What Does An Esthetician Do?

When you walk through a spa, you see clients relaxing in chairs while masks, mud, and peels are applied to their faces and bodies. The person who applies these treatments is an esthetician, a state-licensed skincare professional who specializes in health and beauty services such as facials, exfoliation, and chemical peels. As an esthetician, you help your clients achieve healthy, radiant, glowing skin. And your skills could be in demand in this growing industry. The number of spas is increasing across the country, and they can’t provide client services without well-trained estheticians. Is this role for you?

Understanding the Role of an Esthetician

As an esthetician, you provide your clients with quality skincare services that can improve both the health and appearance of their skin. While your services relax and make clients feel pampered, they’re also vitally important. One of your responsibilities is to provide each client with a skin analysis. This tells them about their skin type and issues they may have such as psoriasis, acne, eczema, or hyperpigmentation. The skin analysis also tells you what products can safely be used on their skin, and what chemicals or ingredients to avoid.

Estheticians May Also Perform These Skin Treatments

• Facials — Include a deep cleansing of the skin accompanied by a facial steam, exfoliation, and moisturizing.
• Scrubs — Another method of exfoliating is a salt or sugar scrub, which gently removes dead skin from the face or body.
• Chemical Peel — Superficial chemical peels containing glycolic acid or salicylic acid exfoliate the skin and give it a youthful glow. Moderate to deep chemical peels should be performed by a dermatologist rather than an esthetician.
• Extractions — When the skin gets clogged with oils and sebum, nasty breakouts can occur. For some clients, you may perform extractions of clogged pores and blackheads.
• Waxing — When your clients want smooth skin or shapely eyebrows, they’ll come to you for a waxing.
• Makeup — One of your more creative responsibilities is makeup application. You might be asked to apply makeup for weddings, date nights, photo shoots, and other special events.

It’s important to understand what you can and cannot do as an esthetician. For example, even with your expert knowledge of skin, you cannot treat skin problems like burns or lesions, and you can’t diagnose medical conditions such as skin cancer. You can’t prescribe medication or perform invasive procedures such as Botox injections. But as you examine your client’s skin, if you see something amiss, you can suggest that they visit a dermatologist.

Where Estheticians Work

With an expertise in skincare, you could find employment in many settings. You’re likely to work in day spas, salons, or wellness centers, where you see regular clients as well as walk-ins. You provide a variety of skincare services, and you may work part-time or full-time. You could also travel to clients for special occasions like weddings, and you could work some evenings or weekends.

With additional training, you could also find work at a medical spa or dermatology clinic. There, you see clients by appointment, and routinely perform chemical peels, exfoliating treatments, hair removal procedures, and extractions. Your work schedule can be more predictable in this setting whereas in a salon or spa, you may be able to set your own hours.

How to Become an Esthetician

To become an esthetician, you need proper knowledge, training, experience, and licensure. In an esthetics training program, you learn the science of skincare, the art of makeup application, and the importance of infection control. You also learn how to comply with state laws that govern the work of an esthetician. You’ll get to practice facials, massages, makeup, and waxing on real clients in a salon setting under the guidance of instructors who have years of experience in the industry.

Once you graduate from a training program, you need to apply for a state license. Each state has its own requirements. For example, in Nevada, you must complete an apprenticeship with a salon for at least 600 hours of supervised work before you can receive your license¹. You must also pass three exams on the theory of esthetics, Nevada state law, and practical skills. After you fulfill these requirements, the state will issue your license, which must be renewed every two years.

Why Choose a Career as an Esthetician?

Helping Clients Look Their Best

When you look good, you feel good. As an esthetician, you help your clients to look their best every day. Whether they are preparing for a blind date, a wedding, or just want to partake in a little self-care, clients turn to you for pampering and luxuriant skincare. Your services can make them feel relaxed, beautiful, and confident.

Opportunities for Growth and Advancement

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of estheticians will grow much faster than average over the next decade². That means your skills should be in demand today and into the future. With this license, you can perform advanced procedures such as microneedling, microdermabrasion, and dermaplaning, which could qualify you for advanced positions in dermatology clinics and spas.

Flexible Work Schedules for Estheticians

If you work in a salon or spa, you can benefit from the flexible work schedule offered in those settings. You can usually set your own schedule and work earlier or later shifts for greater work-life balance.

Are you ready to take the first step toward a career as an esthetician? Contact the Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences today. We offer an Aesthetics training program that can prepare you for entry-level work as an esthetician. The program includes hands-on training in a student-run salon and can be completed in as few as eight months. Fill out the form to learn more.

¹ Hour Requirements as retrieved on May 30, 2024, from the Nevada State Board of Cosmetology at https://www.nvcosmo.com/student-information/hour-requirements

² Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Skincare Specialists, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/skincare-specialists.htm (visited May 16, 2024).