The Knox County Career Center held the normally scheduled board meeting to discuss routine items and delved into some of the special issues that affect the cosmetology schools, teachers, and students.

Cosmetology and other lab-based vocational training classes are activity-intense programs that require a lot of teacher involvement. In the past, the board members voted to pay a special stipend amounting to $500 for teachers who were able to maintain more than 22 students in labs such as those held by the high school and adult cosmetology schools.

However, union officials find this policy to be unfair; they cite that not all teachers have the same opportunity to obtain the minimum threshold to receive the stipend. The board members recast their vote, which resulted in a tie because of an absent board member this week. Therefore, the stipend will stand for now.

In addition to discussing a previous decision by the board to provide stipend pay to some teachers who hosted labs for students like the cosmetology program’s consumer salon, the students and teachers were there to illustrate some of the activities that take place in the cosmetology school’s lab.

The school’s salons are open at alternating times throughout the day and week. The teachers explained, while students demonstrated lab activities, that the senior high school students participate in an open salon in the morning hours, while the junior students run the salon during lunch hours. In the afternoon and evening, adult students of the cosmetology school operate the salon and all students are required to get this hands on training for certification testing.

In the past, Gaston College offered the cosmetology school program in an off campus facility in Lincolnton, but the completion of a new facility on the Lincoln Campus in their Cochrane Building is ready for classes.

The new facility features a simulated salon with much more space than the program has made available in the past.  More space means bigger classes and a comfortable place to put in the many clinical hours required for state licensing and graduation. This is an important accommodation for students at the cosmetology school, who have to spend over 1,000 hours learning their trade.

According to the North Carolina Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners, the licensing requirements in NC vary for each type of cosmetology license. Students who will become general cosmetologists will need to have 1500 hours of cosmetology school. Becoming a cosmetology teacher requires many more hours in the classroom and years of salon experience in all areas of cosmetology, including roles as cosmetologist, manicurist, and esthetician.

All of the hour requirements by the licensing board in the state include a specific number of hours spent with real clients (public or student) in the salon setting. Licensing as an apprentice may be required before live models are handled by the students of a cosmetology school and a teacher is always present to supervise salon services on real people.

Diplomas can be obtained in four semesters and many hours in the class room and in the salon. The cosmetology school’s salon simulates a state of the art salon, complete with the latest in hair, nail, and skin care equipment and products, and will be open for appointments Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

The senior students of the Camden County College beauty school program in Sicklervile, New Jersey use premium products during their sessions with clients from the community and are themselves on the eve of graduating their program.

Camden County College’s beauty school program provides precision haircuts and the cost of services includes a shampoo and blow dry by one of the senior students. The sixteen seniors are also awarded with permits allowing them to provide services to the public and, as with most beauty school salons, the stylists are supervised by a licensed instructor.

The beauty school’s haircuts will save clients between $3 and $53, depending on the normal price and type of service the client would usually pay for. Students cuts are done in a salon environment at the school’s campus and are open to the public every Thursday from 3 to 6 PM. Walk-ins are welcome and no appointments are given to those interested.

The students that are providing the styles are only months away from testing and certification, and have plenty of experience in the salon to get the job done right. Most have more than 700 hours of classroom time behind them and are now working on salon hour requirements before they test out and get certified by state licensing boards.

Beauty school students often look forward to this phase of training, where they are able to interact with customers and put their skills to use in a clinical setting.  For their clients, this final requirement (and reward) means a huge savings on the cost of a cut and style they gain through the beauty school without any sacrifice in quality.

Cosmetology classes are typically taken over a period of at least 2-years at a technical school, academy, or college.

Some high school students are putting in the work early, however; school districts offering 2-year dual enrollment programs allow juniors and seniors to prep for certification right out of high school.

Dual enrollment classes are traditionally linked to the foundational courses that students must take when they first enter into a four-year college program; mathematics, English, and science courses are the most common dual enrollment classes at high schools. These types of classes, usually taken during junior and senior years of high school, are more challenging and contain elements of their college counterparts; allowing students to earn both high school and college credits simultaneously.

