Career Paths for a Cosmetologist

Continuing education is important to your career's future and it holds the key to individual development and personal motivation give you knowledge and confidence, and also provides you the best opportunity to advance your career and achieve real success. Hairdressing is an ever changing profession and education will keep you current with trends and the newest techniques. Your clients come to you expecting and deserving a knowledgeable professional, and if you are not able to fulfill their needs they will not return. Continuing your education gives you the opportunity to observe and practice the techniques and trends. You can never know enough in the hair world, you are always learning more. That is why it's so important to stay up to date, because things are changing so quickly. You need to have commitment in perfecting all your skills. Once you have completed school and are licensed, you will be amazed at how many career opportunities open up for you. There are countless routes to take in this profession.The possibilities are endless for a professional cosmetologist who continues their education. You can become a hair color specialist. You can train others in your salon to perform color services or work for a product manufacture. You can become a texture specialist. You can go teach others how to best perform texture services according to your guidelines and product instructions. One example of this is you can be a curly hair specialist, focusing on maintaining the natural curl. There a hair cutting specialists. This position requires a desire to learn various cutting styles and techniques. Try different techniques in every cut and find your favorite. This will allow you to perform top-quality hair cutting in your salon. A salon trainer is another. Many companies hire experience salon professionals and train them to educate others. You can become a sales consultant. The salon industry depends heavily on its product. A sales consultant provides information about products, new trends and new techniques. You can be an artistic directory. This position establishes the standard for a salon or manufacturers image.  The artistic director’s responsibility is to inspire hairdressers and create trends. This take confidence. You can become an education director, Go around and teach students new techniques and trends. You can teach others and benefit greatly from it. You need to be confident in what you do for this one. You can be a cosmetology instructor. This is teaching students while they are in school. Educating new cosmetologists can be very trying, but also rewarding. You can be a film, theatrical, or editorial stylist and focus on makeup. You can work behind the scenes in magazines and tv sets. You can be a creative directory, nail technician, esthetician, barber, only focus on styling hair, the list goes on and on. The best thing about this industry is you can choose what you like best, and move from there, There is so many career options that can be taken from being a cosmetologist. Pick what you are good at and go from there. Be creative and have fun with it! Do what you love.

Skin Care

Clear, glowing skin is one of today’s most important hallmarks of beauty. No matter how advanced the latest skincare technology may be, you still have to learn how to care for your client’s skin and know what you do to keep it healthy. You need to study the structure of the skin, how it grows, and why it’s important to maintain healthy skin. Knowing the skin’s underlying structure and basic needs in crucial in order to provide excellent skin care for clients. You will need to recognize adverse conditions, including skin diseases, inflamed skin, and infectious skin disorders so that you can give the correct treatment. A dermatologist is a physician who specializes in disease and disorders of the skin. Cosmetologists may be allowed to check skin, preserve the health of the skin, and beautify the skin. However, cosmetologists are not allowed to diagnose, prescribe, or provide any type of treatment for abnormal conditions, illnesses, or diseases. Cosmetologists refer clients with medical issues to dermatologists. The skin is the largest organ of the body. Our skin protects the network of muscles, bones, nerves, blood vessels, and everything else inside our bodies. Healthy skin should be free of any visible signs of disease. It is slightly moist and soft. Healthy skin has a smooth texture. The skin to the scalp is constructed similarly to the skin elsewhere on the human body, but the scalp has larger and deeper hair follicles to accommodate the longer hair of the head. The skin is composed to two main divisions: the epidermis and the derims. The epidermis is the outermost and thinnest layer of the skin. It contains no blood vessels, but has many small nerve endings. It is made up of 5 layers: stratum corneum, stratum lucidum, stratum granulosum, stratum spinosum, stratum germinativum. The dermis is the underlying or inner layer of the skin. The dermis extends to form the subcutaneous tissue. The dermis is comprised of two layers: the papillary and the reticular. The reticular layer is the deeper layer of the dermis that supplies the skin with all of its oxygen and nutrients. It contains the following structures within its network: fat cells, blood vessels, lymph vessels, oil glands, sweat glands, hair follicles, arrector pili muscles, nerve endings. Blood and lymph vessels are located in the reticular dermis. The skin contains the surface endings of nerve fibers. The first one is the motor nerve fibers, the second is the sensory nerve fibers, and the third is the secretory nerve fibers. The color of the skin depends on the melanin, which is the tiny grains of pigment that are produced by melanocytes and then deposited into cells in the basal layer of the epidermis and the papillary layers or the dermis. Melanin helps protect sensitive cells from the sun's UV light, but it does not provide enough protection to prevent skin damage. The skin gets its strength, from, and flexibility from collagen and elastin. The healthier that you are eating, the better skin that you have. Eat your vitamins and nutrients.Help your clients with keeping their skin the best that they can.

