History of Cosmetology

Cosmetology is defined as the art and science of beautifying and improving the skin, nails, and hair and includes the study of cosmetics and their application. The term comes from the Greek word kosmetikos, meaning skilled in the use of cosmetics. Archaeological studies reveal that haircutting and hairstyling were practiced in some form as early as the Ice Age. The simple but effective cosmetic implements have been used since the dawn of history. Understanding the History of Cosmetology is important as a cosmetologists cause you can see how times have improved and what has stayed the same. African civilization had a variety of hairstyles and they were used as a symbol of tribal traditions and conveyed a message of age, marital status, power, and rank. They colored their hair with red earth, and wore hairstyles as a symbol of stature. Their hair was a symbol of their well-being. The egyptians were the first to cultivate beauty in an extreme fashion. They used cosmetics as part of their personal beautification habits, and religious ceremonies. They used minerals, insects, and berries to create makeup. Henna was used to stain their hair. They were first to use oils from leaves and blossoms as perfumes. The chinese people would rub a tinted mixture of gum arabic, gelatin, beeswax, and egg whites onto their nails to color them crimson or ebony. During the Golden Age of Greece, hairstyling became a highly developed art. They built elaborate baths and developed excellent methods of dressing the hair and caring for the skin and nails. They put white lead on their faces, kohl around their eyes, and vermillion upon their cheeks and lips. The Romans would make facials made up of milk and break or fine wine. A mixture of chalk and white lead was used as a facial cosmetic. They used hair color or indicate their class in society. The middle ages women wore colored makeup on their cheeks and lips, but not on their eyes.  They started the modern era of steam-distilled essential oils that we use today. The cosmetics industry grew rapidly during the 1920s.  It was also an era of change. Barbering ushered in a whole new set of standards that upgraded the practice of cosmetology. In 1930, the preheat-perm method was introduced. In 1932, Charles Revson marketed the first nail polish. In 1941 scientists developed another method of a permanent waving that used waving lotion. It did not use heat. In 1951-2000 they introduced tube mascara, improved hair and nail product. In 1970 they saw a new era in highlighting when they came up with hair weaving using foils. Today, hairstylists have far gentler, no-fade hair color. Estheticians can noticeably rejuvenate the skin as well as control acne. Now cosmetologists specialize in either in hair color, texture, or in haircutting. Day spas have come to the world as well. Men-only barbers have grown in popularity as well. As you can see, every new century hair keeps getting more and more advanced. The industry is growing and getting much more popular. People are learning new techniques everyday and it all started with the history of all these different countries. It’s amazing to what the hair world has come to and all the new techniques being used today.

Salary of a Cosmetologist

Some people have a hard time deciding if they should become a cosmetologist because they feel as if it doesn’t pay enough. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that the median salary for cosmetologists in $26,790 per year. This number often do not account for full-time and part time cosmetologists, experience in the field, and tips that cosmetologists receive, which could make that salary go up a lot higher. This has been a huge jump since 2010, which was about $22,500. There are many factors that depend on how much money you are receiving and your earning potential.  The first one is where the stylist works. Working in bigger salons and nicer/ more expensive places means more income and also more tips. Another huge reason is that the stylist urges the client to reschedule in a certain amount of days. If you tell them how long they need to wait before they will need to come back in will help them want to reschedule. Make sure they put it in the computers and make sure they will get a reminder to help remind them to come back in. Eventually you will have regular clients who will come in more and more. This helps you make more money because they keep coming back and they keep coming back to you specifically. When you have clients who reschedule you, they will learn to love you and see your talents throughout each appointment. This will make them tell their friends and family about you and refer them to you. This will increase your clients and earn you more money. Those referrals will later on refer their peers to you as well. The list just keeps going and going and the clients keep coming. As you spend more and more years as a cosmetologist, your salary will increase. This is because you will learn a greater understanding in your education and gain a lot more experience through the years. This will make you better and earn you more money. One thing with this industry, is that you will never stop learning. There is always new things to learn and you can always improve your skills by practicing and trying new things. This will make you a better stylist and people will want to come into you more and more. Because this field is very flexible with time, many professionals choose to work half-time instead of full. This makes the salary data lower than it usually is and should be. Your salary has the potential to grow based on your experience, continue your education in the field and grow clientele, and increasing your hours worked. A huge thing with this occupation is tips. Everyone will tip for these types of services. Tips are nice and can add up really fast. That is another thing not mentioned in the salary. It is difficult to figure out the real salary of a cosmetologist because everyone is skilled differently and everyone works different hours. It is basically the effort and time that you as a stylist would want to put in it. It all depends on you!