Some of the students attending Marshall High School in Texas are getting a sweet deal when it comes to college credits like these because their cosmetology classes are earning them college credits, too. The school has made it possible for their students to fulfill the basic certification requirements for hair technicians in the state by the time they graduate with their high school diplomas.

The students spend two years in cosmetology classes. The first year is 100 hours studying the world of cosmetology – just like they would in college. Their second year, which must include real-world salon work and practical application of what they have learned, is possible thanks to the brand-new “Maverick Salon” that opened up for business just last month.

Their hours in the salon will allow them to complete the rest of their classes with a supervisory instructor helping them hone their skills as they work with real clients. At the end of the cosmetology class program, and upon their high school graduation, the students can take the state certification test as a hair stylist or transfer their credits into a college program where they will learn more on topics for estheticians and cosmetologists.

The Philadelphia Academy for Make-Up and Special Effects uses the Atelier Method from early European culture to teach students about the discipline.

The makeup classes at the academy are held in a private art studio, but can also be booked in advance to take place at another location. The classes are also available as part of a party agenda, the academy’s website advertises. And although not a formal, accredited cosmetology institution, such classes can offer insight into the field of cosmetology and spark interest among young people who may be just discovering their own potential and future plans.

In a report by Nicole Contosta of the Weekly Press, academy operator Carolyn Withers-Diamond said that the classes focus on the parallels between the 15^th to 19^th century European arts and makeup artistry techniques to enhance the students’ learning at the school. The commonalities are most present in the colors and composition of the paints and makeup applications used at the time. “Both use the same pallets,” she said.

The makeup classes are taught by certified makeup artists, well-qualified in their field. Classes offered at the academy cover a wide array of coursework to meet the needs of beginners as well as expert makeup artists who wish to learn new techniques or tap into the historical arts of makeup. Class titles include The Fundamentals of Makeup, which not an accredited course.

The academy also teaches a series of classes about Makeup for Television and Film that includes series components such as special effects, bridal makeup, brows and lashes, makeup 101, and a class for actors and actresses learning about how to work with makeup artists on set.  Makeup classes on special topics such as physical esteem, domestic violence recovery, and teenage beauty classes are also available.

A new beauty school in Minnesota shows that sometimes it pays to pay attention to the needs of the area and seize the opportunities that present themselves.

As reported on the Brainerd Dispatch website, owner of Park Avenue School of Cosmetology Kristine Walsh points out that sometimes smaller beauty schools are more capable of preparing students for the real-world career situations they will encounter. She also mentioned the ability to incorporate trends quickly, which is very important in the world of personal beauty. “Being the size we are, we are able to respond fast to trends in the industry,” Walsh said in the report.  Her beauty school in Brainerd is expected to open soon and she has another school already open in Park Rapids.

A similar story out of Marion, Virginia tells of Exalt Academy of Cosmetology’s new beauty school set to open soon. The beauty school plan was announced in a press release last month, which will be opened up in the location of a former hair salon so it is already outfitted for the classes that will be held there. According to their release,  “the school will occupy nearly 4,000 square feet, employ 5 people and draw more than 100 students and customers daily.”

While many beauty schools from area technical colleges can serve bigger communities, there is something to be said for smaller class sizes and the attention students get at smaller independent schools. At beauty schools that are operated by larger educational organization, curriculum changes are subject to arduous processes and approval, with a lot of red tape before updates are implemented. This might add an extra layer of protection, although all beauty schools have to comply with certain state standards.

The really good news is that according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, all cosmetology related career openings are expected to rise in number – even faster than most other job categories.

The BLS goes on to say “projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations. Opportunities for entry-level workers should be favorable, while job candidates at high-end establishments will face keen competition.” (There is always a little competition, isn’t there?) Most of us know that the first step in making a choice is figuring out what you love to do. Cosmetology schools teach us how to make people beautiful or at least make them feel good about themselves.

So what are your choices? Is there more to being a beauty professional than makeup, nails, and hair? Sure. There are actually plenty of other choices for cosmetology school graduates. Consider: Cosmetology instructor, -coordinator, -manager, -consultant, -stylist, -journalists, -magazine writer, -designer, and the list goes on. Cosmetology school graduates become show directors, prop consultants, celebrity consultants, and more.