Communication

Do you believe that first impressions are important? First impressions are often the gateway to obtaining a job interview. There are many factors that help create a professional image. However, how a person looks is often the first clue to determine if they have what it take to do the job. You need to present yourself in all good ways possible. Clients rely on beauty professionals to look good and be well groomed. Having a professional beauty image helps to build trust with clients and leads to repeat business. There a consequences to not maintaining a professional image including loss of clients, a poor reputation, and loss of income. Being well groomed begins with looking and smelling fresh. Basic hygiene starts with showering and bathing. Personal hygiene is the daily maintenance of cleanliness by practicing good healthful habits. When working as a stylist, you are up close to your clients. You need to always make sure you are smelling good and that you are clean. It is miserable for your client to have to be surrounded by that. Make sure you use deodorant and brush your teeth! Wash your hands throughout the day.  Make sure you are well groomed. It helps you advertise your beauty profession. How a person dresses and takes care of their skin and hair, reflects their grooming habits. You need to dress professionally and clean. Your clients will base how good you are at doing hair by how you look. If you look and are dressed cute, the client will automatically assume you are good at hair. Dressing for success does not mean you have to be someone who you are not, everyone is different. Just remember to tune in to the salon you are working at culture. Never go to work with your hair not done. You are working in a salon, the least you can do is have your own hair look good. It is very important to keep your hair color and haircut fresh. Like I have explained, if you hair looks good your client will assume you are good at doing hair. Make sure your makeup is done. This will help you promote a professional image. A positive attitude is one of the biggest things while developing a professional image.  Negative gossip should never happen. Being good at communicate and using professional words will help you look professional. Use social media to communicate with peers and clients and post helpful content. Do not use profane language or argue on social media where your peers can see. Your physical presentation involves your posture and they way you walk and move. Good posture portrays confidence. Sit with your back straight and have your shoulders relaxed and leveled. Not only does this make you look professional, it helps you not have any physical problems. Having good posture allows you to get through your day feeling good and doing your best. If you are feeling good, you will look good. Always be aware of your professional image at work and in your everyday life.

Your Professional Image

Do you believe that first impressions are important? First impressions are often the gateway to obtaining a job interview. There are many factors that help create a professional image. However, how a person looks is often the first clue to determine if they have what it take to do the job. You need to present yourself in all good ways possible. Clients rely on beauty professionals to look good and be well groomed. Having a professional beauty image helps to build trust with clients and leads to repeat business. There a consequences to not maintaining a professional image including loss of clients, a poor reputation, and loss of income. Being well groomed begins with looking and smelling fresh. Basic hygiene starts with showering and bathing. Personal hygiene is the daily maintenance of cleanliness by practicing good healthful habits. When working as a stylist, you are up close to your clients. You need to always make sure you are smelling good and that you are clean. It is miserable for your client to have to be surrounded by that. Make sure you use deodorant and brush your teeth! Wash your hands throughout the day.  Make sure you are well groomed. It helps you advertise your beauty profession. How a person dresses and takes care of their skin and hair, reflects their grooming habits. You need to dress professionally and clean. Your clients will base how good you are at doing hair by how you look. If you look and are dressed cute, the client will automatically assume you are good at hair. Dressing for success does not mean you have to be someone who you are not, everyone is different. Just remember to tune in to the salon you are working at culture. Never go to work with your hair not done. You are working in a salon, the least you can do is have your own hair look good. It is very important to keep your hair color and haircut fresh. Like I have explained, if you hair looks good your client will assume you are good at doing hair. Make sure your makeup is done. This will help you promote a professional image. A positive attitude is one of the biggest things while developing a professional image.  Negative gossip should never happen. Being good at communicate and using professional words will help you look professional. Use social media to communicate with peers and clients and post helpful content. Do not use profane language or argue on social media where your peers can see. Your physical presentation involves your posture and they way you walk and move. Good posture portrays confidence. Sit with your back straight and have your shoulders relaxed and leveled. Not only does this make you look professional, it helps you not have any physical problems. Having good posture allows you to get through your day feeling good and doing your best. If you are feeling good, you will look good. Always be aware of your professional image at work and in your everyday life.

