How to Find the Right Aesthetician School Near Helena Montana

Since you have made a decision to enter the field of cosmetology and attend an esthetician school near Helena MT, the task starts to find and enroll in the right program. It's imperative that the school you choose not only provides the appropriate education for the specialty you have chosen, but also preps you for passing the licensing examination. When you start your preliminary search, you may be rather confused about the contrast between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the names are basically interchangeable and both pertain to the same kind of school. If you intend on commuting to classes you will need to locate a school that is within driving distance of your Helena residence. Tuition will likewise be a critical consideration when assessing prospective schools. Just keep in mind that because a school is the closest or the cheapest it's not necessarily the ideal option. There are a number of other qualifications that you should weigh when reviewing schools, such as their reputation and accreditation. We will examine what questions you should ask regarding the aesthetician schools you are considering later in this article. Before we do, let's talk a bit about what kinds 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 provide a wide range of beauty services to help their Helena Montana 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 Courses

Online esthetician schools are advantageous for Helena MT students who are working full-time and have family commitments that make it difficult to attend a more traditional school. There are a large number of web-based cosmetology school programs offered that can be accessed through a home computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More traditional beauty schools are frequently fast paced because many courses are as short as 6 or 8 months. This means that a significant portion of time is spent in the classroom. With internet courses, you are dealing with the same volume of material, but you are not spending many hours away from your home or driving back and forth from classes. On the other hand, it's important that the program you choose can provide internship training in local salons and parlors to ensure that you also get the hands-on training necessary for a comprehensive education. Without the internship portion of the training, it's difficult to acquire the skills necessary to work in any facet of the cosmetology industry. So don't forget if you decide to enroll in an online school to verify that internship training is available in your area.

What to Ask Aesthetician Training Courses

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 in relation to your Helena residence, together with the cost of tuition, will undoubtedly be your initial qualifiers. Whether you wish to earn a certificate, diploma or a degree will probably be next on your list. But once you have narrowed your school choices based on those initial qualifications, there are even more factors that you should research and consider before enrolling in a cosmetology school. Below we have put together some of those supplemental questions that you should ask every school before making a final selection.

Is the Esthetician School Accredited? It's necessary to make sure that the esthetician college you choose is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged 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 guaranteeing a quality curriculum and education. Accreditation may also be essential for getting student loans or financial aid, which frequently are not obtainable for non- accredited schools. It's also a prerequisite for licensing in several states that the training be accredited. And as a final benefit, a number of Helena MT employers will not hire recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or might look more positively upon individuals with accredited training.

Does the School have an Excellent Reputation?  Each esthetician institute that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to exceptional reputation within the profession. Being accredited is an excellent starting point. Next, ask the schools for references from their network of businesses where they have referred their students. Verify that the schools have high job placement rates, showing that their students are highly sought after. Check rating companies for reviews as well as the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any connections with Helena MT salon owners or managers, or anyone working in the trade, ask them if they are acquainted with the schools you are reviewing. They may even be able to propose others that you had not considered. Finally, consult the Montana school licensing authority to see if there have been any complaints filed or if the schools are in complete compliance.

What’s the School’s Focus?  Some esthetician schools offer programs that are broad in nature, focusing on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, providing training in a specific specialty, for instance hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs frequently expand into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's imperative that you pick a school that focuses on your area of interest. Since your objective is to be trained as an esthetician, make certain that the school you enroll in is accredited and respected for that program. If your dream is to open a Helena MT 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 pursuing will not deliver the training you require.

Is Plenty of Hands-On Training Provided?  Learning and perfecting esthetician skills and techniques involves 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 campus that allow students to practice their growing skills on real people. If a beauty program offers minimal or no scheduled live training, but rather relies predominantly on utilizing mannequins, it might not be the most effective alternative for acquiring your skills. Therefore look for alternate schools that provide this type of training.

Does the School Provide Job Assistance?  As soon as a student graduates from an esthetician program, it's crucial that she or he gets support in finding that very first job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that offer assistance maintain relationships with Helena MT employers that are seeking skilled graduates available for hiring. Check that the programs you are contemplating have job placement programs and find out which salons and businesses they refer students to. Also, find out what their job placement rates are. Higher rates not only verify that they have broad networks of employers, but that their programs are highly regarded as well.

Is Financial Assistance Available?  Many esthetician schools offer financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Check if the schools you are considering have a financial aid department. Consult with a counselor and identify 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 offered to students too. If a school fulfills all of your other qualifications with the exception of cost, do not drop it as an option before you determine what financial assistance may be offered.

Learn How to Become an Aesthetician in Helena

Enroll in the Right Helena Esthetician Training

Finding and enrolling in the right esthetician program is essential to get the appropriate training to become a licensed cosmetology professional. Be sure to ask all the questions that you need to so as to feel positive about your decision. Be sure to consolidate all of the responses you receive from the beauty school admissions departments, focus on what matters the most to you, and then employ that data to compare schools. A good beginning in your due diligence process is to make certain that the school and program you decide on are accredited and have exceptional reputations within the field. If you start with that base, and answer the additional questions presented in this post, you will be able to reduce your list of schools so that you can make the ideal choice. And when you graduate and pass your licensing exam, you will be confident that you are ready to launch your new career as a professional esthetician in Helena Montana.

 

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