Deciding on a specific path might be a simple or complicated choice for you; it really depends on you, the job market where you want to live, and your ability to go out there an “impress the judges” so to speak. It might be important for you to make this decision during your first years at cosmetology school. This gives plenty of time to take any special electives for the career you are interested in and it gives you plenty of time to answer that question: What happens after cosmetology school? Cosmetology schools prepare you for a number of occupations so the rest is up to you.

As early as 2008 when the economy first started to tank, American and British cosmetologists said more often than any other profession that they were satisfied with their job choice, according to the US News & World Report.

Since then, not much has changed about cosmetology, which may explain why cosmetology schools continue to see high enrollment numbers from high school graduates and former corporate professionals. It is one of the few professions in which you deal directly with the customer for every single transaction and have little worry of “losing your job” if you’re a good stylist.

The top three reasons for the continued satisfaction for cosmetology school graduates have less to do with cutting hair and more to do with relationships and job security.

No outsourcing. You can’t go online to get a haircut and your customers won’t fly a couple of thousand miles to get one either. They need you to be right there in town, so you are in control of the job – not some corporation.

Customer loyalty. Beauty schools do more than teach students the techniques of cutting or coloring hair, painting and manicuring nails, and skin care – they teach how to help other people feel good. Make customers feel good and you’ll see them again soon.

Virtually free advertising. As much as people like to talk about bad experiences with a service provider, they will also talk about the good ones. When cosmetology schools teach their students how to give a great hair cut, they are doing more than preparing the student for the salon. A great hair cut is a walking advertisement. If the hair or nail job looks great, people will ask about it.

A beauty school scholarship can go a long way (or a little) toward helping offset the costs of tuition and supplies for those interested in makeup, hair, nails, and esthetics.

Scholarships open up doors that may not be available to some students without the necessary amount of financial backing to attend the best (or better) cosmetology schools. There are plenty of beauty schools out that and many of them offer top-of-the-line course work and application techniques that will ready students for a successful career in cosmetology. However, even the smallest cosmetology schools require a little funding from the student.

In situations where a person simply cannot afford cosmetology school tuition or supplies, there are many options to obtain financial support. Student loans are debts that a student will carry until after graduation, when the money used for their courses becomes due. A good option to avoid future debt is to find out about grants and scholarships that are available to future cosmetology school students.

The U.S. News & World Report lists some of the most accessible scholarships available to beauty school students this year. The Sally Beauty scholarship has long helped students achieve their goals with ten-thousand in scholarship funds each year and made the first spot on their list.

Interestingly, they also point out that students who intend to specialize in a study, perhaps to be an esthetician, there are scholarships that will help toward beauty school costs for that person.  The report didn’t mention that there are also grants available for cosmetology school for those that know where to look. Grant applications can be a long and arduous process. However, the effort will pay off in the long run for those who can successfully secure debt-free funding for beauty school.

The company that produces the product, GIB, LLC has come to a settlement agreement with the state of California and will be allowed to continue selling the product.

According to the scientists involved in the matter, the Brazilian Blowout treatment contains two chemicals that are known to create formaldehyde gasses when heated together. Up until recently, the company has marketed their product as formaldehyde free.

After several salon workers and customers became ill from the gasses, a big controversy over whether or not the product was hazardous caused salons to stop using the product and cosmetology schools to stop teaching students on its use.

In their settlement with the state, GIB must only notify users of the potential for formaldehyde gasses on the label of its product. While most people would choose to steer clear of such a concoction, some salon professionals say that their customers are willing to pay the heavy price (monetarily and chemically) for straight hair treatments with the product.

It is possible to protect the customer and stylist from gasses with the use of special masks and eye protection, so it may be necessary for some cosmetology schools to simply enact new safety precautions in order to teach the method. Cosmetology schools that stopped teaching the technique may be at a disadvantage if they choose to continue the ban on the straightening technique.

Many stylists who think that the product is simply too dangerous will say that, even though they already know how to perform the straightening procedure, they refuse to use the product. Cosmetology schools and salons must choose on which side of the controversy they wish to be.