Life skills

While good technology skills are important to master, learning and applying life skills are just as important. The salon is a creative workplace where individuals are expected to show their artistic talent. In addition, it is a huge social environment. These life skills are a foundation of success for students and professionals. Practicing these skills will lead to a more satisfying beauty career. Some of the most important life skills for you to remember and practice include: being helping, making friends, feeling good about yourself, having a sense of humor, maintaining a cooperative attitude, having responsibility, being consistent in your work, mastering techniques to become more organized, and adapting successfully to different situations. There are many things that lead up to success. Building your self esteem is a huge one. Self-esteem is based on inner strength. You need to trust yourself. If you have high self esteem you will feel more comfortable with the things you are doing. Visualizing success helps you want to be successful, because you want to live up to what you are imagining.  Build on your strengths and practice doing whatever helps you maintain a positive self-image. Always be kind to Li and stay true to yourself. Keep your energy up. Respect all the people around you and treat them all as friends. Stay productive and keep busy. You need to feel a sense of personal excitement and a good reason for staying in the course. Stay creative and keep up with the trends, this will help you to jump into new things. You need to design a mission statement. A mission statement established the purpose and values for which an individual or institution lives and works by. Setting goals is a huge help for yourself. Goal setting is the identification of long-term and short-term goals. When you know what you want, it will help you get there easier. By mapping out your goals, you will see where to focus your attention in order to fulfill you dreams. When you set goals, categorize them based on the amount of time it takes to accomplish the goals. Short term goals are shorter and long term goals are measured in larger increments of time such as two years. Organize all your thoughts and write them down. Learn to prioritize your time by ordering tasks on your to-do list from most important to least important. Never take on more than you can handle. Give yourself some downtime whenever you a frustrated or overwhelmed. Make daily, weekly, and monthly schedules. To realize the greatest benefits education can provide you, commit to these things: attend all classes, arrive for class early, have materials, listen, take notes, pay attention, as questions. Establish good study habits. You should interact with people with a pleasing tone of voice. Be nice to everyone around you in the salon. Be effective to your clients as they talk about their life. Show concern and love for them. Be kind and speak with kind words.

Sanitation

Sanitation is a very important thing to remember when being in the salon. As a cosmetologists it is your responsibility to prevent the spread of diseases. Always remember to remove all hair from combs brushes and clippers. Then, scrub brushes with soap and water. Immerse all combs and brushes in barbicide for 10 minutes. Rinse it off after removing from barbicide. Spray clippers with disinfectant lubricant or disinfectant and oil. Remember to oil your scissors so they are always moving well for you. This will keep them in a good working order. Wash your hands with soap and warm water before and after every service. Washing your hands is the number one way to prevent diseases from spreading. Always sanitize combs, brushes, clips, shears, and other implements after each haircut by washing thoroughly and placing them in a disinfectant solution. You should replace the blade in the razor prior to each client. Discard used blades in a puncture-proof container. Sanitize your work station after each client you work on. Sweep after them and disinfect everything that was used on them. As stated, infection control has two steps: cleansing and then disinfecting. Remember that when you clean, you must remove all visible dirt and debris from all equipment washing with liquid soap and warm water. The more you clean your surface, the number of contaminants in reduced. A surface must be properly cleaned before it can be properly disinfected. There are 3 ways to clean your tools or implements. 1. Washing with soap and warm water and scrubbing them with a clean and properly disinfected nail brush. 2. Using an ultrasonic unit. 3. Using a cleaning solvent. The second step of infection control is disinfection. Disinfection is the process that eliminates most, but still not all. In the salon setting, disinfecting is really effective in controlling microorganisms on surfaces such as shears. Implements must be thoroughly cleaned of all visible matter or residue before being placed in a disinfectant solution. Use only on precleaned, hard, nonporous surfaces- not on single-use abrasive files. Always use gloves when handling disinfectant solution. An item must remain emerged in a disinfectant for ten minutes unless product says other way. Disinfectants can cause skin and eye damage. You need to be careful while working with these. Always wear gloves and safety glasses. Avoid skin and eye contact. Add disinfectant to water when diluting. Mix all disinfectants according to the manufacturer's directions. Hair clippers, nail drills and other types of electrical equipment have parts that can not be immersed in liquid. These items should be cleaned and disinfected using an EPA registered disinfectant designed for use on these devices. Follow standard precautions to protect you and your client. Standard precautions are guidelines published by the centers for disease control and prevention that require the employer and employee to assume that all human blood and body fluids are potentially infectious.  By following all these guidelines, you can prevent disease from spreading. It is very important to sanitize and keep all your implements clean!

