Here Is What You Need to Know About Becoming an Esthetician

So you want to be an esthetician? Before you decide to go down this life path, you’re probably trying to get as much information on it as possible, right? While you might be wondering if you’re cut out for this role, you should be wondering if you can handle all the skincare information that comes with it! For those of you who are interested, here’s all you need to know about becoming an esthetician.

What Is an Esthetician?

An esthetician is a licensed professional who can perform treatments and procedures on the skin. These practices are done to maintain the healthiness of the skin as well as its appearance. In the United States, 49 of 50 states require all estheticians to be state licensed which puts them through a series of written tests and practicals. They deal with many of the skincare issues that the everyday person has from hyperpigmentation to sagging skin. While many might frequent an esthetician for skincare related issues on their face, they also handle body therapies similar to the classic favorite spa treatments like mud baths and hot stone massages.

Treatments You Can Perform

For estheticians, there are tons of treatments they can perform on their clients. Some of them are definitely more common than others. One of the most popular skincare treatments is a facial, and there’s an endless list that estheticians need to know how to perform. Oxygen and hydra facials are probably two that you’ve heard about. While the former is meant to help reverse signs of aging, hydra facials are designed to help clear and cleanse the skin. Estheticians also focus on procedures like extractions or chemical peels; all meant to clear the skin and help rejuvenate it.

While estheticians work very closely with skincare, they are also licensed at performing more “beauty related” tasks. If you were interested in having your makeup done, getting eyelash extensions, tinting your brows, or getting a wax, these are all jobs that could be done by your esthetician!

Treatments You CAN’T Perform

Dealing with skincare might seem like a medical practice, but it’s important to know that esthetics is not and that estheticians are not medicallylicensed. This means that while there are tons of things estheticians can do, there’s also a list of things they can’t. One thing that estheticians can’t do is work with needles so if you’re interested in working with filler or botox, being an esthetician won’t get you that! Since estheticians also aren’t medically licensed, this means you cannot do what a dermatologist could which is diagnosed a patient with a condition and treat them.

Understanding That Less Is More

Becoming an esthetician, you might think that you need to give your clients as much in one session as possible, and sometimes this can take a turn for the worst! There are tons of different procedures you can perform. A few we mentioned previously was facials and chemical peels. You can add exfoliation treatments and deep cleansers to the list. While all these products might work wonders, using them in conjunction would be a severe mistake.

Each treatment or procedure has benefits of their own, but a combination of two could leave your clients walking out in a worse state than they walked in! For example, chemical peels are an extremely strong procedure to do on the skin so pairing them with another treatment could leave your client’s skin irritated.

Taboo Ingredients/Procedures

As we mentioned above, there’s a list of things estheticians can’t do, and this continues with a list of products you shouldn’t use as an esthetician. Needles are taboo treatments if you’re not a medical esthetician because procedures like microneedling need to be handled delicately. This is due to the series of punctures created in the skin that can leave a client exposed and susceptible to infection.

While chemical peels are popular, they can also be very damaging to the skin so it’s up to each esthetician to decide which peels to use on their clients. Lastly, there is one ingredient that is on the DO NOT FLY list for almost every esthetician and that’s hydroquinone. Hydroquinone is a strongtopical cream or ointment that is applied to lighten hyperpigmentation but when handled incorrectly, this could essentially lead to extreme lightening and discoloration of the skin so this is best left to medical professionals!

All Skin Is Different

One of the most important things to know as an esthetician is that all skin is created differently. Your clients will vary from having dry skin to oily skin. Some of them might be dealing with severe acne while others have clear but textured skin. You might be dealing with two different people who both have oily, acne prone skin, butjust because they have similar issues doesn’t mean that their skin is to be handled the same way!

Skin Changes and So Does Skincare

Another extremely important thing to be mindful as you ponder your wish to become an esthetician is to continue to educate yourself! Different and new skin issues are always popping up and as an esthetician, it’s your job to stay on top of them! Your clients will come to you because they’ll see you as a professional who can help them fix their skincare issues. It’s important to be mindful of new skin issues that might be arising but also methods to better take care of your clients!

There’s a lot of information that comes with being an esthetician! There are endless skincare issues to know and understand as well as treatments and procedures to pair with them. While the job might not always be easy, nothing beats the satisfied smile of clients when they notice their skin transforming for the better!