How to Select the Best Esthetician College Near Leominster Massachusetts

Once you have made a decision to enter the field of cosmetology and attend an esthetician school near Leominster MA, the task starts to find and enroll in the ideal program. It's imperative that the program you choose not only provides the appropriate education for the specialty you have selected, but also readies you for passing the licensing exam. When you start your initial search, you might be somewhat confused about the distinction between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the names are essentially interchangeable and both refer to the same type of school. If you anticipate commuting to classes you will need to locate a school that is within driving distance of your Leominster residence. Tuition will likewise 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 ideal option. There are many other qualifications that you should weigh when analyzing schools, such as their reputation and accreditation. We will examine what questions you should ask about the aesthetician schools you are considering 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 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 Leominster Massachusetts 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 Courses

Online esthetician programs are advantageous for Leominster MA students who are employed full-time and have family obligations that make it challenging to attend a more traditional school. There are many web-based beauty school programs offered that can be attended via a home computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More traditional beauty schools are typically fast paced since many courses are as brief as 6 or 8 months. This means that a substantial portion of time is spent in the classroom. With internet programs, you are covering the same amount of material, but you are not spending many hours outside of your home or commuting back and forth from classes. However, it's essential that the school you pick can provide internship training in area salons and parlors to ensure that you also receive the hands-on training necessary for a complete education. Without the internship portion of the training, it's difficult to gain the skills required to work in any facet of the cosmetology industry. So be sure if you decide to enroll in an online program to verify that internship training is provided in your area.

What to Ask Aesthetician Training Programs

Following is a list of questions that you should investigate for any esthetician training program you are considering. As we have previously discussed, the location of the school relative to your Leominster home, as well as the expense of tuition, will undoubtedly be your initial qualifiers. Whether you wish to pursue a certificate, diploma or a degree will undoubtedly be next on your list. But once you have narrowed your school options based on those preliminary qualifications, there are even more factors that you should research and consider before enrolling in a cosmetology program. Below we have compiled several of those additional questions that you need to ask each school before making a final determination.

Is the Esthetician Program Accredited? It's necessary to make certain that the esthetician school 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). Schools accredited by the NACCAS must meet their high standards ensuring a quality curriculum and education. Accreditation may also be essential for getting student loans or financial aid, which typically are not offered for non- accredited schools. It's also a prerequisite for licensing in some states that the training be accredited. And as a final benefit, numerous Leominster MA employers will not hire recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or may look more favorably upon those 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 field. Being accredited is a good starting point. Next, ask the schools for endorsements from their network of businesses where they have placed their students. Confirm that the schools have high job placement rates, indicating that their students are highly sought after. Check rating companies for reviews in addition to the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any relationships with Leominster MA salon owners or managers, or any person working in the business, ask them if they are acquainted with the schools you are reviewing. They may even be able to suggest others that you had not considered. Finally, check with the Massachusetts 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 broad in nature, focusing on all facets of cosmetology. Others are more focused, offering training in a specific specialty, for example hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs commonly expand into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's essential that you decide on 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 respected for that program. If your dream is to start a Leominster MA beauty salon, then you want to enroll in a degree program that will teach 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 require.

Is Plenty of Live Training Provided?  Learning and perfecting esthetician skills and techniques involves plenty of practice on people. Check how much live, hands-on training is provided in the beauty courses you will be attending. Some schools have salons on site that enable students to practice their developing skills on volunteers. If a beauty school provides limited or no scheduled live training, but rather relies mainly on utilizing mannequins, it may not be the best alternative for acquiring your skills. So search for alternate schools that furnish this kind of training.

Does the School Provide Job Assistance?  Once a student graduates from an esthetician academy, it's essential that she or he gets aid in finding that initial job. Job placement programs are an important part of that process. Schools that furnish aid develop relationships with Leominster MA businesses that are looking for trained graduates available for hiring. Verify that the programs you are looking at have job placement programs and find out which salons and businesses they refer students to. In addition, 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 regarded as well.

Is Financial Aid Available?  Most 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. Talk to a counselor and learn what student loans or grants you may get approved for. If the school is a member of the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships accessible to students too. If a school meets each of your other qualifications with the exception of expense, do not discard it as an option until you learn what financial assistance may be offered.

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Enroll in the Best Leominster Esthetician Program

Choosing and enrolling in the right esthetician school is important to get the proper training to become a licensed cosmetology professional. Make sure to ask all the questions that you need to in order to feel certain about your decision. Be sure to compile all of the responses you get from the cosmetology school admissions departments, focus on what matters the most to you, and then use that information to contrast schools. A good start in your due diligence process is to make sure that the academy and program you choose are accredited and have exceptional reputations within the profession. If you start with that foundation, and answer the additional questions presented in this article, you will be able to reduce your list of schools so that you can make the right choice. And when you graduate and pass your licensing examination, you will be confident that you are prepared to begin your new career as a professional esthetician in Leominster Massachusetts.

 

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