How to Choose the Best Aesthetician Program Near Jacksonville Illinois

Since you have made a decision to enter the field of cosmetology and enroll in an esthetician school near Jacksonville IL, the task begins to locate and enroll in the right program. It's important that the school you pick not only provides the necessary education for the specialty you have selected, but also prepares you for passing the licensing examination. When you begin your preliminary search, you might be rather puzzled 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 intend on commuting to classes you will want to choose a school that is within driving distance of your Jacksonville residence. Tuition will also be an important aspect when reviewing prospective schools. Just keep in mind that because a school is the closest or the cheapest it's not automatically the best choice. There are a number of other qualifications that you should evaluate when analyzing 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 within this article. Before we do, let's talk a bit about what types of training programs are available.

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Esthetician 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 Jacksonville Illinois 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 Esthetics Schools

Online esthetician programs are accommodating for Jacksonville IL students who are employed full-time and have family commitments that make it challenging to attend a more traditional school. There are a large number of web-based cosmetology school programs available that can be accessed via a home computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More traditional beauty programs are frequently fast paced since many programs are as brief as 6 or 8 months. This means that a large amount of time is spent in the classroom. With internet courses, you are covering the same amount of material, but you are not spending many hours away from your home or commuting back and forth from classes. However, it's important that the training program you select can provide internship training in local salons and parlors to ensure that you also receive the hands-on training needed for a comprehensive education. Without the internship part of the training, it's impossible to obtain the skills needed to work in any area of the cosmetology industry. So don't forget if you choose to enroll in an online school to confirm that internship training is available in your area.

What to Ask Aesthetician Programs

Following is a series of questions that you should investigate for any esthetician training school you are contemplating. As we have previously discussed, the location of the school relative to your Jacksonville home, together with the price of tuition, will probably be your first qualifiers. Whether you wish to earn a certificate, diploma or a degree will undoubtedly be next on your list. But once you have narrowed your school choices based on those preliminary qualifications, there are additional factors that you should research and consider before enrolling in a cosmetology program. Below we have put together several of those supplemental questions that you need to ask every school before making a final selection.

Is the Esthetician Program Accredited? It's important to make sure that the esthetician training program you choose is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education certified local or national organization, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Programs accredited by the NACCAS must measure up to their high standards ensuring a quality curriculum and education. Accreditation can also be necessary for getting student loans or financial aid, which typically are not obtainable for non- accredited schools. It's also a prerequisite for licensing in many states that the training be accredited. And as a concluding benefit, a number of Jacksonville IL employers will not recruit recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or might look more positively upon individuals with accredited training.

Does the School have a Great Reputation?  Every esthetician college that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to outstanding reputation within the profession. Being accredited is a good beginning. Next, ask the schools for references from their network of employers where they have referred their students. Check that the schools have high job placement rates, attesting that their students are highly regarded. Visit rating services for reviews as well as the school's accrediting organizations. If you have any relationships with Jacksonville IL salon owners or managers, or anyone working in the industry, ask them if they are acquainted with the schools you are considering. They might even be able to propose others that you had not looked into. And last, consult the Illinois school licensing authority to see if there have been any complaints submitted or if the schools are in complete compliance.

What’s the School’s Specialty?  Some esthetician schools offer programs that are comprehensive in nature, concentrating on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, offering training in a specific specialty, for example hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs often expand into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's important that you enroll in a school that specializes in your area of interest. Since your intention is to be trained as an esthetician, make certain that the school you enroll in is accredited and well regarded for that program. If your desire is to open a Jacksonville IL 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 weak program in the specialty you are pursuing will not provide the training you need.

Is Enough Hands-On Training Provided?  Learning and perfecting esthetician techniques and abilities requires lots of practice on people. Check how much live, hands-on training is included in the cosmetology lessons you will be attending. Some schools have salons on site that allow students to practice their growing skills on real people. If a beauty program furnishes little or no scheduled live training, but rather depends predominantly on utilizing mannequins, it may not be the best alternative for cultivating your skills. So search for alternate schools that furnish this kind 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 help in landing that initial job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that furnish help maintain relationships with Jacksonville IL businesses that are seeking trained graduates available for hiring. Verify that the schools you are looking at have job placement programs and find out which salons and establishments they refer students to. Also, ask what their job placement rates are. High rates not only verify that they have extensive networks of employers, but that their programs are highly respected as well.

Is Financial Assistance Offered?  Almost all esthetician schools offer financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Find out if the schools you are looking at have a financial aid office. Speak with a counselor and learn what student loans or grants you may get approved for. If the school belongs to the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships accessible to students too. If a school meets each of your other qualifications except for cost, do not omit it as an alternative until you learn what financial assistance may be available.

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Enroll in the Best Jacksonville Esthetician Course

Picking and enrolling in the ideal esthetician school is imperative to receive the appropriate training to become a licensed cosmetology specialist. Be sure to ask all the questions that you require so as to feel positive about your decision. Make sure to compile all of the information you receive from the cosmetology school admissions departments, focus on what matters the most to you, and then use that data to contrast schools. A reasonable beginning in your due diligence procedure is to make certain that the institution and program you select are accredited and have exceptional reputations within the profession. If you begin with that foundation, and answer the additional questions supplied in this article, you will be able to narrow down your list of schools so that you can make the right selection. Once you graduate and pass your licensing examination, you will be confident that you are qualified to start your career as a professional esthetician in Jacksonville Illinois.

 

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