone working in the industry, ask them if they are familiar with the schools you are looking at. They may even be able to recommend others that you had not looked into. And last, contact the California school licensing authority to see if there have been any complaints filed or if the schools are in full compliance.

What’s the School’s Focus?  Many esthetician schools offer programs that are comprehensive in nature, focusing on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, providing training in a specific specialty, for example hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs frequently expand into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's imperative that you enroll in 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 open a West Hollywood CA beauty salon, then you need to enroll in a degree program that will teach you how to be an owner/operator as well. Picking a highly regarded school with a weak program in the specialty you are seeking will not deliver the training you need.

Is Any Live Training Provided?  Learning and perfecting esthetician skills and techniques demands plenty of practice on volunteers. Ask how much live, hands-on training is furnished in the cosmetology classes you will be attending. A number of schools have salons on site that enable students to practice their growing skills on real people. If a beauty program offers little or no scheduled live training, but rather relies heavily on using mannequins, it may not be the most effective option for developing your skills. Therefore try to find other schools that offer this kind of training.

Does the School have a Job Placement Program?  As soon as a student graduates from an esthetician school, it's crucial that he or she receives support in landing that very first job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that provide assistance develop relationships with West Hollywood CA businesses that are searching for trained graduates available for hiring. Confirm that the schools you are contemplating have job placement programs and ask which salons and establishments they refer students to. Also, find out what their job placement rates are. Higher rates not only affirm that they have wide networks of employers, but that their programs are highly respected as well.

Is Financial Assistance Offered?  Most esthetician schools provide financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Ask if the schools you are investigating have a financial aid office. Speak with a counselor and find out 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 fulfills each of your other qualifications except for cost, do not discard it as an option until you find out what financial aid may be available.

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Enroll in the Best West Hollywood Esthetician Program

Choosing and enrolling in the ideal esthetician college is important to receive the necessary training to become a licensed cosmetology technician. Be sure to ask all the questions that you need to in order to feel positive about your decision. Don't forget to compile all of the responses you get from the beauty school admissions departments, focus on what matters the most to you, and then utilize that data to compare schools. A reasonable start in your due diligence procedure is to make sure that the college and program you decide on are accredited and have excellent reputations within the profession. If you start with that base, and address the additional questions provided in this post, you will be able to narrow down your list of schools so that you can make the ideal selection. And when you graduate and pass your licensing examination, you will be self-assured that you are qualified to begin your career as a professional esthetician in West Hollywood California.

 

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