Scalp Care, Shampooing, and Conditioning

When clients visit a salon for the first time, the immediately begin making judgements about their surroundings. How does the salon look? Does the receptionist greet them with a smile? Make sure you do everything in your power to make sure your client has a good salon experience. You only get once chance to make a good first impression. One of the most important experience a stylist can provide is the shampoo.  Making this a pleasurable experience can have a great impact on building your reputation as a stylist. The “shampoo “ part of the service comes in three different parts: scalp care and massage, shampooing, and conditioning. The shampoo gives the client relaxation time that is free from the stresses of the day. If clients are happy with the entire shampoo experience, they are far more likely to be happy with the entire service. The two basic requirements for a healthy scalp are cleanliness and stimulation. Scalp massage is a procedure you will do often and one you should be well at. Proper maintenance of the hair and scalp begins with the hygiene practice of shampooing. The hair should be shampooed often to remove oil and dirt. If the scalp and hair are improperly cleansed, unhealthy disorders of the scalp may appear. When performing a scalp massage, remember to keep the client’s head supported and maintain contact with the head at all times. Use slow, deliberate motions and a soft touch. You as the stylist need to be relaxed as well. Keep your fingers loose. A dry hair and scalp treatment should be used when there is a deficiency of natural oil on the scalp. If their scalp is dry, manipulate the scalp using a kneading technique to increase blood circulation to the surface. This will reduce any hardened sebum that has been collected in the pores of the scalp and can be removed with gentle pressing.  If their scalp appears to have dandruff on it, use an anti-dandruff shampoo and conditioner to treat it. Correct hair brushing also stimulates blood circulation to the scalp. Brushing removes dirt, dust, and hairspray build up. It gives the hair shine. You should always begin brushing the hair from the ends then work towards the scalp. This makes it easier to get rid of all the tangles.  The shampoo service provides an opportunity to make sure that the hair and scalp are properly cleansed and nourished. If there are any open wounds, reddened scalp irritations, scalp flaking, or apparent disease, do not continue with the service. Select the proper shampoo for you client. Everyone has different hair which means everyone needs different shampoo to treat their hair the best. Be aware of which shampoos are meant for which types of hair. There's conditioning shampoo, medicated, clarifying, balancing, strengthening, dry, neutralizing, and color-enhancing. Conditioning is applied to the hair to deposit protein to help restore the hair’s strength and moisturize it. There is a cleansing conditioner, rinse-out. treatment or repair, and leave-in. Always remember to drape your client really good so you do not get them wet at all. Remember to make the shampoo memorable!

