How to Choose the Right Esthetician School Near Tysons Corner Virginia
Now that you have decided to enter the field of cosmetology and enroll in an esthetician school near Tysons Corner VA, the process starts to find and enroll in the best program. It's important that the program you pick not only furnishes the necessary education for the specialty you have chosen, but also preps you for passing the licensing examination. When you start your preliminary search, you might be a little bit unclear about the difference between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the titles are essentially interchangeable and both pertain to the same kind of school. If you plan on commuting to classes you will want to choose a school that is within driving distance of your Tysons Corner residence. Tuition will additionally be a critical aspect when assessing potential schools. Just keep in mind that because a school is the closest or the lowest cost it's not necessarily the right option. There are several other considerations that you should weigh when analyzing schools, such as their reputation and accreditation. We will go over 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 Tysons Corner 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 schools are convenient for Tysons Corner VA students who are working full time and have family responsibilities that make it hard to attend a more traditional school. There are a large number of online cosmetology school programs available that can be attended through a desktop computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More traditional beauty programs are typically fast paced given that many programs are as short as six or eight months. This means that a significant portion of time is spent in the classroom. With internet courses, you are dealing with the same amount of material, but you are not devoting many hours away from your home or travelling back and forth from classes. However, 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 complete education. Without the internship part of the training, it's impossible to acquire the skills needed to work in any area of the cosmetology field. So make sure if you decide to enroll in an online program to confirm that internship training is provided in your area.
Questions to Ask Esthetics Training Classes
Following is a series of questions that you need to investigate for any esthetician training program you are contemplating. As we have already covered, the location of the school in relation to your Tysons Corner residence, together with the expense of tuition, will most likely 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 reduced your school options based on those preliminary qualifications, there are additional factors that you must research and consider before enrolling in a cosmetology program. Following we have compiled some of those supplemental questions that you need to ask every school before making a final determination.
Is the Esthetician School Accredited? It's necessary to make certain that the esthetician college you choose is accredited. The accreditation should be by a U.S. Department of Education recognized 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 assuring a superior curriculum and education. Accreditation can also be essential for obtaining student loans or financial aid, which often are not obtainable for non- accredited schools. It's also a prerequisite for licensing in many states that the training be accredited. And as a final benefit, a number of Tysons Corner VA businesses will not hire 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 institute that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to exceptional reputation within the profession. Being accredited is a good starting point. Next, ask the schools for references from their network of businesses where they have placed their students. Confirm that the schools have high job placement rates, showing that their students are highly demanded. Check rating services for reviews in addition to the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any relationships with Tysons Corner VA salon owners or managers, or someone working in the industry, ask them if they are acquainted with the schools you are looking at. They may even be able to suggest others that you had not looked into. And finally, contact the Virginia school licensing authority to find out if there have been any complaints filed or if the schools are in complete compliance.
What’s the School’s Focus? A number of esthetician schools offer programs that are expansive in nature, focusing on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, offering training in a specific 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 select a school that specializes in your area of interest. Since your ambition 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 start a Tysons Corner VA beauty salon, then you want to enroll in a degree program that will teach you how to be an owner/operator as well. Picking a highly ranked school with a poor program in the specialty you are pursuing will not provide the training you need.
Is Enough Hands-On Training Provided? Studying and mastering esthetician skills and techniques requires lots of practice on people. Find out how much live, hands-on training is provided in the cosmetology courses you will be attending. Some schools have salons on campus that enable students to practice their developing talents on real people. If a beauty academy provides little or no scheduled live training, but rather depends mainly on using mannequins, it might not be the best alternative for developing your skills. Therefore look for alternate schools that furnish this type of training.
Does the School have a Job Placement Program? When a student graduates from an esthetician program, it's imperative that he or she receives assistance in securing that initial job. Job placement programs are an important part of that process. Schools that offer assistance maintain relationships with Tysons Corner VA employers that are looking for trained graduates available for hiring. Check that the programs you are looking at have job placement programs and ask which salons and organizations they refer students to. Also, ask what their job placement rates are. High rates not only verify that they have wide 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. Ask if the schools you are looking at have a financial aid department. Talk to a counselor and identify 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 too. If a school satisfies each of your other qualifications with the exception of cost, do not eliminate it as an alternative until you determine what financial help may be provided.
Learn How to Become an Aesthetician in Tysons Corner
Enroll in the Best Tysons Corner Esthetician Training
Finding and enrolling in the ideal esthetician college is imperative to obtain the appropriate training to become a licensed cosmetology practitioner. Make sure to ask all the questions that you need to so as to feel confident about your decision. Make sure to compile all of the information you get from the beauty school admissions departments, prioritize what matters the most to you, and then employ that data to compare schools. A good start in your due diligence process is to make sure that the institution and program you pick are accredited and have impressive reputations within the field. If you begin with that foundation, and address the additional questions presented in this post, you will be able to filter your list of schools so that you can make the proper selection. Once you graduate and pass your licensing examination, you will be confident that you are qualified to launch your new career as a professional esthetician in Tysons Corner Virginia.
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