Skills of a Cosmetologist

Ever wonder what a cosmetologist does all day or what it is?  A cosmetologist is more than just a hair stylist.They are people on the cutting edge of trends and styles in hair and beauty techniques, and they can transform their clients from simple to spectacular in a single setting  According to the Princeton Review, cosmetologists are often the initiators of style and change. Cosmetologists learn to cut color and style all types of hair. Beauticians don’t just to hair styling. They have a wide range of different things such as pedicures, manicures, and nail service. Even makeup for customers. They also focus on skin care, meaning they give facials and learn about the skin. Also important their job is maintaining a safe and clean salon environment at all times. You must feel comfortable consulting with hair and nail clients. You need to give good advice and offer good suggestions to give them the best experience possible. They need to be outgoing and be able to work very well with their hands. You must be able to be healthy and stand on your feet at all times. You must market yourself to keep clients coming back and telling people about you. Some skills and abilities cosmetologists have include: ability to stand for long time, appointment management and scheduling, understanding the information on each beauty product, recommending product, cutting, trimming, coloring, perming, straightening, curling, shampooing, treating, shaping, styling hair, use of tools, chemistry of color and color theory. Each cosmetologist must be aware of the tools that they are working with. You must know how each product works and what each client needs.  You must know different types of hair and how each hair reacts to different types of products. Everyone’s hair works differently and you must be aware of that. You need to know the different types of cutting tools that you are given. Whether it’s thinning shears, normal shears, or texturizing shears you must know which cut needs which tool. You need to know how to be happy and social. If you are not happy your client will become unhappy. Your attitude will reflect on your work. If you don’t want to be at work, your work will not show to your full potential. Always be happy if you want a happy customer You need to know how to carry on conversation and act interested into people’s lives. If your customer is pouring out their heart you must act interested in what they are telling you. You need to be familiar with the different skin types there are. You need to be careful to use the right products on the skin. You need to become and know each massage technique. Massage is one thing that the people love most during a manicure or pedicure. If you are good at it, you will have clients that will want to come back to you and you will make more money. As you can see there are many skills that come along with being a cosmetologist. Knowing all of these well will make you become the difference between a good hair dresser and a great hair dresser.

My Passion

Cosmetology has become my passion these past few months. One day, me and two of my best friends decided we want to do hair school. It was a last minute decision, although ever since I was little I wanted to become a hairstylist. When I would watch my hairdresser cut my hair or color my hair as I became older, I became more and more intrigued and it seemed so fun to me. This is why I have chosen this topic, because it is what I like to do and what I spend all my time doing. It is a passion that I have and my career choice. It is the thing that will keep me busy and the thing that I will learn more and more about each and every day. There is many reasons I wanted to become a cosmetologists. One of the main reasons is because I make other people feel beautiful. When people walk out of the salon they seem like a whole different person then when they walked in. The reason being is because they feel beautiful. It is all because of what I can do to them. It is an incredible feeling to give people that self esteem that makes them feel more beautiful. Girls tend to compare themselves to everyone and put themselves down. I am so happy to think that I can raise them up and make them feel prettier. It is my goal to make every client leave my seat feeling more beautiful. Another reason is because I  love getting my hair done myself. I always look forward every time I get my hair done. It makes you feel so much better about myself and I want people to look forward to coming to see me and sitting in my chair. That will make it much better to get myself to go to work every day for the rest of my life because I know that my clients are excited. Loving your job is important. Everyone who is a hair stylist talks about how much they love their job. It is important for me to do what I love and choose something that really interests me. I have never heard anything bad about this career and that made me want to be it even more. Another reason I chose this is because of the social aspect of it. You are interacting with individuals all day and meeting new people. I am a very social person and I would not want to be in any other type of environment. I have met so many amazing and different individuals and I can’t wait to meet more people. I am so excited to go further in my career and learn more and more each day. I chose this topic for my blog because I am passionate about it and it’s apart of who I am and what I do everyday. I can’t wait to share my passion through words in these blog posts.