Cosmetologists are professionals who perform hair, makeup, skin, and nail treatments depending on their specialization. There are many requirements to becoming a licensed cosmetologist depending on the state you live in. In SC you need a minimum of 1,500 hours of education from a cosmetology school that is approved by the state board. After completing cosmetology school you need to pass both the written and hands-on portion of the state board exam. Once you receive your license you have to maintain it by renewing it through continuing education hours. After becoming a cosmetologist you can choose from many different careers within the beauty industry.
1. Endless career opportunities
Not all cosmetologists work in a salon or specialize in just hair. With a cosmetology license you can be a hair stylist, nail technician, esthetician, cosmetology instructor, salon owner, and more! The opportunities are endless! However, some careers require higher education along with a cosmetology license and experience. With so many career choices it can also make it difficult to decide which one to specialize in. I think this can apply to many other careers as well such as the medical field or business field.
2. Consultation Miscommunication
Sometimes clients with long hair will come in and ask to go shorter and then change their mind mid service when the hair has already been cut. That is why client consultations are very important. There are many times where what the client has in mind is different than what the stylist has in mind. This can be stressful for the stylist because ultimately as a hairstylist we want the client to leave the salon feeling happy with their haircut. So next time your hairstylist asks you several questions, just know they aren’t trying to annoy you. Instead they are trying to ensure that they give you the service you asked for. It is also helpful to provide an image for the stylist.
3. Hair Splinters
This is very common to hair stylists who cut hair. Hair splinters are very small pieces of freshly cut hair that penetrate the skin. I never knew that these existed until I personally got one myself. It was super painful and difficult to take out and kind of felt like a wood splinter. Unfortunately there aren’t many ways to prevent hair splinters except for wearing proper attire but even then it can get into your clothing.
4. Being Left Handed
Being a left handed cosmetologist is very challenging! When I was in cosmetology school my teacher was right handed and all of the students were too. I had a difficult time learning but I taught myself how to adapt to the right handed way of doing things except for cutting hair. My teacher saw my struggles and she would try to explain techniques as a left handed person which was very admirable of her. All of the fancy cutting shears are also mostly made for right handed stylists sadly.
5. Lunch Schedule
As a cosmetologist in the salon, there is no guaranteed lunch break. Sometimes lunch will be 10 minutes, or 30 minutes, or sometimes there will be no lunch break at all because of how busy the salon is (also depends on the salon). There have been times where I have went without lunch because of how short staffed we were and it would be an 8 hour long day. I also worked in a busy salon where clients walk in and receive a quick and professional hair cut. Usually on the days where we didn’t have time to eat, my manager would order a pizza so at the end of the day or when it slowed down, we would have a quick warm lunch.
6. Feedback
Cosmetologists LOVE feedback because it helps us understand what we need to improve on. Improvement helps us become better cosmetologists. Most salons provide surveys at the end of the service allowing client’s to leave feedback on how pleased or displeased they were with their service. It also makes cosmetologist happy to know the that the client is happy with their work. Surveys allow clients to provide honesty without feeling bad.