How to Select the Best Esthetician College Near Staunton Virginia

Now that you have made a decision to enter the field of cosmetology and attend an esthetician school near Staunton VA, the task starts to locate and enroll in the best program. It's essential that the school you choose not only provides the appropriate instruction for the specialty you have selected, but also preps you for passing the licensing examination. When you begin your preliminary search, you might be rather 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 Staunton home. Tuition will additionally be a critical factor when assessing prospective schools. Just remember that because a school is the nearest or the cheapest it's not automatically the right option. There are various other factors that you should evaluate when comparing schools, for instance their reputation and accreditation. We will examine what questions you should ask regarding the aesthetician schools you are thinking about later within this article. Before we do, let's discuss a bit about what kinds of courses are offered.

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Esthetics 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 Staunton Virginia 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 Classes

Online esthetician programs are convenient for Staunton VA students who are employed full time and have family commitments that make it difficult to enroll in a more traditional school. There are numerous online cosmetology school programs offered that can be attended via a personal computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More traditional cosmetology schools are typically fast paced because many courses are as brief as 6 or 8 months. This means that a substantial portion of time is spent in the classroom. With online programs, you are dealing with the same amount of material, but you're not devoting numerous hours away from your home or driving back and forth from classes. On the other hand, it's important that the training program you select can provide internship training in nearby salons and parlors to ensure that you also receive the hands-on training necessary for a comprehensive education. Without the internship part of the training, it's difficult to acquire 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.

What to Ask Esthetics Training Programs

Following is a series of questions that you need to research for any esthetician training school you are contemplating. As we have already discussed, the location of the school relative to your Staunton home, together with the expense of tuition, will most likely be your primary qualifiers. Whether you would like to pursue 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 program. Below we have put together some of those supplemental questions that you need to ask each school before making a final determination.

Is the Esthetician School Accredited? It's necessary to make sure that the esthetician school you select is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged local or national agency, such as the National Accrediting Commission for Cosmetology Arts & Sciences (NACCAS). Schools accredited by the NACCAS must comply with their high standards guaranteeing a superior curriculum and education. Accreditation can also be essential for acquiring student loans or financial aid, which frequently are not obtainable for non- accredited schools. It's also a criteria for licensing in many states that the training be accredited. And as a final benefit, a number of Staunton VA employers will not employ recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or might look more positively upon those with accredited training.

Does the School have a Great Reputation?  Each esthetician school that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to excellent reputation within the field. Being accredited is a good beginning. Next, ask the schools for references from their network of employers where they have placed their students. Verify that the schools have high job placement rates, indicating that their students are highly demanded. Visit rating services for reviews along with the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any relationships with Staunton VA salon owners or managers, or any person working in the industry, ask them if they are familiar with the schools you are reviewing. They may even be able to suggest others that you had not looked into. And finally, check with the Virginia 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 Specialty?  Many esthetician schools offer programs that are comprehensive in nature, concentrating 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 frequently broaden into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's important that you decide on 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 respected for that program. If your vision is to start a Staunton VA 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 regarded school with a weak program in the specialty you are pursuing will not provide the training you need.

Is Plenty of Hands-On Training Provided?  Practicing and refining esthetician skills and techniques requires lots of practice on people. Find out how much live, hands-on training is included in the beauty lessons you will be attending. A number of schools have salons on campus that allow students to practice their growing skills on volunteers. If a beauty program furnishes little or no scheduled live training, but rather relies heavily on the use of mannequins, it may not be the best option for developing your skills. So search for alternate schools that offer this kind of training.

Does the School have a Job Placement Program?  When a student graduates from an esthetician academy, it's important that he or she gets assistance in landing that very first job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that offer assistance develop relationships with Staunton VA businesses that are looking for trained graduates available for hiring. Confirm that the programs you are looking at have job placement programs and ask which salons and businesses they refer students to. Additionally, ask what their job placement rates are. Higher rates not only affirm that they have broad networks of employers, but that their programs are highly regarded as well.

Is Financial Assistance Offered?  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 identify what student loans or grants you may qualify 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 before you determine what financial help may be offered.

More Info on How to Become an Aesthetician in Staunton

Enroll in the Best Staunton Esthetician Course

Picking and enrolling in the ideal esthetician college is imperative to receive the appropriate training to become a licensed cosmetology specialist. Be sure to ask all the questions that you need to in order to feel certain about your decision. Don't forget to compile all of the responses you receive from the cosmetology school admissions departments, prioritize what matters the most to you, and then employ that information to contrast schools. A sensible start in your due diligence process is to make sure that the institution and program you choose are accredited and have excellent reputations within the profession. If you begin with that base, and answer the additional questions supplied in this post, you will be able to reduce your list of schools so that you can make the proper selection. Once you graduate and pass your licensing exam, you will be self-assured that you are prepared to begin your career as a professional esthetician in Staunton Virginia.

 

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