Over the decades, creative individuals have made a career for themselves in cosmetology, enjoying the opportunity to use their passion for beauty in daily work.
It can be a good choice if you are self motivated and looking to use your personal drive to help others feel their best—while adapting to plenty of changes during your career. The beauty industry moves quickly, bringing new styles and treatments that come from a shift in societal preferences.
There’s no need to worry about where you’ll learn everything, though: Cosmetology schools evolve their programs to teach advances in technology, science, and overall beauty trends. A cosmetology training program will prepare you in the best way possible to handle any new or popular aesthetic. Here is what education in the industry looks like today.
Hair Stylist
Becoming a hair stylist is a common career path because of the creativity involved, high pay ceiling, and fun nature of the job. This is a career that is great for a people-person, as hairstylists talk with multiple clients throughout the day.
Often, clients will come in to get the hair looks they’re seeing on people they like and follow. In the past few years, trends such as extensions and balayage have been prominent in the hair industry, making education on these techniques more of a focus in cosmetology school than ever before. Before extensions and balayage became popular, highlights took off. Even before that, perms were all the rage.
Throughout the years, beauty schools have adapted their focus to cater to the popular styles clients want, while setting you up to be able to move the industry forward with your own aesthetic. You can leave training and immediately begin executing what clients want, once you start professionally working.
Makeup Artist
Makeup artistry is another segment of cosmetology that allows for an artist’s creativity and talent to be shown through his or her work. Decades ago, makeup artistry schools may have included education on how to perfect simple black eyeliner or how to keep your lips glossy throughout the day, major trends at that time. Now, trends such as airbrushed foundation and colorful cut creased eyes have taken precedence.
Social media and tutorial videos have allowed for trends to appear faster than ever before. Clients will ask for many of these makeup application styles, which can give you as an artist a fun and exciting experience throughout your career. With proper training from a beauty school, you’ll be able to adapt your knowledge to today’s requests.
Nail Tech
If you are looking for a career that allows you to express yourself creatively, becoming a nail technician could be the right career for you. The nail industry is another specialty that is largely shaped by social media trends. Thanks to sharing photos online, nail technicians are able to let their own art circulate the internet, keeping clients interested and wanting more.
Like any other industry, techniques and procedures have continuously progressed over time. While nail technician schools may have focused on perfecting French nails in the past, current trends have shown massive popularity in filing nails into different shapes and adding intricate nail art. Upon receiving training, you’ll feel confident in your ability to meet any client request—both now and in the future.
Esthetician
If you love skincare and are looking to help people feel great about their own skin, becoming an esthetician could be the right path for you. As skincare experts, estheticians would know better than anyone how frequently the skincare world sees tech and ingredient updates. Taking care of the skin is a trend more prominent now than ever before, spanning countries and generations. With the seemingly endless amount of new and improved products, treatments and techniques, estheticians have a lot to learn in training.
It’s fitting that a career in skincare is on the rise, as the industry is constantly progressing. In the 1950s, just a fraction of what we know today about beauty was known back then. This is a time when women were using household products, such as petroleum jelly, as staple skincare items. SPF wasn’t even introduced in the 1960s, which accounts for a huge portion of skincare today. In modern times, the focus is on the importance of not only SPF but also more advanced treatments such as chemical peels and microdermabrasion.
Rest assured you can walk away from your program career-ready. Cosmetology schools work closely with brands and other industry professionals, changing their curriculum to match the latest developments. They can help you learn all the skincare information you need to do well in the esthetics profession.
Barber
Becoming a barber is a great career option for someone looking to express themselves artistically while having the potential to work for themselves or in a barbershop.
Becoming a barber will also give you a high pay ceiling, as barbers have the potential to earn more money with the more clients they take in. By taking more clients, barbers also have the opportunity to perfect their craft and let their imagination run free by experimenting with new hairstyles.
Trends within the barber industry today have shown an abundance of creative techniques, with some eccentric methods of cutting hair including the use of fire and swords. More normalized trends include perfecting fades and maintaining clean beards. However, this wasn’t always the case. Years ago, barber school was very much focused on spiked and bleached hair as well as longer locks.
With changes in societal preferences comes changes in cosmetology education. While some beauty trends stay relevant longer than others, you can learn everything necessary to succeed by finding a cosmetology school near you.
Resources:
