Is it Worth it to Earn an Official Cosmetology Diploma?
In some areas, it is common for people to “do hair” at home. When it’s time to take this to a truly professional level, however, they find that nobody wants to hire them or give them a business license. What’s the problem? In a nutshell, the big issue is the lack of a cosmetology license. These licenses are required to provide consumers with a bit of a guarantee that the hair stylist really knows what she or he is doing.
Getting a cosmetology license is not overly difficult. First, the person needs to get a diploma from a cosmetology college in Longmont or a similar area. It typically only takes as little as 14 months to earn a diploma, so it isn’t a big detour from a career goal. Even better, the diploma program will expose the student to far more hair and skin types than is possible when only dealing with neighbors. This is great preparation for the environment of a true hair salon.
Even better, beauty schools in Longmont don’t just teach about hair. They also educate students on beautifying skin, hands, feet, and nails. This opens up many more opportunities than would otherwise be available.
A cosmetology program typically focuses heavily on hair since there are so many types a professional is likely to encounter. Not only that, there’s a large variety of hair treatments that need to be mastered, such as bleaching, dyeing, straightening, curling, and of course, hair cutting. Even so, the program will make sure there’s time to cover manicures, pedicures, facials, and other such services.
While many beauticians end up focusing on one or two aspects of the trade, it’s always good to be able to do several. This helps to recession-proof a beauty career by allowing the licensed practitioner to jump into whichever service is in demand at the time. Not only that, some customers will want a full suite of services. Therefore, it’s important to remember that education in non-hair aspects is not wasted time.
There is one more step after graduation before becoming a professional beautician: Getting licensed. Fortunately, this will be easy for those who have just completed a cosmetology program. Everything will still be fresh in mind, so passing the licensing test won’t be a problem. With the license in hand, a graduate will be able to apply at salons and get more customers than an unlicensed home practitioner could.
