How to Enroll In the Right Esthetician Training Near South Portland Maine

Since you have decided to enter the field of cosmetology and attend an esthetician school near South Portland ME, the process begins to search for and enroll in the right program. It's important that the program you select not only furnishes the proper education for the specialty you have decided on, but also readies you for passing the licensing exam. When you begin your preliminary search, you may be a little bit confused about the difference between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the names are pretty much interchangeable and both refer 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 South Portland home. Tuition will also be an important consideration when assessing possible schools. Just bear in mind that because a school is the closest or the lowest cost it's not automatically the ideal choice. There are many other factors that you should evaluate when reviewing schools, for example their reputation and accreditation. We will examine what questions you should ask about the aesthetician schools you are looking at later in this article. Before we do, let's talk a bit about what kinds of training programs are offered.

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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 provide a wide range of beauty services to help their South Portland Maine 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 accommodating for South Portland ME students who are employed full time and have family responsibilities that make it hard to attend a more traditional school. There are numerous online cosmetology school programs available that can be accessed by means of a home computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More traditional 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 substantial amount of time is spent in the classroom. With internet programs, you are covering the same amount of material, but you're not devoting many hours away from your home or travelling back and forth from classes. However, it's important that the program you pick can provide internship training in local salons and parlors in order that you also get the hands-on training required for a comprehensive education. Without the internship portion of the training, it's impossible to obtain the skills required to work in any area of the cosmetology field. So be sure if you choose to enroll in an online school to verify that internship training is provided in your area.

Questions to Ask Esthetician 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 relative to your South Portland residence, together with the cost of tuition, will undoubtedly be your first qualifiers. Whether you wish to pursue a certificate, diploma or a degree will no doubt be next on your list. But once you have reduced your school options 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 compiled some of those additional questions that you should ask every school before making a final decision.

Is the Esthetician Program Accredited? It's important to make certain that the esthetician college you pick 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 comply with their high standards guaranteeing a superior curriculum and education. Accreditation may also be necessary for obtaining student loans or financial aid, which often are not available for non- accredited schools. It's also a prerequisite for licensing in some states that the training be accredited. And as a concluding benefit, many South Portland ME employers will not recruit recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or may look more favorably upon those with accredited training.

Does the School have a Good Reputation?  Every esthetician institute that you are seriously considering should have a good to excellent reputation within the field. Being accredited is an excellent starting point. Next, ask the schools for testimonials from their network of employers where they have referred their students. Verify that the schools have high job placement rates, indicating that their students are highly regarded. Visit rating services for reviews in addition to the school's accrediting organizations. If you have any contacts with South Portland ME salon owners or managers, or someone working in the business, ask them if they are acquainted with the schools you are reviewing. They may even be able to recommend others that you had not looked into. And last, consult the Maine school licensing authority to see if there have been any grievances filed or if the schools are in total compliance.

What’s the School’s Focus?  A number of esthetician schools offer programs that are broad in nature, focusing on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, providing training in a particular specialty, such as hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs commonly expand into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's essential that you enroll in a school that specializes in 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 aspiration is to launch a South Portland ME beauty salon, then you need to enroll in a degree program that will instruct you how to be an owner/operator as well. Choosing a highly rated school with a poor program in the specialty you are seeking will not deliver the training you need.

Is Any Live Training Provided?  Practicing and refining esthetician skills and techniques demands lots of practice on volunteers. Check how much live, hands-on training is furnished in the beauty lessons you will be attending. Some schools have salons on site that make it possible for students to practice their developing skills on volunteers. If a beauty academy offers little or no scheduled live training, but instead relies predominantly on the use of mannequins, it may not be the best option for acquiring your skills. So look for alternate schools that furnish this kind of training.

Does the School have a Job Placement Program?  When a student graduates from an esthetician school, it's important that she or he receives aid in finding that very first job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that provide assistance develop relationships with South Portland ME businesses that are seeking skilled graduates available for hiring. Check that the schools you are considering have job placement programs and ask which salons and organizations they refer students to. Additionally, 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 Aid Available?  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 department. Speak with a counselor and find out 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 available to students as well. If a school satisfies each of your other qualifications with the exception of expense, do not discard it as an alternative before you determine what financial aid may be available.

Find Out How to Become an Aesthetician in South Portland

Enroll in the Right South Portland Esthetician Training

Finding and enrolling in the ideal esthetician college is imperative to receive the appropriate training to become a licensed cosmetology professional. Make sure to ask all the questions that you require so as to feel certain about your decision. Make sure to collect all of the responses you receive from the beauty school admissions departments, focus on what matters the most to you, and then utilize that information to compare schools. A good beginning in your due diligence procedure is to make certain that the college and program you pick are accredited and have outstanding reputations within the profession. If you begin with that base, and answer the additional questions supplied in this article, 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 exam, you will be confident that you are prepared to launch your new career as a professional esthetician in South Portland Maine.

 

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