Business Skills

The better prepared you are to be both a great artist and a successful businessperson, the greater your chances of success. There are two ways to become your own boss in this industry. 1) Own your own salon, and 2) renting a booth in an existing salon. Both are serious undertakings that require significant financial investment and a strong line of credit. Salon owners have a very different job than hairdressers. Owners work behind the chair while they manage the business. Opening your own salon is a huge undertaking- financially, physically, creatively, and mentally. You need to decide what products to use and carry, what types of marketing and promotions you will employ, and who to hire.  Creating your brand identity is important in building a unique, successful business. What is going to make a client want to visit your business vs. the one across the street? What are you selling? What is the theme of your salon? Is the environment friendly?  A vision statement is a long term picture of the long-term goals for the business, what it is to become, and what it will look like when it gets there. You need to pick a good name for the business that identifies the characteristics that sets your business apart from the rest. You will want to base your location on your primary clientele and their needs. Select a location that has good visibility, high traffic, easy access, and good parking. Business regulations and laws are any and all local, state, and federal regulations and laws that you must comply with when you decide to open your salon or rent a booth. When you open a salon, you will need to purchase insurance that guarantees protection. A salon can be owned by an individual, a partnership or a franchise. The sole proprietor is the individual owner and, most often the manager of the business. In a partnership business structure, two or more people share ownership. A corporation is an ownership structure controlled by one or more stockholders. You must have a business plan before opening a business. You need to have a vision statement, mission statement, organizational plan, marketing plan, financial documents, and salon policies. Good business operations require a simple and efficient record system. Proper business records are necessary to meet the requirements of local, state, and federal laws regarding taxes and employees. Records need to be correct, concise, and complete. Keep an accurate record of all income and expenses. Always keep service records or client cards that describe treatments given and merchandise sold to each client. The records should include the name and address, the date of each service, the amount charged, the products used, and the results obtained. Booth rental is renting a booth or a station in a salon. Many people like this more than owning their own salon because it is less stressful. Your personnel is your staff or employees. The size of your salon will determine the size of your staff. Make it your top priority to meet your payroll obligations. The front desk is an important part of your salon. The best salons employ professional receptionists to handle the job of answering phones and greeting clients/attending to the client’s needs. Always make a client feel welcome in your salon.

Hair coloring

One of the most creative, challenging, and inspiring salon services is hair coloring. Die to its popularity, it also has the potential for being one of the most lucrative areas in which a stylist can choose to work. There are many reasons why people color their hair. They want to cover up or blend gray hair. They want to enhance an existing hair color and create a fashion statement.  They want to correct unwanted tones in their hair. They might want to accentuate their hair cut more. The structure of a clients hair and the desired results determine which hair color to use. The hair structure results in the outcome of the color service. Porosity is the hair´s ability to absorb moisture. When you have low porosity, the hair is resistant. Therefore, it requires a longer processing time. When you have high porosity, your cuticle is lifted. The hair is overly porous and takes color quickly. It is important to be aware of that. Learning to identify a client's natural hair color is the most important step in becoming a good colorist. Natural hair color ranges from black to white. Hair color is unique to each person. Eumelanin is the melanin that lends back and brown colors to hair. Pheomelanin is the melanin that gives blond and red colors to the hair. Every color has a level. Level is the unit of measurement used to identify the lightness or darkness of a color. Hair color levels are arranged on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the darkest and 10 being the lightest. When determining the natural level, get a half inch section and hold it up so light can shine through it. The law of color is a system for understanding color relationships. Equal parts of red and yellow make orange. Equal parts of red and blue make violet. Equal parts of blue and yellow make green. Primary colors are red yellow and blue. These can´t be created by combining other colors. A secondary color is a color obtaining by mixing 2 primary colors. A tertiary color is achieved by mixing a secondary color and its neighboring primary color. Complementary colors are opposite of each other on the color wheel. The tone is the balance of color. There are temporary hair colors, semipermanent, demipermanent, and permanent. Volume measures the concentration and strength of of hydrogen peroxide. Use 10-volume peroxide when less lightening is desired. Use 40-volume when you want bleach to pull through fast. Never leave the client unattended while coloring their hair because you need to watch the hair process. Single-process hair coloring lightens and deposits color in a single application. Hair lightening is a chemical process involving the diffusion of the natural hair color pigment of artificial hair color from the hair. Be careful while bleaching hair and always watch how fast it´s processing for! New growth is the hair between the scalp and the hair that has been previously colored. Toning the hair helps get rid of unwanted tones. Highlighting colors some of the hair so you have the variety of your natural color with some lighter tones.

