How to Pick the Right Aesthetician School Near West Falls Church Virginia

Now that you have decided to enter the field of cosmetology and attend an esthetician school near West Falls Church VA, the process starts to find and enroll in the best program. It's imperative that the school you choose not only furnishes the appropriate training for the specialty you have chosen, but also preps you for passing the licensing examination. When you start your initial search, you might be somewhat unclear about the difference between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the names are pretty much interchangeable and both relate to the same kind of school. If you plan on commuting to classes you will need to find a school that is within driving distance of your West Falls Church home. Tuition will also be an important aspect when evaluating prospective schools. Just remember that because a school is the closest or the lowest cost it's not necessarily the ideal choice. There are many other factors that you should weigh when comparing schools, such as their reputation and accreditation. We will review what questions you should ask regarding the aesthetician schools you are looking at later in this article. Before we do, let's discuss a little bit about what types of courses are available.

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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 West Falls Church 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 classes are advantageous for West Falls Church VA students who are employed full time and have family responsibilities that make it difficult to enroll in a more traditional school. There are numerous online beauty school programs offered that can be accessed by means of a home computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More conventional beauty programs are frequently fast paced given that many courses are as short as six or eight months. This means that a large portion of time is spent in the classroom. With online programs, you are dealing with the same volume of material, but you are not spending numerous hours away from your home or driving back and forth from classes. On the other hand, it's important that the school you pick can provide internship training in local salons and parlors in order that you also receive the hands-on training required for a comprehensive education. Without the internship portion of the training, it's impossible to obtain the skills necessary to work in any facet of the cosmetology profession. So don't forget if you decide to enroll in an online school to confirm that internship training is available in your area.

What to Ask Esthetics Training Classes

Following is a list of questions that you should look into for any esthetician training school you are contemplating. As we have previously discussed, the location of the school relative to your West Falls Church home, as well as the cost of tuition, will undoubtedly be your primary qualifiers. Whether you want to earn a certificate, diploma or a degree will no doubt be next on your list. But once you have narrowed your school choices based on those preliminary qualifications, there are additional factors that you need to research and take into consideration 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 selection.

Is the Esthetician School Accredited? It's essential to make sure that the esthetician college you pick 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 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 available for non- accredited schools. It's also a requirement for licensing in some states that the training be accredited. And as a concluding benefit, numerous West Falls Church 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 college that you are seriously considering should have a good to outstanding reputation within the field. Being accredited is an excellent beginning. 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, attesting that their students are highly regarded. Visit rating companies for reviews along with the school's accrediting organizations. If you have any connections with West Falls Church VA salon owners or managers, or someone working in the industry, ask them if they are acquainted with the schools you are considering. They might even be able to suggest others that you had not thought of. Finally, consult the Virginia school licensing authority to see if there have been any complaints submitted or if the schools are in total compliance.

What’s the School’s Focus?  A number of esthetician schools offer programs that are broad 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 pick 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 open a West Falls Church 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 weak program in the specialty you are seeking will not provide the training you need.

Is Any Hands-On Training Provided?  Learning and perfecting esthetician techniques and abilities demands lots of practice on volunteers. Find out how much live, hands-on training is provided in the cosmetology courses you will be attending. A number of schools have salons on campus that enable students to practice their growing skills on real people. If a beauty school offers limited or no scheduled live training, but instead relies mainly on the use of mannequins, it might not be the most effective alternative for cultivating your skills. So try to find alternate schools that provide this type of training.

Does the School have a Job Placement Program?  When a student graduates from an esthetician school, it's important that she or he receives help in finding that initial job. Job placement programs are an important part of that process. Schools that provide aid develop relationships with West Falls Church VA employers that are searching 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, find out what their job placement rates are. High rates not only verify that they have wide networks of employers, but that their programs are highly respected as well.

Is Financial Assistance Available?  Almost all esthetician schools provide financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Ask if the schools you are considering have a financial aid office. Consult with a counselor and learn what student loans or grants you might get approved for. If the school is a member of the American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), it will have scholarships offered to students too. If a school satisfies all of your other qualifications except for cost, do not drop it as an alternative before you learn what financial aid may be offered.

Learn How to Become an Aesthetician in West Falls Church

Enroll in the Best West Falls Church Esthetician Training

Choosing and enrolling in the ideal esthetician program is important to obtain the proper training to become a licensed cosmetology practitioner. Be sure to ask all the questions that you need to so as to feel certain about your decision. Make sure to compile all of the information you receive 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 certain that the academy and program you pick are accredited and have outstanding reputations within the profession. If you start with that foundation, and address the additional questions provided in this article, you will be able to narrow down your list of schools so that you can make the ideal selection. And when you graduate and pass your licensing test, you will be confident that you are prepared to launch your career as a professional esthetician in West Falls Church Virginia.

 

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