How to Enroll In the Best Esthetician School Near Lower Merion Pennsylvania

Once you have decided to enter the field of cosmetology and enroll in an esthetician school near Lower Merion PA, the process begins to search for and enroll in the right program. It's imperative that the program you select not only provides the proper training for the specialty you have chosen, but also prepares you for passing the licensing exam. When you start your preliminary search, you might be somewhat puzzled about the distinction between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the names are pretty much interchangeable and both pertain to the same kind of school. If you intend on commuting to classes you will want to locate a school that is within driving distance of your Lower Merion home. Tuition will also be a critical aspect when evaluating potential schools. Just remember that because a school is the nearest or the lowest cost it's not necessarily the best choice. There are a number of other considerations that you should weigh when analyzing schools, for instance their reputation and accreditation. We will go over what questions you should ask about the aesthetician schools you are considering later in this article. Before we do, let's talk a little bit about what kinds of courses are offered.

It Takes Just a Few Minutes to Start Your Esthetician Career Below!

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 Lower Merion Pennsylvania 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 Programs

Online esthetician schools are advantageous for Lower Merion PA students who are employed full time and have family responsibilities that make it difficult to enroll in a more traditional school. There are many web-based cosmetology school programs available that can be accessed by means of a home computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More conventional beauty programs are typically fast paced because many programs are as short as six or eight months. This means that a large 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 outside of your home or commuting to and from classes. However, it's important that the school you choose can provide internship training in nearby salons and parlors to ensure that you also get the hands-on training required for a complete education. Without the internship part of the training, it's impossible to gain the skills required to work in any area of the cosmetology profession. So be sure if you choose to enroll in an online program to verify that internship training is available in your area.

Questions to Ask Esthetics Programs

Below is a list of questions that you will want to look into for any esthetician training program you are contemplating. As we have already covered, the location of the school relative to your Lower Merion home, together with the expense of tuition, will undoubtedly be your primary qualifiers. Whether you want to pursue 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 even more factors that you must research and consider before enrolling in a cosmetology program. Below we have collected several of those supplemental questions that you need to ask every school before making a final selection.

Is the Esthetician Program Accredited? It's essential to make sure that the esthetician college you enroll in 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 meet their high standards guaranteeing a quality curriculum and education. Accreditation can also be essential for getting student loans or financial aid, which often are not obtainable for non- accredited schools. It's also a requirement for licensing in several states that the training be accredited. And as a concluding benefit, many Lower Merion PA employers will not hire recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or might 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 outstanding reputation within the profession. Being accredited is an excellent starting point. Next, ask the schools for testimonials from their network of businesses where they have referred their students. Check that the schools have high job placement rates, attesting that their students are highly sought after. Visit rating services for reviews together with the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any connections with Lower Merion PA salon owners or managers, or anyone working in the field, ask them if they are familiar with the schools you are reviewing. They may even be able to suggest others that you had not thought of. And last, contact the Pennsylvania school licensing authority to see if there have been any grievances submitted or if the schools are in complete compliance.

What’s the School’s Specialty?  A number of esthetician schools offer programs that are comprehensive in nature, focusing on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, providing training in a specific specialty, such as hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs typically broaden into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's important that you enroll in a school that focuses on 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 vision is to start a Lower Merion PA beauty salon, then you need to enroll in a degree program that will teach you how to be an owner/operator as well. Selecting a highly ranked school with a poor program in the specialty you are seeking will not provide the training you require.

Is Plenty of Live Training Provided?  Practicing and perfecting esthetician techniques and abilities requires plenty of practice on people. Ask how much live, hands-on training is furnished in the cosmetology classes you will be attending. Some schools have salons on site that make it possible for students to practice their developing talents on real people. If a beauty program furnishes little or no scheduled live training, but rather depends predominantly on using mannequins, it might not be the most effective option for cultivating your skills. So look for other schools that offer this kind of training.

Does the School Provide Job Assistance?  Once a student graduates from an esthetician program, it's crucial that he or she gets aid in securing that very first job. Job placement programs are an important part of that process. Schools that provide assistance maintain relationships with Lower Merion PA employers that are seeking skilled graduates available for hiring. Verify that the programs you are considering have job placement programs and inquire which salons and businesses they refer students to. In addition, ask what their job placement rates are. Higher rates not only verify that they have extensive networks of employers, but that their programs are highly respected as well.

Is Financial Aid Offered?  The majority of 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 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 available to students too. If a school satisfies all of your other qualifications except for cost, do not discard it as an option before you find out what financial assistance may be provided.

Find Out How to Become an Esthetician in Lower Merion

Enroll in the Right Lower Merion Esthetician Program

Choosing and enrolling in the ideal esthetician program is important to receive the appropriate training to become a licensed cosmetology practitioner. Be sure to ask all the questions that you require so as to feel certain about your decision. Make sure to organize all of the responses you get from the beauty school admissions departments, focus on what matters the most to you, and then use that data to contrast schools. A sensible start in your due diligence process is to make certain that the school and program you select are accredited and have impressive reputations within the profession. If you start with that foundation, and answer the additional questions supplied in this article, you will be able to filter your list of schools so that you can make the ideal selection. And when you graduate and pass your licensing examination, you will be confident that you are ready to begin your new career as a professional esthetician in Lower Merion Pennsylvania.

 

Lower Merion Esthetician Schools Online | Lower Merion Esthetician Programs Near Me