Why cosmetology school

Many stylists-to-be love beauty school because they get to use their creativity in this industry more than any other. Not every day requires the same amount of creativity, but on Halloween, during runway shows or when practicing your makeup skills, you get to be extra.

One of the most rewarding parts of being in this industry is helping people feel better about themselves. As a cosmetologist, you have the ability to change how someone sees themselves and make their day brighter. Because cosmetologists come in contact with these parts of the body, they must understand its construction and can spot potential issues like infections or rashes and know when to not perform services.

Understanding physiology is important to understanding how different products and services can affect how your hair, skin, and nails.

You thought your last chemistry class was in high school? Not the case for budding cosmetologists! However, hair color, hair relaxers, perms, shampoos, conditioners, and other products all contain chemicals. These chemicals can change the color, structure, and texture of the hair. Once you enter the beauty industry, social media will become one of your best friends. As a cosmetologist, it will be important to grow your client list and one of the best ways to do that is through social media.

Social media marketing is a must for any cosmetologist so you can spread awareness about your business and create loyalty among your clients. Lozano could tell, a cosmetology license was a realistic way to ensure a better life, and she was willing to make sacrifices. The amount of time Ms. Only a few weeks after getting her cosmetology license in , she was hired at a local Great Clips.

Even with tips, Ms. She had to rely on food stamps and health insurance from the state. What Ms. For-profit schools dominate the cosmetology training world and reap money from taxpayers, students and salon customers. They have beaten back attempts to create cheaper alternatives, even while miring their students in debt. Related: New research questions the value of certificates pushed by colleges, policymakers.

Each state sets its own standards. Most require 1, hours, and some, like New York and Massachusetts, require only 1, By comparison, you can become an emergency medical technician in the state after hours at a community college.

Put another way: An Iowa cosmetologist who has a heart attack can have her life saved by a medic with one-sixteenth her training. Nor is there proof that extra hours result in improved public safety. But one relationship is clear: The more hours that students are forced to be in school, the more debt they accrue. Over 10 months, in visits to a dozen salons and in conversations with 37 former Iowa cosmetology students — and an additional 25 in other states — we heard a variety of opinions about how much training the profession requires and the financial returns it offers.

And we heard again and again how the dream of becoming a professional hairstylist, or someday owning a salon, can be stymied by debt. The issue is national. Across the Iowa border, in Fremont, Neb. Sandoval said. The Iowa Cosmetology School Association would not make school owners available for interviews for this article but provided written responses to questions through its lobbyist, Threase A. It said that its primary concern was successfully preparing students, not making money, and that differences in state regulations made comparing hours difficult.

Cosmetology schools have a unique business model in the for-profit school world. They have two main streams of revenue. The first comes from students, often in the form of taxpayer-funded grants and loans to pay for the tuition. The second stream is the salon work the students do while in school. In full-time programs, going to school becomes a full-time job, where students clock in and out for seven- or eight-hour shifts. The total number of required hours varies, but all states require some amount of practice with paying customers.

In Iowa, students spend hours in the classroom and 1, hours on the floor. Prices for these salon services — which include haircuts, manicures, facials and, at some schools, massages — are typically set below market rates to attract customers. The salons also sell shampoo, conditioner and other beauty products. One Iowa student said he and others had gotten perks such as trips and special training if they sold enough products.

Another student, who sued a school in Pennsylvania, reported that her grades were partly based on whether she offered salon products to clients. Most schools are small, privately owned entities that do not have to disclose their profits. Some schools have pushed their business models to the legal limit — and beyond, according to government regulators.

Students were regularly pulled out of Ms. Both women eventually resigned because they objected to the way students were being treated. Shaw said. Related: As feds pull back, states step in to regulate for-profit colleges and universities. Wood Becher wrote in an email. Becher said, noting that the cost includes books and supply kits.

The Becher family also owns more than a dozen limited liability companies, which include a distribution center for its salon products. Buresh said they had now filed the paperwork requested by the federal reviewers. It may teach you about color theory so you can craft new and exciting looks for your clients. It may give you information about skin tones and undertones so you can work on a variety of people. It may help you learn about sanitation procedures for a salon. All in all, cosmetology school teaches you a lot.

One issue some people have with cosmetology school is the idea that there are no standards that a school has to meet to call itself a cosmetology school.