Featured Graduate--Kaylee Harbin, 2015

Be Proactive – When you’re working with your own clients, you don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you can’t answer a client’s question. Take the initiative to stay on top of your reading, but also go beyond that by staying on top of the latest and most up to date skin trends and techniques. There’s no such thing as having too much knowledge or vocabulary in the esthetician field. It can help to be well versed on various skin care topics even before beginning an esthetician program. Make Sure You Do What You Love – Although this is true of any career choice, it’s especially true when you’re deciding on such a specialized career. Despite there being so many areas of skincare that fall under the Esthetics umbrella, having your certification in Esthetics will be useless if you hate what you’re doing. Build Your Network Early – You probably hear this all the time; network, network, network, but it really pays off! While in Esthetician school, you can work on building your clientele from the beginning. Get to know your clients, follow up with them, and once you establish loyalty, they are more likely to follow you to your salon after graduation. Already graduated? Get started on a portfolio with before and after photos of your clients. You can also branch out to Instagram to build your audience, create and distribute business cards, or even have a website designed for your practice. Be Product Savvy and Honest – Your clients are just like you – they want to be confident in their Esthetician’s recommendations and knowledge, which means you need to be on your A game. Take the time to research any product that you’re recommending or trying to sell. Be prepared to ask any question about the products that you’re recommending. Know Your Worth, And Your Market – Industry standards say that new Estheticians should charge their clients a minimum of $1/minute. A 60-minute service, would then be $60. Another factor to consider is what other Estheticians are charging locally. Depending on your city, you may be able to get away with charging more (or less) for your services. Make sure you keep things fairly priced though, or else you may find it hard to get and retain clients if they feel like they can’t afford your services. You should also consider implementing your own personal terms, hours, and cancelation policy. Time is money, after all. Never Stop Learning – If you’re going to commit to a career in the beauty industry, then you must be comfortable with never really ending the “student” aspect of your career. You should consider learning about related topics such as nutrition for example, since so many skin ailments can be attributed to the food we are putting in our bodies. If you’re going into the medical esthetics field, you may want to consider learning about Botox or laser hair removal. Put Yourself First – Don’t be too busy in your career that you disregard taking care of yourself. Appearance is everything, and your first impression on your clients. You are after all, the face of your brand. You wouldn’t like it if you hired a lawyer and they showed up in a sweat suit, right? You’d think that they were sloppy and unprofessional. Same rule applies here. Strive to put your best foot forward each and every day that you work with your clients. Don’t forget to take time for yourself at the end of the day. Go for a walk, read that book you’ve been meaning to read, exercise, get your water in, etc. If you’re actively taking care of yourself, keeping a professional appearance will be no problem at all. People are coming to you for a relaxing treatment as a special treat to themselves. You don’t want to let personal issues interfere with your money. Interested in a career in Esthetics? Call the professionals at Texas College of Cosmetology today to get started!