Choosing a school to begin your esthetics career can be confusing. You may be unsure of what to look for to know if it is the “right” choice for you or not. While there are many factors that can apply to every school (i.e. location and cost) and your decision making process, there are also those contributing factors you will want to consider. These things set a school apart from the offers and give you the educational experience you want. Here are the top five things you will definitely want to see in an esthetic school to help you make your decision.
REPUTATION: Ask around. Does the school have a good reputation? Do you know someone that went to school there. Look at local spas, doctor offices, and medi spas and ask where those estheticians were educated. The beauty business is a small community and often times you can get good and honest feedback by those that are already working. You can also look on review websites like GlassDoor and Yelp to get a good sense of what former students have thought of the school. The values and mission statement of the school often represent the type of education you will receive there. Your choice will influence future employers. As you begin your esthetics career, a great school with a great reputation will help you to network and connect with others as a shared starting point of reference.
CURRICULUM: When looking into schools, check their curriculum. Are they offering a well balanced education to the students: Are they teaching directly out of the standard book required for the state or are they offering an additional textbook? What classes, lectures, visitors, do they have available to students? Becoming an esthetician requires critical thinking skills. The curriculum you learn can help you to expand on those skills and add to your approach to skin care and products. Curriculum should not be based solely on state required information. It should include additional information and resources in things you show interest in and/or expose you to different parts of the industry.
STAFF: The people who populate the school contribute to the quality of its education. When interviewing an esthetics school, consider the entire staff. Think about how efficient the school registrar is in helping you get the items you need to get started. Look at the support staff and how friendly/helpful they are to you. Also, look into the education of the instructors. You may want to ask if you are only being instructed by one person or multiple people. What does that look like and how does that contribute to your education? You will want to look into the specific areas each instructor has training in and what part of esthetics do they perhaps excel in. The training and education of the instructors will help to influence the type of instruction you will have as you go through their program.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Many esthetics schools have a working spa within the school to allow students to to practice their skills on real clients. If possible, try and have a treatment at the school spa and “interview” your student esthetician. Ask why they chose the program and what they like about being here. Take a look at the spa overall while you are there. The cleanliness of the facility shows pride in the school. You can also review the spa menu. Are these services ones you would be interested in learning more about and/or see yourself performing? Visiting the school facility during an Open House allows you to ask certain questions, but visiting the school spa can give you a total picture of the program overall.
ADVANCED CLASSES/CERTIFICATION: To graduate from esthetics school, you will need to meet the requirements set forth by your State Board. All esthetics schools need to adhere to those guidelines. However, some schools offer additional certifications and advanced classes. It may not be a requirement of the program, but it is something that will give you additional tools for your skill set and make you more employable. As an esthetician you will want to constantly and consistently be advancing your knowledge base. The right school can make that easier. Check out the certifications offered at the schools you are looking at and what additional classes they may offer to current and graduating students.