Hair Removal

Cosmetologists should study hair removal because removing unwanted hair is a primary concern for many clients. You will satisfy your clients by advising them on the various types of hair removal. It is a great extra service that you can offer. Before performing any hair removal service, a consultation is always necessary. You need to know of any allergies they may have. You need to understand the sensitivity of their skin so you know which wax best suits them. Certain medications cause changes in the skin that can cause skin to lift during waxing treatment, meaning the skin can be pulled off with the wax. Be cautious of that. Clients who have autoimmune diseases such as lupus can have reactions to the inflammation caused by waxing. Permanent hair removal isn't offered in salons. But it is still an option for hair removal. Permanent hair removal methods include electrolysis, photoepilation, and laser hair removal. Electrolysis is the removal of hair by means of an electric current that destroys the growth cells of the hair. Photoepilation uses intense light to destroy the growth cell of the hair follicles. Laser hair removal is a laser beam pulsed on the skin, impairing hair growth. Temporary hair removal methods include shaving and tweezing.  A depilatory is a substance used for the temporary removal of superfluous hair by dissolving it at the skin's surface. Always ask the client how they want their eyebrows done and what they want taken off. To determine the best shape for the brow, hold the base of the comb against the corner of the nose. This is where the brow should begin. Hold the comb so it extends from the corner of the nose to the outside corner of the eye and this is where it should end. The high point of the arch of the brow should be near the outside corner of the iris, if the client is looking straight. An epilator removes the hair from the bottom of the follicle. Wax is a commonly used epilator and is available in two main forms: hard and soft. Soft wax is applied to the skin and removed using fabric strips. Hard wax is thicker and does not require strips, you just pull it off with your hand.  Because waxing removes the hair from the bottom of the follicle, it takes a lot longer to grow back then tweezing would. It usually takes 4-6 weeks to grow back. Wax is applied many parts of the body: eyebrows, cheeks, chin, upper lip, arms, legs, armpits, etc. Many male clients wax the back of their neck and back. The hair should be at least ¼ inch long for waxing to be effective. Remember to always test the temperature of the wax before placing it on the client. Never double-dip the wax. Do not apply wax over warts and moles, or other irritated areas. Becoming a good waxer can be very efficient for you. It will bring you more clients. People need to be waxed often and it is a very good way to make extra money.

Facials

Good skin care can make a big difference in the way your skin feels and looks. It also changes how a client feels about their appearance. A facial is a professional skin treatment that improves the condition and appearance of the skin. They are very relaxing and they improve the appearance of the skin. Proper skin care can make oily skin look healthier, dry skin look more moist,  and aging skin look smoother and firmer. You must start a facial with a client consultation. This gives you time to ask your client questions about their skin. Analyze their skin and ask as many questions as you need. Then you can decide which product best suits their skin. Always perform facials in a dimmed quiet room. This helps your client feel more relaxed. There are many skin care products used in a facial, and it is important cosmetologists know this. Cleansing milks are a non-foaming lotion designed to cleanse the skin and take of makeup. Foaming cleansers contain detergents that cause the product to foam and rinse off easily. This is generally for oily-skin typed.  Toners are known as fresheners. They are lotions that help rebalance the pH and remove remnants of cleanser from skin. It is very exfoliating. Moisturizers are products that increase the moisture content of the face. They make your face less dry and very smooth. Massage creams help it so the skin gets slippery during massage and you can massage easier. Masks are often composed of mineral clays, moisturizing agents, skin softeners. Clay-based masks are for oily skin. Cream masks are for dry. Paraffin wax masks are melted and applied on the face. The wax hardens on your face and helps it go more deep into your skin and pores. The massage is a very important part of a facial. You need to use different massage techniques. You need to have light movement along with stroking and kneading movement. There is many facial manipulations you need to perform. For the chin, you need to lift it using a slight pressure. Move into the lower cheeks using a circular movement, rotate from chin to ears. Over the forehead you do a circular movement starting at the eyebrow line and working across the middle of the forehead and into the hairline. Slide your fingers to the temples and then stroke up to the hairline, gradually moving your hands across the forehead. To finish it, go through the neck with a circular movement rubbing into their shoulders and neck. You need to help the client relax by speaking in a quiet and professional manner. You need to explain the benefits of the products and service, and be sure to answer every question. You must provide a very quiet atmosphere, and work quietly. You need to maintain a neat, clean work area. Make it an enjoyable experience for them, and take your time. Not rushing through the facial is key. You will have many clients who will return to you if you are good enough.