How to Pick the Best Esthetician College Near Lake Charles Louisiana

Now that you have decided to enter the field of cosmetology and enroll in an esthetician school near Lake Charles LA, the process starts to search for and enroll in the best program. It's imperative that the school you select not only furnishes the appropriate education for the specialty you have decided on, but also readies you for passing the licensing examination. When you start your initial search, you might be rather puzzled about the difference between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the names are basically interchangeable and both refer to the same type of school. If you anticipate commuting to classes you will want to find a school that is within driving distance of your Lake Charles home. Tuition will additionally be an important factor when evaluating potential schools. Just keep in mind that because a school is the closest or the lowest cost it's not necessarily the ideal option. There are several other considerations that you should evaluate when analyzing schools, for instance their reputation and accreditation. We will review what questions you should ask about the aesthetician schools you are thinking about later within this article. Before we do, let's discuss a little bit about what types of training programs are available.

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Esthetician 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 (or aestheticians) are skin care specialists who typically work in Lake Charles Louisiana 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 Esthetician Programs

Online esthetician programs are accommodating for Lake Charles LA students who are working full time and have family obligations 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 attended by means of a personal computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More traditional cosmetology programs are often fast paced since many courses 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 covering the same volume of material, but you're not spending many hours outside of your home or driving back and forth from classes. However, it's essential that the school you choose can provide internship training in local salons and parlors to ensure that you also receive the hands-on training required for a comprehensive education. Without the internship part of the training, it's difficult to gain the skills required to work in any area of the cosmetology field. So make sure if you choose to enroll in an online school to confirm that internship training is provided in your area.

Questions to Ask Esthetician Degree Programs

Below is a list of questions that you will want to investigate for any esthetician training school you are contemplating. As we have already covered, the location of the school in relation to your Lake Charles residence, in addition to the cost of tuition, will most likely be your initial qualifiers. Whether you would like to earn a certificate, diploma or a degree will no doubt be next on your list. But once you have reduced your school choices based on those preliminary qualifications, there are additional factors that you should research and take into consideration before enrolling in a cosmetology school. Below we have collected some 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 school you enroll in is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized local or national organization, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Programs accredited by the NACCAS must comply with their high standards guaranteeing a quality curriculum and education. Accreditation may also be essential for securing student loans or financial aid, which frequently 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 concluding benefit, a number of Lake Charles LA businesses will not recruit recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or may look more favorably upon those with accredited training.

Does the School have an Excellent Reputation?  Every esthetician school that you are seriously considering should have a good to excellent reputation within the industry. Being accredited is an excellent starting point. Next, ask the schools for testimonials from their network of businesses where they have placed their students. Confirm that the schools have high job placement rates, signifying that their students are highly sought after. Check rating services for reviews along with the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any connections with Lake Charles LA salon owners or managers, or someone working in the business, ask them if they are familiar with the schools you are reviewing. They might even be able to recommend others that you had not considered. Finally, contact the Louisiana school licensing authority to find out if there have been any grievances filed or if the schools are in complete compliance.

What’s the School’s Focus?  A number of esthetician schools offer programs that are comprehensive in nature, focusing on all facets of cosmetology. Others are more focused, offering training in a particular specialty, for example hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs often broaden into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's imperative that you select a school that focuses on your area of interest. Since your intention 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 Lake Charles LA beauty salon, then you need to enroll in a degree program that will instruct you how to be an owner/operator as well. Picking a highly rated school with a weak program in the specialty you are seeking will not deliver the training you require.

Is Any Live Training Provided?  Studying and mastering esthetician skills and techniques involves lots of practice on people. Find out how much live, hands-on training is included in the beauty courses you will be attending. A number of schools have salons on campus that enable students to practice their growing talents on real people. If a beauty school offers minimal or no scheduled live training, but rather relies predominantly on using mannequins, it may not be the best alternative for developing your skills. So search for other schools that provide this kind of training.

Does the School have a Job Placement Program?  As soon as a student graduates from an esthetician academy, it's crucial that she or he gets help in securing that initial job. Job placement programs are an important part of that process. Schools that furnish aid develop relationships with Lake Charles LA employers that are seeking skilled graduates available for hiring. Verify that the programs you are looking at have job placement programs and ask which salons and establishments they refer students to. Additionally, ask what their job placement rates are. Higher rates not only confirm that they have broad networks of employers, but that their programs are highly regarded 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 looking at have a financial aid department. Speak with a counselor and learn what student loans or grants you may qualify for. If the school belongs to the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships available to students as well. If a school meets all of your other qualifications except for expense, do not omit it as an alternative before you find out what financial help may be provided.

Find Out How to Become an Aesthetician in Lake Charles

Enroll in the Right Lake Charles Esthetician Course

Selecting and enrolling in the right esthetician program is essential to get the appropriate training to become a licensed cosmetology specialist. Be sure to ask all the questions that you need to so as to feel confident about your decision. Don't forget to organize all of the responses you receive from the cosmetology school admissions departments, focus on what matters the most to you, and then use that data to compare schools. A good beginning in your due diligence process is to make certain that the college and program you choose are accredited and have excellent reputations within the field. If you start with that base, and answer the additional questions provided 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 test, you will be confident that you are qualified to launch your career as a professional esthetician in Lake Charles Louisiana.

 

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