How to Pick the Best Aesthetician College Near Bellingham Washington

Now that you have made a decision to enter the field of cosmetology and enroll in an esthetician school near Bellingham WA, the process begins to find and enroll in the ideal program. It's essential that the school you select not only furnishes the necessary education for the specialty you have decided on, but also prepares you for passing the licensing examination. When you begin your preliminary search, you may be rather unclear about the distinction between beauty schools and cosmetology schools. Well don't be, because the titles are basically interchangeable and both relate 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 Bellingham residence. Tuition will also be an important aspect when evaluating potential schools. Just remember that because a school is the closest or the lowest cost it's not necessarily the ideal option. There are a number of other factors that you should weigh when analyzing schools, such as their reputation and accreditation. We will examine what questions you should ask about the aesthetician schools you are considering later in this article. Before we do, let's discuss a bit about what kinds of training programs are available.

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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 Bellingham Washington 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 Courses

Online esthetician schools are convenient for Bellingham WA students who are employed full time and have family responsibilities that make it hard to enroll in a more traditional school. There are numerous online beauty school programs available that can be accessed through a personal computer or laptop at the student's convenience. More conventional beauty schools are typically fast paced given that many courses are as brief as 6 or 8 months. This means that a significant portion of time is spent in the classroom. With internet programs, you are covering the same volume of material, but you are not spending many hours away from your home or travelling back and forth from classes. On the other hand, it's imperative that the program you select can provide internship training in nearby salons and parlors in order that you also get the hands-on training required for a complete education. Without the internship portion of the training, it's difficult to obtain the skills necessary to work in any facet of the cosmetology field. So make sure 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 research for any esthetician training school you are considering. As we have already covered, the location of the school in relation to your Bellingham residence, as well as the expense of tuition, will most likely be your initial qualifiers. Whether you want 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 preliminary qualifications, there are even more factors that you need to research and consider before enrolling in a cosmetology program. Following we have compiled some of those supplemental questions that you need to ask each school before making a final selection.

Is the Esthetician Program Accredited? It's necessary to make certain that the esthetician school you pick 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). Schools accredited by the NACCAS must meet their high standards ensuring a quality curriculum and education. Accreditation may also be essential for acquiring student loans or financial aid, which frequently 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 final benefit, numerous Bellingham WA employers will not recruit recent graduates of non-accredited schools, or might look more positively upon those with accredited training.

Does the School have a Good Reputation?  Any esthetician institute that you are seriously evaluating should have a good to exceptional reputation within the field. 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, indicating that their students are highly sought after. Visit rating companies for reviews as well as the school's accrediting agencies. If you have any connections with Bellingham WA salon owners or managers, or anyone working in the field, ask them if they are familiar with the schools you are looking at. They may even be able to suggest others that you had not looked into. Finally, contact the Washington school licensing authority to see if there have been any complaints submitted or if the schools are in full compliance.

What’s the School’s Specialty?  Many esthetician schools offer programs that are broad in nature, focusing on all areas of cosmetology. Others are more focused, offering training in a particular specialty, for example hairstyling, manicuring or electrolysis. Schools that offer degree programs frequently expand into a management and marketing curriculum. So it's imperative that you decide on 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 well regarded for that program. If your desire is to start a Bellingham WA beauty salon, then you want to enroll in a degree program that will teach you how to be an owner/operator as well. Selecting a highly regarded school with a weak program in the specialty you are seeking will not provide the training you require.

Is Plenty of Live Training Provided?  Learning and mastering esthetician skills and techniques demands lots of practice on people. Ask how much live, hands-on training is provided in the cosmetology courses you will be attending. A number of schools have salons on site that enable students to practice their growing skills on volunteers. If a beauty school provides minimal or no scheduled live training, but rather depends heavily on utilizing mannequins, it may not be the best alternative for cultivating your skills. So look for other schools that provide this kind of training.

Does the School have a Job Placement Program?  Once a student graduates from an esthetician school, it's imperative that he or she gets support in landing that initial job. Job placement programs are an integral part of that process. Schools that furnish assistance maintain relationships with Bellingham WA businesses that are looking for qualified graduates available for hiring. Confirm that the schools you are looking at have job placement programs and inquire which salons and businesses they refer students to. Also, ask what their job placement rates are. Higher rates not only confirm that they have extensive networks of employers, but that their programs are highly respected as well.

Is Financial Assistance Offered?  Many esthetician schools offer financial aid or student loan assistance for their students. Check if the schools you are reviewing have a financial aid office. Talk to a counselor and identify 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 available to students too. If a school fulfills each of your other qualifications with the exception of cost, do not discard it as an option until you learn what financial assistance may be provided.

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Enroll in the Right Bellingham Esthetician Training

Finding and enrolling in the right esthetician school is important to obtain the appropriate training to become a licensed cosmetology practitioner. Be sure to ask all the questions that you require in order to feel confident about your decision. Don't forget to consolidate 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 compare schools. A reasonable beginning in your due diligence procedure is to make sure that the institution and program you decide on are accredited and have excellent reputations within the profession. If you begin with that foundation, and address the additional questions presented in this article, you will be able to reduce your list of schools so that you can make the right choice. Once you graduate and pass your licensing exam, you will be self-assured that you are prepared to launch your career as a professional esthetician in Bellingham Washington.

 

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