Becoming a skin care specialist is a great way to make money and help people. It’s also an opportunity to work in a fast-growing field that has a lot of demand.
If you want to become a skin care specialist, here are some things you should know.
- You need to be able to provide services that help people with their skin problems.
- You have to be able to sell your services and convince clients that they should hire you rather than someone else.
- You have to have some basic knowledge about how the human body works, so that you can understand what causes skin problems and how they can be treated.
How To Become Skin Care Specialist
What Is a Skin Care Specialist?
Skin care specialists are estheticians who clean and beautify their clients’ skin. As a skin care specialist, your duties include providing your clients with new products to promote skin health, applying these products to their face or body, and giving them advice on how to maintain healthy skin on their own. Many skin care specialists work at spas, beauty salons, or hotels, but some may operate independently, visiting clients at their homes. You may also work for a specific line of skin care products, which you are meant to use in your work and promote to customers.
How to Become a Skin Care Specialist
There are few formal qualifications needed to become a skin care specialist, but some training can significantly improve your job opportunities. Most skin care specialists have a high school diploma, and many have gone to vocational school or beauty school. The latter is optional, but it helps hone many crucial skills and offers hands-on experience before entering the field. While some aspiring skin care specialists go straight into skin care, others may choose to gain experience working in a spa or similar facility before picking an esthetics specialty.
The table below provides some more information about a job as a skin specialist.
| Degree Required | Postsecondary certificate or associate’s degree |
| Educational Field of Study | Esthetician or Cosmetology |
| Key Responsibilities | Evaluate skin conditions; recommend treatments; implement treatments (hair removal, makeup application, facials); advise clients on skin care techniques and products |
| Licensure Requirements | Licensure required by all states except Connecticut |
| Job Growth (2020-2030) | 29% (for all skin care specialists)* |
| Median Annual Salary (2020) | $36,510 (for all skin care specialists)* |
Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
What Are the Job Duties of a Skin Specialist?
As a skin care specialist, or esthetician, you’re responsible for using cleaning, moisturizing and treatment techniques and processes that help improve, repair and maintain the condition of skin. Unlike a dermatologist, a skin care specialist’s work is primarily cosmetic in nature. Although you might qualify for some positions in a physician’s office, you’ll typically find work as a skin care specialist in a beauty parlor, spa or salon.
You’ll provide clients with chemical peels, facials, massages and cleanses. Other job duties might include waxing facial hair or using laser treatments. Using your expertise of skin types and products, you’ll make personal recommendations for moisturizers and cleansers to help clients maintain healthy skin and a youthful appearance.
What Education Will I Need?
In order to work as a skin care specialist, you need to complete a state-approved esthetician or cosmetology program, which may result in either a postsecondary certificate or associate’s degree. While enrolled in such a program, you’re generally required to study skin care theory and the anatomy of the face. You’ll learn about safety and sanitation techniques, chemical agents, skin care products, facial techniques, makeup application and light therapy, as well as how to prepare a salon and utilize specialized treatment machines. Courses typically consist of a combination of lecture-based and hands-on training. Some programs also include internships at affiliated salons or spas. If you choose an associate’s degree program, you will also be required to complete general education courses.
What Licensure Will I Need?
Unless you plan to work in Connecticut, you’ll need to gain a state license in order to work as an esthetician. Each state has its own qualifications for skin care specialists and cosmetologists. Most states have a minimum age restriction and require that you obtain formal education from an approved school. You’ll need to take a written exam, and some states also include practical testing in your field. You might be required to complete some continuing education courses to maintain your license.
