Job Overview Cosmeticians are specialists of skin care. They provide a wide range of skin care services to their clients that falls below a non medical skin care procedure. These serices include procedures such as application of facial masks,deep facial cleansing, doing skin analysis, doing mild exfoiations, product recommendation as wellas make-up application. Most of the time, we see them in skin care clinics as assistants of the dermatologists, or in facial care centers and beauty salons. Presenty, there are approximately 21,600 cosmeticians employed in the United States and their numbers are growing as the skin care fad becomes open and affordable to everyone.
Education, Knowledge and Trainings Required
If you wish to pursue a career path as a cosmetician, take courses such as Arts, English, and Home Economics classes as early as high school. As for the post secondary trainings, there are schools that offer programs in cosmetology wherein after taking the full course, the graduate can further specialize as a cosmetician. The other route to take is to enter a cosmetician or esthetician program directly. In both cases, the education should include study and skills practice in skin care, massage, some legal aspects related to the field, make-up application, sanitation as well as salon management.
Skills and Abilities
It is important that a cosmetologist has an eye for beauty and wellness. This will dictate as to whether the services of the staff rendering the treatments will be ideal or above average. Skills that are honed through the study of cosmetology should be mastered. These are skills in sanitation, skin care, make-up application, hair removal as well as massage. Communication and interpersonal skills are needed to enable a good rapport and be able to assess the clients in depth.
Duties
Cosmetologist are at times called skin care specialists. As skin care specialist they take care of the client's skin in all body parts. Before they begin rendering their treatments, they first assess the needs of the clients to include their skin type, skin care regimen as well as the lifestlye that they have affecting their skin and overall appearance.
After an assessment, they follow it up by recommending the treatments to be used. They are allowed and are trained to do simple and deep facial cleansing as well as application of several facial muds and packs and face lift solutions. The goal of their therapy is to cleanse the skin as well as remove the impurities and keep it mosturized and flawless. They may also do blackheads and whiteheads extraction manually and administer chemical peeling and moisturizing solutions in an aseptic manner. There could be times that they do facial massage as needed, and provide extra services such as neck, head and foot massage and some hair removal procedures for the eyebrows, upper lip area and underarms.
Earnings and Job Outlook
On the average, cosmeticians earn around 24,000 U.S. dollars in a year. However, the salaries are highly dependent on the factors such as the workplace, the employer as well as the presence of commissions including tips for a job well done. As many people are becoming aware of these kinds of services and that the baby boomers are longing to become younger and younger, it is expected that the job outlook for this field will grow faster than the average.
Paula Hiz is a researcher and a human resource specialist who helps newly graduates, job applicants and post graduate professionals be aware of their job opportunities and available trainings for skills and practice upgrading.